April 8, 2025

In the News

Helena Independent Record: Montana needs strong free speech protections now

By David Keating

.....Analyzing SLAPP protections is a priority for my organization, the Institute for Free Speech. We examine anti-SLAPP laws in all 50 states and DC, detailing the results in our comprehensive Anti-SLAPP Report Card. And the results for Montana are alarming.

Montana earns a grade of “F” and the worst-possible score of zero out of 100 points. By contrast, a record high of over 60% of the American population now enjoys the benefits of a “good” anti-SLAPP law, meaning some form of “A” or “B” grade. Montana's poor performance is also at odds with neighboring Idaho, which recently adopted a robust, “A+” anti-SLAPP law with nearly unanimous support.

IJ: Public Interest Law Firm Calls on Decatur County to Retract Threat to Sue Iowa Woman Over Her Criticism of County Leaders

.....Officials in Iowa are free to intimidate and silence Iowans because the state lacks any anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) protections. The Institute for Free Speech gave Iowa an “F” for that exact reason. If passed and signed into law, HB 472 would allow Iowans to file an expedited motion to dismiss a frivolous lawsuit filed against them. If a court agrees the case is meritless, it will dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled, and potentially award financial damages to the individual. 

The Courts

Washington Post: Hundreds of law firms back Perkins Coie in fight against Trump sanctions

By Mark Berman

.....More than 500 law firms on Friday denounced President Donald Trump’s campaign to punish individual firms, calling his actions abuses of power that endanger the rule of law.

The firms said in a court filing that Trump’s orders are potentially devastating for any firm he targets and appear intended to intimidate others so that they do not challenge his administration. The filing was not signed by any of the 20 largest firms nationwide, as measured by revenue.

Congress

New York Post: ActBlue scandal proves Democrats are the real ‘dark money’ party

By Post Editorial Board

....Last week, three House committees released a report after a months-long probe showing that progressive money-making machine ActBlue lowered its standards for fraud twice during the 2024 election cycle.

The result: Hundreds of fraudulent donations poured in — some from countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

Worse, the nonprofit knew mass fraud was likely happening and increased the risk.

An ActBlue Fraud Prevention Specialist flagged that the outfit’s “likelihood of fraudulence” score with its fraud-prevention company, Sift, was “the highest it [had] ever been and appear[ed] to be climbing further” in July 2024, yet the bosses chose to weaken the guardrails for the second time in a year just two months later.

Newsweek: Churches Would Get Protections From IRS Punishment Under New Bill

By Nick Mordowanec

.....Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that would amend a decades-old provision within the Internal Revenue Service regarding churches, pastors and nonprofits.

North Carolina Representative Mark Harris and Oklahoma Senator James Lankford introduced the bicameral Free Speech Fairness Act Monday. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas co-sponsored the legislation in the Senate, and 16 Republicans co-sponsored it in the House.

"Now that we have a Republican trifecta, [in the House, Senate and White House], [the bill sponsors are] hoping to have momentum behind it," a Harris spokesperson told Newsweek.

Sen. Cruz: Sen. Cruz Investigates AI Nonprofit for Potential Misuse of Taxpayer Funds

.... Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding answers from the woke AI nonprofit, Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), over its having used federal grant money to advocate for states to adopt left-wing AI laws. Sen. Cruz raises concerns about the group’s naked advocacy for AI regulations aligned with the Biden administration’s political agenda, such as policing speech and embedding DEI principles in AI code. He is also reviewing FPF’s federal grants amid concerns that the organization attempted to obscure its support for Biden’s AI regulatory agenda.

FCC

Ars Technica: The speech police: Chairman Brendan Carr and the FCC’s news distortion policy

By Jon Brodkin 

.....The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), an advocacy group, called Carr's investigation of CBS "a political stunt," an "illegitimate show trial," and an "unconstitutional abuse of regulatory authority." Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Carr about what they call "bogus investigations" designed to "target and intimidate news organizations and broadcasters in violation of the First Amendment."

The CBS investigation was also lambasted in comments submitted by Christopher Terry, a professor of media law and ethics at the University of Minnesota, and J. Israel Balderas, a journalism professor at Elon University who is also a First Amendment attorney and a former FCC media advisor.

