First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch

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First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

18 Nov 2025

We've released a first-of-its-kind database tracking strategic lawsuits against public participation, potentially meritless or malicious legal actions that chill speech and deter scrutiny. Check out The SLAPP Back Initiative: slappback.org/

The SLAPP Back Initiative

The first national database of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and anti-SLAPP disputes.

slappback.org

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First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

Blake Lively can recover some legal costs from fellow actor and director Justin Baldoni but not punitive damages and other relief she sought after settling her legal claims over their 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” a judge ruled Friday.firstamendmentwatch.org/judg…

Judge Awards Blake Lively Legal Fees but No More Damages in Dispute Over ‘It Ends With Us’ Film

The judge cited a California law designed to protect survivors of sexual harassment and discrimination from retaliatory lawsuits meant to intimidate and silence victims.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

250 years ago, the Virginia Declaration of Rights established the first constitutional protection for press freedom. Over the next two decades, the declaration inspired similar safeguards for press freedom in most state documents.

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First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

Read more about the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the 250-year-old press clauses at the link below. firstamendmentwatch.org/firs…

Celebrating 250 Years of a Constitutionally Protected Press - First Amendment Watch

The meaning of freedom of the press — and the legacy of the Virginia Declaration of Rights — is still being debated today, 250 years later.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

@GunstonHall @JMMontpelier @SPLC @FreeSpeechMTSU

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

🎂250 years ago today, the Virginia Declaration of Rights included the first constitutional protection for press freedom in history — one that would eventually be enshrined in the Bill of Rights.📝 Read more on our commemoration page: firstamendmentwatch.org/firs…

Celebrating 250 Years of a Constitutionally Protected Press - First Amendment Watch

The meaning of freedom of the press — and the legacy of the Virginia Declaration of Rights — is still being debated today, 250 years later.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 12

@GunstonHall @FreeSpeechMTSU

Will Creeley

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Will Creeley @WillatFIRE

Jun 12

Thanks to @FirstAmendWatch for the reminder: Today marks 250 years of press freedom in the United States! "The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.” — VA Decl. of Rights. firstamendmentwatch.org/cele…

Celebrating 250 Years of a Constitutionally Protected Press - First Amendment Watch

The meaning of freedom of the press — and the legacy of the Virginia Declaration of Rights — is still being debated today, 250 years later.

firstamendmentwatch.org

1,132

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 8

Attorneys for musician Chuck Redd say a D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed against Redd after he canceled a Christmas Eve performance at the Kennedy Center in protest of President Trump’s influence over the venue. firstamendmentwatch.org/judg…

Judge Tosses Kennedy Center Suit Against Musician Who Canceled Christmas Eve Show

The dismissal was granted under Washington’s Anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to prevent meritless lawsuits intended to silence opposing points of view on matters of public interest.

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First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 8

President Donald Trump issued a memo that calls for military and national security agencies to accelerate their use of artificial intelligence, while acknowledging the need to protect civil liberties and maintain oversight over autonomous weapon systems.firstamendmentwatch.org/trum…

Trump Calls for Military To Accelerate Use of AI While Protecting Americans

The memo comes at a time of growing anxiety over AI in American society, from replacing people’s jobs to helping to identify targets on the battlefield.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 4

Dozens of anti-immigration enforcement protesters who face federal criminal charges after they interrupted a Minnesota church service in January, accompanied by former CNN journalist Don Lemon, will not additionally face state charges, a prosecutor said.firstamendmentwatch.org/ice-…

ICE Protesters Who Interrupted Minnesota Church Service Won’t Face State Charges, Prosecutor Says

At least four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas — adopted laws this year making it a crime to disrupt worship services.

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First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 3

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on oversight of artificial intelligence Tuesday, less than two weeks after postponing a White House ceremony over his concerns that a similar policy could dull America’s technological edge. firstamendmentwatch.org/trum…

Trump Signs an Executive Order That Invites Vetting of Top AI Models for National Security Risks

The order establishes a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 2

Tina Peters, the former county clerk convicted of participating in a scheme to chase election conspiracy theories promulgated by President Trump, was released from state prison Monday. firstamendmentwatch.org/colo…

Colorado Elections Clerk Released From Prison After Governor Commutes Sentence

Peters’ sentence was shortened by Gov. Polis last month after President Trump waged a lengthy pressure campaign against the governor and his state.

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 2

In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists. firstamendmentwatch.org/pent…

Pentagon Bars Journalists From Its Press Office, Saying It Has Become a ‘Classified Space’

The latest move took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public arena and at times in the...

firstamendmentwatch.org

First Amendment Watch

First Amendment Watch @FirstAmendWatch

Jun 1

New Jersey state police set up designated protest zones and vehicle checkpoints outside an immigration detention center in Newark on Friday, relieving federal immigration enforcement agents who have been clashing with protesters for days.firstamendmentwatch.org/nj-s…

NJ State Police Set up Protest Zone Outside Contested Immigration Detention Center as ICE Leaves

The protests began a week earlier after immigrant advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility.

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