Prosecution of protected speech
Prosecution of protected speech is the use of criminal law to punish expression the First Amendment protects. Concrete forms include charges for "incitement" applied to speech that does not meet the imminent-lawless-action standard, the use of vague disorderly-conduct statutes against speakers at public events, charges for symbolic acts protected as expression, and the prosecution of officials' critics under loosely defined harassment or threat statutes. Genuinely unprotected speech — true threats, fighting words, incitement properly defined — is a separate matter; the publication tracks cases where the prosecution itself is the problem.
2026 Events (18)
U.S. Air Force charged Maj. Jason Watson with Article 88 contemptuous-words violations over his public criticism of Trump
U.S. Air Force prosecutors charged Maj. Jason Watson on August 24, 2026 with three violations of UCMJ Article 88 for contemptuous remarks about President Trump, five violations of Article 92 for disobeying orders, and two violations of Article 133 for conduct unbecoming an officer, according to a charging document his attorney shared with CNN; an Air Force spokesperson confirmed the charges the following day. The charges stem from a June newsletter interview, a July 1 protest in uniform at the U.S. Capitol calling for Trump's impeachment, and an August 17 CNN interview in which Watson said Trump was "flagrantly violating the Constitution" and "killing Americans." Watson's attorney said he is believed to be among the first officers of his rank charged under Article 88 in modern military history, and Watson remains in pre-trial confinement.
Tarrant County Judge O'Hare cleared meeting chambers, had ex-Rep. Lon Burnam arrested during his public-comment turn
On August 4, 2026, Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare ordered sheriff's deputies to clear the Commissioners Court chambers in Fort Worth, Texas, after several attendees applauded a speaker who criticized his handling of the meeting on a proposed cut to county polling sites. Roughly 30 minutes later, deputies arrested and booked former state Rep. Lon Burnam on a charge of disrupting a meeting after he continued speaking past his allotted public-comment time and was carried from the chamber. No source reported a weapon or safety threat.
Emporia Police Department arrested teacher for clapping in support of data center opponents at city commission meeting
Emporia, Kansas physics teacher Lux Claridge was arrested and charged with interference with law enforcement and disorderly conduct on July 22, 2026, after repeatedly clapping in support of speakers opposing a proposed data center project during an Emporia City Commission meeting. Commissioners had warned attendees against disruptive conduct, including clapping, before officers physically removed and arrested Claridge following a final warning. Claridge was released on bail and said they plan to plead not guilty.
NPS rangers cited 72-year-old protester Sandra Shachar $305 for taping a news clipping at Philadelphia's President's House Site
On July 15, 2026, National Park Service rangers issued 72-year-old Philadelphia psychologist Sandra Shachar a $305 vandalism citation after she taped a news clipping to a glass panel at the President's House Site in Philadelphia, where she had been posting articles almost daily since January to protest the federal government's handling of the site's slavery exhibit. Rangers stopped her mid-act, cited her under federal vandalism rules, and warned that a repeat could result in arrest.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signed House Bill 20, creating a 15-foot buffer around police and criminalizing close observation after an officer's warning
On July 7, 2026, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Substitute House Bill 20, creating a criminal offense for coming within 15 feet of an emergency service responder, including police, after a warning to back away if the person also interferes with the responder or threatens physical harm. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, rising to a felony if the conduct risks harm. The bill's chief sponsors named "First Amendment auditors" and citizens who film police during committee testimony, and press-freedom advocates warned the discretionary warning can be used to curb recording of officers.
DHS agents entered Syracuse polling place, threatened election worker over Instagram post naming officer who fatally shot protester Renée Good
On June 24, 2026, two DHS/ICE agents arrived at Syracuse Central Library — an active polling place during the city's primary election — and confronted elections inspector Paigelynne Gonyea over a January 2026 Instagram post in which she named the ICE officer who fatally shot anti-ICE protester Renée Good. Agents handed Gonyea a form letter warning her she "may be in violation of federal law" for the post, which was based on a published Minneapolis Star Tribune investigation, and pressured her to delete it. Gonyea refused.
Federal prosecutors secured 30–100 year sentences for eight Prairieland Nine protesters on domestic terrorism charges
On June 23, 2026, federal judges Mark Pittman and Reed O'Connor sentenced eight defendants in the Prairieland Nine case to prison terms ranging from 30 to 100 years in Fort Worth, Texas, for a combined total of 450 years. The sentences followed a March 13, 2026 jury conviction on charges including providing material support for terrorism under the NSPM-7 domestic terrorism framework, stemming from a July 4, 2025 protest outside the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. Benjamin Song, who fired a handgun that wounded an Alvarado police officer, received the longest sentence of 100 years; the remaining seven defendants received 30–70 years for conduct prosecutors characterized as terrorism, including wearing black clothing, using encrypted messaging, and distributing antifascist literature. On July 1 and July 6, 2026, the same judges sentenced eight additional co-defendants in the same prosecution — including a ninth trial defendant and seven who pleaded guilty — bringing the cumulative total across all Prairieland-related defendants to approximately 562 years.
