Press Releases
about Free Speech

Salles, et al. v. National Institutes of Health, et al. is a class action lawsuit challenging the censorship and termination of federally funded research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While ongoing litigation in APHA v. NIH successfully resulted in the reinstatement of hundreds of grants, NIH’s current policies continue to target viewpoints it opposes, threatening research because the government dislikes what it thinks the researchers believe or are likely to say, and continue to violate governing statutes and regulations. This is stymieing critical public health research, particularly related to climate change, the starkest health disparities including those faced by communities of color and LGBTQ+ populations, and other areas.

NIH is targeting and terminating grants for research studies that it thinks will communicate disfavored viewpoints on diversity, gender identity, climate change, and more, violating First Amendment rights and threatening the future of public health.

On September 4, 2026, the ACLU, ACLU of D.C. and the National Press Photographers Association filed an amicus brief to urge the court to block airspace restrictions on drone flights, banning such flights over any Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facility or “mobile asset,” which includes any DHS vehicle.

Tennessee’s execution policies prevent the press from witnessing critical stages before and after a state execution. However, the public needs to know how they work—or don’t work—to participate in informed public debate. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Tennessee, filed an amicus brief explaining why a provision in the Tennessee Constitution that guarantees access to government proceedings requires greater press access to executions.