📢 We Will Not Be Silenced

🗽Trump's War on Free Speech Is a War on All of Us.

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Jun 03, 2025

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The First Amendment is not optional. It's not a guideline. It's not a privilege to be granted or revoked by the President. It is the foundation of our democracy—guaranteeing our right to speak, dissent, organize, and learn without fear of government retaliation.

But in just the first months of Donald Trump's second term, a full-scale assault on our freedom of speech has been unleashed.

From targeting immigrants for their political opinions to punishing universities, journalists, and television networks, Trump is making clear that his administration views dissent as disloyalty and protest as a threat to be crushed.

This isn't just unconstitutional. It's un-American.

A Government of Censorship and Fear

Here are just a few of the actions Trump's administration has already taken in just a few months:

🛑 Jailing Immigrants for Their Words: Immigrants who have shared political critiques of the U.S. government, including on social media and in published essays, have been arrested and detained—raising alarms from human rights groups and First Amendment advocates. (AP News)

📚 Punishing Universities: The Department of Education froze federal research funds to Harvard, Columbia, and other universities for not adhering to new "patriotic curriculum standards" that limit discussion of race, history, and U.S. foreign policy. (Reuters)

⚖️ Sanctioning Lawyers: Trump's Justice Department has sanctioned immigration and civil rights attorneys for representing clients challenging his administration—echoing authoritarian tactics used to scare lawyers out of defending human rights. (Reuters)

📰 Threatening the Press: The White House revoked access for journalists who refuse to use "official language" when describing Trump's policies. Media outlets critical of the administration have faced threats. (NPR)

This crackdown follows Trump's long record of attacking the free press, calling journalists "enemies of the people," and threatening to "open up libel laws" to punish those who report unfavorably on him.

Now, with unchecked power, he's turning those threats into policy.

The Battle Over Harvard and the Right to Learn

Trump's latest target is Harvard University, where his administration demanded the adoption of a government-approved curriculum. When Harvard's faculty refused, citing academic freedom and the First Amendment, the Department of Education retaliated by freezing federal funding.

The implications are chilling: any university that teaches history, race, or political science in ways that challenge state narratives risks financial ruin. It's an apparent attempt to control what young Americans can learn—and what they are allowed to think.

This Is Not Patriotism. It's Authoritarianism.

What Trump is doing is not about protecting American values. It's about silencing opposition. 34-time convicted felon President Trump and his Republican cult of obedience are trying to turn the federal government into an enforcement arm for MAGA ideology—where truth is what the President says it is, and questioning that truth becomes punishable.

But as Justice Antonin Scalia once said, "If I were king, I would make it [flag burning] a crime. But as I understand the First Amendment, it guarantees the right to express contempt for the government, Congress, the Supreme Court, even the nation and the nation's flag."

Free speech is not a partisan issue. It is a patriotic one.

The People Will Speak—Louder Than Ever

34-time convicted felon Trump may have been elected President, but he is no leader, and he does not have the authority to rewrite the Constitution. The First Amendment has no exception for speech the President finds offensive or inconvenient. Here at People Power United, we stand with immigrants, students, journalists, artists, teachers, and protesters—because free speech belongs to the people, not the President.

To be silent now is to surrender the very freedoms that define us. We will not be silenced. And we will not back down.

Please take 1 (one) minute and send a message to your Member of Congress to defend and protect our Freedom of Speech.

Today’s call to action

Please take 1 (one) minute and send a message to your Member of Congress to defend and protect our Freedom of Speech.
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With fierce resolve and people power,
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
People Power United

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