U.S. Attorney charges 15 Minnesota anti-ICE protesters as 'antifa,' invoking Trump's domestic-terrorist executive order
On June 16, 2026, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and HSI Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy announced federal conspiracy charges against 15 members of Direct Action Minnesota (DAMN), framing them as "antifa" and explicitly tying the case to President Trump's September 2025 executive order designating antifa a domestic-terrorist organization. The lead charge — conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer — rested substantially on protest-organizing conduct including Signal communications, training sessions, and surveillance of federal vehicles. The announcement came days after DOJ dropped more than a third of its earlier Metro Surge assault cases for prosecutorial misconduct, with one judge barring re-prosecution to prevent "prosecutorial harassment."
Federal prosecutors drop all charges against Chicago 'Broadview Six' over grand jury misconduct
On May 21, 2026, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois moved in open court to dismiss with prejudice all remaining charges against the "Broadview Six" — protesters criminally charged over a September 2025 demonstration outside the Broadview ICE facility — after his office acknowledged misconduct in the grand jury proceedings that produced the indictment. Defense counsel said the transcripts showed prosecutors improperly vouched for evidence, concealed that an initial grand jury had refused to indict, re-presented the case after excluding grand jurors who disagreed, and redacted transcript pages without telling the court. U.S. District Judge April Perry, who reviewed the transcripts, said she had never in her career seen prosecutorial conduct as bad, and signaled a possible separate hearing on sanctions.
ACLU lawsuit revealed Memphis Safe Task Force retaliated against residents who recorded its agents
On May 13, 2026, the ACLU of Tennessee filed a federal lawsuit, Demster v. Blanche, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on behalf of four Memphis residents, alleging a sustained pattern of retaliation by the multi-agency Memphis Safe Task Force against people who recorded its immigration and law-enforcement operations. The suit documents an October 2025 arrest and 27-hour jailing of one observer on a charge later dismissed, dozens of arrest threats against another observer under Tennessee's proximity "Halo Law," a traffic ticket that was never filed in court, and agents photographing, tailing, and surveilling observers' homes with unmarked vehicles.
HSI conducts pre-dawn home raids on volunteers of Ventura County ICE-watch group VC Defensa
Before dawn on May 13, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations agents executed search warrants at the homes of volunteers of VC Defensa, a Ventura County, California immigrant-rights coalition that patrols neighborhoods to alert residents to ICE operations. Agents searched multiple locations, seized electronic devices, and briefly detained at least two volunteers, who were released the same day. The group's attorney called the operation "completely unconstitutional" and an intimidation tactic against protected organizing and said VC Defensa will sue; DHS said the warrants were part of an "ongoing investigation" and cited prior arrests of unnamed members, though no charges have been filed in connection with the searches.
Federal grand jury indicts ex-FBI Director James Comey a second time over '86 47' post
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina indicted former FBI Director James Comey on April 28, 2026, on two counts arising from a May 2025 Instagram post of seashells arranged to read "86 47," which the Justice Department casts as a death threat against President Trump. The charges follow the 2025 collapse of an earlier DOJ case against Comey and the dismissal weeks earlier of Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom Trump faulted for not pursuing his agenda aggressively enough.
Georgia Attorney General's office indicted three Stop Cop City activists 47 months after a 2022 protest
On April 23, 2026, prosecutors in Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office obtained a Cobb County grand jury indictment against three Stop Cop City activists known as the 'Cobb County 3' over conduct from a May 2022 protest, 47 months earlier. In court, prosecutors acknowledged they pursued the Cobb County charges only after Carr's Fulton County racketeering case over the same conduct was dismissed in December 2025.
Kansas Legislature overrode veto to enact 25-foot police buffer law and expanded local ICE detention authority
On April 10, 2026, the Kansas Legislature voted to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto and enact House Bill 2372, the "Halo Act," making it a misdemeanor to come within 25 feet of a law enforcement or first-responder officer performing official duties. Senate President Ty Masterson said the buffer would protect officers and bystanders, while critics including the Kansas Press Association warned the vague standard would be used to obstruct journalists and bystanders from documenting police and ICE conduct.
Monroe County, Tenn. deputies arrested Facebook community-page operator Emma Berger over posting a public warrant
Monroe County, Tennessee sheriff's deputies arrested Emma Berger, who runs an 8,000-member community Facebook page, on a felony identity-theft charge on March 13, 2026, after she posted a publicly-filed arrest warrant that briefly contained unredacted personal information before she removed and re-posted a redacted version. District Attorney Stephen Hatchett dismissed the charge on March 23, 2026, calling it "legally flawed" and confirming his own office had originally supplied the warrant; Berger has sued Sheriff Tommy Jones alleging false arrest and a First Amendment violation.
