Free Speech For People Senior Counsel Suparna Reddy addressed Ralph Nader’s Impeachment Symposium on July 22, arguing that President Trump’s assault on First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, and association is not incidental to his conduct in office but central to his strategy for consolidating power.

Reddy’s remarks focused on Free Speech For People’s Impeach Trump Again campaign, which has been joined by more than 1 million people nationwide and has documented more than 25 categories of impeachable offenses committed by Trump. Her prepared remarks are reproduced below:

“My name is Suparna Reddy, and I am Senior Counsel at Free Speech For People, a national non-profit organization dedicated to defending our democracy and our Constitution across the country. For more than a year and half, we have led the campaign at ImpeachTrumpAgain.org demanding the impeachment and removal of Donald Trump from public office for his hundreds of impeachable offenses. More than 1 million people across the country have joined us in this campaign. Thank you to Ralph Nader, Bruce Fein, and Francesco DeSantis for organizing this important event and for inviting me to speak on behalf of Free Speech For People. 

“Trump should have been impeached on Day One, based on his violations of the Domestic and Foreign Emoluments Clauses for refusing to divest from his business interests around the world prior to taking the oath of office and based on his corrupt campaign practices in the 2024 election. But he wasn’t.

“Since then, he has committed a series of impeachable offenses against the United States, our Constitution, and the people of this country. He has made us complicit in war crimes, in crimes against humanity, in crimes against our own people. He has undermined the judiciary, usurped power from Congress, and turned our Department of Justice and law enforcement agencies into partisan weapons targeting Trump’s political opponents and those who speak out against him. 

“Let us be clear: Congress should impeach and remove Trump for each and every one of these hundreds of offenses. And we have a duty to record his every abuse of power. But in the process, we should not miss the forest for the trees: Trump is intentionally and systematically dismantling our democratic institutions to consolidate his own power and line his own pockets. 

“The Framers designed a constitution with defenses against tyranny, but these defenses only work if the checks and balances remain intact, and if the politicians and public officials who make up Congress and the courts uphold their oaths and stand up for our Constitution. 

“Trump’s impeachable offenses are wide ranging and numerous. We at Free Speech For People have documented more than 25 categories of offenses. But today, I will be focusing on the ways in which Trump is attacking our First Amendment freedoms of expression, speech, press, and association, and I will discuss the ways in which these attacks further his larger goals to strategically dismantle our democracy and establish an authoritarian regime under his command. 

“As Fredrick Douglass noted, freedom of speech, ‘of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.’ 

“Trump has not hesitated to attack freedom of speech in our nation. He’s gone after political opponents, arresting and threatening to arrest people like Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Alex Padilla, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. He’s attacked prominent critics, including late show comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, by trying, and succeeding, in getting their shows cancelled, even if temporarily. 

“As an ancillary attack on freedom of speech, Trump is attacking the press to control how information is disseminated. He has weaponized the FCC to threaten news networks to stay in line or risk having their licenses revoked. He is arresting journalists and controlling who gets to hear executive briefings. He is using one of his favorite bullying tactics – meritless lawsuits – to bring media companies in line, all while pocketing undeserved millions through so-called ‘settlements’ with companies whose financial wellbeing he has significant control over. 

“Through his control of merger approvals, Trump is clearing the way for companies he has corrupt relationships with, like Skydance, to expand their media empires and aggregate monopoly power over news. All of this helps him more easily control the major press in our country. These profit driven media executives are complicit in chasing more dollars in exchange for harm to democracy. 

“Trump’s approach to media control also shows how his punishment of dissent goes hand in hand with his purchase of loyalty. Trump has created an unprecedented culture of corruption that enriches business leaders who support his regime. In exchange for large donations and personal financial benefits, he is basically selling pardons to his supporters, all of whom were found or pled guilty for serious corruption crimes. Trump’s crypto businesses, which have enriched him by nearly $2 billion, create an easy mechanism for those seeking his favor to enrich him through pay-to-play schemes. In this environment, press freedom becomes just another victim in the art of the deal. 

“The frontlines of Trump’s assault on freedom of speech go beyond boardrooms to the streets themselves, where he is violently suppressing the voices of people on the ground. Law enforcement and military units under his command harass, abuse, assault, and detain nonviolent, civilian protestors, while his prosecutors bring politically motivated criminal charges against them. He has issued orders to target people for arrest and prosecution solely because of their speech, beliefs, or associations. And, in his immigration operations, he has unlawfully arrested, detained, and cancelled the visas and green cards of people specifically because they support causes he doesn’t like.

“This highlights a second important feature of Trump’s authoritarian playbook, and a familiar strategy of tyrants across history and continents: Trump has co-opted ICE and CBP as his own personal secret police to suppress dissent and spread fear. They serve him, not the American public. 

“These officers, emboldened by Trump’s confidence in them, are operating with total impunity while armed with military-grade weapons. These agencies control vast sums of taxpayer dollars, which they then use to terrorize those very same taxpayers. In the process, and under Trump’s authority, these paramilitary forces are flagrantly violating the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, for a start.

