Free Republic

Last week was interesting for anyone concerned about Islam’s growing influence in America. Recently revealed were the 2009 remarks made by Michigan US Senate nominee, Democrat and avowed Muslim, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. He reportedly shared that, while in medical school, he chose to obtain a loan that was compliant with Islamic law—Sharia. In fact, he proclaimed that, as a Muslim, he would always follow Sharia in “everything” he ever sought to do. Some may dismiss these remarks, made 17 years ago, as those of a man simply dedicated deeply to his religion—one he embraces totally separate from his political views...

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that some federal gun restrictions can no longer stand after Republicans last year zeroed out the taxes that justified their constitutionality. Congress relied on its taxing authority to pass the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), which established a $200 fee to transfer or make certain firearms. But last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the tax for short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles and silencers. U.S. District Judge Wesley Hendrix said that has “constitutional consequences.” The law’s registration and recordkeeping requirements for those guns can’t continue, he ruled. “Because today’s NFA does not generate any...

A federal judge in Mississippi ruled Wednesday that “tower dump” warrants are unconstitutional, declining to reverse a lower court decision refusing the government’s request to obtain the search warrants in a series of violent crime investigations. A “tower dump” involves cellphone companies providing law enforcement with access to the time and location data of all mobile devices connected to specific cell towers during a designated time window. Law enforcement had sought approval for several of these search warrants as part of criminal investigations into gang-related activity in the Jackson, Miss., area last year, arguing the data could help identify all...

Texas Congressman Brandon Gill is a rising superstar in the Republican Party.You might have caught him dressing down the Smithsonian director with instant-classics like asking if politeness is a form of “white supremacy.”Things that are “white supremacist,” according to the left:Being polite.Being on time.Being objective.We let this insanity go unanswered for years. That ends now. pic.twitter.com/LpXtZAE2NP— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) July 23, 2026Unlike a lot of other GOP politicians, however, Gill isn’t just going to toss a few scraps of red meat our way while ignoring it’s actually his job to solve problems.Congress is not political theater and you guys...

A federal district judge has denied immunity to Hood County officials who arrested a Navy veteran and journalist for posting a political meme, clearing the way for his lawsuit to move forward on the merits. The journalist had frequently criticized public officials, including those responsible for his arrest. By denying the motion to dismiss, the court kept the journalist’s constitutional claims alive and offered an early signal of skepticism toward criminalizing political satire. Kolton Krottinger is a U.S. Navy veteran and journalist in Hood County who “reports on local government, interviews candidates, and publishes political commentary and analysis to the...

With the pointless war of choice in Iran going poorly, the Trump administration has declared a virtual war on the international criminal court (ICC). Secretary of state, Marco Rubio, vowed on Monday to “dismantle” the court as a supposed threat to US sovereignty. His rationale is laced with sophistry. The administration’s real goal is to secure impunity for war crimes, even those committed on the territory of ICC member states. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed and a video posted on X, Rubio conjures up a dystopia in which local American officials such as police officers or border patrol agents...

Political parties tend to harshly reject the idea that they are a threat to the constitutional order, but the Democratic Socialists of America are making it part of their brand. The DSA has released a new program that, besides contemplating the advent of a classless society, calls for abolishing the US Senate, the presidency, and the Supreme Court. This is literally a revolutionary program to topple the American system as we have known it since 1789. It’s the kind of thing you might expect after angry rebels mount the barricades in Washington, DC, and overthrow the government. It makes proposals...

What Students Read In 1776 | The Books That Shaped The Revolution Have you ever wondered which books shaped the American founding or ignited the American Revolution? What were the students at Harvard and Yale studying in 1776? In this historical analysis, I cover the books the founders would have studied at Harvard or Yale and provide a breakdown of those that would have shaped their thinking. From John Adams, Nathan Hale, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, to the famous Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Warren, and Sam Adams, we learn what the founders were reading on the eve of the American Revolution....

The case could settle the long-simmering issue of whether the Second Amendment covers commonly owned but politically disfavored rifles.Last year, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to Maryland's "assault weapon" ban, which covers some of the most popular rifles sold in the United States, including the AR-15. "Given that millions of Americans own AR–15s and that a significant majority of the States allow possession of those rifles," Justice Brett Kavanaugh said at the time, "petitioners have a strong argument that AR–15s are in 'common use' by law-abiding citizens and therefore are protected by the Second Amendment." Although Kavanaugh...

