The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP), America’s largest non-profit dedicated to protecting political free speech rights, issued the following statement in reaction to news that the Wisconsin Supreme court has shut down the “John Doe” investigation that targeted American citizens for expressing their views about the government:
“The First Amendment rights of the John Doe victims were trampled on for far too long, and while this decision ends a sorry chapter, great damage was done,” said Brad Smith, CCP Chairman. “For three years, American citizens were gagged, intimidated and forced to pay a heavy price for simply speaking out about government. Their speech was suppressed, their lives were disrupted, their reputations were damaged and bank accounts squeezed by legal bills in order to defend their rights in court. The Wisconsin Legislature and legislatures throughout the country should pass reforms to ensure this can never happen to anyone else. This investigation illustrates how campaign finance laws are used to harass political opponents and it shows the need for the Courts to uphold robust First Amendment rights and develop clear, bright line rules for Constitutionally protected political activity, to defend American citizens against such abuses.”
