Free Republic

Once a left-wing fetish, the heckler’s veto has gained conservative adherents. It's a given that if one party to a disagreement keeps breaking the rules in order to harm opponents, the other participants will eventually sink to the challenge and adopt—or escalate—out-of-bounds tactics themselves. That's bad enough in any conflict, but it can be disastrous for a free and open society if the rules being broken by all parties are fundamental free speech norms. For years, we've seen left-leaning students and faculty on college campuses shout down and sometimes assault speakers with whom they disagree. Now right-leaning students have joined...

Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued a memorandum to all United States Attorneys highlighting the Department of Justice’s policy to prevent and act upon violations of parental rights and First Amendment liberties in educational settings. Bondi directed United States Attorneys to work with federal, state, and local partners to identify and respond to credible threats against parents whose federal rights have been violated. 20250908-AG-Bondi-Memo by scott.mcclallen "The First Amendment guarantees the right of every citizen to speak freely, assemble peaceably, and petition the government for redress of grievances-including at public school board meetings," the memo said. "These rights do not yield...

Nepal’s government responded to escalating violent protests over a ban on popular social media platforms with deadly force. The public outrage over the ban and the deaths of 19 protesters on Monday led to the resignation of the prime minister and exposed deep discontent over corruption. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli also rolled backed the short-lived ban after protesters turned their anger on politicians by setting fire to homes of some of the country’s top leaders. Led by mostly teenagers and young adults, the protests revealed a broader resentment in Nepal, where many people have increasingly become angry with the...

A top aide and confidante to former Obama official Lois Lerner who targeted conservatives and conservative groups was fired by the Internal Revenue Service, Fox News Digital has learned. Sources told Fox News Digital that Holly Paz, who served as the IRS Commissioner of Large Business and International Division, was terminated Monday. Paz was placed on administrative leave last month and was subsequently fired following an internal review, sources say.

In Britain, mocking transgender ideology online, waving the British flag, or reading the Bible on a street corner is now enough to land you in prison – even as the British judicial system lets child rapists out of prison early and ignores a growing wave of violent migrant crime. A recent viral story of an Irish comedian who was arrested earlier this month provides the latest shocking evidence of just how dystopian Britain has become – and how it may not even be safe for Americans to travel there anymore. Graham Linehan was arriving at London’s Heathrow airport on September...

Director of the National Institutes of Health Jay Bhattacharya yesterday claimed that the First Amendment is a “dead letter”. Speaking at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington DC, the former Stanford professor warned that America’s constitutional protections for free expression dissolved during the Covid pandemic and remain unenforceable even today. “The First Amendment still doesn’t apply in practice,” he said. “Free speech rights exist right now only because the administration has chosen to allow them, not because the First Amendment is protecting us.” Bhattacharya, best known for co-authoring the 2020 Great Barrington Declaration, said his own experience during the pandemic...

US President Donald Trump has criticised the UK's laws around online speech, saying "strange things are happening" there and that it was "not a good thing". The remarks were in response to a reporter's question during a White House dinner hosting prominent tech leaders.

We’ve known for a very long time in this country that if you said the wrong thing about the trans issue, you could be canceled. But now, finally, there are people — heretofore on the Left — who are acknowledging that the threat of cancellation has been real. This is just one of the beautiful flowering fruits of the Trump administration: people are now free to say things they weren’t allowed to say before. It’s not clear whether people are deciding that they want to say what is currently more popular or if they genuinely repent having been bullied into...

The Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan was once known for his charming, sometimes surreal sitcoms—Father Ted, Black Books, The IT Crowd—on British TV. These days, however, he is better known for his online crusade against transgender activism. His X feed takes the same approach as Libs of TikTok, cherry-picking videos of criminals and fetishists in a full-scale assault on “gender ideology.” He is obsessive and offensive. But is he a criminal? The British police seem to think so. Linehan was arrested by five armed officers today on his return from the United States, where he has been working on a...

Britain, once the freest, most democratic country in the world, is descending into anarcho-tyranny. Bereft of a moral compass, contemptuous of public opinion, uninterested in our glorious history of ordered freedom, the British state’s nomenklatura are presiding over an intolerable mix of chaos and authoritarianism, failing to tackle genuine criminality while persecuting respectable citizens for their thoughts and speech. The contradictions, double-standards and selective enforcement are a national scandal. They threaten to turn us into a pariah state, shunned or even sanctioned by true believers in liberty. Nigel Farage was in Washington, explaining to shocked Anglophile congressmen just how far...

