John Whitehead
Sounding Alarm Over Thought Crime Programs, College Warned Against Tracking Religious, Political Ideologies
CHARLOTESVILLE, Va. — Responding to a report suggesting that the University of Virginia should consider tracking the religious and political affiliations/ideologies of students and faculty, The Rutherford Institute has warned that such a program would raise significant constitutional…
Traitor to the Constitution: The US Government Is the Real Criminal
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he…
Rule by Decree: The Emergency State’s Plot to Override the Constitution
“Rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil liberties just as hollow.”—Justice Neil Gorsuch We have become a nation in a permanent state of emergency. Power-hungry and lawless, the…
Court Asked to Hold Government Accountable for Violating Citizens’ First Amendment Right to Political Expression
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Rutherford Institute is challenging attempts by the government to sidestep accountability and avoid having to make financial restitution for violating the citizenry’s First Amendment right to political expression. Although a state circuit court found…
Conspirators for the Constitution: When Anti-Government Speech Becomes Sedition
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”— George Orwell Let’s be clear about one thing: seditious conspiracy isn’t a real crime to anyone but the U.S. government. To be convicted of seditious conspiracy, the charge levied against…
Rein in the FBI: Put an End to the FBI’s Gestapo Tactics
“One of the creeping hands of totalitarianism running through the democracy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation… Because why does the FBI do all this? To scare the hell out of people… They work for the establishment and…
Supreme Court Refuses to Rein In IRS – Allows Agency to Carry Out Secret, Warrantless Searches of Innocent Taxpayers’ Bank Accounts
WASHINGTON, DC — In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the IRS to go on secret, warrantless fishing expeditions through innocent taxpayers’ bank records in order to identify and collect unpaid taxes from family members…
Business As Usual: Shutdown or Not, the Police State Will Continue to Flourish
“There is no more dangerous menace to civilization than a government of incompetent, corrupt, or vile men.”—Ludwig von Mises Once again, the police state is up to its old tricks, stoking tensions over whether or not the government…
Danger Within: The Government Is Turning America Into a Constitution-Free Zone
“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”—James Madison How far would you really go to secure the…
Police Get a Green Light to Use Force Against Unarmed Individuals Who Have Already Surrendered or Complied
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court has once again refused to hold police accountable for using force on unarmed individuals who have already surrendered or complied with police orders. Despite a series of high-profile incidents involving the…
Disarm the IRS, De-Militarize the Bureaucracy, & Dismantle the Standing Army
“There are instruments so dangerous to the rights of the nation and which place them so totally at the mercy of their governors that those governors, whether legislative or executive, should be restrained from keeping such instruments on…
Supreme Court Asked To Rein In IRS’ Unconstitutional Power Grabs, Warrantless Searches Of Innocent Taxpayers’ Bank Accounts
WASHINGTON, DC — Warning against unconstitutional power grabs and overreaches by the IRS, The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restrict the tax agency’s authority to carry out warrantless searches of innocent taxpayers’ bank accounts…
The War on Free Speech Is Really a War on the Right to Criticize the Government
“Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials…
Recognizing the Need to Protect Due Process Rights, Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Lawsuit for Post-Conviction DNA Testing in Death Row Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the need to protect due process rights as it relates to post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence. Weighing in before the Court…
Speak The Truth: Don’t Let The Government Criminalize Free Speech
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”—George Washington What the police state wants is a silent, compliant, oblivious citizenry. What the First Amendment affirms is…
Court Threatens Street Preacher With Arrest for Using Bible Verses to Criticize Same-Sex Marriage, Denouncing Drag Show on Social Media
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Pushing back at attempts by the courts to silence individuals whose religious views may be perceived as intolerant or hateful, The Rutherford Institute is challenging a five-year restraining order against a street preacher who…
Fiscal Insanity: The Government Borrows $6 Billion A Day, & We’re Stuck With The Bill
We’re not living the American dream. We’re living a financial nightmare. The U.S. government is funding its existence with a credit card. The government—and that includes the current administration—is spending money it doesn’t have on programs it can’t…
