Tag
Violations of the constitutional protections for freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. Includes government censorship, retaliation against journalists, suppression of protest, and chilling effects on free expression.
14 incidents
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Trump revoked the White House press passes of three news organisations over their coverage. A federal judge ordered the passes restored, doubting the government's after-the-fact national-security rationale. The White House at first kept the reporters out despite the order, then complied the same day.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Federal prosecutors charged 15 people, including a Macalester College professor, with felony conspiracy and related charges for protesting Operation Metro Surge. Defense attorneys and a constitutional law scholar call the charges overreach; similar cases nationally have a roughly 50% dismissal rate. A Human Rights Watch report released two days later concluded the operation being protested involved unlawful killings and racial profiling.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Trump's DOJ indicted former FBI Director Comey for posting an Instagram photo of seashells reading '86 47,' claiming it was a death threat. Many former prosecutors and scholars called it a political prosecution of protected speech. Comey faces prison time for a social media post expressing opposition to Trump's presidency. The case is part of Trump's documented 'vengeance tour' targeting political enemies.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Trump's DOJ indicted the SPLC — the nation's leading hate-group monitor — on fraud and money laundering charges over a now-defunct program that secretly paid informants inside white supremacist groups, alleging the payments defrauded donors and funded extremism. The SPLC pleaded not guilty on May 7, 2026. Norm Eisen said 'we've never seen a case like this under a Democratic or a Republican administration.' The prosecution is pending.
Grade 1 of 5: Significant Democratic Concern
Trump's threat to jail journalists for reporting on a military rescue mission during the Iran war extends the administration's documented pattern of using national security claims to suppress press freedom and criminalize journalism.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
The Defense Department used military-discipline machinery against a sitting senator for telling troops to refuse unlawful orders, after the President called the video sedition 'punishable by death'. A federal judge blocked the censure as likely First Amendment retaliation; prosecutors' attempt to indict the lawmakers reportedly failed before a grand jury. The government's appeal was argued on 7 May 2026.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
A federal court permanently struck down the Pentagon's 2025 press-access policy as vague and viewpoint-discriminatory, then found the department had not complied and had instead cut reporters' access further. An appeals court let the escort rule stand pending appeal because the first judgment had not addressed it; the district court then preliminarily enjoined it as likely retaliation.
Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation
A systematic pattern of press freedom violations including the arrest of journalists covering immigration enforcement, and the deportation of a journalist to the country he fled due to death threats. Abroad, journalists covering US deportation operations have been detained by foreign authorities.
Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation
At least five noncitizen activists and scholars were detained by ICE for pro-Palestinian campus activism or writings, with an estimated 300 student visas revoked. Internal documents confirmed the detentions were based on speech and protest activity, not immigration violations, and multiple federal judges ordered their release.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Billions in funding frozen or canceled to coerce universities into political compliance, with demands for protest suppression, admissions reform, and 'academic receivership' of specific departments. Columbia capitulated with a $221 million settlement; Harvard resisted and won a court order restoring $2.2 billion. NIH research funding was cut 24%.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Unprecedented use of executive orders to punish four law firms for representing clients adverse to the president. All four orders were struck down as unconstitutional violations of the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. The campaign chilled legal representation and coerced at least nine other firms into compliance deals that remain operative.
Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
The administration imposed escalating sanctions on ICC officials -- including judges and prosecutors -- for investigating US citizens and allies, obstructing international criminal accountability and drawing broad condemnation from the UN and international legal community.
Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation
Roughly 1,700 student visas or status records cancelled by April 2025, including hundreds in a campaign targeting pro-Palestine campus protest activity, with the State Department using AI screening and testifying that criticism of Israel could justify revocation. The campaign suppresses protected political speech through immigration enforcement.
Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power
Executive Order 14151 directed elimination of all federal DEI programs. DOGE implemented a three-phase purge, firing thousands of workers — including many who had no current DEI role — and in later court depositions DOGE staffers described using ChatGPT to flag humanities grants as DEI. A December 2025 class-action lawsuit alleges the purge targeted minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ employees.