Knight First Amendment Institute
@knightcolumbia.org
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University defends the freedoms of speech & the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education.
https://knightcolumbia.org/
https://knightcolumbia.org/
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
It's a scandal that Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report is still being withheld--and outrageous that Trump's co-defendants are demanding that the report be destroyed. As we argue in briefs filed yesterday, the First Amendment requires that the report be released. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Knight Institute Asks Federal Appeals Court to Order the Release of Special Counsel’s Report in Trump Classified Documents Case
knightcolumbia.org
February 10, 2026 at 12:24 PM
It's a scandal that Jack Smith's Mar-a-Lago report is still being withheld--and outrageous that Trump's co-defendants are demanding that the report be destroyed. As we argue in briefs filed yesterday, the First Amendment requires that the report be released. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
“There's no good reason for withholding [Special Counsel Jack Smith's] report from the public,” says @scottbwilkens.bsky.social. “The public has a right to the report under the First Amendment and common law, and the Freedom of Information Act.” Read more here: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
February 10, 2026 at 12:16 AM
“There's no good reason for withholding [Special Counsel Jack Smith's] report from the public,” says @scottbwilkens.bsky.social. “The public has a right to the report under the First Amendment and common law, and the Freedom of Information Act.” Read more here: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
Just filed: @knightcolumbia.org brief asking the Eleventh Circuit to reverse Judge Cannon and release Jack Smith’s Mar-Lago report. knightcolumbia.org/documents/v4...
February 9, 2026 at 11:08 PM
Just filed: @knightcolumbia.org brief asking the Eleventh Circuit to reverse Judge Cannon and release Jack Smith’s Mar-Lago report. knightcolumbia.org/documents/v4...
📍EVENT: Register for today's @nyhistory.bsky.social panel Covering the Court: The Media and the First Amendment at 6:30pm ET. With @knightcolumbia.org's @katiefallow.bsky.social, @propublica.org's @justinelliott.bsky.social, @nytimes.com's @adamliptak.bsky.social. www.nyhistory.org/programs/cov...
Covering the Court: The Media and the First Amendment | The New York Historical
A panel of journalists and legal experts explores how free speech, legal precedent, and the challenges facing journalism today intersect.
www.nyhistory.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:46 PM
📍EVENT: Register for today's @nyhistory.bsky.social panel Covering the Court: The Media and the First Amendment at 6:30pm ET. With @knightcolumbia.org's @katiefallow.bsky.social, @propublica.org's @justinelliott.bsky.social, @nytimes.com's @adamliptak.bsky.social. www.nyhistory.org/programs/cov...
“Trevor Noah is pretty clearly protected by the First Amendment,” says @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. “The fact that Noah was hosting the Grammys and not writing a news story in The Washington Post has constitutional significance,” he added. Full story in @nytimes.com. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/b...
Trump Would Have Slim Chance in Court Against Trevor Noah, Experts Say
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:36 PM
“Trevor Noah is pretty clearly protected by the First Amendment,” says @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. “The fact that Noah was hosting the Grammys and not writing a news story in The Washington Post has constitutional significance,” he added. Full story in @nytimes.com. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/b...
In a new blog post, @ssinnar.bsky.social and Darryl Li explain recent efforts in Texas and Florida to designate civil rights groups as terrorists that could lay the groundwork for even more state-level authoritarianism. knightcolumbia.org/blog/red-sta...
Red State Governors Are Designating Civil Rights Groups as Terrorists
knightcolumbia.org
February 2, 2026 at 9:36 PM
In a new blog post, @ssinnar.bsky.social and Darryl Li explain recent efforts in Texas and Florida to designate civil rights groups as terrorists that could lay the groundwork for even more state-level authoritarianism. knightcolumbia.org/blog/red-sta...
"Reporting on protests isn't a crime — its protected by the First Amendment," says director @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. "The Justice Department should drop these prosecutions or they should be thrown out." Story by @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social in @npr.org. www.npr.org/2026/01/30/n...
Feds arrest Don Lemon, Minnesota journalist and 2 others over church protest
Lemon was arrested by U.S. agents days after covering an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul, Minn., church. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the protest a "coordinated attack."
www.npr.org
February 2, 2026 at 4:06 PM
"Reporting on protests isn't a crime — its protected by the First Amendment," says director @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. "The Justice Department should drop these prosecutions or they should be thrown out." Story by @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social in @npr.org. www.npr.org/2026/01/30/n...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
For people interested in Espionage Act prosecutions of the press or their sources --
This is a great tool that I hadn't come across before. It's a database of legal filings in such cases since 1971 (Ellsberg). Thanks to the @knightcolumbia.org
knightcolumbia.org/reading-room...
