March 12, 2025

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Idaho Becomes the 36th State With an Anti-Slapp Law Providing Enhanced Free Speech Protections

.....In a significant victory for free speech rights in Idaho, Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1001 into law on March 10, 2025. The new statute establishes crucial protections for victims of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). This landmark law makes Idaho the 36th state to enact anti-SLAPP safeguards, joining a growing national movement to protect citizens from frivolous lawsuits designed to silence public expression. 

The path to the Governor’s desk demonstrated remarkable bipartisan unity, with the Idaho House of Representatives voting unanimously (70-0) on March 6, following the overwhelming approval of the Senate by a 32-1 vote in January. This support reflects the critical importance of protecting Idahoans’ First Amendment rights.  

Idaho was one of only 15 states without anti-SLAPP protections, earning an “F” in our Anti-SLAPP Report Card. This lack of statutory safeguards left Idahoans vulnerable to lawsuits designed to intimidate critics into silence. Defendants in SLAPP cases often suffer tremendous financial and emotional damage due to the invasive discovery processes, mandatory court appearances, and mounting attorney fees associated with defending rights protected by the First Amendment. 

The Courts

CBS News: Democrats ask judge to block Trump executive order giving him more control over FEC

By Scott MacFarlane

.....National Democrats asked a judge Tuesday to issue a preliminary injunction halting an executive order signed by President Trump that gives him more control over the Federal Election Commission.

Fox News: Maine Rep Laurel Libby files lawsuit over censure for calling out trans athlete in girls' sports

By Jackson Thompson

.....Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby has filed a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau after she was censured on Feb. 15 for her social media post about a trans high school athlete. 

New York Times: Firm Targeted by Trump Over Clinton Campaign Work Hires Top Litigators

By Michael S. Schmidt and Kenneth P. Vogel

.....Perkins Coie, the law firm that President Trump targeted for punishment with an executive order last week for its role representing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, has hired an elite Washington firm, Williams & Connolly, to fight the order, according to four people briefed on the matter.

The decision to hire Williams & Connolly — which is considered among the most aggressive and skilled firms in fighting the federal government — marked a significant escalation in the fight between Perkins Coie and Mr. Trump.

Congress

Free Press: Exclusive: Amid Turmoil, ActBlue Faces Call for Terror-Financing Investigation

By Gabe Kaminsky

.....A top lawmaker has asked the Trump administration to investigate “credible allegations” that ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, violated federal law in allowing terrorism-linked groups to use its services.

In a letter sent to the Treasury Department on Tuesday—and obtained by The Free Press—Republican congressman Darrell Issa called it “imperative” that the agency look into whether “ActBlue Charities had reason to know it was handling payments that could support terror.” Issa, the vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, zeroed in on ActBlue’s ties to two organizations: the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, or PACBI, and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Neither ActBlue Charities, nor its parent ActBlue, “have any reliable process to vet users of their platforms for links to terrorism, simply ignore their obligations under the law, and are actively abetting this collaboration,” Issa, a California Republican, wrote in the letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

FCC

Washington Post (Tech Brief): Brendan Carr has big ideas on the FCC — and critics across the spectrum

By Julian Mark

.....Carr fired off a letter Friday to the leaders of YouTube and its parent company Alphabet, seeking information about whether the biggest online video provider was discriminating against faith-based programming…

That’s only Carr’s latest action to turn heads.

He is also going after media companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs — an unusual step for the broadcast regulator — having opened an investigation into Comcast’s practices amid a push throughout the Trump administration to chill diversity initiatives.

And he has signaled that he may attempt to limit the scope of Section 230, the law that protects social media companies from lawsuits over content posted to their platforms, according to a recent article in the New York Post, which did not name its sources. The article suggested that Carr’s FCC could issue an “advisory opinion” on Section 230, which Carr has previously asserted gives tech companies too much power over content moderation.

While many conservatives support the approach, Carr’s moves are coming under some criticism from across the political spectrum.

Independent Groups

New York Times: Musk Seeks to Put $100 Million Directly Into Trump Political Operation

By Theodore Schleifer and Maggie Haberman

.....Elon Musk has signaled to President Trump’s advisers in recent days that he wants to put $100 million into groups controlled by the Trump political operation, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

It is unheard-of for a White House staffer, even one with part-time status, to make such large political contributions to support the agenda of the boss. But there has never been someone in the direct employ of an administration like Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who is leading Mr. Trump’s aggressive effort to shrink the federal government, the Department of Government Efficiency.

