Tag: police

  • ASU Police Reportedly Assisted DHS With Arrest

    ASU Police Reportedly Assisted DHS With Arrest

    yongyuan/iStock/Getty Images

    Arizona State University police assisted in arranging the violent arrest of a staff member by Department of Homeland Security officials earlier this week, The Phoenix New Times reported.

    The ASU chapter of the National Lawyers Guild alleged in an Instagram post that ASU police officer James Quigley arranged a meeting with a staff member, who was not named, “under the pretense of discussing a ‘concern’ about a social media post.” After a brief meeting, the employee was then arrested by multiple plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to the group.

    A purported video of the encounter was later posted on X. The video shows several men with badges, one of whom identifies himself as “a special agent with Homeland Security” twisting an individual’s wrist before kneeing him in the back. In the video, the arrested individual, who is the employee in question, according to the post, asks, “What did I do?” as he is arrested.

    The employee was later released, according to the newspaper. 

    In the aftermath of the arrest, the ASU chapter of the National Lawyers Guild called on the university and President Michael Crow to publicly denounce the incident, end all cooperation with ICE and enact policies “to prevent future targeting and harm” to community members.

    “ASU must protest the safety and dignity of its staff and students—not partner with agencies that terrorize them,” the organization wrote online.

    ASU spokesperson Jerry Gonzalez told Inside Higher Ed that the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security had questioned an employee after receiving an anonymous tip.

    “In order to remain informed about a matter involving an ASU employee, an ASU police officer accompanied a DHS investigator to a meeting with the employee at a coffee shop off campus,” Gonzalez wrote.

    He confirmed that the employee was later released.

    (This article has been updated with a comment from ASU.)



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  • Preventing harm by connecting the dots in school safety

    Preventing harm by connecting the dots in school safety

    Key points:

    Swatting–false reports of school violence intended to trigger a police response–continues to increase across the country. During the 2022–2023 school year, nearly 64 percent of reported violent incidents in K–12 schools were linked to swatting. That’s over 440 incidents in one year–a more than 500 percent jump from just four years prior.

    Each call pulls officers from genuine emergencies, disrupts classrooms, and leaves students and staff shaken. While emergency protocols are essential, when swatting becomes routine, it’s clear that response plans alone won’t solve the problem.

    Unpacking the early signals

    Swatting rarely emerges out of thin air. It’s often the final act following a series of compounding behaviors, such as:

    • Online harassment
    • Peer conflicts
    • Risky social media challenges
    • Unaddressed behavioral concerns

    These warning signs exist, but are typically scattered across multiple school departments.

    Counselors might log escalating incidents. Teachers may notice changes in student behavior, and school resource officers (SROs) might track repeated visits involving the same individuals. Without a unified way to connect these observations, critical warning signs go unnoticed.

    Operationalizing early intervention

    Districts are reimagining how they capture and coordinate behavioral data. The goal isn’t surveillance or punitive action. It’s about empowering the right people with the right context to align and intervene early.

    When schools shift from viewing incidents in isolation to seeing behavior patterns in context, they are better positioned to act before concerns escalate. This can mean initiating mental health referrals, alerting safety teams, or involving families and law enforcement partners at the appropriate moment with comprehensive information.

    Technology that enables teams

    The process requires tools that support secure, centralized documentation and streamline communication across counselors, administrators, safety staff, and other stakeholders. These systems don’t replace human judgment, but create conditions for clearer decisions and more timely coordination.

    Swatting is just one example of how fragmented behavioral data can contribute to high-risk outcomes. Other incidents, such as escalating bullying, persistent mental health concerns, or anonymous threats often follow recognizable patterns that emerge over time. When schools use a centralized system to document and track these behaviors across departments, they can identify those patterns earlier. This kind of structured coordination supports proactive interventions, helping prevent larger issues before they unfold and reinforcing a culture of safety and awareness.

    Consider Washington State, where swatting affected more than 18,000 students last year, costing schools over $270,000 in lost instructional time. These figures illustrate the operational and human costs when coordination breaks down.

    Reducing risk, not just reacting to it

    Swatting is a symptom of a larger issue. Building safer schools means moving upstream from reactive emergency response to proactive coordination. It requires shared insight across teams, strengthened behavioral threat assessment protocols, and the right supports in place well before crisis calls occur.

    Early intervention isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about reducing risk, improving situational clarity, and equipping school communities to act with confidence–not simply responding when harm is imminent.

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  • Shots fired, major police action, active shooter at Emory University campus in Atlanta

    Shots fired, major police action, active shooter at Emory University campus in Atlanta







    Higher Education Inquirer : LIVE SWAT: Shots fired, major police action, active shooter at Emory University campus in Atlanta




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  • Turkish police arrested magazine staff over Muhammad cartoon, but it doesn’t actually depict the prophet

    Turkish police arrested magazine staff over Muhammad cartoon, but it doesn’t actually depict the prophet

    Last year, FIRE launched the Free Speech Dispatch, a regular series covering new and continuing censorship trends and challenges around the world. Our goal is to help readers better understand the global context of free expression. Want to make sure you don’t miss an update? Sign up for our newsletter.

