CNN: Pastor shot by ICE with pepper balls speaks out in first TV interview [Video]
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Tag Archives: First Amendment
WPXI Pittsburgh: Ambridge police department facing lawsuit after 2 people were arrested while protesting ICE [Video]
Cell phone video shows the arrests of two people who went to the Borough of Ambridge to protest and observe an ICE operation in the community.
San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Something dramatic has happened’: Robert Reich says U.S. is finally seeing Trump’s true impact
America is finally starting to wake up to Donald Trump and the actions of his administration, a shift that former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich believes could help restore faith in democracy.
That’s the optimistic belief shared Reich and Oakland comedian W. Kamau Bell, who engaged in a spirited discussion before some 2,000 people at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall after a screening of “The Last Class,” a documentary about Reich’s career.
“Something dramatic has happened,” Reich said onstage Wednesday, Oct. 8. “Something has come out into the open that a lot of people who are on the edge, a lot of independents, a lot of people who really don’t know their politics, who are a little bit afraid — they are now seeing the news. And they’re saying, ‘What, the Texas National Guard is coming into Chicago over the objections of the mayor and the governor of Illinois, and they are coming in there and they are doing what? And the president is saying what? ’”
Bell added, “They’re raiding apartment buildings, filled with people in the middle of the night, pulling them out of their beds and zip-tying children.”
Reich said that the optics of such policies are so awful that it “activates.”
“It enables people to see something that is not just political,” he continued. “It’s not right versus left, it is not Democrats versus Republicans, it’s fundamental: democracy versus facism.”
“The Last Class,” directed by Elliot Kirschner and produced by Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse and Josh Melrod, follows Reich, now 79, during his last semester as a professor at UC Berkeley after more than four decades of teaching.
Filmed in 2023, the indie documentary has become a surprise hit even without an official release. It has been shown in several Bay Area theaters over the past few months, mostly in one-off screenings, pulling in about $600,000 nationally. Highlights of its run include eight weeks at the Quad Cinema in New York and four weeks at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles.
The film has touched a nerve, not only because of Reich’s celebrity, but also because the course he taught, Wealth and Poverty, examines income inequality and its impact on American democracy.
“I believe that what’s happening in Washington now, and even Donald Trump, is not the cause of what’s ailing this country,” Reich observed. “It’s the culmination, the consequence, the ultimate result of 40 years or 50 years of us letting things happen. Not keeping our eye on the ball, getting off track, letting money dominate politics.
“I mean, we’ve got to get big money out of politics, don’t we? Republicans and Democrats have been drinking at the same trough, and it’s time for them to stop.”
Another tipping point, Bell observed, was the suspension of ABC late-night talk show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of comments he made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a subject on which Bell himself had strong opinions.
“How ironic is it that a rich white millionaire like Kimmel would be the canary in the coal mine?” Bell said.
Bell said he first heard about Kimmel’s suspension — which lasted less than week after an outcry by free speech advocates — while at the Atlantic Magazine Festival in New York last month. Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and lead investor and chair of the Atlantic, was at the event, along with many of the well-connected.
“I’ve never seen so many nervous rich white people in my life,” Bell said with a laugh. “It was this feeling of like, ‘Wait a minute, if they’re going after Kimmel, even we need to be afraid.’”
Bell added that stand-up comedy couldn’t exist without the First Amendment.
“I’m not in the Saudi Arabian comedy business,” he joked, referring to the controversy of American comedians performing at the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival, a Saudi government–backed event widely condemned by human rights groups as an effort to whitewash the kingdom’s record on free speech and LGBTQ rights.
“Stand-up comedy, as we define it globally, started in America,” Bell went on. “It was modernized by Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller and later George Carlin. People were like, ‘I have opinions. I’m going to say things that I shouldn’t say.’ So stand-up comedians more than anybody need to stand up for the First Amendment or else we cease to exist.
“So as much as I think it’s funny — ‘Yay, we saved the rich white guy’ — now let’s do (it for) the rest of us.”
Bell’s comments about free expression led to a broader discussion about civic responsibility — one echoed by Reich.
Reich said the antidote to facism is activism, and said the next “No Kings Day” protest against Trump’s policies set for on Oct. 18 is important.
