“We Knew They Were Paying Informants”: SPLC Donors Reject Trump DOJ Fraud Claims
Twenty donors to the Southern Poverty Law Center said the alleged “fraud” being prosecuted in their name was exactly how they hoped the group would spend their money.
Chilling Dissent
An alarming sea change has become a hallmark of the second Trump administration: an inversion of the assumption that, for the most part, Americans are protected by their right to free speech. First Amendment rights are under attack, as Trump uses the tools of the U.S. government to crack down and even punish protesters, journalists, critics, and more.
Voices
Kash Patel Is Using MAGA’s Favorite Tool to Muzzle the Free Press
By suing The Atlantic for defamation, the FBI director is leveraging one of Trump’s legal tactics to tamp down free speech.
The Short and Ridiculous Trial of a Protester Arrested in an Inflatable Penis Costume
An Alabama cop who confronted the No Kings protester claimed she posed a risk to public safety. The judge was unconvinced.
LAPD Deployed Drones to Spy on No Kings Protest
Flight records show that Los Angeles police dispatched drones 32 times over last month’s No Kings rally.
Armed Off-Duty Cop Tried to Incite Violence at a High School Anti-ICE Protest
“My plan is legitimately to just let them all assault me and you guys arrest them all,” the Phoenix cop told fellow police after the incident.
Facebook and Instagram Tighten Censorship Rules for Saying “Antifa”
Meta’s new rules let it ban users or suppress comments that include the word “antifa” alongside “content-level threat signals.”
A Redditor Criticized ICE. Trump Is Trying to Unmask Them by Dragging the Company to a Secret Grand Jury.
An ICE summons to get the user’s identity failed. Advocates worry the move to a grand jury signals an escalation of the war on dissent.
DHS Launches Massive “Less Lethal” Chemical Weapons Buying Spree
Federal agents’ indiscriminate use of tear gases and “less-lethal” projectiles has become a mainstay of protest crackdowns.
Grandmother Faces Trial in Alabama for Wearing Penis Costume to No Kings Protest
When the viral video cooled off, people thought the case against the 62-year-old would be dropped. Prosecutors doubled down.
Voices
Trump's FCC Chief Says His Censorship Protects the Little Guy. It Really Serves One Powerful Man.
When you look at the fights FCC chair Brendan Carr actually picks, they aren’t local stories at all. They’re tailored for Donald Trump.