Native Americans won U.S. citizenship in 1924, but the struggle for voting rights stretched on for much longer. Native Americans couldn’t be U.S. citizens when the country ratified its Constitution in 1788, and wouldn’t win the right to be for 136 years. When Black Americans won citizenship with the 14th Amendment in 1868, the government specifically interpreted the law so it didn’t apply to Native people.

Heads up, faithful P&E readers: this is big. The Supreme Court has released its decision in Trump v. Barbara, the “birthright citizenship” case that has attracted much attention since President Trump issued his Executive Order 14160 immediately after assuming office for his second term. Cutting to the chase, the Court in an opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts has today invalidated the Executive Order. While the decision, of course, will have massive impact on 14th Amendment scholarship, it might well have an equal or greater impact on the different, yet related issue of who can be (or who cannot be)...

The U.S. Supreme Court is busily dishing out its final opinions before heading into America’s 250th birthday. But it’s also announcing which cases it’ll be hearing in its upcoming fall term. As part of its Monday order list, the high court revealed that it will be taking up and holding arguments in a series of legal disputes involving major policy questions. Among those granted “cert” is Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, which deals with a challenge to provisions of Arizona law requiring residents to prove they’re American citizens when registering to vote. As The Federalist previously reported, the...

The Supreme Court will be releasing Opinions from the October 2025 this morning at 10:00.Scotusblog will be liveblogging the release and we will be following along.There are 8 decisions pending for this term and we expect all opinions will be released before July 1st. You can find a list of the cases at October 2025 cases. Note: The word "held" after the case name indicates the Opinion has already been released. The word "Issues" indicates the questions to be resolved by the Court.You can find the Opinions on this term's previously decided cases at October 2025 Opinions. Today's opinions will...

In Part 1 (link below), I argued that the House of Representatives was designed to grow. For most of American history, it did. Then, in 1929, Congress froze the House at 435 seats. It has remained there ever since. Part 2 asks a different question: If the House is supposed to grow, how large should it be? At first, I thought the answer might have something to do with human nature. Maybe there was something buried deep in our DNA — some limit on how many people we can know, trust, manage, or represent. I was wrong. The deeper I...

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) has introduced a resolution to repeal the 17th Amendment. The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of U.S. senators in each state. Before, senators were appointed by state legislatures. The 17th Amendment reads: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of...

The Supreme Court will be releasing Opinions from the October 2025 this morning at 10:00.Scotusblog will be liveblogging the release and we will be following along.There are 12 decisions pending for this term and we expect all opinions will be released by June 30th. You can find a list of the cases at October 2025 cases. Note: The word "held" after the case name indicates the Opinion has already been released. The word "Issues" indicates the questions to be resolved by the Court.You can find the Opinions on this term's previously decided cases at October 2025 Opinions. Today's opinions will...

The Supreme Court will be releasing Opinions from the October 2025 term this morning at 10:00. Scotusblog will be liveblogging the release and we will be following along. There are 17 decisions pending for this term and we expect all opinions will be released by June 30th. You can find a list of the cases at October 2025 cases. Note: The word "held" after the case name indicates the Opinion has already been released. The word "Issues" indicates the questions to be resolved by the Court. You can find the Opinions on this term's previously decided cases at October 2025...

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration does not have to reinstall the original slavery exhibits at the President's House. Three judges vacated a previous injunction compelling the National Parks Service to restore the panels it stripped from the historic site in January. The panel of justices in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that the city had not demonstrated the concrete harm it suffered from the removal, and praised the federal government's proposed alternatives. The case concerns a set of displays detailing George Washington's participation in the slave trade, and the nine enslaved people he...

The Supreme Court will be releasing Opinions from the October 2025 this morning at 10:00.Scotusblog will be liveblogging the release and we will be following along.There are 20 decisions pending for this term and we expect all opinions will be released by June 30th. You can find a list of the cases at October 2025 cases. Note: The word "held" after the case name indicates the Opinion has already been released. The word "Issues" indicates the questions to be resolved by the Court.You can find the Opinions on this term's previously decided cases at October 2025 Opinions. Today's opinions will...

The Supreme Court just issued a unanimous ruling, and the case behind it has everything: Twitter, Saudi dissidents, federal prosecutors, and a fake invoice. The decision came down June 11, 2026, in Abouammo v. United States, No. 25-5146. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for a 9-0 Court, reversing the Ninth Circuit and sending the case back. Legal reporter Katie Buehler summed up the ruling this way: The defendant is Ahmad Abouammo, a former Twitter employee accused of giving confidential information about Saudi dissidents to a high-level Saudi official. According to the Court, the Saudi official wired Abouammo $300,000. Later, after Abouammo...