“As Trump’s personal police, ICE and CBP are carrying out his every unconstitutional whimsy. They’re kidnapping, assaulting, and endlessly detaining protestors and dissenters. Early in his administration, we saw this tactic used against people like Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Badar Khan Suri—people who had supported causes Trump disfavored. Then we watched as ICE and CBP were deployed against Democratic states and cities to frighten communities that Trump disliked. As part of their terror regime, these agencies are using advanced but imperfect technologies to track and intimidate activists and journalists on behalf of Trump, including apps that allows for social media surveillance and facial recognition. And, enhancing their terror, ICE remains anonymous, covering their faces with masks, wearing civilian clothing, and refusing to provide identifying information.

“Let’s not forget: ICE and CBP have murdered peaceful protestors in cold blood, like Renée Good and Alex Pretti, and those agents have yet to face consequences. They have shot and killed innocent people going about their daily routines, like Ruben Ray Martinez, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. 

“This unpredictability is not a bug – it’s a fear-inducing feature.

“Trump abuses the power of these agencies to sow terror among our friends and neighbors. Fear shuts down reason, survival takes precedence over principle. Would-be dissenters stay quiet. And the grip of the authoritarian tightens. 

“The lack of consequences for violent ICE agents points to a third feature of our democracy that Trump is trampling as he silences his opponents: the rule of law. The rule of law means that no individual, institution, or government entity is above the law – everyone is equally protected and equally accountable for their actions. When the Trump Administration shields investigations into murderous ICE officers while redirecting resources to investigate a victim’s partner—that is a failure of the rule of law. 

“More than that, it is a weaponization of our justice system, something Trump ramped up noticeably in his second term. 

“Using the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, Trump’s revenge tour has included harassing journalists with subpoenas at institutions like The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal; unnecessarily probing investigations into law firms, industries, and universities to control their internal and external messaging; and blatantly politically motivated investigations into political opponents like Governor Gavin Newsom, former FBI director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Senator Adam Schiff. 

“But it is not just big names and institutions that are feeling the vengeance and bluster of Trump’s Justice Department. Trump is trying to suppress grassroots dissent against his policies by designating protestors and dissenters as “antifa,” as terrorists, and as criminals, and then trying to generate criminal charges against them. When prosecutors refuse to bring charges, and when investigators don’t say what he wants to hear, they’re fired. 

“Trump has also attacked the judiciary, the third branch of government and intended check on presidential abuse of power. If a judge rules against his interests, they’re subject to his public tirades and threats of impeachment and criminal charges.  

“All of this is a transparent attempt to silence opposition and destroy the rule of law. 

“Thus far, Trump has not succeeded in every attempt he has made to suppress speech and expression. But here’s the thing about tyranny – you don’t need a 100% success rate to achieve your goals. You don’t even need to hit 50%. By going after a few people unlawfully and unconstitutionally, Trump has now raised the cost of public participation, the cost of speaking up, the cost of making a case against him. He has placed fear in the hearts of those who know he is wrong but now worry about the consequences of pointing it out. 

“But note that each of his actions also galvanizes his opposition. With each step he takes towards tyranny, more people are impacted, and that has a ripple effect that wakes up the public to his schemes. More people realize now that he is not their savior—he’s a despot. 

“The Framers worked hard to throw off the yoke of King George’s tyranny 250 years ago; today we are faced with a similar struggle. But this threat is not external, it’s internal and insidious, having taken over our executive branch, captured our judicial branch, and reduced our legislative branch to servility. 

“Checks and balances can still work if we are able to achieve collective action. There is a way to stop Trump’s tyranny in its tracks. We have a constitution that is well-equipped to unseat a president who commits treason, bribery, and countless other high crimes and misdemeanors. The constitutional remedy is impeachment and removal. 

“As we approach the end of summer, there is great danger that Trump will escalate and use ICE and CBP to attack our most sacred form of democratic expression: the right to vote. He has given every signal that he plans to use his secret police to intimidate voters and sow chaos during the upcoming midterm elections. Holding Trump accountable cannot wait – Congress must act now.  

“Trump swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, and yet he defiles it daily. But people forget that members of Congress also took an oath of allegiance to defend the Constitution. Each member who protects Trump from impeachment violates that oath. 

“To get this Congress to act, we the people must show our elected representatives that they have a mandate to take action. We must use our voices, loudly and collectively, again and again until we are heard. 

“Free Speech For People is leading a movement aimed at doing just that. Joined by more than 1 million people across the country, we will continue to build our impeachment campaign at ImpeachTrumpAgain.org and we urge you to join us. The people demand this. Recent polls have shown that a majority of Americans want Congress to impeach Trump. 

“We applaud members like Representative Green, Representative Larson, and Representative Cohen who have introduced and supported articles of impeachment. Congressman Green has twice forced a roll call vote on impeachment, creating an important form of accountability and transparency over who is taking their oath seriously. Already, one third of the House has voted in favor of impeaching Trump. Free Speech For People continues to call on members of Congress to introduce articles of impeachment and force their colleagues on the record on impeachment. 

“Each day that goes by is another opportunity for Trump to normalize his grift and greed, all while dismantling our democratic institutions, silencing his opposition, and herding us towards domestic tyranny. We cannot wait until he has accomplished his goals—we must act now to save our democracy. 

“Congress has the duty and ability to impeach and remove a corrupt executive. It must impeach Trump now.” 

Free Speech For People continues to lead the Impeach Trump Again campaign at ImpeachTrumpAgain.org, where more than 1 million Americans have signed on demanding that Congress begin impeachment proceedings.