The States

New Jersey Monitor: This Democrat is running for governor with no staff — but $35M in his corner

By Dana DiFilippo 

.....What’s fueling Spiller’s campaign is not money he’s raised himself. He’s backed by an outside spending group that told election officials it will spend $35 million on the race. That independent expenditure group, Working New Jersey, has not disclosed any of its financials since Spiller entered the race.

This should raise red flags for election observers, including the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, said Craig Holman, a Capitol Hill lobbyist on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance rules for the progressive watchdog group Public Citizen.

“It is incumbent upon ELEC to closely monitor the Spiller campaign,” Holman said…

Holman said Spiller’s “highly unusual” lack of campaign staff suggests the Spiller campaign and the New Jersey Education Association are coordinating efforts on his gubernatorial bid. State law bars independent expenditure groups like Working for New Jersey from coordinating with campaigns they support.

“Spiller and the NJEA appear to be skirting state campaign finance laws by claiming they are acting independently of each other,” Holman said. “Both Working for New Jersey and the Spiller campaign committee are closely connected through NJEA, all the while the Spiller campaign seems to rely primarily on expenditures from Working for New Jersey to finance the campaign. This stretches credulity to believe the two entities are operating independently, without consultation and without any mutual discussions even through a third party.”

Insider NJ: Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher Seeks Advisory Opinion from ELEC on Campaign Fundraising Practices and Contribution Limits

.....Hoboken City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Tiffanie Fisher has formally requested an advisory opinion from the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to determine whether certain campaign fundraising practices comply with state election laws.

Fisher said she believes the law is clear: candidates should not be able to sidestep contribution limits by maintaining multiple committees for different elections and using funds raised under both for a single campaign. However, recent campaign finance activity has raised questions about whether current rules allow this practice and if it aligns with the intent of New Jersey’s contribution limits.

Maryland Matters: Democrats want ‘shadowy’ anti-Moore group investigated

By Bryan P. Sears 

.....The Maryland Democratic Party is calling on state elections officials to open an investigation into an online effort targeting Gov. Wes Moore.

NoMoore.org has used its website and social media presence on Facebook and X to needle the governor over the state budget, taxes and other issues. The Democratic Party, in a 14-page complaint to the Maryland State Board of Elections, questioned whether the effort violates state election laws.

“Specifically, No Moore — a shadowy effort disguising itself as ‘issue advocacy’ with the clear intent to oppose Governor Moore’s re-election — disseminated campaign material with an incomplete authority line and likely did so without registering with the State Board of Elections,” Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Karen Darkes, wrote in the complaint.

The identities of the organizers remain unknown and the subject of much speculation around the State House.

An email sent Friday to an address listed on the organization’s social media accounts elicited an unsigned email response a short time later. “We are fully compliant with Maryland law and will register with the appropriate agency when we reach the required thresholds,” said the five-paragraph reply, the rest of which was the sort of barbed political snark the site generally employs.

Arkansas Times: Education committee advances higher ed bill that would chill students’ political speech

By Benjamin Hardy

.....But the most controversial piece is the limitation of student protest and advocacy. The bill says schools cannot allow student walkouts — perhaps a shot at progressive actions at Little Rock’s Central High or a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Fayetteville High School last year. It also says college students could be held liable for “negligently or intentionally” causing property damage to a college campus while engaging in protest or “public policy advocacy.” If students didn’t pay up, they would be ineligible for a degree or any transfer credit from the institution.

Even some Republicans expressed reservations about the political advocacy section when the bill was presented in its unamended form on Monday morning.

Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R-Horatio) told Dismang and co-sponsor Rep. Matthew Shepherd (R-El Dorado) that the bill “seems to take away all local control” from school districts regarding excused absences. She cited legislation that she sponsored in 2023 to require Holocaust education in public schools; the idea for that bill came from a 16-year-old high school student, Vaught said. Should he have not been excused from school to come to the Capitol and speak on the bill, she asked. 

 JournalOnline: Do the right thing, SC

.....South Carolina remains one of the few states that doesn’t have [an anti-SLAPP] law on the books. 

But that’s possibly going to change soon, or so we hope…

[G]ood news does seem to be on the horizon as bill H.3305 has cleared both subcommittees and full committees.