Academic Freedom, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Freedom Of Speech, Human Rights, Immigration
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Federal Funding Capitulation: Northwestern Joins Columbia and Brown University
The day after Thanksgiving last year, in an deserved win for Donald Trump and a sad loss for higher education, Northwestern University joined Columbia and Brown universities by capitulating to Trump’s yearlong campaign to bribe American colleges and universities into paying ransom to restore millions of dollars of federal research grants he had illegally suspended on the pretext that the universities had failed to adequately monitor antisemitism on their campuses. Northwestern agreed to pay the Trump administration $75 million and entered into a three-year settlement agreement containing a host of provisions seriously impairing Northwestern’s educational independence and academic freedom.
Within days of the settlement, two law professors from Northwestern’s own law school, Heidi Kitrosser and Paul Gowder, went public alleging that the agreement was illegal and unconstitutional. They wrote: “Our analysis lays bare that the government’s extortion of Northwestern –unlawfully freezing funds to force the university to make a ‘deal’ – has nothing to do with actual legal violations at Northwestern (which, if they existed, could and should have been addressed through established legal channels), and everything to do with a campaign to encroach on the autonomy of Northwestern and other institutions of higher education, and to impose on them the Trump Administration’s reactionary political agenda.”
Guest – Heidi Kitrosser is the William W. Gurley Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She is an expert on the constitutional law, government secrecy and free speech law. Her book, Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, was awarded the 2014 IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is a 2017 recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Prof Kitrosser has been involved in drafting several amicus briefs in recent years challenging threats to free speech, academic freedom, and government accountability. She is also a founding steering committee member of the Free Expression Legal Network. FELN is a network of law school clinics, academics, and practitioners (including nonprofits) across the country that seeks to promote and protect free speech, free press, and the flow of information.
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Prairieland Case Labeled First Prosecution of Antifa
On July 4, a small group of people gathered in front of the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. They were protesting in solidarity with immigrants and ICE detainees, using noise and fireworks—ordinary tools on Independence Day. Police later claimed that an Alvarado officer was involved in an exchange of gunfire after arriving near the protest, sustaining minor injuries. Six months later, authorities have still not produced hospital records substantiating those claims.
Despite that, a federal grand jury in Fort Worth indicted nine people in connection with the July protest/ Seven others were charged separately. Charges include rioting, use of weapons and explosives, obstruction, providing material support to terrorists, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer and unarmed correctional officers.
The Trump administration has publicly framed the Prairieland case as the first prosecution of “Antifa.” On September 25, the White House issued a directive ordering federal law enforcement to prioritize so-called Antifa-linked activity as domestic terrorism. Kash Patel has echoed that framing, publicly labeling the defendants “Antifa-aligned anarchist violent extremists.”
Guest – Dario Sanchez, one of the defendants. A computer science teacher, Dario is caretaking for his injured partner since 2024. He was arrested at a pre-dawn raid on their home with no resistance. https://prairielanddefendants.com/
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Academic Freedom, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Economics
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Socialist Democrat Voted Into NYC Mayoral Seat: What Happens Now?
Thirty-three year-old Zohran Mamdani, an immigrant from Uganda, a Muslim, and a member of the Democratic Socialist of American won an overwhelming victory in New York City’s primary in September’s and then won the mayoral race in New York City December 4. His team of some 100,000 door knockers and canvassers swept the charismatic Mamdani into first place over the former governor and main line Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo was supported financially and politically by 28 different billionaires, Wall Street, and the real estate interests. The top of the Democratic party refused to endorse Zohran even after he won the Democratic primary and recently Trump smeared Zohran as a “lunatic communist“ and has already cut off $18 billion of federal funding for the state of New York.
The victory of Mamdani and the magnificent movement behind him came after the No Kings demonstrations attended by millions across the country. It is the most significant development so far in the fight back against the oligarchs, authoritarians and fascists forces in the United States. The Mamdani success has changed the relationship of forces somewhat between the American people and their rulers like nothing we have seen since a huge rebellion against the Vietnam war in 1968. What are its implications for New York City and beyond, the growth and influence of socialist ideas and for the DSA?