    Five arrests over cartoon “publicly demeaning religious values”

    Turkish police officers walking down street in Istanbul. (Shutterstock.com)

    Cartoons depicting Muhammad are a common feature in censorship news but the latest developments out of Turkey are a little unusual in that the magazine involved is adamant that the cartoon under fire…does not actually depict the prophet. 

    On June 30, Turkish police arrested four employees of satirical magazine LeMan on charges of “publicly demeaning religious values,” with one cartoonist also charged with “insulting the president.” They raided the magazine’s office as well and, two weeks later, arrested a LeMan editor at Istanbul’s airport upon his return from France. The arrests followed an attack on the LeMan office, with a mob breaking open windows and doors.

    The origin of the dispute? A June 26 LeMan edition with an anti-war cartoon depicting two winged men — one depicted as Muslim and introducing himself as Muhammad and the other as Jewish and calling himself Moses — shaking hands as they ascend over a burning city with bombs raining down. The Muhammad character, the magazine said, “is fictionalised as a Muslim killed in Israel’s bombardments” and is named so because it’s the “most commonly given and populous name in the world.”

    The magazine remains adamant its staff is being arrested on the basis of a willful misunderstanding, but for now Turkish officials — including President Erdogan, who called it a “vile provocation” that must be “held accountable before the law” — are intent on prosecution and have seized copies of the edition.

    There’s more free speech news out of Turkey. A new law granted the country’s Presidency of Religious Affairs the authority to ban Quran translations it deems “do not correspond to the basic characteristics of Islam,” including online and audio versions. Meanwhile, a Turkish court blocked some content produced by xAI’s Grok for insulting Erdogan and religious values.

    And Spotify has threatened to leave the Turkish market in part over a censorship dispute with the deputy minister of culture and tourism, who has accused the site of hosting “content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society.” That content apparently includes playlists like “The songs Emine Erdogan listens to while cleaning the palace,” which mocks Erdogan’s wife’s allegedly lavish spending. 

    UK’s free speech controversies online and off — and in American visa policy

    The UK’s free speech issues are nothing new, but this time the U.S. is part of the story, too. UK prosecutors had already announced an investigation into Belfast rap trio Kneecap earlier this year — which, as of last week, has been dropped — but now duo Bob Vylan is on the list. 

    Bob Vylan caught global attention last month in a controversial Glastonbury set which included a “Death, death to the IDF” chant led by the band. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they were reviewing footage to confirm “whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer also objected to the “appalling hate speech” and demanded answers from the BBC about its broadcast of the set. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also said the BBC “appears to have also broken the law.”

    Then the Trump administration joined in. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced shortly after the incident that the U.S. revoked the visa of Bob Vylan members ahead of the band’s upcoming tour. “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he wrote.

    Speech controversies also bloomed outside Glastonbury. UK police have now arrested dozens of demonstrators for attending events opposing the ban on Palestine Action, an activist group restricted under British anti-terrorism legislation for damaging military planes in a protest. Simply “expressing support” for the banned group is a crime. 

    The Wall Street Journal covered the UK’s (and Europe’s) “far and wide” crackdown on speech in a July 7 piece that also discussed the recent targeting of activist Peter Tatchell, arrested by police in London for a “racially and religiously aggravated breach of the peace.” Tatchell’s offense was holding a sign “that criticized Israel for its Gaza campaign as well as Hamas for kidnapping, torturing and executing a 22-year-old.”

    Also, in more unsurprising news, the UK’s troubling Online Safety Act is making its mark on the internet as social media platforms begin the process of age verification for UK-based users. Bluesky users will be required to use Kid Web Services or face content blocks and app limitations. Reddit users must verify too, or lose access to categories of material including “content that promotes or romanticizes depression, hopelessness and despair” and “content that promotes violence.”

    And, finally, is the UK getting a government-imposed swear jar? A district council in Kent is considering a £100 fine for swearing in public. That definitely won’t backfire. 

    Fake news, social media for teens, and more in the latest tech and speech developments 

