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Mar 8 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1/ The First Amendment has zero tolerance for criminal prosecution of speakers for jokes, satire, or heated political rhetoric.
thefire.org/news/hartford-…
2/ On Feb. 5, Hartford Police arrested a college student for making allegedly threatening posts on the app Yik Yak. Police did not find any weapons on campus, and the student claimed the posts were jokes imitating how he had heard other students talk.
3/ In response to the arrest, Hartford Police asserted that action will be taken against any perceived threat – even if it’s a joke. Those comments betray a misunderstanding of what the #1A protects.
4/ FIRE looks forward to confirmation from the Hartford Police Department that they will faithfully apply the #1A’s exception for true threats.

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More from @TheFIREorg

FIRE Profile picture
Mar 10
Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan of the Fifth Circuit was reportedly heckled yesterday @Stanford Law School before a dean took over the podium to give troubling remarks about the future of free speech at Stanford.
@Stanford We’re working to get more facts about what happened, including how substantial the disruption was. But this is what we know so far from a short video of a portion of the event and other reporting:
Judge Duncan was ultimately able to deliver some remarks, but his @FedSoc event ended some 40 minutes early. Depending on the planned length of the event and the exact reason for the early ending, it does appear to be a substantial disruption.
Read 9 tweets
FIRE Profile picture
Jan 25
This morning, FIRE appeared in front of the entire Fifth Circuit defending the First Amendment rights of citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal. /1 Image
Texas officials, in retaliation for Priscilla’s critical coverage, arrested and jailed her for the “crime” of asking a government official to confirm information during the course of her reporting. /2
FIRE attorney @jtmorristx argued that the First Amendment protects the right of all Americans to seek and report the truth without fear of government reprisal. /3
Read 4 tweets
FIRE Profile picture
Jan 23
Today, FIRE kicks off a two-day mobile billboard campaign in Saint Paul, Minn., that will circle the campus of @HamlineU on the opening days of the spring semester.

The mobile billboards read, “Art Censorship: Where Does It Stop?” Image
The billboards condemn art censorship in the wake of Hamline University’s decision to punish adjunct professor Erika López Prater for showing students a pedagogically relevant painting of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during an art history course.

thefire.org/news/fire-targ…
“It’s hard to get more ridiculous than punishing an art history professor for showing art in an art history course,” said FIRE Program Officer @SabrinaConza. “Professors at Hamline shouldn’t live in fear of losing their jobs for simply doing their job.”
Read 5 tweets
FIRE Profile picture
Dec 23, 2022
FIRE would like to wish everyone a happy #Festivus. It’s been a crazy year for free speech. We’ve got a lot of problems with some of you, and you’re gonna hear about it! 🧵
Our airing of grievances starts with the 94 universities earning FIRE’s infamous “red light” rating for clearly and substantially restricting freedom of speech. /2
Especially you, @MinnStateEdu, for implementing a sweeping policy that helped cause an uptick in red light schools for the first time in 15 years. /3
Read 18 tweets
FIRE Profile picture
Dec 22, 2022
CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY TO MASSACHUSETTS!

@MIT’s faculty votes to adopt the “MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom”!
The statement – inspired by the gold standard for campus free speech, the Chicago Statement – broadly commits the institute to cultivating an environment that encourages freedom of expression. /2
It reads in part, “With a tradition of celebrating provocative thinking, controversial views, and nonconformity, MIT unequivocally endorses the principles of freedom of expression and academic freedom.” /3
Read 6 tweets
FIRE Profile picture
Nov 15, 2022
1/ On Nov. 14, the Keller Independent School District board in Keller, Texas voted 4-2 to adopt a policy banning books in all public school libraries that reference 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐲.

Keller ISD’s new restrictions violate the First Amendment. 🧵
2/ Under @KellerISD’s new policy, books that merely discuss gender fluidity are banned, while books that depict “passionate” kissing, nudity, or sex scenes remain available. 🤔

This makes no sense.
3/ As one dissenting member pointed out, the school district — which earlier this year bumbled its way into pulling the Bible and Anne Frank’s diary from library shelves — has already adopted limits on books with sexual content.
Read 12 tweets

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