Free Republic

From Justice Sotomayor's opinion today in NRA v. Vullo (the NRA was represented by the ACLU, with David Cole arguing before the Court; by William Brewer, Sarah Rogers & Noah Peters of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors; and by me): "[A.] Six decades ago, this Court held that a government entity's "threat of invoking legal sanctions and other means of coercion" against a third party "to achieve the suppression" of disfavored speech violates the First Amendment. Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan (1963). Today, the Court reaffirms what it said then: Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to...

New York Attorney General Letitia James has already lost the first battle in corut after she tried to shut down pro-life pregnancy centers. The New York attorney general is facing multiple lawsuits for using her power to censor pro-life pregnancy centers because they tell women about the option of using progesterone for abortion pill reversal. Progesterone is a safe and naturally occurring hormone that can be used to counteract the life-ending effects of abortion drugs. James recently sued 11 faith-based pro-life pregnancy centers and a network of affiliated centers in the state, alleging—despite evidence to the contrary—that the centers are...

The Manhattan court docket says it’s the “People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.” Legally, yes, but in a larger truth, no. As the case nears the finish line, it increasingly feels as if New York itself is on trial. Only a top-quality case, beyond reproach and political taint, should have been used to bring the first-ever indictment of a former president. Instead, the city and state put on a show trial long on theatrics–porn star testifies about sex! — and short on evidence that any crime was actually committed. And so the script has flipped,...

A controversial bill being pushed by lefty legislators in Albany is trying to make the Empire State less “white,” critics say. The legislation, sponsored by Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas (D-Queens) and Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), would mandate state agencies and other entities use separate categories for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) New Yorkers when collecting demographics data – rather than relying on the US Census, which classifies them under one “white” umbrella. The state Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to pass it, but González-Rojas’ version of the bill is still facing pushback in the Assembly. Both pols argue “MENA” individuals...

The controversial Equal Rights Amendment, which was on the ballot for the November elections in New York, has been tossed by a judge on procedural grounds. The ruling is a victory for Republicans and opponents of the bill who say it was written too broadly and could trample parents’ rights when it comes to decisions like children receiving gender-affirming procedures. The ERA was a rapid response by New York Democrats to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022. The amendment passed both houses of the New York legislature in a special session just one...

President Trump just can’t stop winning, as the many indictments levied against him by his political opponents continue to earn him billions of dollars worth of press coverage. In fact, these indictments and the resulting media storm are doing a better job of convincing doubters of the authenticity of his agenda than President Trump and his team could likely do on their own!

The prosecutor at the center of former President Donald Trump’s so-called "hush money" trial in New York received a total of $12,000 from the Democratic National Committee for consulting work in 2018, records show. According to the data collected by the Federal Election Commission, the DNC gave Matthew Colangelo two $6,000 payments in January 2018 for “political consulting.” At the time of the payments, Colangelo was working in the office of then-New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman as a deputy, according to Fox News. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the current case against Trump, also worked in that...

When Democrat politicians in New York passed the Adult Survivors Act to punish Donald Trump and provide the ability for E. Jean Carroll to go after Trump 30 years later, their Trump Derangement Syndrome blinded them to how it might impact them. The now-expired act allowed alleged victims to file civil lawsuits against their accused attackers within a specific window, even if the state’s statute of limitations had run out on their claims. In November, The Gateway Pundit reported on allegations of sexual assault against embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) stemming from an incident in 1993. Now,...

NEW YORK -- Searches by the Gilgo Beach Task Force expanded through a wide area of New York's Suffolk County woods this weekend. On Friday, the search extended to North Sea, where Sandra Costilla, 28, was discovered dead in Nov. 1993. John Bittrolff has been long suspected but never charged in her death, according to our sister station WABC. Bittrolff was convicted in 2017 in the murders of two other women, whose bodies were found in 1993 and 1994 in East Patchogue and Shirley

SHOCKING: Trump Prosecutor PLEADS FIFTH when asked if he BROKE THE LAW investigating Trump!

How many days have we been into this circus? Still not a single crime presented. Still waiting.

Business groups are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration to delay regulations that would significantly restrict widely used coolant chemicals — a priority under the state’s sweeping climate law — that they say could wreak financial havoc on stakeholders ranging from grocery stores to hospitals. The mandates have stoked concerns from trade groups ranging from the Business Council to the New York Farm Bureau. A broad coalition of business interests sent a letter to Hochul and the state Department of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday arguing that the state’s timeline is not feasible. DEC’s proposed phaseout of chemical compounds known as “hydrofluorocarbons,”...

Black Democrat Voter Now Wears A Chicago For Trump Hat

An upstate New York district attorney refused to stop for cops when she was caught speeding — and instead drove back her house and called the police chief to complain about the “a–hole” officer who pursued her home, bodycam footage shows. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley admitted that she was driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone on Monday on Phillips Road in Webster — less than half a mile from her neighborhood, WHAM reported. “Once I realized that the intention of the [police car] was to pull me over, I called the Webster Police Chief to inform...

Special needs students at a New York City middle school could be forced off of its campus due to an influx of migrant children as a result of the ongoing border crisis, a looming decision that sparked protests against the relocation. Justin Holland, a student at West Prep Academy, which is housed in the same school building as PS 145 in the Upper West Side, said he feels like he’s being "pushed out" of a safe space. "This is a change for me and I don’t like change. I just don’t like how we’re being pushed into a new environment...

There's been a case in New York that I should have been following more closely. Dexter Taylor was a hobby gunsmith. He liked the nature of putting together guns from lawfully purchased parts. However, the state of New York disapproved of this pastime. They arrested Taylor and, on Monday, he was convicted. My friend Jeff Charles over at our sister site RedState has been covering this case pretty much from the jump, and in his story from Monday about the sentencing, there was something we had to talk about. You see, the judge in the case has decided that a...

As the first day of testimony wrapped up in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, new polling showed that a majority of New Yorkers consider the prosecution warranted. A Siena College Research Institute poll released Monday, April 22, showed that 54 percent of respondents said the trial is “legitimate,” while 30 percent saw the prosecution as a meritless “witch hunt.” Broken down by party, 77 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of independents called the proceedings a “legitimate trial to determine whether Trump is or is not guilty of criminal behavior.” Meanwhile, 66 percent of Republicans considered the trial a...

A Brooklyn man has been convicted of 13 weapons charges after having been arrested and charged in 2022 for building his own firearms. Dexter Taylor’s ordeal could become a landmark Second Amendment case in light of the Bruen ruling handed down in the same year. The jury found Taylor guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, five counts of criminal possession of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of five or more firearms, unlawful possession of pistol ammunition, violation of certificate of registration, prohibition on unfinished frames or receivers. Two...

A Home Depot in New Rochelle, New York, is taking drastic measures to ensure shoppers are safe from “aggressive” migrants and thieves. The store now has two guards wearing MSA security hats and bulletproof vests patrolling the parking lot, the New York Post said Sunday. But that is not all. The guards had a German shepherd with them.

Actress Susan Sarandon — who was dropped last year from a talent agency over her anti-Jewish rant — and Shellyne Rodriguez, the ex-professor who threatened a Post reporter with a machete, were both spotted at an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University Friday. The Oscar-winning “Thelma and Louise” star was seen strolling among demonstrators with “Free Palestine” signs while sporting a grin and an odd leather coat jacket decked out with an image of Bart Simpson on its red leather sleeve. The 77-year-old celebrity has rocked the same quirky get-up at other anti-Israel demonstrations in recent months.