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Category: Free Speech

Rebecca Varney Proves You CAN Successfully Fight (To Go To) City Hall

Rebecca Varney Proves You CAN Successfully Fight (To Go To) City Hall

On November 15, 2022, Phelps County Circuit Judge John Beger issued a judgment holding that the City of Edgar Springs, Missouri, had violated Rebecca Varney’s right to due process of law by banning her from City Hall for four years without first notifying her of its factual or legal basis for doing so and without giving her an opportunity to dispute such a basis at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. Judge Beger also held that the City…

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After Four Years, Rebecca Varney Can Once Again Go to City Hall

After Four Years, Rebecca Varney Can Once Again Go to City Hall

In 2018 the City of Edgar Springs, Missouri, responded to Rebecca Varney’s diligent reviewing of public records and criticisms of the local government by banning her from entering City Hall. In November 2020 the Freedom Center of Missouri took on Rebecca’s cause, suing the City and arguing that its actions against her had violated multiple constitutional provisions as well as Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Several months ago the Freedom Center filed a motion for summary judgment, pointing out that several of…

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Oral Argument Set for Good Samaritan Case

Oral Argument Set for Good Samaritan Case

At 9:00 a.m. on June 16, 2022, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Redlich v. City of St. Louis, a case that challenges the City’s interference with a pastor’s efforts to share food with homeless people on the City’s streets. This appeal follows a federal magistrate judge’s opinion that affirmed the City’s requirement for Pastor Ray Redlich and his colleague, Chris Ohnimus, to comply with the same regulations that apply to restaurants and grocery stores…

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Federal Judge: City may limit Good Samaritans’ ability to feed the homeless

Federal Judge: City may limit Good Samaritans’ ability to feed the homeless

A federal judge in St. Louis has ruled that St. Louis may punish Good Samaritans for providing meals to the homeless unless those Good Samaritans first comply with the same costly and burdensome regulations that govern restaurants and grocery stores. The plaintiffs, Pastor Ray Redlich and his colleague, Chris Ohnimus, regularly seek out hungry neighbors on the streets of St. Louis, obeying their Christian faith’s command to provide food to those in need. As Ray and Chris told the court,…

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NEW CASE: Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall

NEW CASE: Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                      CONTACT:               Dave Roland November 10, 2020                                                                                          (314) 604-6621 Government Watchdog Sues City for Banning Her From City Hall Mexico, Missouri—Rebecca Varney worked so hard to keep the local government in Edgar Springs, Missouri, transparent and accountable to the community that the government banned her from City Hall. In a new lawsuit filed by the Freedom Center of Missouri, Varney has decided to fight “City Hall” for the right to…

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VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Rules First Amendment Protects Citizen Activists’ Speech

VICTORY: Eighth Circuit Rules First Amendment Protects Citizen Activists’ Speech

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2019 CONTACT:  Dave Roland, (314)604-6621 Eighth Circuit: First Amendment Protects Unpaid Activists Who Share Policy Ideas With Legislators Nearly three years ago the Missouri Ethics Commission ordered Ron Calzone, an unpaid grassroots activist, to pay a $1,000 fine and prohibited him from discussing policy with lawmakers until he registered and filed reports as though he was a professional “lobbyist.” Because the First Amendment guarantees the freedom to share one’s policy ideas with public officials, Calzone…

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Volunteers Are Lobbyists, Rules Eighth Circuit: Sharply Divided Panel Deals Severe Blow to the First Amendment

Volunteers Are Lobbyists, Rules Eighth Circuit: Sharply Divided Panel Deals Severe Blow to the First Amendment

Mexico, MO – Today, an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled, 2-1, that unpaid citizen activists can be forced to comply with the same registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements as professional lobbyists working for large corporations. This decision is unprecedented and represents a significant strike against Americans’ First Amendment right “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  Ron Calzone is a citizen activist from Dixon, Missouri, who has for years traveled to the State Capitol to share his…

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Freedom Center’s Director of Litigation on Front Page of Time Magazine

Freedom Center’s Director of Litigation on Front Page of Time Magazine

A couple of months ago Dave Roland, the Freedom Center of Missouri’s director of litigation, was invited to take part in a special project by Time Magazine. French photographic artist JR would take pictures of a couple hundred people from all sides of the debate on firearms in America, then allow them – in their own words – to explain their perspective. The photographs would then be woven into an interactive mural. A still version of the mural would be…

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Public Officials, Social Media, Transparency, and the First Amendment

Public Officials, Social Media, Transparency, and the First Amendment

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The past few decades have seen the development of technologies that raise challenging new questions about citizens’ rights under open records laws, open meetings laws, and the First Amendment.  Several current situations in Missouri may require courts to answer some of these questions. One question has to do with public officials’ use of social media to interact with the public.  Ordinarily, if a public official is hosting an event in a public setting, they cannot selectively exclude citizens from attending. …

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Briefing Completed in Cutting Edge First Amendment Case

Briefing Completed in Cutting Edge First Amendment Case

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On December 21, 2017, the Freedom Center of Missouri and our co-counsel at the Institute for Free Speech filed our final brief on behalf of Ron Calzone in our Citizen Activist Speech case.  The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in this case early next year – we will post an announcement when the court sets the date for those arguments. Last month we shared a video in which Ron explains the importance of this case,…

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