If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
First Amendment
Trump Bars 5 Europeans From the U.S. Over Their Censorship Efforts
Creeping authoritarianism in the European Union gets pushback from an administration that has its own rocky relationship with free speech.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
Could the Feds Throw You in Jail for Merely Filming ICE Immigration Raids?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "videotaping" agents was violence—but Border Patrol brought a film crew to Chicago-area raids.
Mercy Otis Warren, the Founding Mother Who Opposed the Constitution
Remembering an important voice from the founding era.
The 9th Circuit Upholds a University of Washington Professor's Right to Mock 'Land Acknowledgments'
The appeals court ruled that administrators violated Stuart Reges' First Amendment rights when they investigated and threatened to punish him for constitutionally protected speech.
DHS Says Recording or Following Law Enforcement 'Sure Sounds Like Obstruction of Justice'
Seven federal circuit courts have upheld the First Amendment right to record and monitor the police.
This Tennessee Man Spent 37 Days in Jail for Sharing an Anti-Trump Meme. He Says the Cops Should Pay for That.
Larry Bushart's lawyers argue that his arrest for constitutionally protected speech violated the First and Fourth amendments.
The Trump Administration Is Abusing a Law To Threaten ICE Protesters. The Cases Are Falling Apart.
The administration doesn't want to win these cases. It wants to intimidate Americans who oppose its immigration policies.
A Texas News Vlogger Asks SCOTUS To Decide Whether Criminalizing Journalism Is 'Obviously Unconstitutional'
This is Priscilla Villarreal’s second trip to the Supreme Court, which last year revived her First Amendment lawsuit.
Survey: 91 Percent of College Students Think 'Words Can Be Violence.' That Could Feed Real Violence.
But there's a silver lining—sort of.
Bill of Rights Day: How Your Rights Keep Authoritarianism in Check
The document remains remarkably resilient, even as Republicans and Democrats keep launching assaults on liberty.
Ayn Rand Denounced the FCC's 'Public Interest' Censorship More Than 60 Years Ago
In her 1962 essay "Have Gun, Will Nudge," Rand foresaw how government officials would seek to silence people they don't like.
University of Oklahoma Student Is Justifiably Shocked at Sudden Expectation She Be a Good Writer
What the controversy over a failing grade for a bad essay reveals about the true purpose of higher education.
Lawmakers To Consider 19 Bills for Childproofing the Internet
KOSA is back, along with more than a dozen other bills that will erode free speech and privacy in the name of protecting kids.
The Pentagon and the FBI Are Investigating 6 Legislators for Exercising Their First Amendment Rights
The Trump administration is desperately trying to criminalize a video noting that service members have no obligation to follow unlawful orders.
Texas Man Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison for Transporting Constitutionally Protected Pamphlets
The government treats anarchist zines as evidence of terrorism.
Trump's Habitual Charges of 'Treason' Reflect His Authoritarian Impulses
The president’s reaction to a supposedly "seditious" video illustrates his tendency to portray criticism of him as a crime.
Most Americans Think Free Speech Is on the Decline, Survey Finds
"Drops in confidence across all political parties contributed to the record-levels of pessimism," writes the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
Trump Says Legislators Committed Treason by Noting That Soldiers Are Not Obligated To Obey Unlawful Orders
The president's authoritarian response to a video posted by six members of Congress, who he says "should be arrested and put on trial," validates their concerns.
Federal Agents Can Continue To Use Riot Control Weapons in Chicago With Limited Oversight Amid Pending Appeal
The ruling comes as federal immigration agents leave Chicago for operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans.
A Reporter's Unwelcome Questions Provoke Yet Another Trump Threat To Yank Broadcast Licenses
The president thinks TV networks have a legal obligation to cover him the way he prefers. The FCC's chairman seems to agree.
Trump Is Right: That BBC Documentary Misquoted Him
His lawsuit against the BBC is likely frivolous, however.
Oregon Woman Says ICE Broke Out Her Car Windows and Detained Her for Filming Them
The First Amendment protects filming the police, but Berenice Garcia-Hernandez says she was dragged out of her car and detained for nearly seven hours for snapping photos of ICE agents.
5 Legal Reforms To Consider as Government Officials Lean on Critics
FIRE suggests laws to trim FCC power and protect free expression.
