Tennessee Governor Signs Bill That Raises Penalties For Protestors Who Break the Law
Protesters in Tennessee charged with rioting, assaulting a police officer, or vandalizing state property will now face greater fines and longer prison sentences, following a new bill signed into law on August 18th by Governor Bill Lee.
Trump Signs Executive Order Essentially Banning U.S. Companies from Working with TikTok
The order prohibits American companies from doing business with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, a move experts say would eventually prevent Americans from using the app. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University warned the White House’s efforts to cut ties with Chinese social media companies violate the First Amendment rights of U.S. users.
ACLU of Oregon Sues Portland Police For Livestreaming Protests
The lawsuit claims that the filming of demonstrators violates a state law that prohibits collecting information about the political, religious, or social views of an individual or group who are not suspected of criminal activity. The practice could also discourage protesters from attending demonstrations to avoid state surveillance.
The district judge rejected the notion that journalists had no legal right to remain in an area where officers had issued an order to disperse. "Without journalists and legal observers, there is only the government’s side of the story to explain why a ‘riot’ was declared and the public streets were ‘closed’ and whether law enforcement acted properly in effectuating that order,” the judge wrote.
Federal Judge Orders Cohen’s Release, Says He Was Punished For Planned Book
A federal judge orders Cohen to be released after finding that the purpose of his re-imprisonment was in retaliation for his plans to criticize Trump. Prior to being put back in prison, Cohen was pressured into signing an agreement that would have relinquished his First Amendment rights.
Black Lives Matter Sues Trump and Barr Over Use of Force in a D.C. Protest
On June 4th, Black Lives Matter and four named protestors sued President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, and four other federal officials for the violation of First Amendment rights, Fourth Amendment rights, and for conspiring to violate civil rights.
ACLU Sues NH City Police Department for Violating Resident’s First Amendment Right to Record Police
“To allow automatic warrantless seizures of bystanders’ cell phones containing recordings of police interactions without any evidence of exigency would deeply chill the First Amendment right to record, as the public simply would not exercise this constitutional right out of fear that doing so would authorize law enforcement to seize one’s phone and hold it indefinitely,” the complaint reads.