Guest – Historian Paul LeBlanc, professor emeritus of history at LaRoche University in Pittsburgh and an active member of the Pittsburgh chapter of the DSA. He is the author of many books on socialism and labor history and most recently a contributor to A User’s Guide to the DSA with an article titled A Effective Force for Socialism.–
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Lawsuit Charges That California Law Illegally Muzzles Students and Teachers on Palestine
Beginning January 1, 2026, teachers in California classrooms will have to look over their shoulders to avoid running afoul of an alarming new “antisemitism” law. On October 7, despite widespread opposition from teachers’ unions, civil rights groups, and education advocates, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 715. It amends the California Education Code to police what teachers can teach and what students can learn about Israel and Palestine.
Under this law, teachers could be charged with unlawful discrimination and disciplined “if they expose their students to ideas, information, and instructional materials that may be considered critical of the State of Israel and the philosophy of Zionism,” according to a lawsuit filed on November 2 by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
Guest – Marjorie Cohn is Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Dean of the People’s Academy of International Law, and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is a legal and political analyst who does media commentary and writes columns on Truthout and other outlets, and she a former host on Law and Disorder radio. Her most recent book is Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues. Marjorie wrote an article that was published earlier this month on Truthout, titled Lawsuit Charges That California Law Illegally Muzzles Students and Teachers on Palestine.
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Academic Freedom, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom Of Speech, Right To Dissent
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The Library Freedom Project
Soon after the attacks of September 11, 2001, when federal agents demanded library circulation records under the USA Patriot Act, librarians became unlikely whistleblowers for democracy. The “Connecticut Four” successfully sued the FBI in 2005 over secret National Security Letters that sought patron data and imposed gag orders. They reminded the nation that a book borrowed in silence should never be grounds for suspicion.
The Library Freedom Project was born in this climate of intrusion. It equips librarians with new skills: teaching prompt literacy so they can critically evaluate generative AI outputs; training them in deepfake and voice-clone detection; and raising awareness about the growing use of AI surveillance in schools and communities. In doing so, the project prepares librarians to guide the public through one of the most disruptive technologies of our time.
Guest – Alison Macrina, activist librarian and founder of the Project. Since 2015, she has built a network of librarians committed to protecting privacy, defending intellectual freedom, and challenging power structures through organizing and education. Recognized with a 2023 Electronic Frontier Foundation Award, Macrina and her colleagues argue that libraries are among the last truly public goods—accessible to everyone, regardless of income or background—and that defending these spaces means defending the very foundation of free expression and information democracy.
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Media Censorship: A Structural Problem
As the Trump administration seeks to expand presidential authority, it’s not surprising that the First Amendment is making headlines. Enacted in 1791 to protect fundamental freedoms – such as speech and the press – it serves as a safeguard against potential abuses of government power, including censorship and other efforts to stifle dissent. Trump and his allies have made no secret about their intention to silence prominent comedians who are critical of the administration.
On July 17th, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a move that Trump publicly applauded, adding that Jimmy Kimmel would be next. Within days, the FCC approved a merger involving CBS’s parent company, Paramount. On Sept. 17th, FCC Chair Brendan Carr warned that if Disney did not suspend Jimmy Kimmel for making comments about MAGA and Charlie Kirk, the FCC could get involved with ABC’s licensing. Disney immediately took Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air. And even though it started back up on Sept. 23rd, many ABC affiliates refuse to air it. Oh, and by the way, Trump has warned that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers at NBC will be next to go.
Guest – Jeff Cohen is a highly regarded progressive critic of the media. Indeed, he was recently quoted in an important article in the Washington Post about the disclosure that FOX News hosts were advising the White House during the January 6th insurrection. Jeff Cohen, along with Martin Lee, were the co-founders of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, or “F.A.I.R.,” which is the anti-corporate media group that monitors and reports on the mainstream media’s bias, spin and misinformation. Jeff Cohen is also a lecturer on these matters and the author of the book, Cable News Confidential.
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Academic Freedom, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Criminalizing Dissent, Freedom Of Speech, Supreme Court
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Stephen Rohde: Checks, Balances And Separation Of Powers
This half-hour, we continue our ongoing effort to understand in real time, the upheavals taking place within our US government, as well as the blitz of attacks on the rule of law – and that includes attacks on judges, lawyers, academics, students, and virtually anyone else who is critical of the Trump Administration’s policies and actions.