This is a great tool that I hadn't come across before. It's a database of legal filings in such cases since 1971 (Ellsberg). Thanks to the @knightcolumbia.org
knightcolumbia.org/reading-room...
Press-related prosecutions under the Espionage Act
knightcolumbia.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:43 PM
For people interested in Espionage Act prosecutions of the press or their sources --
This is a great tool that I hadn't come across before. It's a database of legal filings in such cases since 1971 (Ellsberg). Thanks to the @knightcolumbia.org
knightcolumbia.org/reading-room...
This is a great tool that I hadn't come across before. It's a database of legal filings in such cases since 1971 (Ellsberg). Thanks to the @knightcolumbia.org
knightcolumbia.org/reading-room...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
A list, in no particular order, of just some of the moves that the Trump administration has made in its ongoing campaign to suppress and deter journalism essential to democracy: Arrest Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for covering an anti-ICE protest. Raid the home of a Washington Post reporter, ...
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
A list, in no particular order, of just some of the moves that the Trump administration has made in its ongoing campaign to suppress and deter journalism essential to democracy: Arrest Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for covering an anti-ICE protest. Raid the home of a Washington Post reporter, ...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
The arrests of Lemon and Fort are intended to deter journalists from doing work we need them to do, and that the First Amendment was meant to protect. DOJ should drop these prosecutions or the courts should throw them out. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests
knightcolumbia.org
January 30, 2026 at 3:57 PM
The arrests of Lemon and Fort are intended to deter journalists from doing work we need them to do, and that the First Amendment was meant to protect. DOJ should drop these prosecutions or the courts should throw them out. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests, warns of tightening vise on #pressfreedom.
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
January 30, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests, warns of tightening vise on #pressfreedom.
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
🎙️ New season. New conversations. We're launching a new #podcast series this spring! Until then, check out "The Bully's Pulpit." Episodes chronicle the Trump admin’s ongoing assaults on First Amendment freedoms, including the rights of protesters, and much more. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The Bully's Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment
Politics Podcast · “The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment,” a weekly podcast from the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, follows the Trump administration’s assault on ...
podcasts.apple.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:39 PM
🎙️ New season. New conversations. We're launching a new #podcast series this spring! Until then, check out "The Bully's Pulpit." Episodes chronicle the Trump admin’s ongoing assaults on First Amendment freedoms, including the rights of protesters, and much more. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
"The ability of everyday citizens to hold government agents to account, by observing them and advocating for change, is what has distinguished the American experiment with democracy from authoritarian regimes around the world," says litigation director @alexabdo.bsky.social in @nbcnews.com.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that he had opened an investigation into the Signal group text chats that Minnesota residents are using www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...
FBI investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE, Patel says
The statement from FBI Director Kash Patel comes after right-wing media figures said they joined the chats and claimed participants were obstructing law enforcement.
www.nbcnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:17 PM
"The ability of everyday citizens to hold government agents to account, by observing them and advocating for change, is what has distinguished the American experiment with democracy from authoritarian regimes around the world," says litigation director @alexabdo.bsky.social in @nbcnews.com.
New documents released following the AAUP v. Rubio trial disclose extraordinary evidence that U.S. #immigration officials used unvetted allegations from opaque pro-Israel organizations like Canary Mission to target students for protected pro-Palestinian speech. knightcolumbia.org/blog/trial-e...
January 27, 2026 at 6:52 PM
New documents released following the AAUP v. Rubio trial disclose extraordinary evidence that U.S. #immigration officials used unvetted allegations from opaque pro-Israel organizations like Canary Mission to target students for protected pro-Palestinian speech. knightcolumbia.org/blog/trial-e...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
If Air Canada can get me to Nova Scotia, I'll be delivering this lecture at Dalhousie on Wednesday. The lecture expands on an argument that I made in an essay for the NYT a year ago. www.eventbrite.ca/e/horace-e-r...
Horace E. Read Lecture - The Spirit of Liberty
Canadian human rights lawyer Jameel Jaffer, inaugural director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
www.eventbrite.ca
January 26, 2026 at 5:00 PM
If Air Canada can get me to Nova Scotia, I'll be delivering this lecture at Dalhousie on Wednesday. The lecture expands on an argument that I made in an essay for the NYT a year ago. www.eventbrite.ca/e/horace-e-r...
Last week, Judge William G. Young unsealed hundreds of pages of documents that were submitted as evidence in our legal challenge to the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and threatening to deport students for their pro-Palestinian activism. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
D.H.S. Cited Foreign Students’ Writings and Protests Before Their Arrests
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Last week, Judge William G. Young unsealed hundreds of pages of documents that were submitted as evidence in our legal challenge to the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and threatening to deport students for their pro-Palestinian activism. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
Judge William Young, who invalidated Trump's policy of arresting & deporting students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy, is 85-years old and was appointed to the bench by President Reagan 41 years ago. Here's how he concluded his "annotated judgment" in the case. knightcolumbia.org/documents/k4...
