Overview

• A Mississippi judge vacated her previous order requiring the Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial critical of city officials after widespread condemnation.
• The editorial accused city officials of lacking transparency regarding a meeting on proposed taxes for alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco, which the newspaper was not notified about in advance.
• City commissioners initially sued the paper for libel, claiming the editorial was harmful and potentially misleading, but legal experts and press advocates called the lawsuit unconstitutional.
• The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) agreed to defend the newspaper, highlighting that governments cannot sue for libel under U.S. law.
• Following national outcry and criticism from free speech advocates, the city dropped the lawsuit, and the paper plans to restore the editorial after the judge's ruling is officially reversed.