    • Last week, Russian legislators passed rules issuing fines for people who “deliberately searched for knowingly extremist materials,” with heightened fines for those using a VPN to access them. That’s not just censorship of what you say, but also of what you simply try to see.
    • The European Court of Human Rights ruled in Google’s favor in its dispute with Russia over penalties the government issued against the company over its decision not to remove some political content and to suspend a channel tied to sanctions. Russia, it found, “exerted considerable pressure on Google LLC to censor content on YouTube, thereby interfering with its role as a provider of a platform for the free exchange of ideas and information.”
    • The Indian state of Karnataka is considering legislation that would punish fake news, misinformation, and other verboten forms of speech with fines and prison terms up to seven years.
    • India’s Allahabad High Court refused bail to a man who had posted “heavily edited and objectionable” videos of Prime Minister Modi relating to the country’s recent conflict with Pakistan. “Freedom of speech and expression does not stretch to permit a person posting videos and other posts disrespecting the Prime Minister of India,” the court wrote.
    • An 8-3 vote from Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that social media companies will be held liable for failure to monitor and remove “content involving hate speech, racism, and incitement to violence.”
    • German police conducted a search of more than 65 properties in a crackdown on online hate speech, seeking out offenders allegedly engaged in “inciting hatred, insulting politicians and using symbols of terrorist groups or organizations that are considered to be unconstitutional.”
    • Dozens of online gay erotica writers, mostly young women, have been arrested in recent months in China for “producing and distributing obscene material.”
    • The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has now blocked over 100,000 URLs across the internet for “blasphemous content.”
    • An Australian Administrative Review Tribunal ruling reversed a March order by the country’s eSafety Commissioner requiring X to take down a post from Canadian activist Chris Elston or face a $782,500 fine. Elston had called Teddy Cook, a trans man appointed to a World Health Organization panel, a “woman” who “belong[s] in psychiatric wards.”
    • New guidelines issued by the European Commission press for EU nations’ adoption of tools to verify internet users’ age to protect them against harmful content. The verification methods should be “accurate, reliable, robust, non-intrusive and non-discriminatory” — quite a Herculean feat to expect.
    • China is introducing a new digital ID system transferring the possession of users’ identifying information away from internet companies and into government hands. The process, voluntary at this time, will require users to submit personal information, including a facial scan.

    Former Panamanian president alleges U.S. visa revocation for his political speech 

    Martín Torrijos, a former president of Panama, says the U.S. canceled his visa over his opposition to political agreements made between the two countries. Torrijos suggested his signature on the “National Unity and Defense of Sovereignty” statement, which criticized “expansionist and hegemonic intentions” by the United States, also contributed to the revocation. 

    “I want to emphasize that this is not just about me, neither personally nor in my capacity as former president of the Republic,” Torrijos said. “It is a warning to all Panamanians: that criticism of the actions of the Government of Panama regarding its relations with the United States will not be tolerated.”

    Free press news, from Azerbaijan to Arad 

    • Zimbabwe Independent editor Faith Zaba penned a satirical column about the country’s role in the Southern African Development Community — and was then arrested by police and charged with “undermining the authority of the president.”
    • Yair Maayan, mayor of Israeli city Arad, announced he intended to ban the sale of Haaretz over the newspaper’s investigation into the IDF.
    • Tel Aviv police arrested journalist Israel Frey on suspicion of incitement to terrorism for his response to the death of five IDF soldiers. “The world is a better place this morning, without five young men who partook in one of the most brutal crimes against humanity,” he posted on social media.
    • The Baku Court of Serious Crimes sentenced seven staffers at Azerbaijani investigative outlet Abzas Media to prison terms ranging from seven to more than nine years on various tax and fraud charges. Press freedom advocates say the charges are in retaliation for the outlet’s reporting on presidential corruption.
    • A German court overturned the ban on Alternative for Germany-linked magazine Compact, which Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had called “a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene.” The court found that the measure was not justified.
    • The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s military arrested journalist Serge Sindani after he shared a photo showing military planes at Bangoka International Airport.
    • At least two journalists were injured during recent protests in Kenya, where the country’s Communications Authority demanded “all television and radio stations to stop any live coverage of the demonstrations” or risk “regulatory action.”
    • Police in Nepal are ignoring a court order and attempting to hunt down and arrest journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak for his reporting alleging political corruption.  

    Changes on the horizon in higher education abroad

    New wide-ranging guidance from the UK’s Office for Students includes the recommendation that universities amend or terminate international partnerships and agreements if necessary to protect the speech rights of their community. This is welcome advice given global higher education’s failure to acknowledge and account for the challenges internationalization has posed to expressive rights, a problem I discuss in my forthcoming book Authoritarians in the Academy, out Aug. 19 and available for pre-order now.

    And, like in the United States, universities in Australia are facing pressure over allegations of campus antisemitism. The nation’s Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism advocates various measures, including adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition and its examples. Universities that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism” may face defunding. (FIRE has repeatedly expressed concerns about these applications of the IHRA definition in the U.S. and the likelihood it will censor or chill protected political speech.) The report also advises that non-citizens, which would include international students, “involved in antisemitism should face visa cancellation and removal from Australia.”

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  • Pennsylvania officers face First Amendment lawsuit for trying to criminalize profanity and using patrol car to chase man who recorded police

    Pennsylvania officers face First Amendment lawsuit for trying to criminalize profanity and using patrol car to chase man who recorded police

    ALLENTOWN, Pa., July 23, 2025 — In a bizarre scene, a police officer in Allentown, Pennsylvania, drove his patrol cruiser down a sidewalk at a man who was protesting police misconduct by filming outside a police station. 

    Today the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a lawsuit defending Phil Rishel’s rights to film and criticize police activity in public spaces — behavior that is protected by the First Amendment — without being assaulted or retaliated against for doing so. 

    “The retaliation over my speech confirms that there is a huge issue with the culture of the Allentown Police Department,” said Phil. “These officers have a disdain for the rights of the people they’re sworn to protect — and I hope my lawsuit changes things for the better.”

