FIRE
@TheFIREorg • 223,404 subscribers
We defend and promote free speech for all Americans in our courtrooms, on our campuses, and in our culture.
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"You raise your voice, I erase your voice.” This viral video of an ICE agent threatening to silence a Minnesota protester is about as un-American as it gets. The events in Minnesota give the country a lesson in the First Amendment that we’d all be better off remembering: The government can punish actual crimes, but it cannot punish protected criticism or protest. When the government blurs those lines, it stops enforcing the law and starts acting like might makes right. That should scare every American.
FIRE329,564 次观看 • 4 个月前
MUST WATCH: Revoked visas. Deportations. A Red Scare law revived. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says noncitizens don’t have First Amendment rights. Is he right? This is "1AX: Immigration," a FIRE original documentary, featuring Nico Perrino, David French, and Jacob Mchangama.
FIRE541,427 次观看 • 8 个月前
What happened at UCLA School of Law undermines a university’s basic function. Students have every right to object, question, and peacefully protest invited speakers. But sustained disruption preventing others from hearing a speaker has no place at a university committed to free inquiry. We’ll be watching UCLA’s response.
FIRE101,653 次观看 • 1 个月前
FIRE is deeply troubled by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s decision to condemn satire and announce an investigation into protected student expression. The The Daily Tar Heel, which is editorially and financially independent from the university, published satirical April Fool’s articles with headlines like “Trump Orders Alcohol Law Enforcement in Chapel Hill Replaced with ICE Agents” and “UNC Brings Back DEI-For Whites.” After calls for takedowns from student groups and the student body president, the paper took the articles down and its editor-in-chief apologized. Hill After Hours, a separate registered student group, also posted and deleted a TikTok sketch satirizing a stereotypical white student walking through an area of campus where predominantly students of color have historically lived. In response, Senior Vice Provost James Orr issued a university statement condemning the satirical content and announced the university was investigating Hill After Hours. That is not the role of a public university. Students and student journalists do not lose their First Amendment rights because their speech is offensive, unpopular, or badly received. Critics are free to answer with more speech. UNC is not free to answer it with condemnation and investigation. UNC-Chapel Hill’s response also raises serious concerns under North Carolina law, which requires UNC System institutions to remain neutral on “the political controversies of the day.” A university cannot claim neutrality while taking an official side against protected student expression. UNC-Chapel Hill must retract its statement and end the investigation. Offense is not license to police protected expression.
FIRE109,590 次观看 • 2 个月前
