Month in Review – March 2021

With COVID causing huge delays in the courts (and huge delays with getting justice), we wanted to give you a quick update as part of this monthly report of several important cases that are awaiting action from the courts.

*But first, we are pleased to announce that this month, we fully launched our new Video / Podcast series titled, “Faith and Freedom Fighters.”  During these informative shows, we will discuss our cases, the Constitution, freedom, religion, politics, current events . . . and much more from our unique perspective.  Please subscribe . . . and pass the word!

*Here is the case summary:

Page v Cuomo: The New York federal courts, fearful of ruling in favor of the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment in the face of claims by Governor Cuomo that his unrestrained and dishonest COVID shutdown orders are necessary and narrowly tailored to save lives (presumably he doesn’t count our beloved elders in long-term care facilities where he required COVID infected patients to be sent and then covered up the “inconvenient” deaths), are now taking the position to not take a position on our litigation challenging Cuomo’s directive.

For example, in this case, we sued Cuomo when he issued an unconstitutional order to require travelers from various states to quarantine for two weeks in a form of house arrest or face huge fines.  The trial court dismissed our case citing a 1905 case from Massachusetts which the Supreme Court has now rejected as legal authority for the manifold executive orders issued by governors (especially from Blue States controlled by Democrats) ignoring our constitutional liberties.

We appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (one of the more important circuits in terms of judicial influence).  The appellate court knows it should rule in our favor.  It is fearful of doing so.  It is just sitting on our case.

Geller v. Cuomo: In this case, noted activist Pamela Geller is suing Cuomo and NY Mayor de Blasio for their respective executive orders restricting public protests protected by the First Amendment while publicly supporting and even participating in the massive and violent Black Lives Matter/Antifa protests.  Indeed, while these two petty tyrants pleaded for peaceful protests, they shut their eyes to the facts that all of these protests violated their own COVID orders.  The trial court would not issue a preliminary injunction to allow Geller’s protests during the litigation so we appealed.

There, before two Trump appointed judges and one Obama judge, things got a little uncomfortable for the two tyrants.  So what did they do?  They informed the appellate court that they would no longer enforce their no-protest orders against Ms. Geller.  Once back in the trial court, incredible as it sounds, Cuomo and de Blasio have taken the position that while they won’t enforce their orders against Ms. Geller (and presumably the BLM protestors they love and empathize with so much), everyone else is subject to arrest.  In other words, they insist their orders trampling on the First Amendment should be allowed to stand, but Ms. Geller may not challenge them because they have carved out some kind of special exemption for her.

This position is of course legally untenable and, more to the point, dishonest.  The trial court judge knows this. But he too is fearful.  The result: he just refuses to rule.

Beemer v. Whitmer: This was one of our first lawsuits challenging the tyrannical COVID restrictions.  It was filed last April against inept Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

This lawsuit challenges, among others, restrictions on travelling to cottages within the state, operating landscaping businesses, restricting gun stores as “non-essential” (while allowing liquor stores, pet stores, etc.), and restricting family gatherings for religious worship.

On the eve of our motion for a preliminary injunction, Whitmer blinked and lifted all of the challenged restrictions.  We had the court enter an order to that effect.

When Whitmer asked us to dismiss the lawsuit as moot, we refused, arguing the “voluntary cessation” doctrine: meaning, because she voluntarily lifted the restrictions to avoid a full legal ruling, that alone does not deprive the court of the power to ultimately decide the issues because the tyrant is always free to return to her old ways and the public has an interest in determining the legality of the practices.  We are awaiting a ruling on the Governor’s motion to dismiss on mootness grounds.

AFLC v. Nessel: In this lawsuit, we are challenging the Michigan Attorney General’s and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ official endorsement of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) so-called “hate group” list—a list which includes the American Freedom Law Center.

Attorney General Nessel, a radical, Left-wing politician, has weaponized her position as the Michigan AG, and she has publicly vowed to “combat,” “fight,” and “tackle,” these so-called “hate groups” operating in Michigan with her “Hate Crimes Unit.”

We have pending cross-motions for summary judgment.

Reform America v. City of Detroit: During the 2019 Democrat presidential debates held at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, the City police, working with the DNC, imposed draconian restrictions on the free speech rights of a pro-life group, not wanting their signage to be seen by the TV cameras or attendees.

At one point, the police placed the leader of the pro-life group in handcuffs because he complained and pointed out that supporters of the candidates were allowed to carry signs on public sidewalks that were closed to the pro-lifers.

We have cross-motions for summary judgment pending.

Ness v. City of Bloomington: We filed this lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota in 2019.  The lawsuit alleges that the City of Bloomington, two City police officers, and the Hennepin County Attorney violated Ness’s rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments by threatening to enforce local and state laws against her for peacefully filming public information exposing various zoning and other violations committed by a local mosque and its associated school, both of which are located in Ness’s neighborhood.

We are awaiting oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Brown v. City of Tulsa: In 2019, we filed this lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma against the City of Tulsa and its Chief of Police, Chuck Jordan, on behalf of Wayne Brown, a Tulsa police officer who was wrongfully terminated because local political activists complained to the City about conservative social media posts Brown had made several years prior to his hiring as a Tulsa police officer.

We are awaiting the court’s ruling on the City’s motion to dismiss.

Parker v. Wolf: In this lawsuit, we are challenging Pennsylvania’s draconian mask mandate and contact tracing program.  We recently completed the briefing and are now awaiting oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

* We are currently working on a huge case that will hopefully impact social media in a positive way for conservatives!

Thank you for your prayers and financial support.  We couldn’t do what we do without them!