Does a prison guard's statement of concern about an inmate's exercise of free speech violate the First Amendment?

Not every unnecessary statement of a prison guard regarding an inmate's exercise of free speech violates the First Amendment. See, e.g., Riley v. Coutu, 172 F.R.D. 228, 235 (E.D. Mich. 1997). Absent some factual showing that the comments by the prison officials actually risked inciting other inmates against Dawes, we are unwilling simply to assume that prison inmates would be incited, without more, to attack "one of their own" who was labeled an "informant" and a "rat" for complaining to prison supervisors about a prison guard's conduct.

C. Eighth Amendment