Nico Perrino
@nicoperrino.bsky.social
Executive Vice President @thefireorg. Father, husband, civil libertarian, filmmaker (Mighty Ira), podcaster (So to Speak). Opinions my own.
The judge expresses some frustration with the government for not backing up Rubio's earlier pubic suggestion that there was more to this story than an op-ed:
May 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The judge expresses some frustration with the government for not backing up Rubio's earlier pubic suggestion that there was more to this story than an op-ed:
BREAKING: The judge in the Rümeysa Öztürk case just issued his written opinion after ordering her release from the bench last week.
May 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
BREAKING: The judge in the Rümeysa Öztürk case just issued his written opinion after ordering her release from the bench last week.
The DOJ filed another revealing brief in the Mahmoud Khalil case late yesterday.
I was naturally interested in the section titled "Khalil’s As-Applied Challenged Does Not Account for His Reported Conduct."
I was naturally interested in the section titled "Khalil’s As-Applied Challenged Does Not Account for His Reported Conduct."
May 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
The DOJ filed another revealing brief in the Mahmoud Khalil case late yesterday.
I was naturally interested in the section titled "Khalil’s As-Applied Challenged Does Not Account for His Reported Conduct."
I was naturally interested in the section titled "Khalil’s As-Applied Challenged Does Not Account for His Reported Conduct."
I was asked about this article by Michael Moynihan during a discussion at the Comedy Cellar.
Here was my response:
Here was my response:
May 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I was asked about this article by Michael Moynihan during a discussion at the Comedy Cellar.
Here was my response:
Here was my response:
Nobody is obligated to defend anybody else's rights.
Nevertheless, there is a proud tradition within the Jewish civil libertarian community of defending free speech rights for all speakers.
Nevertheless, there is a proud tradition within the Jewish civil libertarian community of defending free speech rights for all speakers.
May 12, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Nobody is obligated to defend anybody else's rights.
Nevertheless, there is a proud tradition within the Jewish civil libertarian community of defending free speech rights for all speakers.
Nevertheless, there is a proud tradition within the Jewish civil libertarian community of defending free speech rights for all speakers.
Some will argue that Rümeysa Öztürk has no free speech rights the government is bound to respect.
On the contrary, the whole premise of America is that certain rights are "unalienable" and that we establish governments to preserve these rights.
On the contrary, the whole premise of America is that certain rights are "unalienable" and that we establish governments to preserve these rights.
May 9, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Some will argue that Rümeysa Öztürk has no free speech rights the government is bound to respect.
On the contrary, the whole premise of America is that certain rights are "unalienable" and that we establish governments to preserve these rights.
On the contrary, the whole premise of America is that certain rights are "unalienable" and that we establish governments to preserve these rights.
The court just ordered the government to provide an update at 5 p.m. today as it "continues to review its database and files for any other invocations."
May 9, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The court just ordered the government to provide an update at 5 p.m. today as it "continues to review its database and files for any other invocations."
The court in the Khalil case ordered the gov't to report every instance where a Secretary of State invoked the "serious adverse foreign policy consequences" statute for a deportation action.
May 9, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The court in the Khalil case ordered the gov't to report every instance where a Secretary of State invoked the "serious adverse foreign policy consequences" statute for a deportation action.
But as Cato's Will Duffield points out, the IEEPA was amended in 1988 and 94 to prohibit regulating "informational materials" under the IEEPA.
So Trump's tariff on foreign films is likely prohibited by the Constitution and federal statute.
So Trump's tariff on foreign films is likely prohibited by the Constitution and federal statute.
May 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
But as Cato's Will Duffield points out, the IEEPA was amended in 1988 and 94 to prohibit regulating "informational materials" under the IEEPA.
So Trump's tariff on foreign films is likely prohibited by the Constitution and federal statute.
So Trump's tariff on foreign films is likely prohibited by the Constitution and federal statute.
This is a tax targeting speech, which the First Amendment forbids.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was also a protectionist tax on speech — and its backlash inspired the American Revolution and our constitutional safeguards for free speech and a free press.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was also a protectionist tax on speech — and its backlash inspired the American Revolution and our constitutional safeguards for free speech and a free press.