“Be active for what you believe in,” he told the crowd, noting that his 17-year-old granddaughter was campaigning for Democratic New York City mayor nominee Zohran Mamdani. “Be active in terms of not just demonstrating, but also boycotting, protecting people in the community who are most vulnerable. Be active in terms of expressing yourself and your values.
“One thing that I’ve learned about bullies and tyrants is you can never appease them, ever, because they will always want more.”
‘Something dramatic has happened’: Robert Reich says U.S. is finally seeing Trump’s true impact
The former U.S. labor secretary and Oakland comedian W. Kamau Bell have a spirited discussion about the Trump administration and more after a screening of “The Last Class.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/last-class-robert-reich-trump-21087905.php
Knewz: Journalist carried off on stretcher after ‘violent attack by an ICE officer’
A routine day covering immigration hearings at a Manhattan federal building turned violent when a group of journalists were caught in a confrontation with ICE agents — leaving one photojournalist hospitalized.
Video captured by freelance photojournalist Stephanie Keith shows amNewYork’s Dean Moses following ICE agents into an elevator. Agents ordered Moses to leave before physically removing him. “Get the f*** out of the elevator!” one agent shouted. During the commotion, freelance journalist Olga Fedorova was knocked to the ground, potentially by another agent.
According to the Daily News, L. Vural Elibol, a photographer for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was also pushed during the scuffle. “They pushed me off, and as another guy pulled me from behind, I hear the other [journalists] fall,” Moses told the paper. “I just heard the resounding thud as they hit the floor.”
The altercation took place on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where ICE agents appeared to be escorting two women who had reportedly just completed an immigration hearing. During the chaos, at least one photojournalist was injured. Photos from the scene show the individual being carried out on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace. A co-worker later identified the injured journalist as Elibol, according to Gothamist.
Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller, condemned the altercation, calling it a “violent attack by an ICE officer.” He wrote on X, “Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza — this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher. Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors and our democracy.”
Journalist carried off on stretcher after ‘violent attack by an ICE officer’
A journalist was carried off on a stretcher after a confrontation with ICE agents at a Manhattan federal building.
https://knewz.com/journalist-carried-off-stretcher-following-violent-attack-ice-officer
Bully Boys @ work!
Daily Beast: ‘Dr. Antifa’ Professor Blocked From Flying After Trump Roundtable
A professor dubbed “Dr. Antifa” tried to flee the country amid threats to his life but was stopped at the gate and told his reservation had been canceled.
Mark Bray, a historian of modern Spain and the world, taught in Rutgers University’s history department in New Jersey until a Turning Point USA chapter petitioned for his firing.
“We believe in free speech and the First Amendment. However, this does not mean that one is free from the consequences of their actions,” the petition stated, calling Bray “Dr. Antifa” for the content of his academic work.
In 2017, Bray published Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, based on interviews with anti-fascists, which explores the movement’s philosophy and history. At Rutgers, he taught a course on the history of antifascism.
“My role in this is as a professor,” Bray told The New York Times in an interview shortly before his flight to Spain. “I’ve never been part of an antifa group, and I’m not currently. There’s an effort underway to paint me as someone who is doing the things that I’ve researched, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” the professor added.
Bray decided to flee the country ahead of death threats that he received following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which led to President Donald Trump designating Antifa—a broad and decentralized political movement that opposes fascism— as a domestic terrorist organization.
On the same day Bray was set to fly to Spain with his wife and two children, Trump hosted a White House roundtable focused on Antifa.
“‘Someone’ cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second,” Bray posted on Bluesky, adding, “We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’”
Since Sept. 26, Bray had received three death threats, including one threatening to kill him in front of his students, The Washington Post reported. His address had also been leaked on social media.
Students have posted screenshots on Reddit of Bray’s emails canceling or moving classes online, with many expressing disappointment that this was happening to their professor.
“Hope he enjoys his time in Europe, I was enjoying the class discussions,” one Reddit user said, posting an email from Bray that read: “Since my family and I do not feel safe in our home at the moment, we are moving for the year to Europe. Truly I am so bummed about not being able to spend time with you all in the classroom.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Rutgers University said that it “is committed to providing a secure environment — to learn, teach, work and research — where all members of our community can share their opinions without fear of intimidation or harassment.”
