Category: Free Speech

Columns, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics

“MyPillow Guy” Becomes a Nightmare for a Jan. 6 Rioter — and for Free Speech

Below is my column in The Hill on the re-arrest of an Iowa man who took part in the January 6th riot. The case raises a growing concern over the way courts are weighing the political views of defendants a matter for bail and sentencing.  While raising such concerns inevitably brings out an Internet mob and accusations of being a “fellow traveler,” free speech often demands the protection of the least popular individuals in our society. Many of those who long denounced the censorship of suspected Communists in the 1950s now support censorship or blacklisting of individuals on the right. Others remain conspicuously silent in the face of speech sanctions or censorship. The Jensen case reflects a new sense of license in weighing the political views of defendants in determining whether to release or to jail them.

Here is the column: Continue reading ““MyPillow Guy” Becomes a Nightmare for a Jan. 6 Rioter — and for Free Speech” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Torts

Australia High Court Delivers Major Blow to Free Speech In Defamation Ruling

Free speech has always held a precarious position in Australia which does not have an equivalent to the First Amendment in guaranteeing free speech as a constitutional right. Despite this history, a new decision out of the High Court is still shocking in its implications for further attacks on free speech. The court ruled that newspapers and television stations that post articles on social media sites like Facebook are liable for other third party comments on those posts. The ruling, if replicated in other countries, could accelerate the censorship of viewpoints on the Internet. Continue reading “Australia High Court Delivers Major Blow to Free Speech In Defamation Ruling” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech

Federal Court Rules Against SUNY-Binghamton in Important Free Speech Challenge

There is an interesting ruling this week out of New York where a federal court has ruled in favor of a conservative student group alleging that the State University of New York at Binghamton has engaged in a pattern of censorship of conservative speakers and events. We previously discussed the controversy. What makes this lawsuit by the Young America’s Foundation particularly significant is the allegation that SUNY-Binghamton barred events by allowing protesters to shut them down. Lawrence Khan, a U.S. district judge denied SUNY Binghamton’s motion to dismiss. I discuss this type of failure to protect public forums in my forthcoming law review article, Jonathan Turley, Harm and Hegemony: The Decline of Free Speech in the United States, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy (forthcoming). Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Against SUNY-Binghamton in Important Free Speech Challenge” →

Academia, Free Speech, International

Australian Court Overturns Dismissal Of Anti-Israeli Professor
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There is an important ruling on academic freedom out of Australia where one of the most controversial academic figures in the country secured a ruling from a federal court to overturn his dismissal by Sidney University. Professor Tim Anderson was fired after inserting a swastika in the middle of an Israeli flag and posting a picture of a lunch in which one of the guests wore badges that said “Death to Israel” and “Curse the Jews” written in Arabic.  The lower court found that the academic freedom promised Anderson upon his hiring was unenforceable and largely aspirational. The ruling (below) found an enforceable standard, though this does not end the long controversy over Anderson’s status. Continue reading “Australian Court Overturns Dismissal Of Anti-Israeli Professor” →

Academia, Free Speech

Colorado University-Boulder Conference: “Decolonize” Yourself But Not With a “Sense of Urgency”

Faculty across the country are being asked or required to take courses on diversity and equity as part of anti-racism programs. There are remarkable differences between these programs, including one at the Colorado University at Boulder where faculty and graduate students are taught to shed the “cultural norms of white supremacy” and to “decolonize” their classes. According to the conservative site Campus Reform, this includes rejecting “neoliberal” concepts of time by combating “perfectionism” and the “sense of urgency.” Continue reading “Colorado University-Boulder Conference: “Decolonize” Yourself But Not With a “Sense of Urgency”” →

Academia, Free Speech

Sonoma State Professor Faces Calls For Termination Over Failure to Include Trigger Warnings in Film Course

We recently discussed the inclusion of “trigger warning” as an oppressive term. However, the failure to include such a warning is the basis for a campaign to fire Sonoma State University film Professor Ajay Gehlawat. Gehlawat has opposed such required warnings and later was targeted for failing to include such a warning on an assigned film that depicted as rape scene. Continue reading “Sonoma State Professor Faces Calls For Termination Over Failure to Include Trigger Warnings in Film Course” →

Academia, Criminal law, Free Speech

Duquesne Professor Under Fire After White Suicide Lecture

While Johnny Mandel sang “suicide is painless,” it is apparently also ethical. Duquesne University Psychology professor Derek Hook is under fire this week after arguing in class that white people may find that the ethical option for the dismantling of white culture is suicide. As will likely come as little surprise to many on this blog, I oppose calls for Hook’s termination as a matter of academic freedom. Continue reading “Duquesne Professor Under Fire After White Suicide Lecture” →

