Is it illegal to insult a person by name on twitter?

[Marsh Man]

In the United States is it illegal to use someone's name and insult them on twitter?
I saw someone post something along the lines of "Jimmy Harrelson is a piece of dirt".. Can they get in trouble for posting something like that and using the person's first and last name?

[Keith]

Insults are for those who never learned eloquence.

[crookedflavor621]

Yes, they could. If the person insulted were to decide to press charges against those people. There's freedom of expression in the US, but it's not absolute contrary to what the first amendment states and what most Americans believe. Libel and slander as well as other forms of derogatory and defamatory speech are not protected by the free speech according to the Supreme Court of the United States.