September 30, 2024

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Parents Punished over “XX” Wristbands Sue to Protect First Amendment Right to Silent Protest

.....A silent protest in support of girls’ sports led Bow officials to threaten arrests and ban dissenters from school grounds.

Now, three parents and a grandfather are fighting back against the officials who trampled on their First Amendment rights—and the policies those officials weaponized to do it.

Attorneys from the Institute for Free Speech and local counsel Richard J. Lehmann filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of Kyle Fellers, Anthony “Andy” Foote, Nicole Foote, and Eldon Rash against school administrators, including Superintendent of Schools Marcy Kelley, Principal Matt Fisk, and Athletic Director Mike Desilets, as well as Bow Police Lieutenant Phil Lamy and soccer referee Steve Rossetti.

The Courts

Indiana Capital Chronicle: Federal judge blocks police buffer zone law in media lawsuit

By Niki Kelly

.....A federal judge late Friday blocked a law creating a 25-foot buffer zone around law enforcement officers during certain activities.

U.S. District Court Judge James Sweeney II, of the southern district, ruled in favor of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a coalition of other Hoosier journalism organizations and media outlets.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office had sought to dismiss the case, which the judge denied.

“Simply being within twenty-five feet of a police officer is not a crime, and indeed, important First Amendment rights are regularly exercised within twenty-five feet of law enforcement every single day,” Sweeney said.

Ed. note: The ruling is embedded in the article.

Daily Wire: Exclusive: Babylon Bee Sues California Over Unprecedented Crackdown On Satire, Parody

By Zach Jewell

.....The Babylon Bee filed a lawsuit against the state of California on Monday after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of “deepfake” laws that target outlets that publish satire and parody…

In his first public statement on the lawsuit, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon told Daily Wire news podcast “Morning Wire” that one of the new California laws especially targets satirists, such as the writers at his company, “by requiring them to put disclaimers to let you know that this is parody that you’re reading right now – which completely stifles and kills the joke.”

Election Law Blog: Federal Court Enjoins Texas Law Criminalizing Some Door to Door Political Canvassing

By Rick Hasen

.....Details from Sean Morales-Doyle.

Ed. note: Read the ruling here.

CNN: Newsmax and Smartmatic settle 2020 election defamation case on eve of trial

By Marshall Cohen

.....The pro-Trump cable outlet Newsmax and voting technology company Smartmatic settled a major defamation lawsuit Thursday in a last-minute agreement, averting a high-stakes trial over the airing of false 2020 election claims.

The terms of the settlement were not immediately known. The deal comes hours after jury selection got underway in a Wilmington, Delaware, courtroom ahead of opening statements scheduled for Monday. The parties, and a court official, announced the settlement Thursday afternoon.

FCC

Reuters: Consultant fined $6 million for using AI to fake Biden's voice in robocalls

By David Shepardson

.....The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday finalized a $6 million fine for a political consultant over fake robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden's voice, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state's Democratic primary.

In May, Steven Kramer, a Louisiana Democratic political consultant, was indicted in New Hampshire over calls that appeared to have Biden asking residents not to vote until November. Kramer had worked for Biden's primary challenger, Representative Dean Phillips, who denounced the calls.

Free Expression

Racket News: My Speech in Washington: "Rescue the Republic"

By Matt Taibbi

.....Now disagreement is seen as threat, and according to John Kerry, must be “hammered out of existence.” The former Presidential candidate just complained at a World Economic Forum meeting that “it’s really hard to govern” and “our First Amendment stands as a major block” to the important work of hammering out unhealthy choices.

In the open he said this! I was telling Tim Pool about this backstage and he asked, “Was black ooze coming out of his mouth?”

Kerry added that it’s “really hard to build consensus,” and told Forum members they need to “win the right to govern” and “be free to implement change.”

What do they need to be free of? The First Amendment, yes, but more importantly: us. Complainers. That’s our shared experience. We are obstacles to consensus.

Wall Street Journal: What Happened to Free Speech?

By Andy Kessler

.....Sixty years ago this month, the Free Speech Movement was born at the University of California, Berkeley. How is that working out? …

Progressives love to censor. In 2019 Kamala Harris told CNN that Facebook and Twitter “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation. And that has to stop.” In August former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, a Berkeley professor emeritus, wrote: “Regulators around the world should threaten [Elon] Musk with arrest if he doesn’t stop disseminating lies and hate on X.” State Department employees were urged not to use “gendered terms,” such as “manpower,” “you guys” and even “mother/father” and “husband/wife.” Gov. Tim Walz told MSNBC in 2022, “There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech and especially around our democracy.” Uh, except for the First Amendment.

The Conversation: We studied 19,898 Kickstarter campaigns − and discovered that talking politics hurts fundraising

By Jeff Chandler, Aaron Anglin, Fizza Kanwal, and Jeremy Short

.....In a recent analysis of 19,898 Kickstarter campaigns, we found that budding businesses that expressed political views attracted less funding than ones that stayed apolitical.

As professors who study entrepreneurship, we wanted to understand the link between political expression and crowdfunding success. So we looked at thousands of campaigns launched over a two-year period…

In the end, we found that every percentage-point increase in political speech was associated with a 9% decline in funds raised for conservatives and a 17% decline for liberals.

New York Times: This Is What Can Land You in Jail for Sedition in Hong Kong

By David Pierson and Tiffany May

.....Wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan.

Scrawling pro-democracy graffiti on public bus seats.

Criticizing Xi Jinping on social media.

Three men in Hong Kong were sentenced to prison last week for these acts of protest, which in another era probably would have drawn little notice — showing the power of a newly expanded national security law aimed at muzzling dissent.

The States

City & State New York: Eric Adams allegedly abused the city’s matching funds program. A City Council member wants him to stop having access to it

By Sahalie Donaldson

.....City Council Member Lincoln Restler is urging the New York City Campaign Finance Board to disqualify Mayor Eric Adams from receiving public matching funds for his 2025 campaign and to demand he return all illegal contributions made to his 2021 campaign. The board, which oversees the city’s 8-to-1 taxpayer-funded public matching funds system, has the power to do exactly that and more…

Restler sent a letter to Campaign Finance Board Chair Frederick Schaffer Thursday seeking the board’s action…

Federal prosecutors charge that Adams knowingly defrauded and took advantage of the city’s generous public matching funds program, which provides candidates $8 for every dollar donated by New York City residents for contributions of $250 or less.