Dear Friend,

She was shouted down. Had insults and obscenities hurled at her. There was physical intimidation in the classroom.

It was bullying and a mob mentality at work in a law school classroom.

Yet, my friend and colleague Kristen Waggoner stood strong in the face of a student mob at Yale Law School-the top-ranked law school in America.

As General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the organization I lead, she was a member of a prestigious panel of speakers invited to discuss how attorneys with different views can come together and support free speech.

Future lawyers, judges, legislators, and corporate executives filled the room. But they chose to bang on walls and call Kristen and others names instead of listening to a different point of view.

Shouted down and escorted out of a free speech event to safety by police? Stunning. This is getting dangerous.

It begs the question: What will happen to our cherished freedoms-like the freedom of speech-if students like these become our leaders?

We don't have the luxury of waiting to see what will happen to free speech. That's why I'm asking you to make an urgent donation today to defend it.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for Kristen and others representing true freedom to be heckled and shouted down at universities and law schools. But, as she said, "It was alarming to witness law students whipped into a frenzy, preferring to chant, pound the walls, and intimidate others rather than engage in civil dialogue."

What happened at Yale-and what has happened to others who dissent from radical new positions on gender, sexuality, and race, and even free speech itself-is disturbing.

The event at Yale shows how important it is to defend free speech if our future leaders and fellow citizens don't value it ... if they heckle, shout down, and punish anyone who dares to express ideas they don't like.

And that's why I'm asking you to donate $35, $50, $100, $250 or more today to help defend free speech.

Right now, there are mounting efforts to silence Christians, conservatives, and others who express certain views-like views based on faith.

I'm not willing to sit by and just let it happen. Are you?

Alliance Defending Freedom is the largest, non-profit legal organization committed to defending religious freedom, free speech, the right to life, parental rights, and God's design for marriage and the family. We represent everyday Americans like you who are fighting for freedom, and we defend their cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if needed.

We don't charge our clients a dime to defend them in court-we depend on the generosity of friends like you to supply every dollar needed.

Will you help protect free speech today by making a gift of $35 or more right now?  The lawsuits continue to pile up.

• A former assistant principal in Virginia was forced to leave her job after being harassed and discriminated against for speaking up about mandatory trainings that tell students they are good or bad based on their skin color.
  
• A P.E. teacher was placed on administrative leave for speaking up about a proposed gender identity policy at his school - during the public comment period of a school board meeting!
  
• A college student was falsely maligned, subjected to a seven-hour Zoom call where he was berated and called names by fellow students, and removed from his position as president of the Student Senate after privately expressing his religious beliefs in a group chat

These are just a few stories of the dozens and dozens of Alliance Defending Freedom clients-normal men and women who have desperately needed help to protect their constitutional right to free speech.

Here's the thing: The screaming, wall-pounding, foot-stomping mob at Yale may show the future of free speech in America-if we do nothing about it.

All it takes is a little courage to show the mob that you will not bow to their demands. That's exactly why we must do everything we can to protect the freedom of speech. It's the bedrock of our free society.

To be truly free, we must be free to speak our minds. Our other freedoms rise and fall with free speech.

As Christians, we expect trouble in this world. Jesus faced it, so we will too. Consider our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, who are boldly standing for Jesus-even laying down their lives for the sake of the Gospel.

It would be easier to merely put our heads down and ignore the threats to freedom in our own nation. But we simply cannot do so. We must work to protect free speech and our other God-given freedoms-joyfully.

That's why I'm praying you will take this opportunity today to make a gift of $35, $50, $100, $250, or more to defend free speech.

You'll help to ensure that the America the next generation inherits is still a shining beacon of freedom to the world!

Sincerely,
Michael Farris
President & CEO

P.S. What happened at Yale has only deepened our commitment to free speech. It's the bedrock of our nation and the foundation of our freedoms, and it's clearly under attack. Your help is needed now to defend it. Please don't delay and make your best gift today to defend the Americans who are being punished for saying what they believe!