WASHINGTON—National Public Radio (NPR) and other public radio organizations today filed a lawsuit in federal court over President Trump’s executive order that aims to end federal funding for NPR and PBS, saying it violates the Constitution and the First Amendment.

The following can be attributed to Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University: 

“It’s a bedrock principle of the First Amendment that the government may not censor speech or skew public debate by imposing punitive financial measures based on a speaker’s viewpoint or editorial decisions. Trump’s directive to cut off all federal funding for NPR and PBS on the ground that these broadcasters are ‘biased’ and espouse ‘left-wing propaganda’ violates this central principle, and is just the latest in the Trump administration’s attempt to silence critics and control the press. The administration’s actions are plainly retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment, and the lawsuit should prevail in court.”

Last week, the Knight Institute spearheaded and published an open letter with six other prominent free speech and press freedom organizations calling on American leaders of civic and other major institutions—including universities, media organizations, law firms, and businesses—to stand more resolutely against the Trump administration’s multi-front assault on First Amendment freedoms. The letter is signed by leaders of the Knight Institute, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, PEN America, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF USA). Read the letter here.

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected].