Monday, April 27, 2020
#FREESPEECH in the News April 27, 2020
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.
The California Highway Patrol will now deny all event permit requests at state facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement issued to CBS13 Tuesday, the agency said: “In the interest of public safety and the health of all Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic, effective immediately the California Highway Patrol will deny any permit requests for events or activities at all state facilities, to include the State Capitol, until public health officials have determined it is safe to gather again.”
Frustration over the shelter-in-place order is brewing in Sacramento. The financial losses are hitting hard and people want their voices heard.
This means another rally that had been planned at the Capitol for Wednesday is not getting the green-light from CHP. According to that permit request, it was for a group of 70 people, planning to drive around the capitol grounds in protest of the governor’s stay-at-home order.
2.) Coronavirus protests test Facebook's free speech pledges
The anti-lockdown protests breaking out around the U.S. are presenting the latest no-win quandary for Facebook, as the world's largest social network tries to fulfill its pledge to remain politically impartial amid a pandemic that has killed more than 42,000 Americans.
The company has taken tentative steps so far — blocking protesters from using Facebook to organize in-person rallies in California, New Jersey and Nebraska — but not in other places, such as Michigan, Texas and Virginia, where people have rallied together outside state capitols in defiance of orders to self-isolate at home.
But Facebook’s partial takedowns were still enough to bring a political brushback from some Republicans in Washington, where GOP lawmakers have repeatedly threatened to enact legal consequences for internet companies over what they consider to be a pattern of anti-conservative bias in Silicon Valley.
3.) Kentucky lawyer arrested for allegedly threatening governor over lockdown
A Kentucky lawyer was arrested for alleged online threats against the state’s governor, who has come under fire over his coronavirus lockdown.
James Gregory Troutman, 53, was charged with terroristic threatening, a misdemeanor, by the Kentucky State Police for his comments about Gov. Andy Beshear, according to NBC affiliate WAVE in Louisville.
His attorney, Steve Romines, said Troutman was exercising his free speech. “Turn it into a crime simply because you don’t like it only makes the situation worse,” he said to WAVE.
