Brock Fredin v. Lindsey E. Middlecamp, et al.

On November 10, 2021, the Eighth Circuit ignored two-hundred and fifty years of First Amendment precedent and issued a breathtakingly unconstitu­ tional 10-1 en banc order restricting Petitioner’s free speech and his right to petition while threatening “detainment” if Petitioner refuses to comply. Even more astonishing, the Eighth Circuit did not stop at merely directing Petitioner to remove existing content. Instead, the Eighth Circuit issued an en banc order affirming a wide-sweeping prior restraint on Petitioner’s free speech by prohibiting him from publishing any content about the district court, the district court’s staff, Respondents, Respondents’ counsel and any future counsel retained by Respond­ ents for five (5) years. No Court - either state or federal — has even come close to being so brazen or flippant towards the First Amendment and its pro­ tections. As shown below, the Eighth Circuit’s November 10, 2021 en banc order, which affirms the district court’s November 23, 2020 order directing Petitioner from prospectively publishing content is facially unconsti­ tutional and a blatant abuse of discretion. As such, the district court’s November 23, 2020 order is void and must immediately be reversed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) and (a)(3). The Question Presented Is: 1. Did the District Court have the authority un­ der its inherent powers to issue a wide-sweeping injunction to restrict speech for a period of five (5) years?