http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/19/government-stifles-speech
For the past two weeks, Reason, a magazine dedicated to "Free Minds and Free Markets," has been barred by an order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from speaking publicly about a grand jury subpoena that court sent to Reason.com.
The subpoena demanded the records of six people who left hyperbolic comments at the website about the federal judge who oversaw the controversial conviction of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Shortly after the subpoena was issued, the government issued a gag order prohibiting Reason not only from discussing the matter but even acknowledging the existence of the subpoena or the gag order itself. As a wide variety of media outlets have noted, such actions on the part of the government are not only fundamentally misguided and misdirected, they have a tangible chilling effect on free expression by commenters and publications alike.
US Attorney Preet Bharara and Assistant US Attorney Niketh Velamoor should be disbarred. Judge Frank Mass should be removed from office and disbarred. This is such an egregious overreach and violation of civil rights. There is no excuse for this kind of heavy handed action. They are explicitly violating the 1st Amendment which they swore to uphold.
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