Today, we’ll be particularly focused on recent Supreme Court decisions that have paved the way for Trump to dismantle the Department of Education and numerous government agencies. The decisions also Limit the public’s ability to challenge government overreach and have led to swift deportations to countries in which detainees have no prior connection. We’ll also follow-up on the critically important case on First Amendment and academic freedom, American Association of University Professors v, Rubio, which is in trial right now in Boston.
Guest – Stephen Rohde is a legal scholar, writer, lecturer and political activist, who practiced civil rights and civil liberties law for over 50 years. He’s past chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and past national chair of Bend the Arc, a Jewish Partnership for Justice. He’s also a co-founder and chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, and a Special Advisor on Free Speech and the First Amendment for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. He hosts the podcast, Speaking Freely.
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The MAGA Ideology and the Trump Regime
As V.I. Lenin observed, “There are times in history when nothing happens for decades and other times when decades happen within days” He should know. He was the leader of the Russian revolution which overthrew the feudal Tsar and changed the history of the 20th century. We are living in a time when history is unfolding very rapidly. Trump and his coterie of the upper 1/10 of 1 percent aligned with the mostly lower middle class MAGA movement have taken huge steps upending and overturning the kind of democracy, however, limited by race and class, that we have lived with since gaining independence from England 250 years ago.
We are experiencing the transition to a new absolutist executive. Trump and the ideologues who have shaped his MAGA movement is a president who acts on the premise that whatever he does is lawful. He claimed full power to close down departments like the Department of Education, impound congressionally authorized spending, deport people without due process, while ignoring the courts. This is what he calls “a unitary executive.”
The classic definition of fascism is that it is one of the political forms that capitalism may assume in its monopoly imperial phase. It has a material foundation in a tenuous alliance between sectors of the extremely rich monopoly capitalists and a mobilized lower middle class. The key to fascist rule is the privatization of large parts of the government on behalf of the monopoly class. This ideology now in ensconced in the White House.
The right wing is opposed to environmental governance, they don’t believe in climate change. They are against open borders, universal healthcare and green energy. Those who advocate for these beneficial movements are called “cultural Marxists.” They refer in a derogatory way to all contemporary progressive political causes. They call it woke. They use the term as it means to belittle all social justice struggles against racism and inequality, Its most common usage is as a racist dog whistle.
These fascists want to secure their rule by getting control of the entire cultural apparatus of society, a process that the Nazis, the German fascists of their time,called “bringing it into line.” The current attack on universities is the most recent example.
Guest – John Bellamy Foster is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Oregon. He is a prominent scholar on ecology and the author of many books, including Trump in the White House: Tragedy and Farce. Professor Foster is the editor of the venerable socialist magazine “Monthly Review“ and the author of the article The MAGA Ideology and the Trump Regime in its recent May 2025 issue.
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Academic Freedom, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Human Rights, Immigration, police accountability
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American Association of University Professors v. Rubio
Sadly, listeners to Law & Disorder are all too familiar with how the Trump administration has systematically created a climate of repression and fear on our university campuses. Federal agencies are attempting to deport multiple individuals for their pro-Palestinian advocacy, including Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. These actions have sent chills through the community of noncitizen students and faculty on campuses around the country, causing some to pull out of academic conferences, stay home from protests, and withdraw from other forms of public advocacy and engagement.
While Khalil and other students are actively pursuing their own lawsuits and habeas corpus petitions defending their own First Amendment rights, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University has filed an innovative lawsuit attacking the Trump administration from a different angle. On March 25, 2025, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), AAUP’s Harvard, NYU, and Rutgers campus chapters, and the Middle East Studies Association, alleging that the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian activism, chills noncitizens from speaking and, by extension, robs these organizations and their U.S. citizen members of noncitizens’ perspectives on a matter of significant public debate. The suit seeks a court order declaring that the policy is unlawful and enjoining the federal government from enforcing it.
In the lawsuit, titled American Association of University Professors v. Rubio, US District Judge William G. Young in Mass. denied the government’s motion to dismiss and set a trial for July 7.
Guest – Xiangnong (George) Wang is a staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. He first joined the Institute as a legal fellow from 2020 to 2021 before serving as a law clerk to the Hon. William J. Kayatta, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Wang received a B.A. in public policy from Stanford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
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Police Accountability Enforcement In Louisville, KY
In the wake of Breonna Taylor’s 2020 murder, the city of Louisville created the Office of Inspector General to provide independent oversight of the Louisville Metro Police Department. In 2021, Ed Harness was appointed the city’s first Inspector General, tasked with investigating police misconduct and recommending policy reforms. His term ends this November, and community groups—including the Louisville NAACP—are calling for his reappointment.