    Since 2015, the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania, has paid at least $2 million related to claims of police misconduct. In 2023, Phil began protesting in Allentown by non-disruptively recording police activity while standing on public sidewalks outside local police precincts.

    COURTESY PHOTOS OF PHIL RISHEL

    On March 26, 2024, Phil went to the Hamilton Street police station, where he stood on a public sidewalk and recorded what he could see in plain view. Approximately 15 minutes after he arrived, an officer approached him and briefly paused while looking at a “No Trespassing” sign. Phil responded, “Yeah, that’s a nice sign. Too bad it doesn’t apply to the public sidewalk.” The officer then silently walked away from Phil into the depths of the garage and up a vehicle ramp. Phil called out after him about his disregard of a sign next to the ramp that read: “PEDESTRIANS MUST USE STAIRS ONLY.”

    About 10 minutes later, the officer drove his patrol car out of the garage and sharply turned onto the sidewalk towards Phil while blaring the siren. The officer pursued him down the sidewalk, even driving around a lamppost in his way and back onto the sidewalk to chase Phil. The officer then exited the car, went into the office, and emerged with a police sergeant. They accused Phil of loitering and banned him from the public sidewalk under threat of arrest. 

    WATCH THE VIDEO FOOTAGE

    The next day, Phil returned to the same public sidewalk outside the Hamilton Street station’s parking garage and picked up where he left off, recording police activity in plain view. The same sergeant threatened to arrest him for returning and told him that filming the police “is not a First Amendment right,” while also claiming that Phil’s profanity the previous day constituted disorderly conduct. Ultimately, he charged Phil with disorderly conduct and loitering via a criminal citation sent in the mail.

    At the hearing on the criminal charge, the sergeant testified that Phil was in an area closed for construction and blocked pedestrian traffic and the parking garage entrance, but none of this was true, as shown by the video Phil took that day. Based on the sergeant’s testimony, the court found Phil guilty on the loitering charge, although the conviction was reversed on appeal. The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed by the lower court based on longstanding Pennsylvania case law.

    The First Amendment protects citizens’ right to film police officers and their activities. It also protects individuals who verbally criticize police and their actions, even by cursing or using profane language. 

    FIRE’s lawsuit seeks to enforce these established constitutional rights for Phil and other Allentown citizens. The complaint seeks a declaration that the Allentown police violated First Amendment rights, an injunction against the City of Allentown for failing to provide adequate training to its police officers about protecting and respecting First Amendment rights, and an award of damages to Phil for the treatment he received.

    “Citizens trying to hold police officers accountable should not be punished,” said FIRE attorney Zach Silver. “Public officials, including police officers, must uphold the law and respect citizens’ right to record police and to use harsh language, not bully them into silence.”

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought—the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

    CONTACT
    Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; [email protected] 

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  • Police Raids Targeted Michigan Palestine Activists

    Police Raids Targeted Michigan Palestine Activists

    The Graduate Employees’ Organization union says pro-Palestine activists were targeted.

    Nicholas Klein/iStock/Getty Images

    Police raided five homes connected to University of Michigan pro-Palestinian activists on Wednesday, according to the university’s graduate student union. A spokesperson for the state’s attorney general told Inside Higher Ed the investigation is into “multi-jurisdictional acts of vandalism” but didn’t provide many more details.

    Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said the search warrants were part of an attorney general investigation “against multiple individuals in multiple jurisdictions including Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti.”

    Wimmer said many agencies were involved Wednesday, including local, state and federal authorities, but he didn’t name specific ones and didn’t say whether personal items had been confiscated. He said the searches weren’t related to campus protest activity.

    In a post on X, the attorney general’s office said the alleged vandalism was “against multiple homes, organizations, and businesses in multiple counties.”

    Lavinia Dunagan, a Ph.D. student who is a co-chair of the union’s communications committee, said at least seven people were detained but none arrested. All are students, save for one employee of Michigan Medicine, she said. She declined to name them, saying she didn’t know all of their identities and citing safety concerns for those who were targeted.

    Brian Taylor, a university spokesperson, deferred questions to the attorney general’s office.

    Dunagan said those detained were taken into officers’ cars and not allowed to leave until they provided information and allowed cheek swabs. She said the FBI, Michigan State Police and local police were involved.

    The union—the Graduate Employees’ Organization, or GEO—said in a news release that “officers detained and questioned two activists, including a member of GEO, and confiscated their electronic devices” in Ann Arbor, home of Michigan’s flagship campus. GEO also said four people were “detained and released” in Ypsilanti, and one home was “raided” in Canton.

    “The officers also confiscated personal belongings from multiple residences and at least two cars,” GEO said, adding that “at this time, all activists are safe.”

    Wimmer did say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasn’t involved, and that the attorney general’s office believes all subjects of the search warrants are U.S. citizens. The union also said in its release, “We are not aware of any visa holders being affected by these raids.”

    The state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a news release that homes of “students and former students at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor who were involved in pro-Palestinian activism were raided.” The organization said, “Property damage at residences took place, and individuals were handcuffed without charges during the aggressive raids.”

