Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech July 24, 2025 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News Wall Street Journal: Newsletter: All Things with Kim Strassel By Kim Strassel .....In a decisive win for free speech, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Frink Wolf last week blocked implementation of Maine’s Question 1, passed by state voters last year to handcuff political action committees that make independent expenditures. The judge agreed with two “superPACs”—represented by the Institute for Free Speech—in a case arguing that both the law’s restrictions on contributions to groups, and its forced disclosure of donors, violate the First Amendment. Supporters of the law are appealing, hoping to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court, though Judge Wolf’s opinion makes a persuasive case that the High Court has already settled these questions—in favor of free speech. Just the News: Students threatened for calling Hamas 'terrorist,' illegal immigration 'a cancer' get settlement By Greg Piper .....Calling Hamas a "terrorist" organization, illegal immigration a "cancer" and people who illegally immigrate "illegal aliens" is no longer punishable speech at taxpayer-funded schools in California and North Carolina, under settlements to resolve litigation this month. In a third quadrant of America, Eastern Maine Community College didn't wait for litigation before replacing a professor who called a Christian student a hypocrite for defending the Second Amendment in a debate assignment, and twice ordered her to write a new paper, after dozens of state Republican lawmakers demanded the professor's "immediate" firing. The Coast Community College District paid Young Americans for Freedom student leaders at Golden West College, including a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran, a symbolic $17.91 each and nearly $26,000 in legal fees, less than two months after their lawyers at the Institute for Free Speech challenged the school's speech policies and enforcement. New from the Institute for Free Speech Free Speech Arguments – Can States Ban Ballot Speech by Lawful Permanent Residents? (OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership v. Dave Yost) .....OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership v. Dave Yost, et al., argued before Circuit Judges Raymond M. Kethledge, Eric E. Murphy, and Andre B. Mathis in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on July 23, 2025. Argued by Elisabeth C. Frost (on behalf of OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership), Mathura Jaya Sridharan (on behalf of Dave Yost, et al.), and Jason Walta (for Amicus Ohio Education Association). Background of the case, from the Brief of Appellees – Cross Appellants (Second Brief): Trump Administration The Guardian: Trump signs executive orders targeting ‘woke’ AI models and regulation By Nick Robins-Early and Lauren Gambino .....Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a trio of executive orders that he vowed would turn the United States into an “AI export powerhouse”, including one targeting what the White House described as “woke” artificial intelligence models. During remarks at an AI summit in Washington, Trump decried “woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models”, before signing the orders on stage at the Mellon Auditorium. “Once and for all, we are getting rid of woke. Is that OK?” Trump said, drawing loud applause from the audience of AI industry leaders. He then asserted that his predecessor, Joe Biden, had “established toxic diversity, equity and inclusion ideology as a guiding principle of American AI development”. “So you immediately knew that was the end of your development,” he said, eliciting laughter. The new order requires any artificial intelligence company receiving federal funding to maintain politically neutral AI models free of “ideological dogmas such as DEI” – putting pressure on an industry increasingly seeking to partner with government agencies. It is part of the Trump administration’s broader anti-diversity campaign that has also targeted federal agencies, academic institutions and the military. Politico: State Department attacks Europe over free speech By Seb Starcevic .....The Trump administration is attacking Europe over free speech, saying its regulation of social media and other online platforms amounts to “Orwellian” censorship. In a social media post Tuesday, the State Department, without giving any specifics, said thousands of people are being convicted for criticizing their own governments, echoing remarks Vice President JD Vance made earlier this year. “This Orwellian message won’t fool the United States,” it said. “Censorship is not freedom.” The State Department then appeared to link the claim to the Digital Services Act, the EU’s tech and social media rulebook, saying: “All the DSA protects is European leaders from their own people.” The Courts New York Times: Macrons Sue Candace Owens, Right-Wing Podcaster, Claiming Defamation By Ephrat Livni .....The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte Macron, filed a defamation suit on Wednesday against an American right-wing podcaster who falsely claimed Ms. Macron is a man. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court against the podcaster, Candace Owens, argues that Ms. Owens used false claims about the Macrons to “promote her independent platform, gain notoriety and make money.” In a filing running more than 200 pages, the Macrons are suing for 22 counts of defamation and related claims, and are seeking actual and punitive damages (the amount was not specified), as well as legal costs. Bloomberg Law: Minnesota Commerce Group Gets Fees in Political Contribution Row By Alexia Massoud .....The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce won $707,000 in fees and expenses in its First Amendment lawsuit challenging a state law that barred businesses with foreign ownership from making political contributions. The Chamber can recover its attorneys’ fees as requested, but it’s not entitled to the $44,325 in expert fees it asked the court as well as to other litigation costs, Judge Eric C. Tostrud of the US District Court for the District of Minnesota said July 18. The ruling is that latest development in the Chamber’s 2023 case. Earlier this year, Tostrud held that the officials failed to show that the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act’s ban on political speech is the least restrictive means for addressing its interest and thus it went too far in restricting the speech of corporations with foreign shareholders. Courthouse News: San Diegan ticketed for criticizing police prevails in free speech case By Sam Ribakoff .....The city of San Diego violated the free speech rights of a local busker when he was ticketed and prosecuted for violating a local law prohibiting vulgar and offensive language in public spaces, a federal judge ruled on Friday. “The Constitution protects Dorsett’s right to criticize law officers, but Section 56.27 allowed officers to cite him if his conduct or speech was in their view ‘offensive’ or ‘vulgar or indecent.’ The ordinance thus chilled a substantial amount of free speech and was unconstitutionally overbroad,” wrote U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz, a Bill Clinton appointee, in his order. As an artist, busker and self-described First Amendment rights activist, William J. Dorsett said he was asked by other buskers to come to San Diego’s famous Balboa Park to witness park rangers overzealously enforcing local anti-busking laws in June 2023. At the park, Dorsett filmed a park ranger issuing a citation for an “environmental impact issue” to a man making bubbles out of dish soap for children. Bloomberg Law: DOJ Appeals Ruling for Jenner & Block in Trump Big Law Battle By Justin Henry .....The Trump administration’s court battle with Andrew Weissmann’s former law firm is moving to a DC appeals court. The Justice Department on Monday asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review a federal judge’s order that struck down President Trump’s directive against Jenner & Block, according to a notice of appeal filed by Justice Department lawyer Richard Lawson. Trump’s directive against Jenner & Block cited the firm’s previous employment of Andrew Weissmann, a former partner who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Judge John D. Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found Trump’s March 25 order against the firm violated its First Amendment rights by retaliating against Jenner for its work in court and ties to lawyers the president perceives as enemies. IRS Bloomberg Tax: New ‘Religious-Political Entity’ Category Would Clear Up Tax Law By Andrew Leahey .....A framework to replace the Johnson Amendment can be simple and straightforward: Let churches speak on political issues that relate directly to a tangible aspect of their religious mission. Sermons on abortion, immigration, or the death penalty would qualify. But once a church endorses a candidate, fundraises for a campaign, or provides any dimension of in-kind support, it should cross a definitional line with real consequences. For churches that want to be explicitly political, Congress should establish a new legal category: Religious-Political Entity. These organizations could engage in electoral activity but would be subjected to limitations—such as an inability to accept tax-deductible donations, the requirement that they disclose their political spending, and strict separation and accounting of charitable versus campaign funds. This would move away from censorship and toward a policy scaffolding that allows religious organizations room to speak, with boundaries. Free Expression Blaze Media: Daily Wire's Michael Knowles faces de-banking over alleged 'legally binding order' By Candace Hathaway .....A major payment processing platform revealed that it halted payouts to a Daily Wire political commentator due to "a legally binding order." On Monday, Michael Knowles accused payment platform Stripe of possibly "de-banking" him. He speculated that the suspension was a reaction to his political opinions. 'Looking forward to resolving this issue with Tennessee.' "Hi, @Stripe. Are we still doing this de-banking thing? Was it something I said?" Knowles wrote. "If we say that men can't be women, if we donate to pro-life charities, if we oppose two men buying eggs, renting wombs, and commoditizing babies." "Does that come at the cost of de-banking?" he questioned. In a multi-post thread, the Daily Wire host explained that payments from his monetized X account "abruptly stopped" six months ago. Assuming it was "an innocent mistake," he reached out to Stripe's user support to rectify the issue. Stripe's support team confirmed that it had "temporarily disabled" his payouts, stating that it sent a message to X in October with more details about the pause, according to screenshots uploaded by Knowles... While it remains unclear what the order pertains to, Knowles provided an update on the issue on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm pleased to say Stripe has reached out to resolve this strange issue, which appears to have begun with a government administrative error rather than intentional de-banking," Knowles wrote. "As we investigate, I'm even more pleased to say that we're also exploring legislative solutions to the lack of transparency that often makes these issues unresolvable for countless Americans. Will discuss more on the show and keep everyone posted as this develops." Candidates and Campaigns Rolling Stone: Election Gambling Is About to Blow Up With Polymarket Back in U.S. By Miles Klee .....More than three years after prediction-market startup Polymarket was blocked in the U.S. as part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for failing to register as a derivatives trading platform, the company announced it had found a path back into the country. “Polymarket has acquired QCEX, a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse, for $112 million,” founder and CEO Shayne Coplan wrote on X on Monday. “This paves the way for us to welcome American traders again. I’ve waited a long time to say this: Polymarket is coming home.” … However, Americans cannot legally participate in this prediction casino at the moment… Even without Americans on the platform — apart from some unknown number using Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, to disguise their locations — users staked a whopping $3.2 billion on the 2024 election, with the majority of the wagers placed on a Trump victory. Coplan, who had previously donated to a Super PAC backing Trump’s primary challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, before going on to donate to Kamala Harris and other Democratic candidates, took note of Trump’s inclination to share his favorable odds from the site. “Trump himself becoming Polymarket’s biggest spokesperson was not on my 2024 bingo card,” he noted in one X post. Trades there also reflected some of the earliest predictions that Biden would drop out of the contest. The States News & Observer: Gov. Josh Stein’s four worst vetoes and why the General Assembly should override them. By Andrew Dunn .....Senate Bill 416 would’ve protected people who give to nonprofits from having their names turned over by government agencies — unless there’s a court order or an active investigation. It applied equally, whether you support a pro-life group or a climate nonprofit. It didn’t touch campaign finance laws or limit what law enforcement can do with cause. Stein vetoed it, warning it would shield “dark money.” But the bill had nothing to do with campaign donations. It simply protected people’s ability to give privately to causes they believe in. Maybe Stein is genuinely worried about loopholes. But the more likely concern is political. This bill would have made it harder to publicly target donors to unpopular causes — a tactic his allies in other states have used in the past. That’s a more likely reason why it got the veto. Read an article you think we would be interested in? 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