The Supreme Court on December 19, 2025, delivered the Trump administration its first significant defeat on the emergency “shadow docket” since April 2025, refusing to block a lower court ruling that allows immigration judges to proceed with their First Amendment lawsuit challenging a …
Supreme Court of the United StatesDonald TrumpNational Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)Department of Justice4th Circuit Court of Appeals+3 moresupreme courtimmigration-judgesfirst amendmentfree speechshadow docket+5 more
On November 29, 2025, the Trump White House launched an official government webpage titled ‘Media Offenders’ (whitehouse.gov/mediabias)—a public enemies list for journalists and news organizations that criticize the administration. Announced the previous day by Press Secretary Karoline …
Donald TrumpKaroline LeavittWhite HouseThe Washington PostMSNBC+22 morepress-freedomfirst-amendmentauthoritarian-tacticsmedia-intimidationinstitutional-weaponization+4 more
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by commandeering Education Department employees’ email accounts to send partisan messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. The automated responses stated that the House passed …
Christopher CooperDepartment of EducationAmerican Federation of Government Employeesfirst-amendmentcivil-servicegovernment-shutdownjudicial-rebukepartisan-abuse
Federal officials told faith leaders gathered outside the Broadview ICE detention center in Illinois that ’there is no more prayer in front of building or inside the building because this is the state and it’s not [of a] religious background.’ The directive marked the third time …
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland SecurityMichael PflegerThomas MillsTricia McGlaughlin+1 moreicereligious-freedomfirst-amendmentdetentionimmigration+4 more
On November 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a devastating preliminary injunction against Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and federal immigration enforcement agents in Chicago, explicitly finding that Bovino “admitted that he lied” about the October 23, 2025 tear gas …
Judge Sara EllisGregory BovinoDepartment of Homeland SecurityCustoms and Border Protection (CBP)Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)+3 moregregory-bovinojudge-sara-ellisjudicial-rebukeperjuryconstitutional-violations+7 more
On October 23, 2025, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was caught on video personally throwing at least one tear gas canister into a crowd of protesters in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, directly violating a federal court restraining order issued just two weeks earlier by U.S. …
Gregory BovinoJudge Sara EllisDepartment of Homeland SecurityCustoms and Border Protection (CBP)Chicago Headline Club+1 moregregory-bovinoborder-patrolconstitutional-violationsjudicial-defianceuse-of-force+6 more
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 26, 2024, that neither state nor individual plaintiffs established standing to enjoin federal officials over alleged coercion of social-media platforms. Justice Barrett’s majority opinion found plaintiffs failed to show government actions caused platforms to …
Supreme Court of the United StatesJustice Amy Coney BarrettJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Neil Gorsuch+2 morecourtssocial-mediastandingfirst-amendmentcontent-moderation+3 more
Dataminr began providing the Los Angeles Police Department with real-time surveillance alerts about Gaza war protests just two days after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, demonstrating the company’s ongoing role in monitoring constitutionally protected political speech despite …
DataminrLAPDTalia Janesurveillancesocial-mediaprotestsgazapalestine+3 more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that White House officials, the Surgeon General, CDC, and FBI ’likely coerced or significantly encouraged’ social media platforms to censor content, constituting state action in violation of the First Amendment. The court found evidence of a …
Fifth Circuit Court of AppealsWhite HouseFBICDCSurgeon General+1 morecensorshipfirst-amendmentsocial-mediagovernment-overreachjudicial-ruling
Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause prohibits states from enforcing anti-discrimination laws against businesses providing “expressive” services when doing so would compel speech that violates the owner’s religious beliefs. Justice Gorsuch …
Supreme CourtJustice Neil GorsuchChief Justice John RobertsJustice Clarence ThomasJustice Samuel Alito+11 moresupreme-courtjudicial-capturelgbtq-rightsreligious-rightcivil-rights+2 more
A Connecticut jury awarded $965 million in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims, representing the largest defamation verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The landmark decision stemmed from Jones’ repeated false claims that the 2012 school shooting was a ‘hoax’, …
Alex JonesSandy Hook victim familiesConnecticut Superior Courtdefamationmedia-accountabilityconspiracy-theoriesfirst-amendmentlegal-precedent