When asked about the threats to Bray, the White House claimed to The Times that “examples of Democrat violence are plentiful.”
After Bray announced his decision to leave the country, students launched another petition calling for the disbanding of Rutgers’ Turning Point USA chapter. As of Thursday, that petition had about 2,000 more signatures than the one calling for Bray’s firing.
“I think that all death threats and doxxing are unjustified and not how political disputes should be resolved in civilized society,” said Ava Kwan, a Turning Point USA chapter member, in an email to The Times on Wednesday. She added, “I think Dr. Antifa, who believes in violence as a political tool, should be fired, of course. Taxpayer money should not fund the salaries of terrorists.”
Bray and his family have rebooked their flight for Thursday, but hope to return to the U.S. and the classroom in the future. For now, his classes will be pre-recorded.
“I’m hopeful about returning, and I’m hopeful — and I say this as a history professor — that someday we will look back on this as a cautionary tale about authoritarianism,” Bray told The Times.
‘Dr. Antifa’ Professor Blocked From Flying After Trump Roundtable
A professor who taught classes on antifascism tried to flee to Europe, but his reservation was canceled.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dr-antifa-professor-blocked-from-flying-after-trump-roundtable
Sound as though someone hacked into his frequent flyer or travel agency account, or had enough personal info about him to fool the airline’s customer service folks to cancel the tickets.
MSNBC: Judge reinstates South Dakota professor who called Charlie Kirk a ‘hate spreading Nazi’
The art professor “demonstrated that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his First Amendment claim,” a federal judge wrote.
A University of South Dakota art professor can keep his job — for now, at least — despite his private Facebook post in which he called Charlie Kirk “a hate spreading Nazi” after Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah college.
A judge’s temporary restraining order keeping Phillip Michael Hook in his position while his lawsuit proceeds highlights that at least some employers may have overstepped legally in taking actions against employees for their speech about Kirk, the Trump-allied activist who has been eulogized as a free speech advocate. It also reinforces that Attorney General Pam Bondi was incorrect when she attempted to single out so-called hate speech as something that the First Amendment doesn’t protect.
Explaining her temporary ruling in Hook’s favor Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier reasoned that the professor’s speech “is entitled to First Amendment protection” and that the school failed to produce “any evidence of disruption” in response to Hook’s post. Such evidence wouldn’t necessarily justify his firing, but it would add a layer to the analysis that the Clinton appointee determined she didn’t have to examine here.
Hook wrote in his Sept. 10 post, which he made while at home and not working:
Okay. I don’t give a flying f*** about this Kirk person. Apparently he was a hate spreading Nazi. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the idiotic right fringe to even know who he was. I’m sorry for his family that he was a hate spreading Nazi and got killed. I’m sure they deserved better. Maybe good people could now enter their lives. But geez, where was all this concern when the politicians in Minnesota were shot? And the school shootings? And Capitol Police? I have no thoughts or prayers for this hate spreading Nazi. A shrug, maybe.
He wrote in a follow-up post that day, while still at home and not working:
Apparently my frustration with the sudden onslaught of coverage concerning a guy shot today led to a post I mow [sic] regret posting. I’m sure many folks fully understood my premise but the simple fact that some were offended, led me to remove the post. I extend this public apology to those who were offended. Om Shanti.
Republican state officials spoke out against the professor and supported his firing. The university told Hook that it intended to fire him and that he would be placed on leave in the meantime. He filed a lawsuit alleging unconstitutional retaliation against core political speech.
Opposing the restraining order in a court filing ahead of Schreier’s ruling, university officials wrote that Hook’s post “angered many people, both internal and external” to the university. They also said that a restraining order is unnecessary because even if Hook succeeds in his claim, he can get reinstatement and back pay.
Schreier nonetheless ordered Hook reinstated through Oct. 8, when the judge will hold a preliminary injunction hearing on the next steps in the case. For now, she wrote, the professor “has demonstrated that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his First Amendment claim.”
Bloomberg: Murdoch Calls Trump’s Epstein Suit ‘Affront’ to Free Speech
Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. asked a US judge to throw out President Donald Trump’s $10 billion libel lawsuit over a Wall Street Journal report tying him to a bawdy birthday note to the late Jeffrey Epstein, calling the case “an affront to the First Amendment.”
