iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

That was a blast, Amy! I hope we get the chance to do it again sometime.

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Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 25/08/2026

NEW: We filed an amicus brief w/ Ciresi Conlin LLP on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, @chkbal.bsky.social and @cato.org supporting the Minnesota 15 defendants' motion for discovery against the Trump admin to uncover how federal agencies surveilled everyday citizens. 🧵⬇️

"The administration has targeted the First Amendment expression of protesters and observers, civil society, the free press, universities, and lawyers. The scale of the government’s assault on free expression has not been seen since the Second Red Scare."
amici curiae
United states v. sant

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Conor Fitzpatrick @ctfitzpatrick.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

We’re in court to ensure that the Alien Friends Act does not rise from the grave. No one in the United States of America should fear a government knock on the door for voicing the wrong opinion.

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Conor Fitzpatrick @ctfitzpatrick.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

This morning, my @thefireorg.bsky.social team and I are in California federal court challenging the two immigration statutes Secretary Rubio is using to try to deport visa and green card holders for protected speech. Incredibly proud of this team and our brave clients.

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CJ Ciaramella @cjciaramella.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

"Hott—shockingly— answered 'No' when asked if he agreed 'agree that it's unconstitutional to arrest people for being opposed to Midway Blitz?' Similarly, Bovino testified that he has instructed his officers to arrest protesters who make hyperbolic comments in the heat of political demonstrations"

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Thank you! I appreciate it. Right now I’m just doing the dishes and thinking of all the other things I wish I’d said, too. So I really appreciate it.

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Big win. Proud of our tireless, tenacious @thefireorg.bsky.social team — and very grateful for our brave plaintiffs.

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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

JUST FILED: Today FIRE submitted a “friend of the court” brief in defense of Harvard against the Trump administration’s illegal and hostile takeover attempt of the university.

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Coming up at the top of the hour! I had a great time talking with Dylan. Thanks for having me!

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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

FIRE is looking for students, faculty, student organizations, and institutions of higher learning who are affected by the administration’s threat to deport non-citizens for protected speech. Help us fight back ⬇️

go.thefire.org

Defend free expression against Marco Rubio’s speech police

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is claiming authority to expel any non-citizen at any time for any speech the administration deems contrary to its “foreign policy.”

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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

#BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, who faces deportation for writing an op-ed critical of Israel. No one in America — citizen or not — should fear the government’s wrath for speaking their mind.

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 30/04/2025

"The wheel of history has come around again, but as before these times of excess will pass. In the meantime, this case—like Colyer and Knauff—is extraordinary in the sense that it calls upon the ancient remedy of habeas to address a persistent modern wrong."

bringing an end to the moral panic that gripped the nation and its officials. Similar themes were
sounded during the McCarthy period in the 1950s when thousands of non-citizens were targeted for deportation due to their political views. Ellen Schrecker, Immigration and Internal Security:
Political Deportations During the McCarthy Era, Vol. 60 Sci. & Soc'y 393 (1996). Again, the fever passed, but not before Justice Jackson was moved to dissent in U.S. ex rel. Knauff v.
Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 317 (1950), writing in a habeas case concerning the exclusion of a
German war bride:
Security is like liberty in that many are the crimes committed in its name. The menace to the security of this country, be it great as it may, from this girl's admission is as nothing compared to the menace to free institutions inherent in procedures of this pattern.
Justice Minton's majority decision is not much remembered. The wheel of history has come
around again, but as before these times of excess will pass. In the meantime, this case-like
Colyer and Knauff-is extraordinary in the sense that it calls upon the ancient remedy of habeas
to address a persistent modern wrong.

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 30/04/2025

"Our nation has seen times like this before, especially during the Red Scare and Palmer Raids of 1919–1920 that led to the deportation of hundreds of people suspected of anarchist or communist views."

The court also considers the extraordinary setting of this case and others like it. Legal
residents-not charged with crimes or misconduct-are being arrested and threatened with
deportation for stating their views on the political issues of the day. Our nation has seen times
like this before, especially during the Red Scare and Palmer Raids of 1919-1920 that led to the
deportation of hundreds of people suspected of anarchist or communist views. In Colyer v.
Skeffington, 265 F. 17 (1920), Judge Anderson of the District of Massachusetts granted habeas
relief to multiple immigrants detained for their political beliefs. His decision was instrumental in bringing an end to the moral panic that gripped the nation and its officials. Similar themes were
sounded during the McCarthy period in the 1950s when thousands of non-citizens were targeted
for deportation due to their political views. Ellen Schrecker, Immigration and Internal Security:
Political Deportations During the McCarthy Era, Vol. 60 Sci. & Soc'y 393 (1996).