    The organization said it had staff “on location at one of the raided residences” and it “continues to offer legal assistance to those impacted and is actively monitoring the situation for potential civil rights violations.”

    Dunagan said, “We are just really concerned about potentially future repression of political activity.”

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  • Florida Atlantic Police Seek Immigration Enforcement Powers

    Florida Atlantic Police Seek Immigration Enforcement Powers

    Florida Atlantic University reportedly has a pending agreement with the federal government to allow its campus police department to question and detain individuals who are suspected of being in the U.S. without legal authorization, The Florida Phoenix reported.

    The public university located in Boca Raton is a Hispanic-serving institution.

    If FAU police acquire immigration enforcement authority, the university would seemingly be the first in the nation to deputize campus cops as federal enforcement agents, the Phoenix noted.

    However, it appears that all other Florida institutions with sworn police departments will follow FAU’s lead to comply with a February directive from Gov. Ron DeSantis requiring state law enforcement agencies to enter into an agreement “to execute functions of immigration enforcement within the state” so “deportations can be carried out more efficiently.”

    “All state law enforcement agencies are expected to follow the governor’s Feb. 19 directive on working U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” FAU spokesperson Joshua Glanzer wrote to Inside Higher Ed. “This includes FAUPD and other state university police departments.”

    The move comes after Florida Atlantic hired former GOP lawmaker Adam Hasner to be president in February. Hasner, who once boasted of being “the most partisan Republican in Tallahassee,” served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010. Prior to taking the top job at FAU, Hasner was an executive at the GEO Group, a for-profit prison company. 

    The GEO Group currently runs more than a dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers in California, Florida, Texas and various other states, according to its website.

    Hasner’s history with the GEO Group was a matter of contention for students and others during the hiring process; some raised objections during public forums about his for-profit prison past. Other critics expressed concerns about his lack of administrative experience in higher education.

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  • Former Kansas City School Police Officer Fights for Student Safety Via Nonprofit – The 74

    Former Kansas City School Police Officer Fights for Student Safety Via Nonprofit – The 74

    KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Marialexa Sanoja publicly quit her job as a Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools police officer over concerns with the district’s handling of student safety needs and founded a nonprofit to help kids escape the challenges in Wyandotte County.

    In the three-and-a-half months Sanoja was stationed at Wyandotte High School, the district’s largest school with 1900 students, Sanoja said she filed 140 incident reports and that in most instances the district failed to take action. The district, through its YouTube channel, disputed her figures and asserted it handled concerns responsibly.

    “It didn’t take long for me to find out that the students were not in the best interest of anybody,” Sanoja said. “When the police officer becomes a safe space for students, there is something wrong with that.”

    After her resignation in December 2023, Sanoja founded Missión Despegue, translated to “mission takeoff,” a nonprofit that helps parents and students document their grievances with the school district to hold the district accountable for its handling of safety issues.

    Sanoja saw the district’s response to a sexual assault case and its communication as inadequate, and experts echo her concerns. Now, Sanoja works with current and former students to get their GED certificates, drivers licenses, mental health care and prevent substance abuse.

    Sanoja’s concerns

    Sanoja said much of the Latino community, which makes up 72% of Wyandotte High School, is afraid to complain or make a scene because many of them are new to the country. She aims to empower them, and help them achieve the “American dream.”

    One reason Sanoja resigned — and a former student dropped out — was because of the district’s response to the former student’s experience of being sexually assaulted at school. Kansas Reflector doesn’t identify minors who have been sexually assaulted.

    According to an incident report filed by Sanoja, the former student was a freshman and alone in the Wyandotte High School stairwell when a group of older boys groped her and made sexual remarks. She began recording the boys with her phone, which prompted them to leave, the report said.

    Sanoja was off duty that day. The former student asked the on-duty officer to file a report, which Sanoja says she never saw. The day after, Sanoja and the former student said they filed an incident, criminal, and Title IX report. The former student wanted to press charges.

    “After that, I just stopped going to school, because I didn’t feel safe,” the former student said in an interview with Kansas Reflector.

    Sanoja said security camera footage and the former student’s video showed the boys’ faces. The former student said the district told her that because the boys never returned to school, it could not suspend them. However, the former student said she continued to see the boys on campus.

    “Ultimately, the district didn’t do anything about it. We were asking, at least, for suspension. That didn’t happen,” Sanoja said.

    A spokesperson from the district told Kansas Reflector it was unable to provide comment on the former student’s case, or the district’s responsibility to handle reports of sexual assault.

    Sanoja publicly resigned with a letter that accused the district of failing to communicate with parents. She wrote that she was worried about instances where students brought guns to school property and all parents weren’t notified.

    In a response video to Sanoja’s resignation, district superintendent Anna Stubblefield said “those incidents are not always relayed to all families. Not because we’re hiding anything, but because the impact is low and to protect the privacy of our students.”

    A district spokesperson told Kansas Reflector the “administration is required to contact parents regarding student issues — such as absences, drug-related concerns, or fights — in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.”

