Are acts of non-violent protesting protected under our Constitution?

Question

Is it part of Freedom of Speech? I find it upsetting that our government responds so harshly to protesting and somewhere in the past few years they have (wrongly) tried to link protesting with terrorism. Why are U.S. citizens being intimidated by police raids and searches so they don't show up somewhere and speak their minds? (I'm writing all this because I seems offensive to me that police are raiding and searching non-violent protestors at gunpoint in Minneapolis before the GOP convention. When and why did our great peaceful nation start turning to such ugly and unnecessary tactics?)

Answer 1

The first amendment to the Constitution allows the right to assembly and speech.

However, there are limits.

As far as security before political conventions police actions have been happening for  many years, not just now.

Answer 2

Assembly is protected, but not all protests are legal. You can't restrict other peoples access to buildings/roads. That isn't protesting, that is denying the civil rights of others. If you are protesting anywhere near a bunch of high level government officials, you can expect the secret service to be heavy handed. Especially during a time of election. This holds true whether you are near the GOP convention or the DNC.