ICE Spent $525 Million on Surveillance Tech. Some of It Is Infringing on Americans' Freedom of Speech.
New details emerge regarding the Trump administration's surveillance dragnet cracking down on its online critics.
First Amendment
Hawaii's End Run Around Citizens United Faces a First Amendment Roadblock
A new Hawaii law reclassifies corporate political speech as a "power" the state can revoke at will.
Senators Want To Claw Back Trump's Spending Power. They Should Just Pass a Real Budget Instead.
The Senate’s funding bill stops the Trump administration from handing political appointees control over federal grants, but Congress isn’t eager to rein in spending.
Minnesota's Nudification Ban Could Punish People Over Parodies and Stripped-Down Selfies. Elon Musk's xAI Is Suing.
The law is written so broadly it could punish services that let you fake an image of yourself in a swimsuit.
A New Jersey News Outlet Asks the Courts To Stop a Judge's Censorship
The judge concluded that a high school student's privacy interests trumped freedom of the press.
ICE Is Shredding the Bill of Rights. Defending That Isn't Conservative.
Constitutional limits on federal authority should not be partisan matters.
Records Show the Government Illegally Surveilled James Comey and Confirm the Absurdity of Its Case Against Him
The Secret Service asserted a nonexistent "emergency" to track Comey's cellphone, and the FBI's evidence falls far short of proving his seashell picture was a crime.
RIP Lou Koller, a Hardcore Punk Hero and Free Speech Champion
Remembering the lead singer for the iconic band Sick of It All
The Energy Department Admits the OMB Canceled Grants 'Solely' To Punish Trump's Political Opponents
The episode illustrates the president's routine weaponization of government against his enemies.
Florida Wildlife Agency Tracked Critics Using Law Enforcement Database
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it followed the law when it pulled the driving records of more than a dozen critics of the agency.
Brendan Carr Says ABC's Refusal To Air a Trump Speech Could Affect Renewal of Its Broadcast Licenses
The FCC chairman thinks the "public interest" standard is a license to interfere with freedom of the press.
Trump's Threats To Yank Broadcast Licenses Are Part of a Speech-Chilling Intimidation Campaign
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seems to think TV stations are legally obligated to please the president.
South Dakota Can't Stop Website From Informing Women About Abortion Pills
And it can't ban a former state lawmaker from wearing a sweatshirt that advertises that website, either.
Texas Tech's Vague Restrictions Show You Don't Have To Ban Speech To Silence It
If someone is uncertain enough about meaning, they will censor themselves first.
Video Shows Fort Worth Cop Ticketing a Preacher for 'Offensive' Speech at Pride Event
“The First Amendment does not allow government officials to shut down speech simply on account of it being ‘offensive,’” says a legal expert at FIRE.
Trump Threatens To Revoke ABC and NBC Licenses for Not Broadcasting His Election Speech
As someone should have explained to him by now, that's not how it works.
By Blessing Corruption, Todd Blanche Has Disqualified Himself From the Job He Wants
Trump’s nominee for attorney general has repeatedly subverted justice to benefit his boss.
A New Jersey Judge Defies the First Amendment by Censoring News Coverage of a High School Lockdown
The judge contradicted Supreme Court precedents by ruling that a student's "privacy interests" trumped "the severe constitutional presumption" against prior restraints.
Justice Department Subpoenas New York Times Journalists Who Reported About Trump's New Plane
The government says the reporters are not targets of the investigation, but such subpoenas can still have a chilling effect on the press.
First Amendment Protects Universities From Florida's Stop WOKE Act
In the U.S., government officials aren’t allowed to fight ideas they don’t like with censorship.
FIRE Files Lawsuit Against ICE Violations of the First Amendment
ICE is a menace to freedom of speech, as well as other civil liberties.
He Compared ICE's Chief to a Nazi, so ICE Tracked Him Down on Vacation With His Daughter
A new lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the First Amendment rights of its critics by issuing warning notices to them.
77-Year-Old Florida Veteran Investigated For Sending an Official a Postcard Saying 'You Lack Values'
High-level state officials launched a threat investigation over a harmless postcard to Florida's chief financial officer.
