Under the First Amendment, the “true threats” doctrine holds that allegedly threatening speech cannot be punished unless the government can prove that the speaker meant to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual. 

Following the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February 2018, hundreds of thousands of high school students across the country planned a nationwide walkout for 17 minutes in an effort to urge lawmakers to institute gun reform measures. 

Jury nullification refers to the controversial decision of a jury to acquit a criminal defendant even when the evidence supports a conviction, typically when the jury believes that the law itself is unjust or being applied unjustly. 

Judges themselves do not inform juries about this power, and attorneys are not permitted to discuss it in the courtroom. However, there is nothing illegal about individual citizens and advocacy groups informing the general public about jury nullification through websites, pamphlets, and other forms of communication. 

In April 2017 the City of Flint invited members of the public to a town hall at House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church to discuss the city’s response to the continuing water crisis.

Lori Shepler is an animal welfare advocate who opposes the practice of declawing cats and operates a website and Facebook page dedicated to that purpose. Cheryl McCloud operates a non-profit animal rescue shelter in Newaygo County.

In 2016 racial slurs were repeatedly spray-painted on Eastern Michigan University buildings and dorms, including statements promoting the KKK and calls for black students to leave the university. In the best American tradition, students of color and allies began to organize and demonstrate in a peaceful manner. 

The 1952 book Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon is a political and psychological critique explaining the reason people of color sometimes experience feelings of dependency and inadequacy by virtue of living in colonial societies or countries dominated by white culture. 

The ACLU of Michigan and Promote the Vote (PTV), filed a complaint in U.S. District Court asking that the PTV ballot initiative, a measure to expand voting rights in Michigan, be placed on the November 6^th ballot. This follows the State Board of Canvassers and Bureau of Elections failure to properly validate the petition signatures PTV was required to gather to place the initiative on the ballot. By failing to certify these signatures, the state has violated the voting rights of Michigan citizens who support the PTV initiative.

Today the ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to Utica Academy for International Studies urging school officials to rescind a rule barring students from holding “political” signs during demonstrations against gun violence. The letter also encourages the principal to apologize to students who were suspended after displaying gun reform signs at the March 14 protest, and to honor students’ free speech rights during future protests.