Free Expression

Reuters: Woman found guilty in UK abortion free speech case monitored by US

By Gerhard Mey

.. An anti-abortion activist, whose case has attracted the attention of the United States over free speech concerns, was found guilty on Friday of breaching an order which banned protest outside a clinic in southern England.

Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, the leader of a branch of U.S. Christian group '40 Days for Life', was prosecuted for breaching a "safe zone" in the immediate area around the abortion clinic in the southern town of Bournemouth on two days in March 2023. She was holding a sign that read "Here to talk, if you want"…

An intervention on Sunday by the Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor (DRL) department of the U.S. State Department propelled the case to the front pages of UK newspapers, with suggestions it could have far-reaching diplomatic implications.

"We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression," the DRL said on X…

Tossici-Bolt, a retired medical scientist originally from Italy whose defence was being paid for by the U.S. Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, said it was "a dark day for Great Britain".

"I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone," she said in a statement. "The U.S. State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world."

Nonprofits

Democracy Fund: How Philanthropy is Responding to a Changed World

By Joe Goldman 

.....Across the board, democracy donors are deeply worried about threats to their grantees, civil society as a whole, and to philanthropy itself. Funders say they are very concerned about the potential harassment and intimidation of journalists (77 percent), opposition leaders and activists (74 percent), and pro-democracy non-profits (66 percent). Sixty-eight percent say they are very concerned about pro-democracy organizations facing legal challenges and 51 percent say they are very concerned about legislative and regulatory scrutiny. 

In response, funders are making more flexible funding available (52 percent, up from 43 percent in October 2024), helping grantees respond to legal challenges and scrutiny (47 percent, up from 30 percent), and supporting grantees with improved cyber and physical security (34 percent, up from 23 percent).

Notably, the percentage who are at least somewhat concerned about harassment and intimidation against philanthropic organizations increased from 67 percent in October to 95 percent in February, including 42 percent who are very concerned.

The States

People United for Privacy: New Mexico Majority Leader Abandons Donor Exposure Effort After Nonprofits Cry Foul

By Alex Baiocco

.....The New Mexico Legislature adjourned on March 22 with Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth’s (D) surreptitious attack on nonprofit donor privacy and issue advocacy left to die in committee. The Senate unanimously passed Wirth’s bill, S.B. 85, in mid-February, but after facing significant nonprofit opposition during a recent House committee hearing, the Majority Leader was forced to declare: “The bill is dead.”

According to New Mexico In Depth, “Wirth was blindsided by the organized effort to oppose his bill,” particularly because, as he claimed, “These are groups I champion.” That organized nonprofit coalition included the following:

Cleveland.com: House Republicans propose eliminating the state’s campaign finance enforcer

By Jake Zuckerman

.....State House Republicans want to eliminate a regulatory body that enforces deadlines and accuracy of candidates’ campaign finance spending and fundraising reports.

While their proposed state budget doesn’t repeal the section of state law that created the Ohio Elections Commission 30 years ago, it reduces its budget from about $432,000 this year to $0 in the next two fiscal years.

Just the News: Three states ban foreign funding of ballot measures amid concerns of influence on elections

By Natalia Mittelstadt

.....Last Monday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) announced that she would let House Bill 2106, which bans foreign funding of ballot measure campaigns, become law without her signature. “I cannot sign a bill that takes away the ability of Kansans and Kansas businesses to support elections if they accept money from overseas for any purpose, not just those related to elections,” she said.

“I support stopping foreign influence in our elections so that Kansans can decide what’s best for Kansas. Federal law already prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to federal, state, or local elections. If the Legislature had crafted something similar for Kansas, I would have signed it. But this bill goes too far,” Kelly said in a statement.

Cleveland.com: Ohio is building the machinery to punish dissent: Leila Atassi

By Leila Atassi

.....SB 297, which narrowly missed becoming law last year, sought to enshrine a vague and disputed definition of antisemitism — one some Jewish Ohioans warn could chill their own speech. It mirrors a broader national campaign. The Trump administration adopted the same definition to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech, detaining and deporting students, revoking visas and threatening universities with loss of funding.

SB 297 wouldn’t have outright criminalized speech. It wouldn’t need to. By adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition, which includes what it calls “contemporary examples of antisemitism” like calling Israel a racist endeavor or comparing its policies to Nazi Germany, it blurred the line between hate and legitimate political speech. That means protesters could have found their speech used against them in state investigations.