January 24, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Judge William Young, who invalidated Trump's policy of arresting & deporting students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy, is 85-years old and was appointed to the bench by President Reagan 41 years ago. Here's how he concluded his "annotated judgment" in the case. knightcolumbia.org/documents/k4...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
A federal judge has formally ordered the Trump administration to cease efforts to deport foreign-born students over pro-Palestinian speech.
Trump can't deport foreign students based on speech, judge rules
A federal judge has formally ordered the Trump administration to cease efforts to deport foreign-born students over pro-Palestinian speech.
bit.ly
January 23, 2026 at 9:01 PM
A federal judge has formally ordered the Trump administration to cease efforts to deport foreign-born students over pro-Palestinian speech.
“Students and scholars shouldn’t have to live in fear that #ICE agents could seize them from their homes merely for engaging in political expression. [Yesterday's] judgment makes emphatically clear that the administration’s campaign of intimidation must end.” @apnews.com apnews.com/article/rubi...
Judge warns Trump administration from changing plaintiffs immigration status in First Amendment case
A federal judge ruled that the academics, who are party to a lawsuit alleging U.S. policy singles out noncitizens for detention or deportation over their pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses, ...
apnews.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:12 PM
“Students and scholars shouldn’t have to live in fear that #ICE agents could seize them from their homes merely for engaging in political expression. [Yesterday's] judgment makes emphatically clear that the administration’s campaign of intimidation must end.” @apnews.com apnews.com/article/rubi...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
A federal judge in Boston blocked the Trump administration from retaliating against two groups of scholars and students in a case that he said exposed an “unconstitutional conspiracy” to violate the First Amendment.
Judge limits government actions against plaintiffs in free speech case
The order blocks the Trump administration from retaliating against scholars and students who challenged the detention of noncitizens involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:15 AM
A federal judge in Boston blocked the Trump administration from retaliating against two groups of scholars and students in a case that he said exposed an “unconstitutional conspiracy” to violate the First Amendment.
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
Newly unsealed evidence makes it even clearer that Rubio and Noem knew they were targeting students based solely on their political speech and that they knew this policy was unconstitutional. They just didn’t care. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Newly unsealed evidence makes it even clearer that Rubio and Noem knew they were targeting students based solely on their political speech and that they knew this policy was unconstitutional. They just didn’t care. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
NEWS: Order makes clear that the admin's ideological deportation policy must stop. "Students and scholars shouldn’t have to live in fear that ICE agents could seize them from their homes merely for engaging in political expression," says @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social.
knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
Federal Court Restricts Trump Administration’s Ability to Deport Noncitizens for Pro-Palestinian Advocacy
knightcolumbia.org
January 23, 2026 at 1:34 AM
NEWS: Order makes clear that the admin's ideological deportation policy must stop. "Students and scholars shouldn’t have to live in fear that ICE agents could seize them from their homes merely for engaging in political expression," says @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social.
knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...
We’re expecting Judge Young to issue a ruling in our AAUP v. Rubio case this week. Last week, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social joined @democracynow.org to explain the importance of our challenge to the Trump administration’s unconstitutional ideological deportation policy. 🔊 Listen below:
January 21, 2026 at 9:48 PM
We’re expecting Judge Young to issue a ruling in our AAUP v. Rubio case this week. Last week, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social joined @democracynow.org to explain the importance of our challenge to the Trump administration’s unconstitutional ideological deportation policy. 🔊 Listen below:
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
This was an intense hearing. Judge Young, an 85-year-old Reagan appointee who has served on the federal bench for 47 years, didn't mince words. He closed the hearing by reading from Lincoln's address at Gettysburg. Some of the people in the courtroom were in tears. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
January 16, 2026 at 12:37 PM
This was an intense hearing. Judge Young, an 85-year-old Reagan appointee who has served on the federal bench for 47 years, didn't mince words. He closed the hearing by reading from Lincoln's address at Gettysburg. Some of the people in the courtroom were in tears. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Reposted by Knight First Amendment Institute
"Talking straight here, the big problem in this case is that the cabinet secretaries and, ostensibly, the president of the United States are not honoring the First Amendment,” Judge William G. Young said.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
Judge Proposes Restricting Deportation of Scores of Noncitizen Academics
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:58 PM
"Talking straight here, the big problem in this case is that the cabinet secretaries and, ostensibly, the president of the United States are not honoring the First Amendment,” Judge William G. Young said.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...