Washington, D.C., Dec. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance is leading the Dressen, et al. v. Flaherty lawsuit against the federal government and Stanford University’s efforts to pressure and collaborate with social media companies to monitor and censor people discussing Covid vaccines on social media—including online support groups for vaccine injury victims. A newly-released video details how this illegal censorship campaign has silenced the voices of NCLA clients Brianne Dressen, Nikki Holland, and Ernest Ramirez, among others, violating their core constitutional rights.

The AstraZeneca vaccine injured Ms. Dressen after she volunteered to participate in vaccine trials. A physical therapist, Ms. Holland was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator following Covid-19 vaccination, experienced a cascade of health emergencies, and now requires a wheelchair. Mr. Ramirez received a Moderna vaccine himself without incident, but his 16-year-old son Ernest, Jr. died of cardiac arrest five days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Each of NCLA's six clients has attempted to use social media and join online support groups in an effort to speak out, build community, and find support from others impacted by Covid vaccine-related injuries. However, such efforts have been met with great difficulty due to the government and its private partners' ongoing efforts to silence their voices.

The government has continued to attempt to silence and suppress the free speech of these brave Americans and others nationwide who are injured after Covid vaccination or dare to question the safety or efficacy of the vaccines. NCLA clients’ personal posts about their experiences following vaccination have been censored, and they must use codewords—even in private support groups—to avoid posts being flagged as false or removed entirely. The efforts by numerous government actors to collude with social media companies and ensure that certain voices and disfavored viewpoints like these are stifled on their platforms defy the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from abridging free speech.

Excerpts from the video:

“My rights as a vaccine-injured individual do not equal someone who is not injured. And one of those examples is my right to free speech.”
— Brianne Dressen, Plaintiff, Dressen, et al. v. Flaherty

“It was my personal story, and it was real, and I posted, and the next thing I know it was being taken down by social media.”
— Nikki Holland, Dressen, et al. v. Flaherty

“We have so many vaccine-injured that are scared to stand up and speak because of retaliation. We have the right to speak up.”
— Ernest Ramirez, Dressen, et al. v. Flaherty

“It’s far too easy to imagine the type of censorship that we’ve seen our clients experience happening to any one of us.”
— Casey Norman, Litigation Counsel, NCLA

For more information visit the case page here and watch the video here.

ABOUT NCLA

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.

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Joe Martyak
New Civil Liberties Alliance
703-403-1111
joe.martyak@ncla.legal