May 5, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This is a tax targeting speech, which the First Amendment forbids.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was also a protectionist tax on speech — and its backlash inspired the American Revolution and our constitutional safeguards for free speech and a free press.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was also a protectionist tax on speech — and its backlash inspired the American Revolution and our constitutional safeguards for free speech and a free press.
President Trump's repeated targeting of Harvard's tax-exempt status is blatantly illegal under federal law.
The IRS must not be weaponized to target political and ideological opponents — not under Nixon, not under Obama, and not under Trump.
The IRS must not be weaponized to target political and ideological opponents — not under Nixon, not under Obama, and not under Trump.
May 2, 2025 at 1:15 PM
President Trump's repeated targeting of Harvard's tax-exempt status is blatantly illegal under federal law.
The IRS must not be weaponized to target political and ideological opponents — not under Nixon, not under Obama, and not under Trump.
The IRS must not be weaponized to target political and ideological opponents — not under Nixon, not under Obama, and not under Trump.
It's not "tortious interference" for The New York Times to report that Trump's lawsuit against Paramount is baseless.
Because it is.
Because it is.
April 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
It's not "tortious interference" for The New York Times to report that Trump's lawsuit against Paramount is baseless.
Because it is.
Because it is.
How it started vs. how it's going:
Ed Martin edition.
Ed Martin edition.
April 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM
How it started vs. how it's going:
Ed Martin edition.
Ed Martin edition.
The "conduct" in this case was speech.
College admins have many "tricks" to get away with censorship.
One is to pretend speech is "conduct."
Another is to pretend disciplinary meetings are simply "conversations."
In either case, the intention is to shut the student up.
College admins have many "tricks" to get away with censorship.
One is to pretend speech is "conduct."
Another is to pretend disciplinary meetings are simply "conversations."
In either case, the intention is to shut the student up.
April 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
The "conduct" in this case was speech.
College admins have many "tricks" to get away with censorship.
One is to pretend speech is "conduct."
Another is to pretend disciplinary meetings are simply "conversations."
In either case, the intention is to shut the student up.
College admins have many "tricks" to get away with censorship.
One is to pretend speech is "conduct."
Another is to pretend disciplinary meetings are simply "conversations."
In either case, the intention is to shut the student up.
Ron Paul asked me about my path to becoming a free speech advocate.
It began when my 5th grade class performed the Trial of John Peter Zenger.
And continued through college, when Douglas Wilson taught me an important lesson about the search for truth.
It began when my 5th grade class performed the Trial of John Peter Zenger.
And continued through college, when Douglas Wilson taught me an important lesson about the search for truth.
April 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Ron Paul asked me about my path to becoming a free speech advocate.
It began when my 5th grade class performed the Trial of John Peter Zenger.
And continued through college, when Douglas Wilson taught me an important lesson about the search for truth.
It began when my 5th grade class performed the Trial of John Peter Zenger.
And continued through college, when Douglas Wilson taught me an important lesson about the search for truth.
Listen, I know the military is a highly regimented institution.
Even still, what does it say about the confidence of a nation whose military academy removes hundreds of books from its library and then censors an invited speaker?
Even still, what does it say about the confidence of a nation whose military academy removes hundreds of books from its library and then censors an invited speaker?
April 23, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Listen, I know the military is a highly regimented institution.
Even still, what does it say about the confidence of a nation whose military academy removes hundreds of books from its library and then censors an invited speaker?
Even still, what does it say about the confidence of a nation whose military academy removes hundreds of books from its library and then censors an invited speaker?
Free speech is a value of convenience for many people, something they appeal to when their side is censored.
That's why it was seen as a liberal value during the McCarthy, Civil Rights, and Vietnam War eras, and as a conservative value during the age of political correctness and cancel culture.
That's why it was seen as a liberal value during the McCarthy, Civil Rights, and Vietnam War eras, and as a conservative value during the age of political correctness and cancel culture.
April 21, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Free speech is a value of convenience for many people, something they appeal to when their side is censored.
