We shared the story of a Mississippi city council last week that was so thin-skinned it couldn’t handle a crucial newspaper in the local paper. The City of Clarksdale sued the Clarksdale Press Register for an op-ed that asked why the town lobbied the state government for a” evil income” without a notification to the people or the local press.
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The mayor’s “open” and” transparent” governance was highlighted in the newspaper, but he and the city government didn’t inform the media despite promising to “give appropriate notice of the media,” I wrote last month. The readers acknowledged their support for the taxes, but they questioned why the city had kept the lobbying efforts a secret.
The city clerk acknowledged in the court filing that she had forgotten to inform the internet about the state’s attempts, which turned out to be a state law violation. Despite the absence of a hearing to hear the paper’s side of the story, Judge Crystal Wise Martin ordered the report to remove the editor from its site.
” For over a hundred years, the Press Register has served the citizens of Clarksdale by speaking the truth and printing the information”, said Wyatt Emmerich, chairman of Emmerich Newspapers, the Press Register’s publication. ” We didn’t receive the community’s respect by backing down to lawmakers, and we didn’t plan on starting today”.
The paper relied on the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ( FIRE ) to assist in defending itself from this unconstitutional assault after the order caused a First Amendment firestorm. By the end of last week, FIRE had agreed to assist the Press Register in its efforts to overturn the court’s order.
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According to FIRE lawyer David Rubin,” the repercussions of this situation extend beyond one Mississippi city banning its paper of record.” The First Amendment right of all Americans are in danger if the government can obtain a court order to stop the state from from banning even the most basic inquiries about its decisions.
Connected:  , Did JD Turn the Tide on Free Speech?
The area quickly realized the problem of its methods. The committee convened and decided not to move forward with the press register lawsuit. Dropping the lawsuit also revoked the restraining order, leaving the report free to publish the editor.
” While we are relieved the town has voted to cut its cruel lawsuit, it doesn’t unring this bell”, Rubin said. The Press Register is considering its possibilities to ensure that the city does not continue to practice flagrantly illegal repression in the future.
But Mississippi once more has free speech alive and well. The triumph for media freedom was celebrated by the parties involved in the discussion.
” If asking whether a lawmaker may be dishonest was slander, nearly every American had been bankrupt”, said FIRE lawyer Josh Bleisch. Courts have long held that the First Amendment’s broadest longitude and strongest security are required for political talk about government officials, for good reason. That’s true from the White House all the way down to your local councillor”.
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” If the table had grumbled and gone about their day, this whole brouhaha doesn’t had traveled far outside our area”, said Emmerich. ” But when they tried to judge us, the sight of the country were on Clarksdale and , million heard about our newspaper. Let this be a lesson: if you try to silence one message in America, a hundred more may take up the call”.
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