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned the U.S. Congress that censorship laws in Britain will have a stifling effect on free speech throughout the West and urged the American government to pressure London to adhere to its values of liberty. Appearing before the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Brexit boss Nigel Farage likened his native country of Britain to “North Korea” with its increasingly censorious stance towards online speech.

The co-creator of the U.K. sitcom "Father Ted" was arrested at London Heathrow Airport on Monday allegedly over several social media posts criticizing transgender activists. Graham Linehan recounted the ordeal on his Substack, saying there were signs of something strange happening before he landed in London. According to the former comedy writer, a gate agent in the U.S. said he did not have a seat on his flight back home and needed to be issued a new ticket – something he didn’t think much of at the time. However, since the arrest, Linehan wrote on Substack that he believes he...

Will British-style online age verification for social media sites crash through America’s First Amendment?As social media companies begin to navigate the patchwork of age verification laws in parts of the United States, people in Great Britain are dealing with the frustrating reality of those diktats.The Online Safety Act (OSA) requires all websites to ensure that users are over the age of 18. The sites have to use facial recognition, ID scans, digital identity wallets, or bank documents to confirm someone’s identity, instead of the usual box-ticking exercises that Americans check when they visit certain sites.Kids Online Safety Act …...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester City Attorney’s Office has filed a complaint summons related to an April 28 event at Roy Sutherland Playground in Soldier’s Field Park. The complaint charges Shiloh Hendrix with three counts of disorderly conduct, which could lead to a maximum of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, according to Minnesota statute. In early May, a Rochester man shared a video online allegedly showing Hendrix calling a child a racial slur at the playground. The draft complaint requires review and approval by a District Court judge. The City Attorney's Office emphasized the complexity of the...

Back Truth Details 3016 replies Avatar Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies. Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology. They also, outrageously, give a complete pass to China's largest Tech Companies. This must end, and end NOW! With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial...

Bernadette Spofforth lay in jail on a blue gym mattress in a daze, finding it difficult to move, even breathe. “I just closed down. But the other half of my brain went into Jack Reacher mode,” she said, referring to the fictional action hero. “Every single detail was in this very vivid, bright, sharp focus.” She remembers noticing that you can’t drown yourself in the toilet, because there’s no standing water in it and the flush button is too far to reach if your head were in the bowl. She’d end up being detained for 36 hours in July 2024....

The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is representing an Iowa parent with respect to a potential defamation lawsuit after she, a newly naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic, spoke at a public school board meeting about her concerns regarding certain curricula and instructional materials used in her son’s classroom. What Happened: Our client, Mrs. Elayne Casalins, first addressed her concerns about the curricula and instructional materials with her son’s teacher, the school principal and the superintendent. She went to the school board because no action was taken after she explained her concerns to the teacher, principal,...

A California high school girls’ volleyball team forfeited a match against a team that is believed to include a biological male trans athlete Friday night. Riverside Poly High School in Riverside County, California, announced its forfeit against Jurupa Valley High School in a statement. “Riverside Poly High School’s girls volleyball team will not take the court for tonight’s scheduled game against Jurupa Valley High School,” the statement said. “This match will be recorded as a forfeit in non-league standings. We understand this is disappointing for our athletes, families and supporters, and we appreciate the community’s understanding. We remain committed to...

From today's decision in Melton v. City of Forrest City, written by Judge David Stras, joined by Judges Lavenski Smith and Ralph Erickson: Steven Melton is a pro-life, evangelical Christian. In June 2020, he reposted a black-and-white image on Facebook that depicted a silhouette of a baby in the womb with a rope around its neck. His intent was to convey that he was "anti-abortion." Others did not view the image the same way. Two weeks after he posted it, a retired fire-department supervisor complained to Melton that he thought it looked like a noose around the neck of a...

Ursula's new "European Media Freedom Act" permits the arrest of journalists if it is in the "public interest." ... The act also allows surveillance software to be deployed on devices used by media service providers, editorial staff, or related persons in the “public interest. Who decides the “public interest?” Sophie ... The new law also contains numerous provisions that call for action against alleged "disinformation." Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President ... "national lists" are to be created listing the owners and addresses of media outlets, as stipulated in Article 6. Despite its intent to strengthen media freedom, critics...