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 30/04/2025

READ NOW: A VT federal judge orders Mohsen Mahdawi released during habeas proceedings. "Legal residents—not charged with crimes or misconduct—are being arrested and threatened with deportation for stating their views on the political issues of the day." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

CONCLUSION
Petitioner's Motion for Release (Doc. 19) is GRANTED. The court orders the release of
Mohsen Madawi on his personal recognizance during the pendency of this habeas proceeding.
His release is subject to the following conditions:
That he reside in Vermont;
That he is permitted to travel to New York State for educational
purposes or to meet with his lawyers or as otherwise ordered by the
court;
That he attend all court hearings in this case in person unless excused
by order of the court.
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2:25-cv-00389-gwc
Document 54
Filed 04/30/25
Page 29 of 29
Mahdawi v. Trump, et al.
Dated at Burlington, in the District of Vermont, this 30th day of April, 2025.
Case No. 2:25-CV-389
Geoffrey W. Crawford, Judge
United States District Court

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 24/04/2025

NEW: Judge Sessions DENIES the govt’s request to keep Rümeysa Öztürk in Louisiana as it appeals the court’s jurisdiction and reiterates that ICE must transfer her to Vermont by May 1. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the government's motion for a
stay
of Ms. Ozturk's transfer to ICE custody within
the District
of Vermont is denied. As the Court established in its April 18
Opinion, "Ms. Ozturk has presented viable and serious habeas
claims which warrant urgent review on the merits." Id. at 73.
Any unnecessary delay of Ms. Ozturk's transfer to this District would likely disrupt or delay the Court's proceedings,
potentially prolonging the very detention that is at the heart
of this case. Meanwhile, Ms. Ozturk's return to Vermont would
not unduly burden the government and would restore the status
quo at the time of the order from the District Court in
Massachusetts. The Court ordered that Ms. Ozturk be returned to
Vermont precisely so that the Court could resolve the habeas
petition as expeditiously as possible,
and the Court intends to
do so.
DATED at Burlington, in the District of Vermont, this 24th
day of April 2025.
/s/ William K. Sessions III
Hon. William K. Sessions III
U.S. District Court Judge

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Talked about why Khalil's detention should concern every American last night on CBC. I was born and raised in Buffalo. I love our northern neighbors. When Canadians have reason to worry about visiting the United States, things have gone terribly wrong. youtu.be/MZDbb5D-uKM?...

youtu.be

Palestinian activist's deportation a 'violation of free speech,' says advocate | Hanomansing Tonight

YouTube video by CBC News

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Jess Miers 🦝 @jmiers230.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

My students often ask whether there’s any point in being in law school anymore, especially as they witness the rule of law being systematically eroded. That question breaks my heart. It’s also why I urge them, emphatically to stay and fight. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

washingtonpost.com

Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks

The result is an extraordinary threat to constitutional rights of due process and representation and a far weaker effort to challenge Trump’s actions in court than during his first term.

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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

VICTORY! Today, a federal judge granted a student group’s motion for a preliminary injunction, preventing Texas A&M officials from blocking a First Amendment-protected student drag show on its College Station campus. www.thefire.org/news/victory...

thefire.org

VICTORY: Federal court blocks Texas A&M’s unconstitutional drag ban

A federal judge upheld the First Amendment rights of a Texas A&M student group by blocking an attempt by officials to ban the group's upcoming drag show "Draggieland"

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Proud of my FIRE team — particularly @jtmorristx.bsky.social and @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social — for securing this result.

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Matthew Schafer @matthewschafer.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Need a weekend read? I wrote about the government, newspapers, and the liberty of the press at the Founding. Take a look and learn from early Americans themselves about how they thought of press freedom and government interference with it. matthewschafer.medium.com/false-dichot...

matthewschafer.medium.com

False Dichotomies and the Original Understanding of Press Freedom

Late last year, I presented an American Bar Association webinar about the Supreme Court’s recent suggestion that, perhaps, we should look…

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

“The more people who come forward to defend the Constitution, the greater their chances of success will be.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Who Will Defend the Defenders of the Constitution?

The president and his allies are encouraging a campaign of menace.

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

You'd never know it, but there is actually a constitutional provision that gives universities, law firms, and media orgs the *right* to say no to the president when he demands that they prostrate themselves before him.

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Paul Weiss hasn’t confirmed any of this. I *really* hope that’s because this is wishful thinking on Trump’s part. I can’t imagine that Paul Weiss’s lawyers would agree to this.

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David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Even if it somehow turns out that Paul Weiss (like Mexico?) only agreed to do stuff they otherwise would have done just to get out from under the Executive Order, firms must fight the very basis of the EO & its attack on the integrity of the legal professions rather than look for an easy way out.

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Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Coalition of civil liberties orgs led by @thefireorg.bsky.social files amicus brief rebuking the U.S. government for detaining Mahmoud Khalil for his free speech, pointing out the unfettered authority Rubio claims has already been declared unconstitutionally vague: www.thefire.org/news/fire-an...

thefire.org

FIRE and coalition partners file brief rebuking the U.S. government for attempting to deport Mahmoud Khalil for his protected speech

Khalil’s arrest is an affront to the First Amendment and the cherished American principle that the government may not punish people based on their opinions.

