Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech September 25, 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]. Ed. note: The Media Update will return Monday, Sep. 29. In the News NH Journal: Bow ‘XX’ Wristband Parents Get Date for Appeals Court Hearing By Damien Fisher .....The parents punished by SAU 67 administrators for wearing pink “XX” wristbands to a Bow High School girls’ soccer game have an appeal hearing scheduled before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Anthony Foote, Kyle Fellers, Nicole Foote, and Eldon Rash are appealing U.S. District Court Judge Stephen McAuliffe’s ruling in favor of the district. McAuliffe ruled that SAU 67 has the legal authority to restrict its protest to protect a biological male playing on a girls’ soccer team... The appeal is scheduled for a Nov. 5 hearing in Boston. Freedomcast: Grading Anti-SLAPP Statutes: IFS's 2025 Report Card .....David Keating, President of the Institute for Free Speech, discuses IFS' recently released report titled, “Anti-SLAPP Statutes: 2025 Report Card,” what protections these laws afford, and why they are important in combating meritless, speech-suppressing lawsuits. FEC Washington Examiner: FEC vice chairman resigns, eyes Chip Roy’s Texas House seat By Paul Bedard .....The vice chairman of the Federal Election Commission said on Thursday he was resigning to consider a bid for an open House seat in Texas, leaving the agency with just two commissioners, two short of a quorum. James E. “Trey” Trainor III told Washington Secrets that his resignation is effective Oct. 3 and that he is “seriously evaluating” a run for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who has entered the GOP primary for Texas attorney general. “It has been an honor to serve in this role since President Trump appointed me in 2020, despite the long confirmation process that began in 2017,” said Trainor. He added, “Looking back on my tenure, I’m proud of several key moments: serving twice as chairman of the agency, overseeing DOGE-related activities on behalf of the president, and representing the United States as an international election monitor in Costa Rica and Romania. Additionally, I’ve had the privilege of testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on the weaponization of campaign finance laws against President Trump, and before the House Administration Committee on the broader issue of government overreach against everyday citizens under the Biden administration.” WCPT 820: Interview: Ellen Weintraub .....Edwin Eisendrath is joined by Ellen L. Weintraub, former commissioner and four-time chair of the U.S. Federal Election Commission, and currently a senior fellow at End Citizens United. Weintraub discussed the impact of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision on election integrity and campaign finance, and criticized the Court's consistency in protecting people's rights to spend money in politics. FCC Campaign for Accountability: Watchdog Files DC Bar Complaint Over Brendan Carr’s Threats to Broadcasters .....Today, Campaign for Accountability (CfA) filed a bar complaint asking the District of Columbia Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate Brendan Carr, a member of both the D.C. and Maryland bars, and current Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for potential violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers. Mr. Carr’s recent actions—invoking his regulatory authority to publicly demand ABC/Disney terminate late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for his commentary, threatening to investigate broadcasters that air political content with which Mr. Carr disagrees, and claiming Mr. Kimmel’s statement regarding Charlie Kirk constitutes news distortion—may violate numerous Rules. Read CfA’s complaint. The Courts South Dakota Searchlight: SD university professor files lawsuit opposing termination for social media post about Charlie Kirk By Makenzie Huber .....A University of South Dakota art professor facing the loss of his job over his online comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to stop the university and state Board of Regents from terminating his employment. Michael Hook, a tenured art professor, is alleging his placement on administrative leave and impending termination are a violation of his constitutional right to free speech. Hook wrote social media posts on his personal account in reaction to the killing of Kirk, a prominent conservative political commentator who was fatally shot on Sept. 10 during a public event at a Utah university. Congress The Federalist: Sen. Whitehouse Worries Trump Will Threaten Free Speech By Using His Own Playbook By Michael A. Fragoso .....The First Amendment has a new and unlikely champion. In last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Seventh Circuit nominee Rebecca Taibleson, Democrat Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse came out strongly against the prosecution and harassment of disfavored speech… How the worm has turned. Whitehouse is correct, of course, political speech should not be “burdened with investigation” or prosecuted just because it happens to disagree with those in power. It’s also entirely inconsistent with the views of the senator and his allies on the left. The very day before Taibleson’s hearing, Whitehouse launched an investigation to harass private entities that he suspects used their First Amendment right to petition the government in ways of which he disapproves. Whitehouse suspects these groups oppose the so-called “endangerment finding” at the EPA relating to greenhouse gases and, as such, they need to be burdened with investigation. This should come as no surprise to Whitehouse’s other victims, most notably Leonard Leo. For years, Whitehouse has given speech after speech — and sent letter after letter — to Leo. His schtick alleges corruption by the legal-conservative movement, but it’s not actual corruption in any way recognized by the law. It’s the “corruption” that comes when people work together to do things you don’t like. In the end, Mr. Whitehouse’s objections boil down to people spending money on advocacy campaigns of which he disapproves. Trump Administration The Hill: Vance: FCC chief’s Kimmel threat was ‘joke’ By Dominick Mastrangelo .....Vice President Vance on Wednesday argued that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr was not serious when he suggested last week that comedian Jimmy Kimmel be taken off the air over comments the host made