FIRE is here to defend the individual rights of all Americans to think and live freely. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience — the most essential qualities of liberty. Before FIRE's expansion to defend free expression for all Americans, we spent two decades building a successful track record defending the rights of students and faculty members on our nation's college campuses.
FIRE’s proven approach to advocacy has vindicated the rights of thousands of Americans through targeted media campaigns, correspondence with officials, open records requests, litigation, and other creative advocacy tactics.
If you think your rights have been violated, contact ݮƵAPP today.
I wanted to teach my children the importance of standing up for their rights and doing what is right — now I’m teaching that lesson to the city.
The mayor of Surprise, Arizona had Rebekah Massie arrested in front of her 10-year-old daughter for questioning a city attorney’s pay at a council meeting, citing an unconstitutional rule banning complaints about city officials. ݮƵAPP sued in federal court to defend the right of citizens to criticize the government.
FIRE’s advocates are here to help when your free speech rights are violated.
Are you a college student or faculty member being punished or investigated for something you said? Are you a student whose group has been denied recognition or defunded? Is your student publication being threatened? Are you facing non-renewal or loss of tenure because of your views? ݮƵAPP’s Campus Rights Advocacy team may be able to help.
Joining our student newspaper gave me a voice, and unfortunately it’s going to take a lawsuit for the university to listen to it.
The president of Haskell Indian Nations University issued an unconstitutional directive to student journalist Jared Nally, editor-in-chief of the award-winning student newspaper, The Indian Leader, that formally forbade Jared from engaging in protected journalistic activities. The president also directed Jared to start showing university administrators the “highest respect” — or else!
Learn more about FIRE's public advocacy.
FIRE helps people whose expressive rights have been violated — and those violations take a lot of forms. If you think your rights have been violated, tell us about it. Our team will review your case to see how we can help. It’s totally confidential and there’s never a cost to you.
We review hundreds of potential rights violations each year and seek justice for those we help. How? By using our authority and reputation to directly demand that those in power respect the Constitution or uphold their own stated commitments to civil liberties.
Concerned that your rights may be at risk? If you are in trouble for something you said, contact ݮƵAPP confidentially.
For faculty at public colleges and universities, call ݮƵAPP’s Faculty Legal Defense Fund Hotline: 254-500-FLDF (3533).
If you’re a college journalist facing censorship or a media law question, call the Student Press Freedom Initiative 24-hour hotline at 717-734-SPFI (7734).
Student Defenders know their college’s policies, and they know what your rights are.
If you are a student who is accused of violating your school’s code of conduct, you may feel lost, anxious, and scared about your future. Student Defenders can help. Student Defenders are fellow students trained as conduct advisors who can help ensure students accused of misconduct are treated fairly.
The largest report of its kind, FIRE's 2025 College Free Speech Rankings are based on the voices of more than 58,000 students at 257 colleges and universities, and are designed to help parents and prospective students choose the right school.
“I’m a professor of chemistry. How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom instruction? What’s the ‘anti-racist’ perspective on the atomic mass of boron?" — Reedley College Professor Bill Blanken
FIRE filed a lawsuit on behalf of six California community college professors to halt new, systemwide regulations forcing professors to espouse and teach politicized conceptions of “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
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