You Can Thank This Ohio Klansman for Expanding Your Freedom of Speech
Brandenburg v. Ohio established the "imminent lawless action" standard. More than 50 years later, partisans keep trying to apply it selectively.
This Ruling Does Not Bode Well for Trump's Attempt To Portray Journalism as Consumer Fraud
On Thursday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that echoed Donald Trump's claims against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer.
Campus Activism in the Wake of Charlie Kirk's Murder
Dr. Wolf von Laer and Sean Themea join Nick Gillespie to discuss how Kirk’s murder is reshaping student activism and where libertarian ideas fit in today’s campus climate.
Federal Judge Blasts 'Disgusting' ICE Facility Conditions, Orders Basic Humane Treatment for Detainees
“The evidence has been pretty strong that his facility is no longer just a temporary holding facility,” said U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman. “It has really become a prison.”
Oklahoma's Obscenity Bait and Switch Could Ban Pride Parades and Public Drag Shows
These lawmakers expect local authorities to ban "obscenity" before it happens—a recipe for chilling a wide variety of legal speech.
James Comey Says His Grudge-Driven Prosecution Is Unconstitutional Retaliation for His Criticism of Trump
The former FBI director also argues that the charges against him are legally deficient and that the prosecutor who brought them was improperly appointed.
When the Government Censored Dracula, Frankenstein, and King Kong
Remembering a monstrous era of American history
Texas Can't Force Book Vendors To Rate Books According to Sexual Content, District Court Decides
Aspects of Texas' READER Act meant to keep sexual content out of school libraries have been judged First Amendment violations.
Federal Immigration Agents Accused of Tear-Gassing Peaceful Protestors, Pointing Gun at Veterans in Chicago
The actions would violate a federal order imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis to limit the use of nonlethal weapons and other crowd control tactics.
The 6th Circuit Upholds a School's Sweatshirt Censorship Because 'Let's Go Brandon' Is 'Plainly Vulgar'
That understanding of a familiar anti-Biden slogan hinges on the political message it communicates.
A D.C. Man Was Arrested for Mocking National Guard Troops with Star Wars' 'Imperial March.' Now He's Suing.
Sam O'Hara went viral for playing "The Imperial March" behind groups of National Guard soldiers in D.C. He also says it led to him being illegally detained.
ICE Is Mounting a Mass Surveillance Campaign on American Citizens
Without strict oversight, the agency’s new technology threatens Americans’ free speech and privacy.
Trump Campaigned on Free Speech. That Isn't How He's Governed.
Politicians across the aisle love free speech—until they're in power.
Trump's DOJ Indicts John Bolton for Leaking Classified Information
The former Trump administration official is facing a maximum of 180 years in prison.
The Pentagon's New Press Policy Is Absurd
Mainstream and conservative news outlets were correct to reject it.
Texas City Council Approves $500,000 Payment to Former Member Who Said Her Advocacy Led to a Bogus Arrest
The settlement, which followed Sylvia Gonzalez's victory at the Supreme Court, also includes remedial First Amendment training for city officials.
Can the ACLU Serve Progressives, Libertarians, and Conservatives?
ACLU legal director Ben Wizner warns that Donald Trump’s war on dissent endangers the First Amendment, urges Americans to protect speech they dislike, and reflects on Edward Snowden’s enduring legacy.
My New Paper on "How Speech-Based Immigration Restrictions Threaten Academic Freedom"
It is forthcoming in Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump, (Lee Bollinger and Geoffrey Stone, eds., Oxford University Press).
California Wants To Punish Social Platforms for Aiding and Abetting the First Amendment
Another entry into the "algorithms are magic" school of imposing liability on tech companies.
Friday Oct. 17 12:30pm-1:30pm Zoom event: Trump, the Media, and the First Amendment
The Trump Administration’s threats to revoke broadcasters’ licenses and President Trump’s lawsuits against media companies implicate important, and contested, Supreme Court First Amendment doctrines. Should these actions affect how courts and scholars analyze these doctrines?
Video Shows Federal Agents Arresting a Chicago Journalist. They Now Say She Threw Objects at Their Vehicle.
The arrest comes less than a day after a federal judge ordered federal law enforcement to stop impeding reporters and protesters.
Tennessee Man Arrested, Gets $2 Million Bond for Posting Facebook Meme
Larry Bushart posted a meme on a local Facebook page about Charlie Kirk. He now faces years in prison.