The July 17 story about a note bearing Trump’s signature that was sent to Epstein along with a sketch of a naked woman in 2003 is true and doesn’t defame the president’s character, lawyers for the 94-year-old News Corp. chairman emeritus said Monday in a request to dismiss the suit.
“By its very nature, this meritless lawsuit threatens to chill the speech of those who dare to publish content that the President does not like,” Murdoch and News Corp. said in the filing in federal court in Miami.
Trump sued July 18, accusing Murdoch, News Corp. and Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. of maligning his character. The suit was filed as the president was fighting a firestorm of criticism over the government’s handling of documents related to the late, disgraced financier. Epstein died in prison in 2019 as he faced sex-trafficking charges.
The Wall Street Journal story, which provided details of a “birthday book” of notes compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday, raised further pressure on Trump, who has long denied any awareness of Epstein’s activities. House Democrats investigating the sex-trafficking operation run by Epstein earlier this month released the alleged birthday note that they said Trump sent to the late disgraced financier.
“Two weeks ago, in response to a congressional subpoena, Epstein’s estate produced the Birthday Book, which contains the letter bearing the bawdy drawing and plaintiff’s signature, exactly as The Wall Street Journal reported,” Murdoch and News Corp. said in the filing.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Murdoch and News Corp. said in their filing that the First Amendment’s protections for truthful speech “are the backbone of the Constitution.”
Trump “acknowledged his friendship with Epstein,” Murdoch and News Corp. said in the filing. “As the article reports, three months before the Birthday Book was gifted to Epstein, a New York magazine article quoted the plaintiff as saying that he had known Epstein for ‘15 years’ and that Epstein was a ‘terrific guy,’ ‘a lot of fun to be with,’ and ‘likes beautiful women as much as I do.’”
Murdoch in August agreed to provide Trump’s lawyers with a sworn declaration “describing his current health condition” as well as regular updates on his health as part of a deal to delay any deposition in the case.
The filing comes days after a judge tossed Trump’s $15 billion defamation suit against the New York Times, which accused it of serving as a “mouthpiece” for the Democrats. The judge in that case said Trump’s lawyers “unmistakably and inexcusably” violated court rules by featuring “repetitive,” “superfluous” and “florid” allegations and details in the complaint. The judge gave Trump permission to refile a shorter lawsuit within the rules.
Murdoch Calls Trump’s Epstein Suit ‘Affront’ to Free Speech
Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. asked a US judge to throw out President Donald Trump’s $10 billion libel lawsuit over a Wall Street Journal report tying him to a bawdy birthday note to the late Jeffrey Epstein, calling the case “an affront to the First Amendment.”
Talking Points Memo: Trump Administration Loses Plot During ‘Free Speech’ Struggle Session
Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️
To some extent, every new excess by the Trump administration is unsurprising to us, the writers and editors of Talking Points Memo, and, I imagine, to you, our readers. These guys told us what they were going to do, after all. It sounded authoritarian. Trump’s own former military leaders said he was “fascist.” But given that priming, we heavy consumers of news can, I think, sometimes lose track of how far the Trump administration has gone, even by its own standards.
Nicole on Thursday flagged an interview with CNBC during which FCC director Brendan Carr outlined his belief that both his agency and the “media ecosystem” overall are in the midst of a “massive shift” given the “permission structure that President Trump’s election has provided.”
“And I would simply say we’re not done yet with seeing the consequences of that,” Carr said.
“Will you only be pleased when none of these comedians have a show on broadcast television?” CNBC anchor David Faber asked.
“No, it’s not any particular show or any particular person,” Carr replied. “It’s just we’re in the midst of a very disruptive moment right now, and I just, frankly, expect that we’re going to continue to see changes in the media ecosystem.”
Carr and the rest of the Trump administration have tried to get a lot of mileage out of the whole idea that the 2024 election represented a substantiation of an American cultural “vibe shift” post-COVID (though Carr’s talk of a new, Trumpian “permission structure” is a particularly chilling way to articulate that idea).
But setting aside that Trump’s electoral victory was, in the end, not that large, are Trump’s leaders in government still doing what they understood themselves to have won permission to do?
“This was all in Project 2025, btw,” an actor from “Glee” tweeted, and Carr at 11:43 p.m. replied with that GIF of Jack Nicholson nodding with an ecstatic, unhinged look, a seeming affirmation that, yes, this was all the plan.
