Welcome to the first edition of FIREwire, your weekly roundup of the biggest free speech stories in America. Every week, we’ll bring you headlines shaping the fight for free expression in our courts, our classrooms, and in our culture.
Trump says military parade protesters will be “met with very big force”
On Tuesday, President Trump issued a warning about the military parade in D.C. tomorrow: “For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force.”
The U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade — which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday and will cost $45 million, featuring 6,600 troops, 150 military vehicles, and 50 aircraft — has drawn criticism for its cost and perceived politicization of the military.
A coalition of pro-democracy groups are organizing “No Kings” protests in over 1,500 cities that day, challenging what they view as the parade’s authoritarian symbolism.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified Trump’s threat will not apply to peaceful protesters.
Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil could be released today
A federal judge ruled that the government cannot continue to detain Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that he is a threat to American foreign policy.
Khalil has not been accused of a crime but was apprehended in March when Secretary of State Marco Rubio deemed him adverse to US foreign policy.
“The court’s ruling confirms what many long suspected,” FIRE said. “Khalil was targeted not for his actions, but for his opinions.”
The Trump administration said today it will continue to detain Khalil, arguing that this does not violate the court’s ruling earlier this week because they are not holding Khalil based on Rubio’s determination.
Trump calls for protesters who burn the American flag to be jailed for one year
Trump called for a one-year jail sentence for protesters who burn the American flag, amid ongoing anti-ICE protests and unrest in Los Angeles where demonstrators have burned flags, and said he will work with senators to pass legislation punishing flag desecration.
Trump’s proposal challenges the 1989 Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson, which protects flag burning as a form of free speech under the First Amendment.
Senator Josh Hawley, who says he discussed the issue with Trump and agrees flag burning should be punished, has introduced a bill that adds one year in prison to certain federal crimes involving fires, including those that result in burning the American flag.
ABC fires Terry Moran after White House complains about social media post
ABC fired journalist Terry Moran after Vice President JD Vance and press secretary Leavitt complained about Moran’s since-deleted post on X calling White House official Stephen Miller a “world-class hater.”
Moran, whose contract expired today, had worked at ABC for 28 years and was an anchor for ABC News Live, senior national correspondent, and the network’s chief foreign correspondent.