Matthew Schafer
@matthewschafer.bsky.social
Adjunct law prof Fordham Law; Scholar focusing on the intellectual history of press freedom: http://shorturl.at/bhsv7; rare book collector
A very fun announcement. I curated a rare book exhibit now on display at Yale Law School: The “Choicest Privilege”: Press Freedom from Magna Charta to the Early Federal Period. On display at the Lillian Goldman Law Library from August to December 2026. prior-restraint.github.io/Choicest-Pri...
Slaughter itself is based on a selective and indefensible use of historical sources. Roberts’ opinion offers no answer to the broad and reliable evidence of historical practice that I have described above.
Just going to start tweeting about what nj Transit train stops could look like
New York Times awarded essentially all anti-SLAPP claims, including fees/fees-on-fees for prosecuting the anti-SLAPP claim, in anti-SLAPP plenary NY state court action v Wayfarer (based on underlying Blake Lively / Wayfarer Federal case) Nice work! @nytimes.com cc @matthewschafer.bsky.social
Unlike Edmund Burke, Dr. Johnson disdained the American cause, mocking the North American patriots as “zealots of anarchy,” “croakers of calamity,” and “demigods of independence.” conventionofstates.com/news/4-must-...
4 must-read speeches and pamphlets for America’s 250th birthday
British historian Dominic Sandbrook recently described the Declaration of Independence as a press release for a tax revolt.
conventionofstates.com
Get in losers, we're about to propose legislative reforms to protect press freedom...
Police in Hong Kong arrested five booksellers over alleged “seditious” material, as Beijing imposes increasingly strict control over the once-autonomous territory in successive free speech crackdowns.
Police round up Hong Kong booksellers as China widens crackdown
After pro-democracy protests roiled the city in 2019, Beijing cracked down on freedom of speech, and restrictions have continued to tighten.
washingtonpost.com
In the well-over 100,000 documents written by founders included in the Founders Online database from the National Archives, no one uses the phrase "God's noble experiment." No one.
The first public printing of the Constitution - September 1787
Great piece from First Amendment scholar @matthewschafer.bsky.social on the press freedom legislation the Trump administration has proven we urgently need, from the PRESS Act to protect source confidentiality to Espionage Act reform to stop criminalization of newsgathering.
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
priorrestraintblog.substack.com
What's a press freedom reform agenda look like for a new Congress? I consider the need for reform, past attempts, and offer some new returns in my article on Prior Restraint, a newsletter about the history of the press and its influence on today's controversies. www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...
Journalists covering Delaney Hall protests: We want to hear from you! Our team has already identified 19 apparent DHS aggressions against press in Newark, NJ, this week. Contact us if you can provide insights or evidence, including photos and videos at: tips@pressfreedomtracker.us
Come on, @mikiesherrill.bsky.social Among other things, I was there earlier and it was blatantly obvious that this crew were journalists. Pulling journalists out of their cars is not what we need our State Police doing www.instagram.com/reel/DY862Lf...
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
instagram.com
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
open.substack.com
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
When Norms Fail, Pass Laws: A Call for Legislative Action to Protect Press Freedom
The Trump Administration's attacks on a free press have upended a post-Watergate truce between the press and the government. What now?
open.substack.com
🚨 🚨 🚨 The press is under attack. The Supreme Court's decision in First Choice might just suggest a new way to fight back. New from me at Prior Restraint: open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
The Supreme Court and the Frenchman: What a Recent Decision Might Mean for the Press Clause
A largely ignored First Amendment right made a cameo in a recent Supreme Court decision. The history behind that clause could matter enormously right now.
open.substack.com
🚨 🚨 🚨 The press is under attack. The Supreme Court's decision in First Choice might just suggest a new way to fight back. New from me at Prior Restraint: open.substack.com/pub/priorres...
The Supreme Court and the Frenchman: What a Recent Decision Might Mean for the Press Clause
A largely ignored First Amendment right made a cameo in a recent Supreme Court decision. The history behind that clause could matter enormously right now.
open.substack.com
Criticizing our country is a right afforded to us by the constitution.
For the avoidance of doubt, releasing the names of federal officers who shot and killed an American citizen is not in any way shape or form doxing.
ProPublica@propublica.org · 7mo agoBREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Stop arresting journalists for covering newsworthy events
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning I was sent this video of agents at her door:
Knight Institute Condemns Arrest of Journalists Reporting on Minneapolis Protests, warns of tightening vise on #pressfreedom. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...
The strange obsession with Blackstone, a monarchist who hated the colonists and their fight for independence, has long been a focus of mine. Jefferson said that Blackstone did now harm than the armies of Bonaparte!
Anthony Michael Kreis@anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 7mo agoStarting here. No serious scholar of the common law's history would even think to approach the law in this way. Coke Blackstone The law was not theirs alone. They were influential, of course, but I'd never suggest they are the end-all, be-all. Coke's opinion was not the only one in Calvin's Case.
The search and seizure of @washingtonpost.com reporter @hannahnatanson.bsky.social's records is unconstitutional and illegal in its entirety. The judge was right to block it until a full hearing, at which time he should block it permanently. Read our statement: freedom.press/issues/judge...
Hannah Natanson@hannahnatanson.bsky.social · 7mo ago"I need my devices back to do my job." wapo.st/4jUxQEe
Another outrageous attempt to hide abuses from the press and the public...
Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 7mo agoextremely broad and alarming drone no fly zone designed to protect ICE agents just dropped. notable in part because some folks have used drones to film law enforcement abuses: www.404media.co/feds-create-...
An unconstitutional retaliation against a citizen for exercising First Amendment rights...
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸@gtconway.bsky.social · 7mo ago
Criminalizing the repetition of law itself. Outrageous, obviously. Smacks of the arrest of Russians for the crime of holding up blank signs. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...
3 More Lawmakers in Video Say Federal Prosecutors Are Investigating Them
nytimes.com