about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. “What people will say is, ‘Well, you know, didn’t the FCC commissioner put a tweet out that said something bad? … compare that, the FCC Commissioner making a joke on social media,” Vance told reporters during a press conference in North Carolina. “What is the government action that the Trump administration has engaged in to kick Jimmy Kimmel or anybody else off the air? Zero.” “What government pressure have we brought to bear to tell people that they’re not allowed to speak their mind? Zero,” he added. Vance insisted that President Trump’s administration “believes in free speech.” “We are fighting every single day to protect it,” the vice president said. “Now compare that to the Biden administration, where we found out just yesterday that conservatives on YouTube and on a number of social media platforms were being censored.” Free Expression The Tennessean: As free speech debates rage, Americans have low understanding of First Amendment By Angele Latham .....The Freedom Forum’s annual State of Free Speech survey, which surveys citizens regarding their awareness, understanding and support of the First Amendment, presented new findings Sept. 25 amid weeks of intense free speech debate. According to the new data, collected in August, Americans remain divided on what they perceive to be the purpose and limitations of the First Amendment… [S]ome of this year’s top findings are: • 32% of respondents said preventing hate speech is more important than protecting free speech, the lowest level of agreement since the first time the question was posed by the survey in 2020. • Despite being deemed most important constitutional right, some people feel that the First Amendment goes too far in what it protects. According to the data, 23% of Black respondents and 19% of Hispanic respondents say that the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees, higher than the national average of 13%. • 17% of Gen Z and 19% of millennials said it goes too far, compared to 9% of Gen X and Baby Boomers. • The majority of Americans self-censor their speech, but that number has decreased slightly from last year’s survey. Fox News: CNN reporter says liberals should 'actively acknowledge' their role in cancel culture By Lindsay Kornick .....CNN’s Abby Phillip said Saturday that liberals need to "actively acknowledge" their role in pushing cancel culture and censorship if they want the nation to move forward... Though Phillip criticized Republicans for celebrating despite their push for free speech, she agreed with another panelist who argued liberals have been, by contrast, "too censorious" in the past. "I think that’s something more liberals should say," Phillip said. "I think it would help. They should acknowledge, not just in passing, but actively acknowledge where things went wrong. That’s the only way to move forward, I think, in a way." When asked what liberals should admit, Phillip said they must recognize that cancel culture was an issue before Kimmel’s suspension. "It was actually a thing, and it’s not just enough to say, well, my cancel culture was fine, but yours is wrong," Phillip said. "There has to be an acknowledgment that, yeah, now I think everybody understands what free speech really looks like and what it means, and then you have to apply that thinking to what was happening four, five, six years ago in this country and say something about it." Breitbart: Roseanne Barr Bashes Disney’s ‘Double Standard’ as Kimmel Returns to TV: ‘I Got My Whole Life Ruined’ By Simon Kent .....Roseanne Barr has bashed Disney’s double standard after it allowed Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night TV following an ever-so-brief suspension, declaring Wednesday “I got my whole life ruined.” Barr’s hit sitcom Roseanne was cancelled in 2018 by ABC Entertainment, property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company, after the actress posted a social media critique of former Barack Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. In it she invoked the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes, as Breitbart News reported. Barr apologized for the tweet. She said it was a “bad joke” that was “in bad taste,” adding she was under the influence of the sedative Ambien... However, the actress-comedian feels a double standard is at play after Kimmel’s rushed return. “It just shows how they think. I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness, all of my work stolen, and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone,” the 72-year-old told NewsNation. “It’s a double standard.” Bloomberg Law ("Exclusive Jurisdiction with David Lat"): Big Law Leans Left—and Is Moving Further Left, Research Shows .....In 2024, the US electorate moved to the right. In 2020, Joe Biden won the popular vote by 4.4 percentage points, but in 2024, Donald Trump carried the popular vote by 1.5 percentage points—a 6-point swing. Did Big Law attorneys also become more conservative between 2020 and 2024? Apparently not. New research suggests that Big Law, already quite liberal, moved even further to the left during this four-year period. The States Nevada Independent: With political AI images on the rise, Nevada hopes new disclosure rule will curb abuse .....But a recently passed law (AB73) seeks to mitigate such use of AI on the political battlefield. Introduced by Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and set to take effect in January, the unanimously passed law will require disclosure of any use of AI in election material related to candidates, groups of candidates or political parties made by a candidate or campaign. It also allows candidates depicted in AI materials without the legally required disclosures to seek a legal injunction stopping people or groups from disseminating the altered images. Aguilar says the law will help voters get “accurate information that they can really rely on to make their decision when voting.” “AI is becoming more sophisticated,” Aguilar said in an interview with The Nevada Independent. “If it’s bad information or it’s a bad actor, you want the voter to know the source of that information.” Nevada is among 26 states that have implemented laws regulating AI use in campaigns, from Florida to Minnesota, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many of those states impose civil penalties of thousands of dollars and allow candidates to seek damages if harmed by the use of AI. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." 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