Email from The Institute for Free Speech The Latest News from the Institute for Free Speech April 16, 2025 Click here to subscribe to the Daily Media Update. This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected]. In the News NH Journal: AG Bondi Says Feds Are Looking Into Bow High School ‘XX’ Wristband Case By Michael Graham .....U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday night her department is looking into the Bow High School free speech case in the wake of Monday’s controversial ruling by a federal judge. Ingraham Angle (Fox News): Dads speak out about their fight to protect women's sports .....Dads Andy Foote and Kyle Fellers tell 'The Ingraham Angle' about the legal battle playing out after they wore pink wristbands to protest biological males in women's sports. The Courts Courthouse News: Retrial of Sarah Palin’s defamation case against NY Times kicks off By Josh Russell .....The retrial of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s civil defamation case against the New York Times commenced Tuesday morning with opening arguments that largely reprised the claims made in her 2022 trial, where both a federal judge and a jury ultimately found the newspaper not liable over an editorial on American gun violence that briefly linked Palin’s campaign materials to a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Tallahassee Democrat: Appeals court upholds removal of Tallahassee police review board member over sticker By Elena Barrera .....A First Amendment lawsuit against the city of Tallahassee has been rejected — again. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously sided with U.S. District Judge Allen Windsor and upheld his dismissal of a lawsuit the city violated former Citizen Police Review Board member Taylor Biro's First Amendment rights when they removed her from the board. "Biro argues that the district court should not have dismissed her complaint because her alleged speech did not impede the City’s ability to perform its duties effectively," the opinion says. "The facts alleged in Biro’s complaint belie her argument." Cowboy State Daily: Judge Tosses Casper Doctor’s Lawsuit To Get Back On Wyoming Board Of Medicine By Leo Wolfson .....A Casper radiologist suffered a significant loss Monday in his fight to get back on the Wyoming Board of Medicine when a federal judge rejected his claims against Gov. Mark Gordon, who forced Cubin to resign from the board last year. Cubin was pushed off from the Wyoming Board of Medicine in April 2024 after sending an email to all 93 state legislators criticizing a well-known medical group and an individual doctor who lobbied against a ban on transgender treatments for minors in 2024. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled against Cubin, saying the governor did not impede his First Amendment rights and that Gordon was protected in taking the actions he did by the 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In short, Skavdahl said that First Amendment rights do have limits, particularly when someone enters government service. Trump Administration Washington Post: White House eliminates permanent spot for news services in press pool By Maegan Vazquez and Jeremy Barr .....The White House said Tuesday that it has eliminated a permanent spot for wire services in the White House press pool, ending a long-standing tradition that allowed the outlets to have expanded access to the president’s public activities. According to a White House official, the pool will consist of one print journalist to serve as print pooler; one additional print journalist; a television network crew; a secondary television network or streaming service; one radio journalist; one “new media/independent journalist”; and four photographers. The wire services in the pool usually included the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters. Until recently, all three outlets were typically permitted to enter all White House pooled events. But since February, the Associated Press had been banned from White House events over the outlet’s decision to continue using the name Gulf of Mexico rather than Gulf of America. Politico: Why Harvard is standing its ground against Trump By Jasper Goodman .....The fight is quickly escalating. Federal officials have frozen more than $2 billion in grants to the university after it refused to comply with policy changes requested by the Trump administration, including to crack down on student protests, change admissions and hiring practices and submit to government audits. Trump on Tuesday suggested on social media that Harvard could lose its tax-exempt status and instead “be Taxed as a Political Entity.” Harvard, fueled by a massive endowment valued at more than $53 billion and a powerful alumni network, is now uniquely positioned to become the most prominent U.S. institution yet to actively fight Trump’s efforts to bend elements of American civil society to his will. Online Speech Platforms The Guardian: Liz Truss to launch ‘uncensored’ social network to counter mainstream media By Michael Savage .....Liz Truss is preparing to launch her own social media platform championing free speech, as she warned the “deep state” and mainstream media were stifling freedom of expression in Britain. The States Idaho News 6: Idaho Attorney General pens letter urging Boise Mayor to take down Pride Flag By Barclay Idsal .....On Tuesday, the Attorney General of the State of Idaho, Raúl Labrador, published a letter urging the Mayor of Boise, Lauren McLean, to take down the Pride Flag and a temporary Organ Donor flag currently flying in front of City Hall. The Attorney General says that the two flags stand in direct conflict with the recently passed House Bill 96, which prohibits government entities in the State of Idaho from flying "unauthorized flags" on government property. Governor Brad Little signed the bill into law on April 3, 2025. When previously asked about her refusal to take down the flag, Mayor Mclean told Idaho News 6 Senior Reporter, Don Nelson, that the city will continue to fly the flag to make it clear that "everybody in our community matters." When asked what she thought about her neighbors in the State House, she replied, "They went home a little while ago, and I'm focused on Boise and Boiseans." Tampa Bay Times: Lawmaker will subpoena Florida attorney general in DeSantis charity probe By Alexandra Glorioso and Lawrence Mower .....A key lawmaker said he will issue a subpoena for text messages and call logs from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier about the Hope Florida Foundation, a dramatic escalation in House Republicans’ investigation into the charity overseen by first lady Casey DeSantis. Rep. Alex Andrade told the Times/Herald Monday night that he decided to issue a subpoena to the state’s top prosecutor after speaking to the leaders of two dark money groups that received $5 million grants from the foundation last year. One of them said that Uthmeier directed her to ask the foundation for the grant, and the other didn’t deny it, Andrade, a Pensacola Republican, said. Both groups subsequently gave millions to a political committee controlled by Uthmeier to help fight a recreational marijuana amendment. Andrade claimed that he has “confirmed definitively that James Uthmeier reached out to these 501(c)(4)’s personally and directed them to submit $5 million requests to Hope Florida.” The Federalist: How State-Sanctioned Donor Doxxing Threatens The Pro-Life Movement By Brian Hawkins .....The misleadingly titled Voters’ Right to Know Act was passed via Prop 211 in 2022 after proponents claimed the measure would bring transparency to so-called “dark money.” However, the law’s real targets were conservative nonprofits that promote conservative policy priorities. Under Prop 211, these advocacy organizations are required to disclose both their own donors and the donors to other nonprofits that are contributors, a scheme called “original source disclosure.” The proposal has since been introduced as legislation in numerous other states, including at least six in the 2025 legislative session, all with the common goal to silence conservative groups. Post Millenial: Exclusive: Washington State instructor arrested for assaulting student wearing MAGA hat By Ari Hoffman and Jonathan Choe .....A Communist faculty member of Washington State University was arrested after allegedly assaulting a student for wearing a MAGA hat. In February, WSU junior Jay Sani was getting takeout in Pullman, Washington’s historic College Hill district when he was allegedly ambushed and assaulted by Patrick Mahoney and Gerald Hoff. As Sani was headed home with a sandwich, surveillance cameras captured the vicious beatdown in front of The Coug, a popular campus bar packed with students, an assault that left him with multiple scrapes and bruises. Read an article you think we would be interested in? Send it to Tiffany Donnelly at [email protected]. For email filters, the subject of this email will always begin with "Institute for Free Speech Media Update." 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