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Sarah McLaughlin @sarahemclaugh.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

“I think what’s perhaps most dangerous about this moment is that, given the rhetoric coming out of the administration today, folks across the country are going to think twice before they criticise the government, whether it’s the US government or Israeli government" - @wcreeley.bsky.social

aljazeera.com

A ‘dangerous’ moment: Advocates denounce arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil

Rights groups argue that the Trump administration is using anti-Semitism as a pretext to clamp down on free speech.

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David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Also Happy 61st to New York Times v. Sullivan. May it live to see 62 (and so on)

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David Greene @davidgreene.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Happy Shuttlesworth Day

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

"This proceeding is a political stunt. Neither the Center for American Rights’ complaint nor this Commission’s decision to reopen its inquiry accord with how this agency has understood and applied its broadcast regulations ever." Read our comment here: www.thefire.org/news/fire-ca...

thefire.org

FIRE calls 60 Minutes investigation a 'political stunt' in comment to FCC

FIRE submitted a comment to the Federal Communications Commission about a complaint about a 60 Minutes interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

From the Washington Post, other institutions have not responded to requests for comment about whether they've received similar letters. And Georgetown is rightly raising its First Amendment rights. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

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Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

The US Attorney in Washington DC is investigating Georgetown Law School, demanding that "if DEI is found in your courses or teaching in anyway [sic]," the law school should "move swiftly to remove it" Federal prosecutors don’t control the classroom. This is a dark abdication of the First Amendment.

Dear Sir,
As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving.
It has come to my attention reliably that Georgetown Law School continues to teach and promote DEl. This is unacceptable. I have begun an inquiry into this and would welcome your response to the following questions:
First, have you eliminated all DEl from your school and its curriculum?
Second, if DEl is found in your courses or teaching in anyway, will you move swiftly to remove it?
At this time, you should know that no applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our office who is a student or affiliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEl will be considered.
I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after request. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Please respond by Monday, February 24, 2025. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.

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Will Creeley @wcreeley.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

"Politicians are allowed to criticize the press — that is free speech, too, and there is nothing new about it — but there is a difference between using language and using muscle." That's right. And this @nytimes.com editorial is timely and important. nytimes.com/2025/02/28/o...

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Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

When confronted with a lawsuit alleging viewpoint discrimination, do not insist you did it because they are leftists

The AP's frivolous and demented lawsuit is nothing more than a blatant PR stunt masquerading as a first amendment case. They are clearly suffering from a severe, debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted their peanut-sized brains. We will defeat them in court just like we crushed their leftist reporters at the ballot box." -
Steven Cheung

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Thank you, @thefireorg.bsky.social, for representing Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer pro bono in one of Donald Trump's most vexatious attempts yet to chill political speech through baseless litigation.

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Glad to see this law suit from @apnews.com. If the First Amendment means anything, it means the President doesn't get to dictate how news organizations describe the world. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

storage.courtlistener.com

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Seth Stern @seth-stern.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Wow. An order to take down an article on secrecy eroding the public trust. How's that for irony? It's been a while since I finished law school but pretty sure they're still teaching the First Amendment. Judges this clueless about basic constitutional law shouldn't be anywhere near a courtroom.

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Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Wow: City of Clarksdale, Mississippi got a court order yesterday directing a newspaper to delete an editorial criticizing city officials -- without a hearing. Here's the TRO issuing the prior restraint:

THIS MATTER having come before this Court on the verified Petition of the City of Clarksdale requesting a temporary restraining order or a hearing on a preliminary injunction and after review of the verified Petition and Attorney Certification, the Court finds that the Petition is
well taken. The injury in this case is defamation against public figures through actual malice in reckless disregard of the truth and interferes with their legitimate function to advocate for legislation they believe would help their municipality during this current legislative cycle. The
Respondents are well aware of the accusations against them as they have already received a draft of the verified Petition and further notice is not needed until such hearing. The Temporary
Restraining Order for Respondents to remove the article "EDITORIAL: SECRECY AND DECEPTION ERODE PUBLIC TRUST" from their online portals and make it inaccessible to the public is hereby granted. Petitioner shall post a bond in the amount of $100.00 as security for any damages that Defendant may incur should it be determined that this Temporary Restraining Order was wrongfully issued. This Court further orders that a hearing on the City of Clarksdale's request for a preliminary injunction is hereby set for February 27, 2025, at 9:30 am

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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

More of that free speech absolutism for which he is so renowned.

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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 13/02/2025

Again, Twitter WON this case (decisively) at the district court level. The 9th Circuit made it clear that Twitter would win on appeal at oral args. And now it decided to just hand over $10 million to Trump. www.cnbc.com/2025/02/12/e...

cnbc.com

Elon Musk's company X settles Trump lawsuit over account suspension

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta recently said it would pay $25 million to settle a similar lawsuit by President Donald Trump.

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