Free Speech Rights

The Police State Muzzles Our Right to Speak Truth to Power

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“If the state could use [criminal] laws not for their intended purposes but to silence those who voice unpopular ideas, little would be left of our First Amendment liberties, and little would separate us from the tyrannies of the past or the malignant fiefdoms of our own age. The freedom to speak without risking arrest is ‘one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation.’”—Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissenting, Nieves v. Bartlett (2019)

How the Police State Muzzles Our Right to Speak Truth to PowerJohn W. Whitehead – Tyrants don’t like people who speak truth to power.

Cue the rise of protest laws, which take the government’s intolerance for free speech to a whole new level and send the resounding message that resistance is futile.

In fact, ever since the Capitol protests on Jan. 6, 2021, state legislatures have introduced a broad array of these laws aimed at criminalizing protest activities. Continue reading →

“Morally and Intellectually Corrupt”: UCLA Professor Resigns In Protest

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Professor Resigns in Protest over Viewpoint IntoleranceJonathan Turley – Anthropology professor Joseph Manson announced his retirement this month with a broadside blog post that detailed the loss of academic freedom and integrity at UCLA. Manson describes many of the things that I have previously addressed as standard measures used to force out dissenting or conservative voices, including the isolation and investigation of colleagues to get them to resign. He is now among that lengthening list of such faculty who have decided to cut their academic careers short rather than work under such intolerable conditions. Continue reading →

Free Speech Victory: Berkeley Reverses Decision On Coulter Speech

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speechJonathan Turley – The officials at the University of California at Berkeley have had a change of heart and agreed to the planned speech by conservative Ann Coulter.  The decision to cancel the speech was criticized on this blog and in other forums as the latest example of mob rule on our campuses.  The decision is a welcomed change.  Berkeley will now have to protect Coulter and those who want to hear her from the type of violent mob actions seen previously on that and other campuses.  This is by no means easy but it is a definitional test for an academic institution. We cannot be dictated to by the mob

The speech will occur on May 2 and will be  held at an “appropriate, protectable venue.” Continue reading →