U.S. Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Saudi Crown Prince in Journalist’s Killing
A U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Dec. 6 against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and two of his alleged co-conspirators in the murder of journalist and democracy advocate Jamal Khashoggi. President Biden’s administration insisted that the Saudi prince was immune legally as the head-of-state, and the federal judge heeded its suggestion.
Supreme Court Justices Argue Free Speech Issue in Anti-Discrimination Case
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Dec. 5 in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a case brought by a Colorado-based website designer who argues that the state’s anti-discrimination law violates her freedom of speech and religion — but her challenge came before the law was enforced against her.
Alex Jones Files for Personal Bankruptcy, Owes $1.5 Billion in Sandy Hook Trial Damages
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for personal bankruptcy Dec. 2, citing the $1.5 billion in damages he owes to nine families who lost their children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Federal Judge Blocks DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ Act, Says It’s ‘Positively Dystopian’
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked a key provision of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE” Act, citing First Amendment violations of viewpoint discrimination after Florida claimed that public university professors were bound by state-sanctioned speech.
Washington School District Ordered to Reinstate Praying Football Coach
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a praying high school football coach this summer, and a U.S. district judge issued an order Nov. 10 instructing a Washington school district to reinstate him.
Ninth Circuit: First Amendment Protects Beauty Pageant that Barred Oregon Transgender Woman
A federal appellate court ruled in favor of a beauty pageant that barred an Oregon transgender woman from competing, citing the pageant’s First Amendment right to freely express its desired message of “womanhood.”
Judge Orders Alex Jones to Pay Additional $473M in Punitive Damages to Sandy Hook Plaintiffs
Alex Jones and his company Free Speech Systems owe an additional $473 million in punitive damages to eight families who lost children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre as well as an FBI agent, Connecticut Judge Barbara Bellis ordered Nov. 10.
An anti-abortion group of self-proclaimed citizen journalists, Center for Medical Progress, secretly videotaped Planned Parenthood after creating false identities and a fake company to infiltrate restricted areas. The group released the project "Human Capital" in 2015, which includes various documentary-like videos accusing Planned Parenthood clinics in California of selling aborted fetal tissue. The activists argued that its project was protected by the First Amendment, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed that no journalist is above the law.