Anne Hutchinson: Just Another Silenced Activist?

Upon reading the article by Marilyn Westerkamp, I was slightly upset.  I'm not necessarily sure what I expected other than sixteen pages of required academic reading (not quite my definition of exciting), but it was not what I got out of the experience.

"...her theology could be judged consistent with English Puritanism... (Westerkamp)"
So what was the problem?  She had followers who supported her, she has theological ideas that matched those of the clergy in charge, and she expressed herself intelligently.  So why was she a threat?  Why was Winthrop so upset with her?  Every society needs to be challenged, to be criticized, otherwise there is no growth.  If new ideas are not presented, the evolution if a community virtually comes to a standstill.  I do believe this is what happened to the Puritan way of life at this time.  With the defeat of Anne Hutchinson,John Winthrop basically showed everyone that thinking outside the box is a bad thing: those who have their own ideas and excommunicated, and killed by natives as an act of God.  Clearly.  He single-handedly slowed the reformation and forward motion of his way of life.  But them again, maybe that was the idea.

This event totally challenges the American idea of free speech, showing once again how the Puritans were extremely different in their political ideals.  If this sort of incident were to occur today, pretty sure many people would be incredibly upset, and also, I'd like to have more trust in our legal system than that, not gonna lie.