New Judicial Watch Book Rights and Freedoms in Peril, Goes on Sale October 15

Under federal law, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year is election day (“Election Day”) for federal elections.

Congress recently reaffirmed a single national Election Day when it enacted the Electoral Count Reform Act (“ECRA”).

Under the recent Congressional amendments, no extension of Election Day shall be allowed unless there are “force majeure events that are extraordinary and catastrophic” that justify extension.

Despite Congress’ unambiguous and longstanding statement regarding a single and uniform national Election Day, Mississippi extended Election Day by allowing five additional business days after Election Day for receipt of absentee ballots.

No “force majeure events that are extraordinary and catastrophic” currently exist in Mississippi to justify extending the ballot receipt deadline for the November 5, 2024, federal election for Presidential and Vice-Presential Electors.

Counting untimely, illegal, and invalid votes, such as those received in violation of federal law, substantially increases the pool of total votes cast and dilutes the weight of votes cast by Plaintiff’s members and others in support of Plaintiff’s federal nominees.

The shooting occurred at the east entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby. After demonstrators filled the hallway outside the lobby, two individuals in the crowded, tightly packed hallway struck and dislodged the glass panels in the lobby doors and the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd, who is a United States Capitol Police commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli on sight as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female. Ashli was unarmed. Her hands were up in the air, empty, and in plain view of Lt. Byrd and other officers in the lobby.

The facts speak truth. Ashli was ambushed when she was shot by Lt. Byrd. Multiple witnesses at the scene yelled, “you just murdered her.”

Lt. Byrd was never charged or otherwise punished or disciplined for Ashli’s homicide.

Lt. Byrd, who is a (US Capitol Police) commander and was the incident commander for the House on January 6, 2021, shot Ashli as she raised herself up into the opening of the right door sidelight.… Not one member of Congress was in the lobby, which was guarded by multiple armed police officers. Additional armed police officers were in the hallway outside the lobby and/or on the adjoining stairway. Ashli could not have seen Lt. Byrd, who was positioned far to Ashli’s left and on the opposite side of the doors, near an opening to the Retiring Room, a distance of approximately 15 feet and an angle of approximately 160 degrees. Sgt. Timothy Lively, one of the armed officers guarding the lobby doors from the hallway, later told officials investigating the shooting, “I saw him . . . there was no way that woman would’ve seen that.” Lt. Byrd, who was not in uniform, did not identify himself as a police officer or otherwise make his presence known to Ashli. Lt. Byrd did not give Ashli any warnings or commands before shooting her dead.

So pretty much the reason I ran for school board and the reason I’m taking on this responsibility is to ensure that students, at least in our town, are not being taught critical race theory.  That they’re not being taught that the country was built on racism.  So they’re not being taught that they can choose whether or not they want to be a girl or a boy.  It’s one thing to include and it’s one thing to be inclusive. And it’s one thing to educate everybody about everything. It’s completely another thing to push your agenda.  And, with me on the school board, that won’t happen in our town.

Here, MacRae spoke as a private citizen on a matter of public concern before she applied to—let alone was hired by—Hanover Public Schools. Her speech was not at school because, obviously, it could not have been. Nor was it about the school district or its administrators, teachers, parents, or students. It was not even about the town. In fact, it is undisputed that MacRae’s speech falls squarely within the (Supreme) Court’s category of private speech on matters of public concern. Her speech added to the public debate on immigration policy, racism, and gender identity.

There are approximately four million public-school teachers in the United States. There are also tens of millions of persons who aspire to be public-school teachers in the future. This case concerns whether those individuals have the same free speech rights as every other private citizen.

Ms. MacRae says no federal appellate court to her knowledge has held that government employers can punish employees for speech unrelated to their jobs and which occurred before they were on the payroll.

The First Circuit’s decision delineates no statute of limitation or limiting principle to employee speech that government employers can punish. A teacher could be fired for hanging a “Make America Great Again” flag at home. Political activity during college years could become grounds for dismissal. Workers who don’t agree with the left’s cultural mores may now have to self-censor in private life to avoid losing their jobs.
Donald Trump likes to say that his opponents aren’t only coming after him—they’re also coming after you. Ms. MacRae’s cancellation is a case in point that could use Supreme Court review.