    Expert opinions

    Ken Trump, an expert in school safety communications who is not related to the president, said parental anxiety over school safety is rising nationwide.

    “It’s very easy to get caught up if you’ve got a couple thousand kids in a school, dealing with incidents and other things. But you need to take a tactical pause in this, and go back to looking at the communications,” Trump said. “You can’t go back to the old-school mindset of if someone finds out about it we’ll talk. That doesn’t work anymore.”

    Sanoja said that after a student overdosed at school and she contacted the parents directly, the high school principal told Sanoja to route all communication with parents through administration.

    Sanoja said that she continues to receive videos of physical fights in the schools, totaling in the hundreds, since her resignation.

    Michael Dorn, a school safety expert who assists schools after major acts of violence, said  Sanoja’s allegations were concerning. He said he would have responded to her concerns differently than the school district did.

    “I was a school district police chief for 10 years,” Dorn said. “If an officer in my department wrote that kind of resignation letter, I would request a state police investigation. I would ask for a polygraph test, and I would ask that she be polygraphed. I wouldn’t do anything like that, but if someone alleged that I did and I didn’t do it, I would request that to clear my name.”

    Sanoja worked as a police officer in Lenexa before transitioning to the school district and said Wyandotte High School presented the most significant challenges she’s seen. She believes the problems are “within the culture” of the school.

    “Everybody’s tired of the way the district is handling things,” Sanoja said. “They’ve been failing these kids for years.”

    Fixing root causes

    Through her nonprofit, Sanoja helps students who leave the district, like the former student who was sexually assaulted, earn their GED certificate.

    When they’re out of the school environment, Sanoja said, they thrive.

    Sanoja said most of the families she works with are immigrants, and the parents do not speak English.

    “We face the daunting task of ending the stigma, shame and judgement that come with our culture,” Sanoja said.

    Missión Despegue seeks to fix the root causes of the problems seen in school — like substance abuse, violence, bullying, and mental health issues. Sanoja said she sees these problems reflected in things like the graduation rate of the district. For the 2023-2024 school year it was 78.1%, which is 11.4 percentage points lower than the state average.

    Through donations, Sanoja covers the cost of mental health appointments, DMV license and GED class registrations, and laptop purchases for students pursuing their GED certificate without one. In February, she began converting first-time offenders’ court fees, in hopes of reducing recidivism.

    With the help of more than 100 volunteers, Sanoja has hosted events where she provides Narcan and educates parents about the dangers of substance abuse. She also guides volunteers to further training, like drug prevention and compassion fatigue workshops.

    Sanoja said she doesn’t get paid for her work with Missión Despegue. She said she needs an assistant, because she has “a long list of people that need help.”

    “I see something in them. I know they’re going to be successful,” Sanoja said. “I want that opportunity for every kid I have.”

    Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: [email protected].


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  • FIRE demands Fort Worth police return artwork confiscated from museum

    FIRE demands Fort Worth police return artwork confiscated from museum

    FORT WORTH, Feb. 19, 2025 — A trio of civil liberty organizations are speaking up today to demand the Fort Worth Police Department end its unconstitutional censorship and seizure of several pieces of art that were on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas are joining forces to demand the return of several pieces of art by Sally Mann, a renowned photographer with accolades from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

    In November 2024, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth began hosting an exhibition called “Diaries from Home,” featuring works that “explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.” Included in the collection were some of the photos from Mann’s 1990 collection “Immediate Family.” Mann’s collection featured an intimate and candid look at her family’s rural life. As she describes it, “I photographed their triumphs, confusion, harmony and isolation, as well as the hardships that tend to befall children — bruises, vomit, bloody noses, wet beds — all of it.”

    Of the 65 photos in Mann’s “Immediate Family,” 13 depicted her children in the nude. The selection of nude photos displayed in the Modern reportedly included depictions of Mann’s daughter jumping onto a picnic table in a ballet pose, Mann’s daughter lying in bed with a stain from a nighttime accident, and Mann’s son with a melted popsicle running down his body.

    “Anyone who’s ever taken a photo of their child or grandchild taking a bath understands that not all photographs of child nudity are malicious, let alone child abuse,” said FIRE Director of Public Advocacy Aaron Terr. “The seizure of Mann’s works is an egregious abuse of power that dishonestly conflates artistic expression with sexual exploitation.”

    The works are not the product of child abuse, and they are neither intended nor designed to excite lust in the viewer. They do what much art does — convey ideas and invite viewers to reflect on the human experience.

    Nor do the works meet the legal definition of “obscenity,” an extremely narrow definition that does not apply to all depictions of child nudity. This should be common sense to anyone familiar with the iconic “Napalm Girl” photograph, National Geographic documentaries, or even major Hollywood films like the 1978 version of “Superman.”

    “Immediate Family” was controversial even at its debut decades ago, but has been showcased in more than a dozen art galleries across the world, including the National Gallery of Art. But its inclusion in the Fort Worth exhibition reignited the debate when local press and politicians denounced the photos as “child pornography.” Fort Worth police seized the artwork last month ostensibly as part of an investigation into “child abuse,” even though all of Mann’s children, as adults, continued to support the collection and their mother and have never once suggested they were abused.

