The faux “party of free speech” strikes again. For years, the MAGA GOP has insisted that it is the true “party of free” speech even as all evidence suggests this administration is the most censorial and the most dismissive of the First Amendment in modern history. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over again we see the Trump administration engaging in blatant and obvious speech suppression.

So it’s no surprise that Republicans all across the country are now responding to any criticism or any reporting on their illegal activities as something they can threaten to suppress. ProPublica recently had an eye-opening deep dive into North Carolina’s Supreme Court chief justice, Paul Newby, who seems to view his job not as ensuring justice is served, but in bending every aspect of the North Carolina judicial system to favor and help Republicans.