DOJ charges 30 more over anti-ICE Minnesota church protest, bringing total to 39 defendants
On February 27, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota charging 30 additional people — bringing the total to 39 — over the January 18 anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. All 39 are charged under place-of-worship civil-rights statutes, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, with conspiring to interfere with and interfering with the free exercise of religion; the defendants include independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who say they were covering the protest as reporters. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that 25 of the 30 newly charged had been arrested, even though a magistrate judge had earlier found no probable cause to arrest several defendants, including the journalists.
Rep. Omar's silent State of the Union guest forcibly removed, injured, and charged
During President Trump's State of the Union address on February 24, 2026, Aliya Rahman — a Minneapolis software engineer attending as Rep. Ilhan Omar's invited guest — stood silently in the House gallery and was forcibly removed by U.S. Capitol Police after declining to sit. Rahman, who had disclosed injured shoulders and is autistic with a traumatic brain injury, was aggressively handled, required treatment at George Washington University Hospital, and was booked and charged with "Unlawful Conduct," a misdemeanor carrying up to six months. Rep. Omar condemned the response as a heavy-handed, chilling reaction to peaceful expression and demanded a full explanation.
DOJ and FBI arrest anti-ICE church-protest organizers under FACE Act and conspiracy statute
On January 22, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced federal charges against Minneapolis civil-rights organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul school-board member Chauntyll Allen, and others over a January 18 anti-ICE demonstration inside Cities Church in St. Paul, where one pastor also directs the local ICE field office. The activists were charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and 18 U.S.C. § 241 (conspiracy against rights); Levy Armstrong was processed and released the same day after a federal magistrate found insufficient evidence to detain her. These were the first arrests in a prosecution that a February 27 superseding indictment would expand to 39 defendants.
2025 Events (6)
CBP agents arrested two Charlotte women for honking at immigration vehicles during Operation Charlotte's Web
On November 17, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested Tatyana Reisini and Kristen Roos, two U.S. citizens, in Charlotte, North Carolina after the women honked a car horn and blew a whistle near immigration vehicles during Operation Charlotte's Web. Agents boxed in their SUV, shattered the driver-side window with a rifle barrel, and detained both women with their hands zip-tied behind their backs for approximately four hours. Both were charged with assaulting federal agents; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina voluntarily dropped all charges in March 2026.
Trump signs NSPM-7 directing DOJ and FBI to investigate political beliefs as domestic terrorism indicators
On September 25, 2025, President Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), directing the Department of Justice, FBI, and Joint Terrorism Task Forces to investigate and disrupt individuals based on political speech and ideology—designating "anti-Christian," "anti-American," and "anti-capitalist" beliefs as domestic terrorism indicators. The directive authorized pre-crime investigation of citizens before any violent act occurs and directed the IRS and Treasury to trace funding of target organizations. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly pledged to pursue political targets "like the domestic terrorists that they are."
Tempe Police Department obtained 10 search warrants to unmask anonymous Facebook critics, arrested one over protected GIF comment
On September 24, 2025, Tempe, Arizona police arrested Tucson political consultant Kathleen Tierney and recommended felony computer-tampering and misdemeanor charges over a Game of Thrones GIF she posted to a city councilman's Facebook page, capping a monthlong investigation that treated the post as a potential bomb threat and shut down an August 28 City Council meeting. During that investigation, Tempe Police Department detectives obtained ten search warrants covering Facebook accounts, email, texts and call logs to identify Tierney and separately unmask pseudonymous city-hall critic "Konner Culver," publicly naming him in a released police report despite finding he had no connection to the post or any threat. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office later declined to prosecute Tierney, citing insufficient evidence.
Trump signed EO 14341 directing AG to prosecute flag burning despite Supreme Court rulings protecting it as free speech
President Trump signed Executive Order 14341 on August 25, 2025, directing the Attorney General to prioritize prosecution of flag burning under any available criminal or civil law, despite Supreme Court rulings in Texas v. Johnson (1989) and United States v. Eichman (1990) holding that flag desecration is constitutionally protected political speech. The order explicitly acknowledges the Supreme Court precedent but instructs the AG to pursue prosecution using content-neutral laws as a workaround and to litigate to narrow First Amendment protections. The order also directs immigration officials to deny or revoke visas and naturalization for foreign nationals who burn the American flag.
ICE arrested SEIU labor leader David Huerta at an LA immigration raid protest; DOJ charged him with impeding federal agents
On June 6, 2025, federal agents arrested David Huerta, president of SEIU-United Service Workers West, outside a Los Angeles garment warehouse where he was among protesters watching an ICE worksite immigration raid. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California charged Huerta with conspiracy to impede a federal officer, alleging he blocked a gate and directed other protesters, and he was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the arrest before being released on bond.
Florida Capitol Police arrested a transgender woman for using the women's restroom under HB 1521
On March 19, 2025, Florida Capitol Police arrested Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old transgender college student, for using the women's restroom at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, in a planned act of civil disobedience against HB 1521's facility-access ban. She was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and held for 24 hours in the men's ward before her release. Advocates said it was the first known arrest under any state's criminal ban on transgender bathroom use; the case was dismissed in June 2025 after prosecutors missed the deadline to file charging documents.