    “Publicity stunts like this one — in which artworks that have been shown and discussed for over 30 years are suddenly the focus of an unfounded ‘investigation’ — do nothing to protect victims of child abuse, and serve only to chill the creative expressions of artists and cultural institutions by subjecting them to the threat of political prosecution and the unconstitutional seizure of artwork,” said Elizabeth Larison, Director of NCAC’s Arts and Culture Advocacy Program.

    “It’s shameful that government officials would use the criminal legal process to censor art and expression,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “This is a clear violation of the First Amendment and of the guardrails against abuse of the criminal justice system. Artistic expression should not be subject to the whim and punishment of government officials’ personal taste.”

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

    The ACLU of Texas is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

    Since its inception in 1974, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has functioned as a first responder in protecting freedom of expression, a fundamental human right and a keystone of democracy. Representing 60 national education, publishing, and arts organizations, NCAC encourages and facilitates dialogue between diverse voices, perspectives, and audiences.

    CONTACT:

    Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; [email protected]

    Kristi Gross, Press Strategist, ACLU of Texas, [email protected]

    Alex Finan, Communications Lead, NCAC, [email protected]

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  • China’s censorship goes global — from secret police stations to video games

    China’s censorship goes global — from secret police stations to video games

    Last year, FIRE launched the Free Speech Dispatch, a regular series covering new and continuing censorship trends and challenges around the world. Our goal is to help readers better understand the global context of free expression. The previous entry covered Australia’s ban on teen social media, South Korea’s martial law decree, and more. Want to make sure you don’t miss an update? Sign up for our newsletter. 

    China’s censorship in the news — and in the U.S.

    • Late last month, a New York man pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court to his role in running a secret Chinese government police station in Manhattan. The Chinese government is accused of setting up over a hundred such stations worldwide and using them to surveil, threaten, and silence dissidents outside its borders. His prosecution is the latest in a series of Department of Justice efforts to combat foreign governments’ targeting their critics within U.S. borders.
    • On a related note, President Joe Biden established a “China Censorship Monitor and Action Group” in December. The group’s mission is to “monitor and address the effects of any efforts by the PRC to censor or intimidate, in the United States or in any of its possessions or territories, any United States person, including a United States company that conducts business in the PRC, exercising its freedom of speech.”
    • If you’re a gamer, you might be excited about the popular new video game “Marvel Rivals.” But you may be disappointed to learn that the game comes with some strings attached — namely, users cannot make political statements that the Chinese Communist Party dislikes. The game, created by Marvel and Chinese developer NetEase, blocks users from typing phrases in the chat function including “Tiananmen Square,” “free Taiwan,” “free Hong Kong,” “free Tibet,” and “Taiwan is a country.” What is allowed? Negative commentary about Taiwan. 

    On a somber anniversary, a glimmer of hope for blasphemers

    Sign reading Je Suis Charlie at a memorial for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo magazine terror attacks in 2015. (conejota / Shutterstock.com)

    Jan. 7 marked the tenth anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, in which cartoonists and staff from satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo were killed by gunmen over the magazine’s depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. The magazine commemorated the date with a contest for the “funniest and meanest” depictions of God. 

    As I wrote about the anniversary, we have failed to protect blasphemers since the killings and, in some ways, the legal realities are getting even worse for those accused of transgressing against deities. But there are a couple of bright spots in the wake of the commemoration. 


    WATCH: UK to create blasphemy laws?

    A BBC report released on the anniversary itself announced that Nigerian humanist Mubarak Bala was set free from prison after a nearly five year legal battle. Bala was initially sentenced to 24 years in prison for blasphemous Facebook posts. His sentence was reduced last year, and although he has now been released, he is not exactly free. Bala is in hiding in a safe house, due to concerns that he will be attacked by vigilantes or mobs.

    And, now, Spain is looking to set a good example, with the Socialist party’s introduction of a bill that would, among other things, repeal the country’s blasphemy law that hands out fines to offenders. This law “rarely achieves convictions and yet it is constantly used by extremist and fundamentalist organisations to persecute artists, activists (and) elected representatives, subjecting them to costly criminal proceedings,” the party’s spokesperson said. 

    The legislation was prompted by a lawsuit “brought by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers) against comedienne Lalachus after she, in a state television appearance during New Year’s Eve celebrations, brandished an image of Jesus on which the head of the cow mascot for a popular TV program had been superimposed.”

    The latest in speech rulings and regulations

    From the UK to Germany to Singapore: Police are watching what you post

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    Police detained a pro-Palestinian activist in London under the UK’s Terrorism Act for, as the arresting officer put it, “making a hate speech.”


