News & Commentary

Oct 29, 2026

Nonprofit Groups, State Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Challenge Unlawful Conditions Imposed by HHS

Grant Restrictions Jeopardize Crucial Funding for Critical Services, Support and Healthcare

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Oct 19, 2026

Tenant Organizers’ Free Speech Rights Vindicated as Judge Rejects Landlord’s Defamation Claim

“The judge’s ruling is a decisive victory that the court saw through Butler’s attempt at silencing tenant advocacy through the guise of defamation.”

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Oct 07, 2026

First Circuit Hears Arguments in Case Challenging Viewpoint-Based Penalties in Federal Funding for the Arts   

Theater and arts groups asked the court to uphold a court ruling that blocked the government from restricting NEA funding based on perceived ideology

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Sep 29, 2026

Rhode Island Court Rules in Favor of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors, Protecting Crucial Grants to Support Victims of Violence Nationwide

Final Ruling Follows Series of Court Orders Blocking Unlawful Administration Attempt to Weaponize Violence Prevention Funding

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Aug 26, 2026

Brown University and URI File Brief Challenging President Trump’s Unconstitutional Attacks on Harvard

New brief echoes the brief filed the ACLU and other First Amendment organizations earlier in the summer, which focused on how the ideological termination of funding violates the First Amendment’s protection of academic freedom.

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Aug 17, 2026

Health and Housing Grants Protected After Federal Court Rejects Trump-Vance Administration’s Unlawful Restrictions

“This is a victory for the survivors of domestic and sexual violence, LGBTQI+ youth, and unhoused individuals and families our organizations serve.”

Logos of RI plaintiffs, RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Blue and brown graphics of a house and a healthcare provider.
Aug 07, 2026

Court Sides with Coalition Challenging Latest Efforts to Politicize Homelessness Funding Grants

Court Blocks Latest Unlawful Homelessness Funding Announcement

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Aug 05, 2026

ACLU Challenges Warwick Attempt to Double Down on Stifling Speech of Municipal Activist

“Citizens should be free to comment on their interactions with government, including what happens in a lawsuit. If not, the government can make the proceedings secret and protected from public scrutiny.”

Robert Cote being led out of a Warwick Town Council meeting by a police officer, with purple and blue shapes and squiggles framing the image.
Jul 22, 2026

Settlement in ACLU Lawsuit Reaffirms First Amendment Right for Protesters to Access State House Rotunda

“This is an important reaffirmation of First Amendment rights in a space that serves as a quintessential forum for free speech activity.”

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