That's why it was seen as a liberal value during the McCarthy, Civil Rights, and Vietnam War eras, and as a conservative value during the age of political correctness and cancel culture.
That's why it was seen as a liberal value during the McCarthy, Civil Rights, and Vietnam War eras, and as a conservative value during the age of political correctness and cancel culture.
Yes, FIRE spent a lot of time defending the rights of conservatives on campus these past 10 years.
But the enemy of free speech isn’t necessarily partisanship, it’s power.
And in recent months, the boot has been on the other foot.
I share the threats w/ @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @zeteo.com
But the enemy of free speech isn’t necessarily partisanship, it’s power.
And in recent months, the boot has been on the other foot.
I share the threats w/ @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @zeteo.com
April 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Yes, FIRE spent a lot of time defending the rights of conservatives on campus these past 10 years.
But the enemy of free speech isn’t necessarily partisanship, it’s power.
And in recent months, the boot has been on the other foot.
I share the threats w/ @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @zeteo.com
But the enemy of free speech isn’t necessarily partisanship, it’s power.
And in recent months, the boot has been on the other foot.
I share the threats w/ @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @zeteo.com
Threatening to strip a university of its tax-exempt status based on its expression sets a dangerous precedent that will reverberate far beyond the school house gates.
The IRS should not be used as a tool for ideological persecution and political retribution.
The IRS should not be used as a tool for ideological persecution and political retribution.
April 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Threatening to strip a university of its tax-exempt status based on its expression sets a dangerous precedent that will reverberate far beyond the school house gates.
The IRS should not be used as a tool for ideological persecution and political retribution.
The IRS should not be used as a tool for ideological persecution and political retribution.
Sec. Rubio says the admin is smashing the disinformation industrial complex.
Meanwhile, the FCC Chairman is rebranding "misinformation" as "news distortion" to do the exact same speech policing.
How do we square image 1 and 2?
The travesty continues in another name.
Meanwhile, the FCC Chairman is rebranding "misinformation" as "news distortion" to do the exact same speech policing.
How do we square image 1 and 2?
The travesty continues in another name.
April 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Sec. Rubio says the admin is smashing the disinformation industrial complex.
Meanwhile, the FCC Chairman is rebranding "misinformation" as "news distortion" to do the exact same speech policing.
How do we square image 1 and 2?
The travesty continues in another name.
Meanwhile, the FCC Chairman is rebranding "misinformation" as "news distortion" to do the exact same speech policing.
How do we square image 1 and 2?
The travesty continues in another name.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
The tactics we use against our opponents today will be used against us when power changes hands.
I'll shout it from the rooftops. I'll shout it on CNN. I'll shout it into the void if nobody will listen — because it's true.
The tactics we use against our opponents today will be used against us when power changes hands.
I'll shout it from the rooftops. I'll shout it on CNN. I'll shout it into the void if nobody will listen — because it's true.
April 16, 2025 at 7:47 PM
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
The tactics we use against our opponents today will be used against us when power changes hands.
I'll shout it from the rooftops. I'll shout it on CNN. I'll shout it into the void if nobody will listen — because it's true.
The tactics we use against our opponents today will be used against us when power changes hands.
I'll shout it from the rooftops. I'll shout it on CNN. I'll shout it into the void if nobody will listen — because it's true.
So are we defunding Harvard because of anti-Semitism or because it has left-wing bias?
This is a gift to Harvard's lawyers that I'm sure will end up as an exhibit in a lawsuit.
This is a gift to Harvard's lawyers that I'm sure will end up as an exhibit in a lawsuit.
April 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
So are we defunding Harvard because of anti-Semitism or because it has left-wing bias?
This is a gift to Harvard's lawyers that I'm sure will end up as an exhibit in a lawsuit.
This is a gift to Harvard's lawyers that I'm sure will end up as an exhibit in a lawsuit.
This response from Harvard President Alan Garber is equally extraordinary.
Harvard is not backing down:
"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
Harvard is not backing down:
"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
April 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
This response from Harvard President Alan Garber is equally extraordinary.
Harvard is not backing down:
"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."
Harvard is not backing down:
"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."