But was it? Carr, in fact, wrote the FCC chapter of Project 2025. There was nothing about revoking broadcast licenses or using the “Equal Time” rule in creative ways, as he has threatened to do with “The View,” a program that is seemingly his next ABC-broadcast target. “The FCC should promote freedom of speech,” his chapter of Project 2025 began.
That’s an ideal his party is now seemingly somewhat confused about. Early this week, Pam Bondi got in trouble for trying to distinguish anti-Charlie Kirk “hate speech” from “free speech.” “An FCC license, it’s not a right. It really is a privilege,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told Semafor on Thursday. “Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right. And that there should be almost no checks and balances on it. I don’t feel that way anymore,” she added. Other Republicans took the opposite side of the issue, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of all people calling Carr’s tactics “right out of Goodfellas.”
It’s in these moments where the Trump administration and its allies lose the plot — when they do an about-face on the same ideas they bear hugged in weeks and months and years prior, casting about for enemies to punish — that the MAGA coalition frays a bit, straining under the weight of cognitive dissonance. We saw the same thing with Trump’s short-lived war on Iran and, much more so, with his aggressive insistence that there was nothing important going on with that Jeffrey Epstein guy. The cause of ending cancel culture launched a thousand MAGA-aligned influencer careers; it is the supposed raison d’être of entire MAGA-friendly publications. Now that the government they serve has turned the page on free speech, what do they do?
It’s not just the MAGA faithful. Booting a late-night host watched by millions from the air over some muddled remarks about your slain political ally is the kind of thing that gets the attention of the “normies” who have decided to tune out from the whole lurid spectacle of American democracy in 2025. (Ditto for revising childhood vaccine recommendations while confessing you’re not even totally clear what you’re voting on.)
Ten years into this, only fools predict we’ve reached the beginning of the end of Donald Trump. And that’s not what I’m saying. But moments like these are not good for Trump’s already limited base of support, and bring us toward the next chapter of America’s authoritarian experiment, whatever that chapter may be.
Trump Administration Loses Plot During ‘Free Speech’ Struggle Session
Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️ To some extent,…
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/the-weekender/the-trump-admins-free-speech-struggle-session
Hollywood Reporter: Trump’s Attack on ABC Is Illegal. It Might Not Matter
The carrot or the stick? Trump has utilized every lever of government to target networks critical of him.
The chain of events that led to ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! unfolded unusually fast. It started with a thinly-veiled threat from Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr that his agency might take action against the network over accusations that the late night host mischaracterized the politics of the man who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said to right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Within five hours, Nextstar, an owner of ABC affiliate stations around the country, said that it would pre-empt the show “for the foreseeable future.” Minutes later, ABC pulled it indefinitely.
Since the start of his second term, President Trump has used every lever of government to fight back against what he considers conservative bias in mainstream media and adversarial coverage. By dangling carrots of selective regulatory enforcement and favorable regulation, he’s effectively been able to strongarm networks, which disguise the could-be censorship as private business decisions. Consider Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount, with CEO David Ellison intending to make major changes at CBS News, possibly by bringing on The Free Press founder Bari Weiss in a leading role at the network.
Kimmel was “fired because of bad ratings more than anyone else,” Trump, who predicted the late night host’s firing in July, said at a press conference in London. Later, he suggested revoking the licenses of adversarial broadcast networks. “I would think maybe their licenses should be taken away,” he said. Carr also told CNBC earlier in the morning that “we’re not done yet,” hinting at further changes in media.
And like approval of Paramount’s sink-or-swim merger with Skydance, Kimmel’s suspensions shines a spotlight on the power that Trump wields over dealmaking and regulatory matters in decisions with the potential to transform the long term trajectory of a company. Media execs are on notice: Bob Iger allowed ABC News’ settlement of a defamation lawsuit from Trump; Jeff Bezos revamped The Washington Post‘s opinion section to bring it more in line with Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal; Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong shifted the paper’s strategy to increasingly platform conservative views.
Here, Carr knew the affiliate networks had leverage. Nextstar reaches 220 millions viewers in the country, and it appears the company drew a hard line over Kimmel’s remarks. The FCC didn’t formally have to do anything.