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    • Lithuania’s Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional a provision in the country’s Law on the Protection of Minors from Negative Effects of Public Information, which stated that information about non-traditional families was harmful to minors and could be restricted.
    • Irish media regulator Coimisiún na Meán released a decision last month warning Meta to take “specific measures” to reduce the “dissemination of terrorist content” on Facebook and report its progress. The nature of the “terrorist content” remains unclear.
    • The UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal issued a ruling finding that an “undercover surveillance operation” by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Metropolitan Police to identify journalists’ sources was “disproportionate” and “undermined” media protections
    • Albania announced a one-year ban on TikTok, with the country’s prime minister blaming the app for violence among young people, including the recent stabbing death of a 14-year-old. (The Supreme Court is deliberating the TikTok ban here in the United States, a ban FIRE opposes as a First Amendment violation.)
    • On Christmas Day, Vietnam enacted a new decree requiring social media users to verify their identity, a tool that’s ripe for abuse in a country known for its crusade to silence online government critics.

    Maker of infamous Pegasus spyware loses to WhatsApp in California court 

    NSO Group Technologies is an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus

    NSO Group Technologies is a cyber-intelligence firm known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus. (poetra / Shutterstock.com)

    Meta’s WhatsApp won a major victory in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against the NSO Group, an Israel-based spyware company. The NSO Group was accused of exploiting WhatsApp to install its infamous Pegasus spyware program into over a thousand phones. 

    Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by NSO Group, became the center of blockbuster reporting in recent years over its use to target human rights activists and journalists — and the wife of Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S. based journalist who was brutally murdered in the Saudi consulate in 2018.

    Deepening repression continues into 2025

    The new year unfortunately doesn’t mean an end to repressive trends around the world, some of which have been building for years or even decades. 

    • Hong Kong is once again attempting to punish its exiled pro-democracy activists. Late last month, Hong Kong police offered large rewards for information assisting in the arrest of activists now in the UK and Canada who are accused of national security law violations. Then the city’s government canceled the passports of seven activist “absconders,” including some based in the U.S. “You will become a discarded soldier, you will have no identity,” Secretary for Security Chris Tang said at a press conference. “After I cancelled your passport, you cannot go anywhere.” And early this week, police raided a pollster’s home and office over claims he assisted a “wanted person who has absconded overseas.”
    • Meanwhile, critics are still being punished regularly within Hong Kong. A 19-year-old student is battling charges that he insulted China’s national anthem by turning his back while it played at a World Cup qualifier. He pleaded not guilty this month.
    • A teenage girl spent the holidays in pre-trial detention in St. Petersburg, Russia, after being detained on charges of “public calls for committing terrorist activities or public justification of terrorism.” The 16-year-old allegedly put on her school’s bulletin board flyers celebrating “Heroes of Russia” — Russian troops who defected to fight for Ukraine. 
    • It’s difficult to imagine any more ways the Taliban could dream up to suppress the expression and presence of women of Afghanistan, but they found another. A government spokesman announced that existing buildings and new construction would be required to obscure or eliminate windows showing “the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour’s well and other places usually used by women,” as the sight of them could “lead to obscene acts.” 
    • Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, whose repeat and unjust prosecutions I’ve discussed in previous Dispatch entries, has once again been sentenced to prison for his commentary about Thailand’s monarchy. This time he’s been sentenced to nearly three years in prison over an anti-monarchy Harry Potter-themed 2020 protest. In total, that puts him at almost 19 years in prison.
    • Apple and Google pulled VPNs from their app stores in India in response to an order from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, an act that “marks the first significant implementation of India’s 2022 regulatory framework governing VPN apps.” These regulations require VPN providers to keep for five years records of users’ names and identifying information.
    • A Uyghur woman was sentenced to 17 years in prison for engaging in “illegal underground religious activity” by teaching about Islam to her sons and neighbor.
    • Kenya’s president claimed for months that allegations of forced disappearances of activists connected to a youth protest movement were “fake news” but now appears to admit the government’s responsibility and promises an end to the kidnappings. “What has been said about abductions, we will stop them so Kenyan youth can live in peace, but they should have discipline and be polite so that we can build Kenya together,” president William Ruto said last month.
    • This month, Vietnamese lawyer Tran Dinh Trien went on trial for “infringing upon the interests of the state” in three Facebook posts criticizing the chief justice of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam. He’s potentially facing up to seven years in prison.
    • And last week, María Corina Machado, opposition leader against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was “violently intercepted” and arrested after exiting a protest in Caracas. Machado had previously been in hiding from an arrest warrant issued against her. She’s since been released but her team alleges that she “was forced to record several videos” before being set free.

    Recently unbanned Satanic Verses is popular in India’s bookstores — for now

    Salman Rushdie speaks at the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023

    Salman Rushdie, author of “The Satanic Verses” speaks at the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct. 21, 2023.

    In November, I noted that India’s ban on Salman Rushdie’s controversial bestseller “The Satanic Verses” was ending for an absurd reason: No one could find the decades-old order from customs authorities banning its import. 

    The book is now available in the country’s shops and appears to be a hit. One store manager said he was selling out of copies, despite the book’s higher-than-average cost. But not everyone is thrilled by its popularity. Groups calling for a reinstatement of the ban include the Forum Against Blasphemy and the All India Muslim Jamaat, whose president said, “No Muslim can tolerate seeing this hateful book on any bookstore shelf.”

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