First Amendment

Read the latest news stories on first amendment rights on Newser.com

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DC Man Sues After Detention for Playing Darth Vader Theme

ACLU claims First Amendment violation after a protest with Star Wars music

(Newser) - A Washington, DC, resident is suing after a protest in which he followed National Guard troops around and played "The Imperial March" from Star Wars resulted in his detention. Sam O'Hara, 35, filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, claiming his First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated when...

Hegseth's Response to Outlets Upset With New Policy: an Emoji

Secretary of defense issues a simple 'goodbye'

(Newser) - When leading news organizations refused to sign the Pentagon's new press policy , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a pointed response—waving them off with a simple goodbye emoji on social media. After outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and...

News Outlets Say They Won't Sign Pentagon Policy

Hegseth set deadline for agreeing to restrictions of 5pm Tuesday

(Newser) - A number of major media organizations—including the Atlantic, CNN, Newsmax, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Breaking Defense, and NPR—have announced they will not agree to comply with a new Pentagon press policy. The rules require that all information, including unclassified...

Library Director Fired After Book Controversy to Get $700K

Library director in Wyoming reaches settlement with Campbell County

(Newser) - A Wyoming county will pay $700,000 to a former library director to settle a lawsuit after a furor over books with LGBTQ+ and sexual themes. Campbell County agreed to the payout for Terri Lesley, who claims she was fired because she refused to remove certain books deemed offensive...

Jane Fonda Puts Her Activist Hat Back On

The Committee for the First Amendment was backed by her father during the Cold War

(Newser) - Drawing upon her personal and political past, Jane Fonda has revived an activist group from the Cold War era that was backed by her father and fellow Oscar winner, Henry Fonda, the AP reports. Jane Fonda announced she had launched a 21st century incarnation of the Committee for the First...

How a Florida Mom Became the Author of a Hit-Man Manual

Gayle McCool's how-to book on murder, penned as 'Rex Feral,' changed lives, according to Vanity Fair

(Newser) - Gayle McCool spent decades haunted by a recurring dream, and even longer by the fallout from Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors, a book she wrote as "Rex Feral." It was a how-to guide on contract killing, written in the early 1980s after her boyfriend,...

Eisner Questions Disney After Kimmel Suspension

Former CEO criticizes former company's response to political pressure over Kimmel's Kirk remarks

(Newser) - It's been almost a year and a half since Michael Eisner posted anything on his X account, but this week the ex-Disney CEO broke his silent streak, criticizing his former company's leadership for its decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show on ABC, which Disney owns....

Tucker Carlson Hints at 'Civil Disobedience' in US

Ex-Fox pundit says disobedience would be justified if government uses Kirk killing to target 'hate speech'

(Newser) - Tucker Carlson's volatile relationship with President Trump may have just cycled back to being a critical one, this time centered on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the Trump administration's reaction to it. The former Fox News host's main beef: the government's targeting of...

Democrats: It's 'War on the First Amendment'

Hakeem Jeffries calls on FCC chief Brendan Carr to step down following Jimmy Kimmel's suspension

(Newser) - Top House Democrats are demanding the immediate resignation of FCC Chair Brendan Carr over what they call a blatant abuse of power—"forcing" ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! In a joint statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and senior Democratic colleagues described Carr's actions as a...

Trump to Reporter: 'Maybe They'll Have to Go After You'

President pushes back against question by ABC's Jonathan Karl

(Newser) - President Trump didn't like a question from a reporter Tuesday about the attorney general's threat to crack down on hate speech, and he turned his response into a not-so-veiled threat directed at ABC's Jonathan Karl and his network, reports Deadline .
  • Karl: "A lot of your allies
...

Judge: Feds Can't Use Crowd-Control Weapons on Journalists

He says agents acted with 'surprising savagery' during LA protests

(Newser) - A federal judge in Los Angeles has barred federal agents from using crowd-control weapons against journalists, citing what he called an "avalanche of evidence" that agents crossed the line during protests over the summer. US District Judge Hernán D. Vera issued a preliminary injunction this week that...

Veteran Burns Flag Near White House, Gets Arrested

Army veteran protests Trump's executive order against flag-burning

(Newser) - A retired Army veteran set an American flag ablaze in front of the White House, testing the limits of free speech just hours after a new executive order targeting flag burning was signed by President Trump, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The dramatic protest in Lafayette Park drew...

YouTube's New AI System to Shake Out Young Users

Age-verification protocols to find underage viewers will be based on the videos they watch

(Newser) - YouTube on Wednesday will begin testing a new age-verification system in the US that relies on artificial intelligence to differentiate between adults and minors, based on the kinds of videos they've been watching. The tests initially will only affect a sliver of YouTube's US audience, but will likely...

Trump Expands Religious Expression for Federal Workers

New guidelines allow prayer, proselytizing on the federal clock

(Newser) - Federal workers now have broader leeway to pray and discuss their faith at the office under new guidelines from the Trump administration. The changes, outlined by the Office of Personnel Management, permit employees to share religious beliefs and try to "persuade others of the correctness of their own...

Supreme Court Rules on Age Checks for Porn Sites

SCOTUS greenlights age verification for those under 18 in 6-3 decision

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children under 18 from seeing online pornography, reports the AP . Nearly half of all states have passed similar age verification laws, as smartphones and other devices make it easier to access online porn, including hardcore obscene material. The...

SCOTUS Rules Catholic Charity Should Be Tax Exempt

Ruling may impact tax status of religiously affiliated nonprofits nationwide

(Newser) - In a third unanimous decision of the day, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of granting a tax exemption to a Wisconsin Catholic charity that could reshape how religiously-affiliated nonprofits nationwide are treated under the law, per the AP . The ruling addresses whether charitable work rooted in faith deserves...

Man Jokes About Mayor, Gets Subpoena Days Later

It was issued by the city, not a court

(Newser) - A man who joked online about a Missouri mayor says he received a "ridiculous" subpoena days later. The Washington Post reports that after a 15-year-old boy disappeared in Riverview last month, James Carroll wrote, "Someone check Riverview's mayor's basement!" on the city's Nextdoor group....

Supreme Court Won't Hear Case on Teen's T-Shirts

Seventh-grader was barred from wearing shirt that read: 'There are only two genders'

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case brought on behalf of a middle schooler and his T-shirts. As NBC News reports, the unidentified seventh-grader in Middleborough, Massachusetts, was sent home from school in 2023 when he showed up to class wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "...

NPR Sues White House Over 'Textbook Retaliation'

Broadcaster says Trump administration isn't being subtle about cutting off funding, 'comes as a wolf'

(Newser) - National Public Radio promised to fight a presidential executive order cutting off its federal funding, and now that's exactly what it's doing. The public broadcaster—which, along with PBS, was targeted by President Trump's executive order earlier this month accusing them of being "biased media"—...

AP Wins Reinstatement to White House Events

Judge says administration can't punish news organization for not following Gulf of Mexico order

(Newser) - A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore the Associated Press ' full access to cover presidential events, ruling on a case that touched at the heart of the First Amendment and affirming that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech....

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