donal brown

Activists are suing in federal court after Chicago denied them permits to march at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) set for August 19. The city did not find the routes viable, and the alternatives they suggested failed to meet the activists’ approval. (Chicago Sun-Times, July 13, 2024, by Mary Norkol) The activists say shunting them to Grant Park denies them a chance to be seen and heard. “Chicago is home to an inspiring dynamic community

The American Civil Liberties Union announced a plan to meet the assaults on free speech and press rights that a new Trump presidency promises. Trump is likely to go after political opponents, crack down on protesters and the press and use surveillance on Americans. (The Hill, July 11, 2024, by Lauren Sforza) Besides defending protesters and journalists under attack from law enforcement, the ACLU plans to ask Congress to narrow presidential power including surveillance power

Daniel Zuidijk in Bloomberg News, July 8, 2024, reports that fact-checking organizations are being attacked. One organization said they were under fire by a “loose-knit coalition of conspiracy theorists, hard-right politicians and anti-establishment types” accusing them of committing treason. Another said that lawsuits, congressional investigations throttles free inquiry and legitimate academic research. For related FAC coverage, click here, here and here.

Brian Stelter in Vox, July 3, 2024, writes that as some Republicans think the media was not covering President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, it is not the case. But he thinks the media failed to cover the issue aggressively. Part of the problem was that the Biden administration went to extreme measures to discourage reporting on the topic. Still reporters failed to highlight evidence of Biden’s decline. David Bauder of The Associated Press in ABC

The city of Marion, Kansas that conducted a police raid of the Marion County Record settled one of five federal lawsuits when a former reporter accepted a $235,000 settlement. (The Associated Press, July 5, 2024, by John Hanna) During the raid, the police chief seized Deb Gruver’s cell phone and injured her finger while serving her a search warrant. (The Kansas City Star, July 6, 2024, by Ilana Arougheti)