WASHINGTON — Justice Neil M. Gorsuch addressed a conservative group at the Trump International Hotel on Thursday, drawing protests and criticism for speaking at a venue that is the subject of several lawsuits against the president.

In his remarks, Justice Gorsuch called for civility in debates over public controversies. On the one hand, he said, the First Amendment guarantees that “Americans can say pretty much anything they want for more or less any reason they want more or less anytime they want.”

“But with every right comes a correlative responsibility,” he said. “And to be worthy of our First Amendment freedoms, we have to all adopt certain civil habits that enable others to enjoy them as well. When it comes to the First Amendment, that means tolerate those who don’t agree with us or those whose ideas upset us, giving others the benefit of the doubt about their motives.”

Some experts in legal ethics and many liberal groups questioned the wisdom and prudence of Justice Gorsuch’s decision to speak at the hotel. Several lawsuits are challenging the constitutionality of foreign payments to companies controlled by President Trump.