A U.S. grand jury added 17 counts under the Espionage Act to the federal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, marking the first time in American history that the government used the 1917 anti-spying law to prosecute a publisher for receiving and publishing truthful classified …
Julian AssangeWikiLeaksDepartment of JusticeTrump Administrationespionage-actpress-freedomwikileaksfirst-amendmentextradition
The ACLU of Northern California released a report revealing that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram had provided special data access to Geofeedia, a surveillance technology company that marketed its location-based monitoring tools to law enforcement agencies for tracking Black Lives Matter protesters …
ACLUGeofeediaTwitterFacebookInstagramsurveillancesocial-mediablack-lives-matterprotestscivil-rights+3 more
Maine Governor Paul LePage threatened to withhold $500,000 in state funding from Good Will-Hinckley, a nonprofit charter school serving at-risk youth, to force the organization to rescind a job offer to Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves. Good Will-Hinckley had announced on June 9, 2015 that it …
Paul LePageMark EvesGood Will-Hinckleyabuse-of-powerinstitutional-capturepolitical-corruptionexecutive-overreachretribution+1 more
Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that aggregate limits on total contributions an individual can make to federal candidates, parties, and PACs over a two-year election cycle violate the First Amendment. Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined by Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Alito, with …
Supreme CourtChief Justice John RobertsShaun McCutcheonRepublican National CommitteeJustice Anthony Kennedy+5 morecampaign-financedark-moneysupreme-courtjudicial-capturecorporate-power+2 more
Microsoft and Google filed federal lawsuits challenging government gag orders that prohibited them from disclosing details about Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests and National Security Letters (NSLs) they receive for customer data. The companies argued these blanket nondisclosure …
MicrosoftGoogleBrad SmithDepartment of JusticeNSAnsa-surveillancetransparencytech-resistancefisa-requestsfirst-amendment+1 more
In March 2012, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, a founding member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), signed into law the nation’s first modern ag-gag statute, the Agricultural Production Facility Fraud law (Iowa Code Section 717A.3A), criminalizing whistleblower documentation of …
Iowa LegislatureGovernor Terry BranstadAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Agriculture Industrycorporate-impunitywhistleblower-suppressionalec-legislationregulatory-capturefirst-amendment
FBI field offices around the country began surveilling Occupy Wall Street organizers as early as August 2011—a month before the first protesters arrived at Zuccotti Park—treating the nonviolent economic justice movement as a potential terrorist threat despite acknowledging internally that organizers …
FBIDepartment of Homeland SecurityOccupy Wall StreetJoint Terrorism Task Forcefbi-abusesurveillanceprotest-suppressionfirst-amendmentdomestic-spying
FBI agents executed coordinated early-morning raids on the homes and offices of anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minneapolis, Chicago, and other cities, seizing computers, phones, documents, and political materials. The raids targeted activists organizing against the Iraq and …
FBIDepartment of JusticeAnti-war activistsGrand juryfbi-abusesurveillanceprotest-suppressionfirst-amendmentpolitical-repression
Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on elections through independent expenditures, enabling creation of Super PACs and dark money networks. The decision dramatically reshaped campaign finance, allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds on independent …
Supreme CourtCitizens UnitedFederal Election Commission (FEC)Justice Anthony KennedyJustice John Paul Stevensdark-moneycampaign-financesupreme-courtcorporate-powerfirst-amendment+1 more
Justice Lewis Powell delivers majority opinion in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (435 U.S. 765), establishing for first time that corporations have First Amendment speech rights to influence ballot initiatives and political campaigns. Powell’s 5-4 decision strikes down Massachusetts …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Supreme Court of the United StatesFirst National Bank of BostonFrancis X. Bellotti (Massachusetts Attorney General)Corporate Interestscorporate-speech-rightsfirst-amendmentbellotti-decisionpowell-memo-implementationcampaign-finance+1 more
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. authors the majority opinion in Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, establishing First Amendment protection for commercial speech by striking down state restrictions on prescription drug price advertising. This landmark decision creates …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.William BrennanWarren BurgerByron WhiteThurgood Marshall+1 morecommercial-speechfirst-amendmentcorporate-rightsjudicial-captureconstitutional-expansion
