Censoring public comments. Compelling speech. Suing people into silence. Sometimes it feels like no words are safe from suppression and coercion. Fortunately, we only need an acronym to describe our response: FAFO.
Â鶹´«Ã½IOS’s First Amendment Freedom Operation proves that violating First Amendment rights has consequences. We take on cases of everyday people who run afoul of government officials just for speaking their minds. And we’re determined to emerge victorious, knowing a win for our clients is a win for all Americans.
Here are some of our cases. . .
To protest the Allentown Police Department's long history of brutality and misconduct, and to advocate for greater police accountability, Phil Rishel non-disruptively films Allentown police officers while standing on public sidewalks outside local police precincts. But Allentown police don't like the attention, and they haven't been shy about letting Rishel know it.
When a citizen journalist asked police to confirm information she'd gotten from another source, they responded with handcuffs.
Michigan residents who tried to speak out during a city council meeting were shouted down by their own mayor.
Â鶹´«Ã½IOS sued three Georgia cities after police violated a veteran’s rights to express himself on public property.
Officials in Uvalde, Texas, banned Adam Martinez from school grounds after he criticized security at his son's school.
Pennsylvania public parks: Picnics. Sunshine. Oppressive government censorship of political speech.
Mayor cited unconstitutional rule banning complaints about city officials.
Â鶹´«Ã½IOS sues after authorities trample the First Amendment in a Texas public park.
Â鶹´«Ã½IOS challenges Utah’s new law mandating age verification to use social media.
The government can’t restrict political speech unless it has a compelling reason — and North Carolina doesn’t have one.