Florida Judge Who Tried to Ban Protests Forced to Backtrack After Lawsuit Filed

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This story is another example of what can happen when unethical people in positions of power feel like they can get away with anything. In the following case, Jacksonville Florida’s chief judge, Mark Mahon, issued an administration order on July 1 that:

In part banned demonstrations or dissemination of materials on the courthouse grounds that “degrade or call into question the integrity of the court or any of its judges.” The order also banned people from videotaping “all security features” of the courthouse, including any non-public entrance or exit.

The irony of a judge issuing a ban on the First Amendment on courthouse grounds should not be lost on anyone. What’s worse, he may have even gotten away with it if not for the folks at PINAC (Photography is Not a Crime), who sued the judge, and sheriff Mike Williams, forcing these two officials with fascist sympathies to back off.

The Florida-Times Union reports that:

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Turkish President Proclaims “I Am Increasingly Against the Internet Every Day”

Screen Shot 2014-10-04 at 2.28.02 PMA very significant and dangerous trend has been accelerating in recent weeks. This trend consists of leaders throughout the globe coming out and blatantly calling for censorship and restrictions on free speech.

Of course, in so-called Western democracies, the leaders have to be more subtle and nuanced in their approach. They can’t just come out and say they hate the internet. We saw this tactic from the UK Conservative Party as of late with its call for the banning of “non-violent” extremism from public discourse. I covered this terrifying plan in my recent post: The UK’s Conservative Party Declares War on YouTube, Twitter, Free Speech and Common Sense.

While that’s how British politicians pitch totalitarianism, their Turkish counterparts don’t seem to have any qualms about just coming out and admitting their disdain for the proliferation of free speech that the internet allows. We learn from the Independent that:

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