Free Speech, Media

“You Might Be the Fascist”: MSNBC Host Joy Reid Defends Antifa Despite Its Violent, Anti-Free Speech History

This week we discussed the California Government teacher Gabriel Gipe who boasted about his flying an Antifa flag at Inderkum High School and explaining that he has only “180 days to turn them into revolutionaries.” On MSNBC, host Joy Reid went to social media to defend Antifa as an organization as merely those fighting fascism. She based that claim entirely on the name rather than the well-documented violent history of the group. Since I have written previously about Antifa and testified in the Senate on that history, I wanted to offer a counter view.  What is breathtaking is that Reid defends Antifa despite its attacks on journalists, bloggers, and other writers but says that criticism of the group indicates that you are also a fascist.

Continue reading ““You Might Be the Fascist”: MSNBC Host Joy Reid Defends Antifa Despite Its Violent, Anti-Free Speech History” →

Academia, Free Speech, Politics

California Teachers Trigger Free Speech Debate Over Antifa and Gay Pride Flags in the Classrooms

Two California teachers are under investigations in separate incidents involving classroom flags and videos this month. Government teacher Gabriel Gipe is under fire for boasting about his flying an Antifa flag at Inderkum High School and explaining that he has only “180 days to turn them into revolutionaries.” That controversy comes just days after another California teacher, Kristen Pitzen, boasted how she removed the American flag because it made her uncomfortable and replaced it with a gay pride flag.  She laughed how students were then left to say the pledge of allegiance to the gay pride flag at Back Bay High School in Costa Mesa. Both raise similar issues of when free speech is not a complete defense for educators. Continue reading “California Teachers Trigger Free Speech Debate Over Antifa and Gay Pride Flags in the Classrooms” →

Free Speech, Media, Politics

American Social Scoring? Chase Bank Allegedly Cancels The Account and Credit Card of Michael Flynn

Chase Bank’s motto “What Matters Most” took on a menacing meaning this week after Michael Flynn claimed that the bank canceled his account and the credit card due to the “possible reputational risk to our company.” If true, the report is a chilling expansion of the role of private companies to isolate and harass those with controversial views in our society. As shown with censorship, such private enforcement of speech controls has proven far more dangerous and effective than the traditional government programs. Indeed, the move would show how a type of Chinese “social scoring” could easily take hold in the United States.

Continue reading “American Social Scoring? Chase Bank Allegedly Cancels The Account and Credit Card of Michael Flynn” →

Free Speech, International, Religion, Society

The Day the Music Died: Taliban Ban Music and Then Execute Leading Afghan Folk Singer

Roughly 50 years ago, Don McLean released his son song, “American Pie” with its famous line about “The Day the Music Died.” It was a reference to when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson died along with pilot Roger Peterson in an airplane crash. For Afghans, the day the music died coincided with the Taliban takeover of their country. Nothing drove home that fact than the horrific killing of Afghan folk singer Fawad Andarabi, who was executed by the Taliban for playing music. Continue reading “The Day the Music Died: Taliban Ban Music and Then Execute Leading Afghan Folk Singer” →

Free Speech, Media

Twitter Permanently Bans Former NYT Journalist Alex Berenson

Twitter LogoWe previously discussed how Twitter’s growing censorship program has targeted former New York Times journalist and author Alex Berenson who is an outspoken critic of the government’s scientific claims and response to the pandemic. Berenson was previously suspended for merely expressing an opinion over the need for a “pause” on any federal mandates on Covid-19 as new research is studied. Twitter also suspended a journalist for posting CDC information that was deemed as critical of its own official line on vaccines. Now he is permanently suspended after his criticism the vaccine and possible side effects. Twitter has again showed that it will silence those who dare to disagree or even question its approved narrative and that of government.

Continue reading “Twitter Permanently Bans Former NYT Journalist Alex Berenson” →

Free Speech, Politics

San Diego Proposal On Combatting Covid “Misinformation” Triggers Free Speech Concerns

There is growing controversy in San Diego after the county board of supervisors introduced a proposal to declare “health misinformation a public health crisis” and enact measures to try to “combat” views deemed untrue or misleading. As a free speech advocate, I do not share some of the objections made to the proposals. However, one item is deeply concerning. Continue reading “San Diego Proposal On Combatting Covid “Misinformation” Triggers Free Speech Concerns” →

Academia, Free Speech, Politics

Former Miami Law Professor Files Federal Challenge Over Alleged Race and Gender Basis