■ Warnings from federal agents to online critics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are sparking concern among free-speech advocates that the Trump administration is targeting protected political speech, The Independent reported.
■ In a “messy” democracy, the July 4 march by a white supremacist group in the nation’s capital was protected free speech, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNN.
■ The United States’ 250th birthday deserved more than fireworks. The real celebration should have focused on the revolutionary idea that free speech is a “principal pillar of a free government,” explained FIRE’s senior writer Angel Eduardo.
■ Carrying a rifle and a pen at the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn with George Custer and his troops, Mark Kellogg became the first American war reporter to die on the job.
Limitless. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, rolled back federal spending limits on campaign contributions, the majority concluding that limiting the amount of money political parties can spend in collaboration with a candidate is a violation of the First Amendment.
■ Supreme Court justices have refused to revive attorney Alan Dershowitz’s $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN over his comments that aired during the 2020 impeachment hearing of Donald Trump.
■ The high court declined to intervene on behalf of reporter Catherine Herridge who has been fined $800 a day for refusing to reveal a confidential source.
■ A former inmate cannot sue Louisiana prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs, the Supreme Court ruled.
Bridge too far. Eyeing a “bridge” between church and state, a Trump-appointed Religious Liberty Commission seems content to build around the First Amendment, according to an NBC News report.
■ Texas public-school students will have mandatory Bible readings in classrooms after the Texas State Board of Education recently approved a required list.
■ A University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor fired for social media criticism of Charlie Kirk after his death has reached a $1.9 million settlement with the school.
■ A Trump administration plan to overhaul the student-loan forgiveness program was struck down on First Amendment grounds by a pair of federal judges.
■ Citing the petition process as “core political speech,” a federal judge struck down several newly passed Arkansas laws on gathering signatures for ballot petitions.
Escorted out. A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to halt a policy that required journalists to be accompanied by an official escort to have media access there.
■ The Justice Department issued and then withdrew subpoenas that sought to compel reporters to testify before a grand jury.
■ The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to a man who was detained illegally for taunting National Guardsmen by playing the Darth Vader theme song from “Star Wars” on his cellphone.
■ A new nonprofit tax structure will allow a struggling Kentucky legacy newspaper to keep publishing.
■ Tennessee is memorializing the impact of trailblazer Rosetta Miller-Perry, editor and publisher of the country’s only statewide African-American newspaper, who passed away at 91.
■ A Trump administration plan to overhaul the student-loan forgiveness program was struck down on First Amendment grounds by a pair of federal judges.
■ Citing the petition process as “core political speech,” a federal judge struck down several newly passed Arkansas laws on gathering signatures for ballot petitions.
Escorted out. A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to halt a policy that required journalists to be accompanied by an official escort to have media access there.
■ The Justice Department issued and then withdrew subpoenas that sought to compel reporters to testify before a grand jury.
■ The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to a man who was detained illegally for taunting National Guardsmen by playing the Darth Vader theme song from “Star Wars” on his cellphone.
■ A new nonprofit tax structure will allow a struggling Kentucky legacy newspaper to keep publishing.
■ Tennessee is memorializing the impact of trailblazer Rosetta Miller-Perry, editor and publisher of the country’s only statewide African-American newspaper, who passed away at 91.