Monday, March 25, 2019
#FREESPEECH IN THE NEWS: MARCH 25, 2019
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news – and what you should know about – in the past week.
1.) Prosecutors slam 'free speech' argument in riot case
Prosecutors say two men indicted on federal riot charges in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville are not protected by the First Amendment.
The Daily Progress reports that U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen made the argument in response to a motion to dismiss the indictment from lawyers for Benjamin Drake Daley and Michael Paul Miselis.
Daley, Miselis and two other members of the white supremacist Rise Against Movement were indicted in November on charges that include traveling from California to Charlottesville to incite, promote and participate in a riot before and during the rally in August 2017.
2.) 'On alert': Universities say they support First Amendment after Trump executive order
Twice this month, students stole a “Build the Wall” banner displayed by the conservative student group University of Florida Young Americans for Freedom on the Plaza of the Americas.
YAF members videotaped the second attempt and chased two people running off, and University Police and the Dean of Students office intervened.
UF Vice President for Student Affairs David W. Parrott called it a "teachable moment" in a recent piece he wrote for the Tampa Bay Times. UF staff explained to students that the First Amendment applies to all views and that universities were places for students to think critically and voice their opinions freely.
3.) Social Media, a Suspension and Free Speech
On March 15, shortly after the bloody shootings at New Zealand mosques, Beloit College student Nathaniel Acharya made an emotional post to a campus Facebook group.
This action -- and other statements on his social media -- set off a free speech battle at Beloit that Acharya said resulted in his temporary suspension and removal from the private institution’s grounds.
Acharya has since been reinstated, but placed on probation. The college has refused to discuss his case, and Acharya alleges he was targeted for his religion, Islam, and background. The case comes at a time when free expression in higher education has broadly been called into question -- President Trump last week signed an executive order threatening to cut off research funds to colleges that do not support free speech.