“The threat is real,” says Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment lawyer who’s argued more than a dozen free speech cases before the Supreme Court.
To Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of U.C. Berkeley School of Law, lines were clearly crossed. “The government, including the FCC, never can impose sanctions for the views expressed,” he says. “But that is exactly what Carr threatened and ABC capitulated.”
Important to note: Nextstar is seeking regulatory approval for its $6.2 billion megamerger with Tegna that, if greenlit, would make it by far the largest owner of local TV stations in the country. But first, the FCC has to raise the 40 percent ownership cap in order to advance the deal.
By pre-empting Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Nextstar was able to curry favor with Carr. The company “stood up and said, ‘Look, we have the license, and we don’t want to run this anymore. We don’t think it serves the interests of our community,’” he said during a Wednesday segment on FOX News’ Hannity. “I’m very glad to see that America’s broadcasters are standing up to serve the interests of their community.”
Yes, Carr’s threat likely violates the First Amendment, legal scholars say, but that only matters if Disney is willing to go to court. The entertainment giant had clear incentives to fold. It has ambitions, perhaps ones that will require regulatory approval in the near future, outside of ABC. There’s the looming threat of government retaliation if it didn’t suspend Kimmel.
Recently, Disney has tried to avoid the partisan political fray. By its thinking, its brand is built on fairytales and fantasies, not taking positions on socially divisive topics, which have come with consequences (Conservatives go to Disney World too). Take the company, under pressure from its employees, criticizing a Florida education barring classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. State legislators, at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, responded by assuming control of the special tax district that encompasses its 25,000-acre resort. A years-long, bitter feud with its most vital partner for its parks business that likely contributed to former chief executive Bob Chapek’s ouster and a dragging stock price, which culminated in a proxy fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz, followed.
If it does sue, which is very unlikely, Disney could lean on precedent created by an unlikely ally: The National Rifle Association. In a case before the Supreme Court last year, the justices unanimously found that the gun group’s First Amendment rights were violated when New York state officials coerced private companies into blacklisting it. The takeaway, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, is that the constitution “prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.”
There are obvious parallels, says Eugene Volokh, a professor at U.C.L.A. law school and influential conservative blogger. “It’s clear that the FCC used coercive pressure — the threat of investigation or cancelling the Nextstar, Tegna merger,” he says.
It’s true that Kimmel’s remarks about the political affiliation of Kirk’s shooter were incorrect. It matters to get things right. But Carr’s intervention thrusts the FCC — and government — into a miscast role as the arbiter of truth. There’s a right to speculate on current events, even if it later turns out to be wrong.
“We’ve never been in a situation like this,” Abrams says. “It’s a real body blow to free expression.”
Alternet: ‘Go somewhere else’: Sheriff may file charges against Democrats over anti-Trump buttons
Members of the Ashland County, Ohio Democratic Party were recently escorted out of the county fair for displaying merchandise critical of President Donald Trump. And criminal charges could soon follow, according to the local sheriff.
Cleveland, Ohio-based ABC affiliate WEWS reported Friday that Ashland County Sheriff Kurt Schneider is contemplating filing criminal charges against the Democrats for displaying several buttons that he and other fairgoers found objectionable. WEWS reported that before the Democrats were escorted out, they were told to stop displaying the buttons. After several fairgoers continued to complain, deputies escorted the Democrats off of the fairgrounds.
One of the buttons in question shows a red baseball cap with “FELON” written on it, and the text “is he dead yet” underneath. Another button has a red baseball cap bearing the message “RESIST” with the caption “8647” (which is a reference to both a restaurant term to get rid of something on the menu and Trump being the 47th president of the United States).
Both Schneider and fairgoer Dan Kaufman viewed the buttons as “threatening,” and the sheriff said he had contacted the U.S. Secret Service over the buttons. He said he hadn’t ruled out pressing charges, but didn’t immediately specify what charges he was considering.
“Everybody can say anything, right? But then what are the consequences of what you say?” Schneider told WEWS. “This kind of nonsense, it can go somewhere else.”
State senator Bill DeMora (D) argued the buttons were protected speech, and blasted local authorities over their reaction.
“”This is censorship,” he said. “It’s a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.”
“”[Schneider] is wrong and will lose any battle in court,” he added.