But questions remain about how local reforms will be enforced, especially as the federal government steps back. A recent executive order gives the U.S. Attorney General authority to unilaterally end consent decrees, raising concerns about long-term accountability.
Guest – Ed Harness is a former U.S. Army Military Police officer and Milwaukee police officer, Ed previously served as Executive Director of the Civilian Police Oversight Agency in Albuquerque and led the Dispute Resolution Division of the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. In addition to his duties in Louisville, he serves as a Board Member at Large for the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE).
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Academic Freedom, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Executive Branch Law Breaking, Human Rights
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Lawyers Defending American Democracy
The early days of the Trump administration have ushered in a series of assertive executive orders that are rapidly reshaping the federal landscape. While new administrations typically bring change, most Americans expect such shifts to respect the rule of law. Project 2025, however, diverges from legal norms, challenging birthright citizenship, dismantling crucial federal agencies like USAID without congressional approval, and attempting to criminalize support for lawful diversity and anti-bias initiatives.
Today’s guest is Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Executive Director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy. She argues that the media has inadequately covered the full scope of Project 2025’s goals. While the boldness of presidential actions has shocked many, these plans were outlined in the Project’s Mandate for Leadership. Trump’s executive orders threaten protections for workers and marginalized communities and undermine checks and balances that ensure government accountability.
Through these executive orders, the administration is unabashedly aligning the government with conservative ideals at the expense of civil rights and environmental protections. Presidential power is being centralized while erasing decades of legal safeguards against discrimination and environmental harm.
Guest – Lauren Stiller Rikleen is author of four books and editor of the 2023 anthology Her Honor—Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges, she is also an active member of the American Bar Association. She serves as vice-chair of the Advisory Commission to the Task Force on American Democracy, vice-chair of the Advisory Council to the DEI Center, and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus.
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Trump Executive Orders Dismantle DEI, Critical Race Theory
We are experiencing Donald Trump has launched his second term as President with an avalanche of Executive Orders as part of a calculated Shock and Awe strategy to take over the federal government in defiance of the Constitution, Congress, and maybe even the Supreme Court. One of the most dangerous aspects of that scheme is his plan to dismantle well-established programs and policies that encourage Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, known as DEI, in American society in general and in education in particular; to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory; and to either totally eliminate the Department of Education or at a minimum strip it of its key functions and funding.
The Department of Education was established by an Act Congress in 1979, signed by President Jimmy Carter. The Department of Education says its elementary and secondary programs serve more than 50 million students in about 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools. It also provides grants, loans, and work-study assistance to more than 12 million post-secondary students.
According to Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, Trump’s expected Executive Order to abolish the Department of Education, if it becomes a reality, “would steal resources from the most vulnerable students, explode class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher ed more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections.”
A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to eliminate the Department of Education, though since it would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to do so, it is unlikely to pass.
Christopher Rufo, a Senior Fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, writing in its publication, City Journal, spells out rather clearly why the Right is so determined to shut the department down. After pointing out the areas of its work, Rufo says it engages in “ideological production, which includes an array of programs, grants and civil rights initiatives, and third-party NGO’s that create left-wing content to push on local schools.” And he refers to the Department of Education over-all as “a hotbed of left-wing ideologies.”
Trump has yet to issue his Executive Order on this matter, but he’s already said he wants to put the Department of Education out of business, and transfer some of it duties to other departments.
And so today we spend our entire hour looking at the legality of Trump’s plans to target DEI, Critical Race Theory and the Department of Education and, if he is successful, what will be lost and what it is likely to mean for the state of education in America.
Guest – Stephen Rohde is a civil rights activist, author, and constitutional scholar. He practiced civil rights law for almost 50 years. He currently serves as chair of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (aka ICUJP), which was formed in the wake of 9/11 for the purpose of organizing faith-based communities to call for an end to war and violence. He is also a past President of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, and past Chair of Death Penalty Focus, and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. Despite that long list of affiliations, today he’s not speaking on behalf of any of those organizations.
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