On June 17, 1957, the Supreme Court issued three decisions that significantly limited McCarthyist overreach: Yates v. United States, Watkins v. United States, and Service v. Dulles. Known as “Red Monday” to conservative critics, these rulings began the judicial rollback of the security …
Earl WarrenU.S. Supreme CourtOleta O'Connor YatesCommunist Party USADepartment of Justicecivil-libertiesjudicialfirst-amendmentmccarthyismred-scare+1 more
By 1952, the Hollywood blacklist had reached its peak, with over 300 writers, directors, actors, and other film industry professionals banned from employment. What began with the Hollywood Ten’s 1947 contempt citations expanded through HUAC hearings, private “clearance” systems, …
Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American IdealsStudio executivesHouse Un-American Activities CommitteeAmerican LegionFBI+1 moremccarthyismcivil-libertiesblacklistentertainment-industryfirst-amendment+1 more
On June 4, 1951, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in Dennis v. United States, upholding the convictions of eleven Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act of 1940. The decision effectively criminalized political advocacy, allowing prosecution for teaching or advocating revolutionary …
Fred VinsonU.S. Supreme CourtEugene DennisCommunist Party USADepartment of Justicemccarthyismcivil-libertiesjudicialfirst-amendmentred-scare+1 more
In early 1951, the Hollywood Ten—screenwriters and directors cited for contempt of Congress in 1947 for refusing to answer HUAC’s questions about Communist Party membership—were released after serving prison terms ranging from six months to one year. Their freedom from incarceration, however, …
Hollywood TenDalton TrumboRing Lardner Jr.John Howard LawsonHouse Un-American Activities Committee+1 moremccarthyismcivil-libertiesblacklistentertainment-industryfirst-amendment+1 more
President Harry Truman vetoes the Internal Security Act of 1950 (McCarran Act) on September 22, 1950, sending Congress a lengthy veto message criticizing specific provisions as “the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798,” a …
Pat McCarranKarl MundtHarry TrumanHubert HumphreyU.S. Congress+4 moremccarthyismred-scarecongressional-actioncivil-libertieshuac+1 more
Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, issues the two-page Waldorf Statement on November 25, 1947, following a closed-door meeting by forty-eight motion picture company executives at New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on November 24, 1947. The statement is …
Motion Picture Association of AmericaEric JohnstonLouis B. MayerEddie MannixHarry Cohn+16 morehollywood-blacklistmccarthyismred-scarecorporate-complicityfirst-amendment+1 more
The House Un-American Activities Committee opens its first postwar hearings on October 20, 1947, investigating alleged Communist influence in Hollywood with Chairman J. Parnell Thomas presiding and Robert E. Stripling serving as chief counsel. Drawing upon lists provided in The Hollywood Reporter, …
House Un-American Activities CommitteeJ. Parnell ThomasRobert E. StriplingWalt DisneyJack L. Warner+8 morehuachollywood-blacklistmccarthyismred-scarecorporate-complicity+1 more
Congress passes the Alien Registration Act, commonly known as the Smith Act after its sponsor Representative Howard W. Smith of Virginia, on June 28, 1940. The law makes it a criminal offense to “knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise, or teach the duty, necessity, desirability, or …
Howard W. SmithCongressDepartment of JusticeFranklin D. Rooseveltcivil-libertiesfirst-amendmentpolitical-persecutionred-scarelabor-suppression+1 more
The Supreme Court rules 7-2 in Gitlow v. New York to uphold Benjamin Gitlow’s conviction under New York’s Criminal Anarchy Act for publishing “The Left Wing Manifesto,” a socialist pamphlet advocating revolutionary mass action. Justice Edward Sanford’s majority opinion …
Edward SanfordBenjamin GitlowU.S. Supreme CourtOliver Wendell Holmescivil-libertiesfirst-amendmentred-scaresupreme-courtlabor-suppression
The Supreme Court upheld the Sedition Act convictions of five Russian Jewish immigrants who had distributed leaflets opposing U.S. military intervention against the Bolshevik Revolution. In a 7-2 decision, the majority found that criticizing American military policy and calling for a general strike …
Supreme Court of the United StatesJustice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Justice Louis BrandeisJacob Abramsfree-speechjudicial-captureprogressive-erasedition-actfirst-amendment
Congress passed the Sedition Act on May 16, 1918, extending the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and expression of opinion that cast the government or war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds. The Act forbade the use of …
U.S. CongressPresident Woodrow WilsonU.S. Postmaster Generalcivil-libertiesfirst-amendmentpolitical-repressionprogressive-era
The House of Representatives passes the Pinckney Resolutions, authored by Henry L. Pinckney of South Carolina, establishing what becomes known as the “gag rule”—a resolution automatically “tabling” all antislavery petitions, prohibiting them from being printed, read, …
Henry L. PinckneyJohn Quincy AdamsU.S. House of RepresentativesAmerican Anti-Slavery SocietyPro-slavery Democratsgag-ruleslave-powerlegislative-capturecensorshipfirst-amendment+1 more