We are pleased to report to you each month our significant activities and accomplishments, all of which are made possible by your generous support. Â Below are the highlights for October 2014.
- On October 1, AFLC filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for refusing to display an anti-jihad advertisement on its buses in violation of the First Amendment.
- On October 2, AFLC filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in its case against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which refused to run an “Islamic Jew Hatred” advertisement in violation of the First Amendment.
- On October 6, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert J. Muise presented oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, Massachusetts, in the consolidated appeals of AFLC’s requests for preliminary injunctions in its lawsuits against the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for censoring the pro-Israel / anti-jihad advertisements of AFLC clients, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
- On October 20, AFLC sent a demand letter to JetBlue on behalf of its client, a well-respected OB-GYN, who was ordered to leave the plane and thus miss her flight because a woman passenger who claimed to be a Palestinian was harassing her because she was Jewish. To cover up its unlawful discrimination, JetBlue released to the public defamatory statements about AFLC’s client. JetBlue has decided to ignore the demand letter, so AFLC is preparing to sue the airline.
- On October 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted AFLC’s petition for en banc review of the “dangerously wrong” split decision in the case of Bible Believers v. Wayne County. In this case, AFLC is representing Christian evangelist who were attacked by a violent Muslim mob while preaching at an Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan in 2012. Rather than arresting the violent Muslims, officers from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office ordered the Christians to halt their peaceful speech activity under threat of arrest for disorderly conduct. AFLC will reargue the case on March 4, 2015, before a 15-judge panel of Sixth Circuit judges.
- Also on October 23, Muise presented oral argument in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, located in Buffalo, in the case of Silver v. Cheektowaga Central School District. AFLC is representing Joelle Silver, a public school teacher who was ordered to remove from her classroom anything that remotely related to religion under threat of being fired.
- On October 24, AFLC won its religious freedom challenge to the Obamacare “contraceptive services” mandate as applied against for-profit companies. In this case, AFLC is representing the Ohio-based company Johnson Welded Products (JWP) and its Catholic owner, Ms. Lilli Johnson, who objected to the mandate on religious grounds. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., entered judgment in favor of JWP and Johnson and permanently enjoined the mandate.
- On October 25, Muise gave a speech in defense of life at a conference held in New York City that was sponsored by “Personhood Education New York.”
- On October 30, AFLC filed two lengthy briefs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in its case challenging Obama’s unlawful executive orders. The case, which was filed this past July 4th, is captioned American Freedom Law Center v. Obama.
Finally, we also continue our important efforts to educate the public through traditional media as well as social media. To that end, please remember to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Thank you again for your prayers and your financial support—which makes all of this possible! God bless you, and may He continue to bless America!