In Europe, Just Reposting Russian Propaganda Can Land a Blogger in Jail
Don't assume this couldn't happen in America too.
Thin-Skinned Government Agents Threaten Yet Another Critic
Politicians who don’t like receiving nastygrams should quit government work.
ICE Warns Syracuse Poll Worker To Delete a Political Instagram Post
Federal law can punish true threats, and doxing intended to facilitate violence. But this woman simply named a government agent, which is not a crime.
Texas Man Gets 30 Years in Prison for Transporting 'Anti-Government' Pamphlets
Eight of the Prairieland Detention Center protesters were sentenced to a combined 450 years in prison.
DOJ Case Against Minneapolis Antifa Groups Has Concerning First Amendment Implications
"This indictment appears to be going way overboard, using a sledgehammer to address what might have been some infractions."
ABC Asks Viewers To Defend the Network Against the FCC
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is targeting the Disney-owned broadcaster with two different government enforcement actions.
Metal Band GWAR Says Secret Service Contacted It Over Mock Onstage Execution of Trump
The sci-fi scumlords GWAR have been killing presidents onstage for years, but until now they say they've never had problems with the Secret Service.
6th Circuit Backs Ban on Ohio Minors Using Social Media Without Parental Permission
The court said the law—which would require age verification for everyone—constitutes only a “marginal burden” and "does not raise meaningful concerns about muting valuable protected discourse."
Major League Baseball Teams Have the Right To Offer Pride Uniforms. Should They?
The league’s conduct is indisputably protected by the First Amendment. But that doesn't make it wise.
Survey: More Americans Are Carrying Concealed Guns
Three in 10 Americans at least occasionally carry a firearm.
Louisiana Cops Threatened To Arrest a Man for Handing Out Religious Leaflets. They Got Qualified Immunity.
Richard Hershey is asking the Supreme Court to overrule a 5th Circuit decision that blocked the lawsuit provoked by that obvious First Amendment violation.
Bipartisan JAWBONE Act Targets Government Censorship Threats
Government agencies would have to report communications and could be sued for bullying.
Two Senators Offer a Bipartisan Solution to Censorship by Proxy
The JAWBONE Act would let Americans sue government officials who try to restrict their speech by pressuring social media platforms, broadcasters, or AI companies.
A DOJ Brief Preposterously Insists That Trump's 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Was Politically Neutral
The president himself has repeatedly contradicted that claim.
Trump's Position in the White House Ballroom Case Reflects His General Resistance to Judicial Review
The president has repeatedly argued that courts have no business deciding whether his actions are legal.
DHS Says It Has 'Zero Tolerance' for Protesters' 'Verbal Assaults.' Here's What the Law Says.
Protesters continue to clash with law enforcement outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility, but questions remain over whether DHS policies comply with First Amendment law.
Bill Introduced in Congress To Codify the First Amendment Right To Film the Feds and Sue for Violations
Civil liberties groups say recording the police is core First Amendment activity. The Right to Record Act of 2026 would create a right to sue federal officers who violate it.
The Pentagon's New War - Canceling American Religion and American History
A guest post by Prof. Paul Finkelman.
Todd Blanche Hates 'Weaponization' of Government Unless It Benefits His Boss
Blanche is happy to pervert justice in service of the president's personal agenda. No wonder Trump wants to keep him as attorney general.
Lawsuit Says a Memphis Police Task Force Waged a Harassment Campaign Against People Who Filmed Them
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to block the Memphis Safe Task Force from retaliating against anyone who exercises their First Amendment right to record the police.
CBP Agents Violently Arrested This Chicago Woman. Now She's Seeking $10 Million in Damages.
Debbie Brockman, a U.S. citizen, was held in federal custody for seven hours and released with no charges after her arrest by immigration agents last October.
Fewer Migrants, Fewer Homeless
The rare reported fall in the nation's homeless population is mostly the result of the ebbing migrant surge of 2023 and 2024.
The FCC Wants Warning Labels for Shows With 'Transgender' Content
But free speech advocates are pushing back.
Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. U.S. Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove—for Good Reason.
The president’s habitual attempts to criminalize dissent hark back to tyrants of yore.
