Mark Pettus, Publisher
mark.pettus@prioritynews.net
There is a principle that has anchored American justice since before the nation’s founding: If the government wants to punish you, it must prove its case in open court, with you present, with the right to challenge the evidence against you.
Florida’s new domestic terrorism law threatens that principle in ways that should alarm every resident of this state — regardless of party, ideology, or political outlook.
The law, which takes effect in July, creates a mechanism allowing the state to designate groups as “domestic terrorist organizations” outside of a courtroom and without the due process protections that have long served as a bulwark against government overreach. Under this framework, association, speech and support could be penalized based on a government designation made in the dark, with a public records exemption written into the law to keep the labeling process shielded from public scrutiny.
Read that again. The government could label an organization — potentially any organization — and the process by which it does so would be hidden from the public.
That is not how a constitutional republic is supposed to work.
The First Amendment Foundation, Florida’s leading advocate for open government and press freedom, has taken the extraordinary step of launching a crowdfunding campaign in anticipation of litigation to challenge this law. Executive Director Bobby Block acknowledged in announcing the effort that this is new territory for the Foundation, which has spent decades defending Floridians’ right to know, to speak, and to hold government accountable. The organization has never before initiated a lawsuit or tied a public campaign to anticipated litigation.
That it is doing so now speaks to the seriousness of what is at stake.
The Foundation was not a lone voice of warning during the legislative session. Civil rights organizations, student groups, religious organizations and legal scholars all raised constitutional concerns. Those warnings were set aside. The bill became law. Now the courts may have to answer the questions the Legislature chose to ignore.
The constitutional concerns here are not abstract. The First Amendment protects not only what you say, but who you associate with and what causes you support. Laws that chill lawful speech and association — particularly through vague and expansive government power — have a long and troubled history of being turned against the very people they were ostensibly never meant to reach.
Florida already has laws on the books to prosecute those who commit crimes or provide material support for violence. Those tools exist and should be used. What is different about this law is that it creates a parallel system in which the state can impose consequences before any crime is proven — and do so through a process deliberately insulated from public view.
As a newspaper reporter, editor and now publisher, I have long believed that government transparency is not a partisan issue. It is a prerequisite for self-governance. When the process by which someone can be labeled a domestic terrorist is exempt from public records requests, the community loses its ability to evaluate whether the power is being used fairly or abused.
That should concern conservatives who distrust government overreach, and it should concern progressives who worry about civil liberties. It should concern all of us.
Block put it plainly: “If the government can secretly label people or organizations based on ideology or association and impose severe consequences without meaningful constitutional safeguards, that should concern every Floridian, regardless of politics.”
He is right.
This fight will not be easy or inexpensive. Constitutional litigation is slow, costly, and uncertain. The Foundation has been candid that it expects criticism, possible misunderstanding, and even potential retaliation. That candor is itself a mark of institutional integrity.
History has a way of being unkind to those who stood aside when fundamental freedoms were threatened. The First Amendment Foundation has chosen not to stand aside. Floridians who value open government, free speech and due process of law should consider lending their support — financial or otherwise — to this effort.
Freedom is easier to defend before it is lost than after.
The First Amendment Foundation’s GoFundMe campaign is available at firstamendmentfoundation.org.
