BREAKING: Supreme Court revives lawsuit of citizen journalist arrested for asking a question

• Laredo officials jailed independent journalist Priscilla Villarreal for asking a police officer to confirm facts she’d heard from another source.
• Supreme Court throws out Fifth Circuit decision dismissing Priscilla’s lawsuit and sends it back for review.
• Priscilla’s case is vital for the rights of journalists and all Americans to hold government officials accountable when they violate the First Amendment.

LAREDO, Texas, Oct. 15, 2024 — Texas police threw a journalist in jail for doing her job. Today, the highest court in the land granted her petition for review and directed the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reconsider her case in light of its earlier ruling.

Represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Priscilla Villarreal’s case has deep implications for free speech, a free press, and government accountability. Americans shouldn’t be jailed for asking public officials a question, and government officials shouldn’t get a free pass when they violate our fundamental rights.

“I’m grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision,” said Priscilla. “It has been a challenging seven years since Laredo officials attempted to silence me, and this marks a significant step toward rectifying the wrongs I have faced.”

Priscilla, described by The New York Times as “arguably the most influential journalist in Laredo,” covers local crime, traffic, and other news for her 200,000 Facebook followers. Like all good journalists, she’s not shy about criticizing government officials. That’s why she’s been repeatedly targeted by them. The district attorney even took her behind closed doors to chastise her for her reporting. 

In 2017, police dusted off a decades-old statute local officials had never used before to criminalize Priscilla’s journalism. The alleged crime? She asked a Laredo police officer to confirm facts about a high-profile suicide and a fatal car accident, facts the officer freely shared and Villarreal published to her hundreds of thousands of readers.   

But asking government officials questions is no crime. It’s something reporters do every day — and is something the First Amendment squarely protects. So Priscilla sued the police and prosecutors who engineered her arrest for violations of her First and Fourth Amendment rights. 

COURTESY PHOTOS OF PRISCILLA VILLARREAL

Still, the district court dismissed her claims, finding the officials were immune from Priscilla’s lawsuit. She appealed, and a panel on the Fifth Circuit ruled in her favor, reversing the dismissal and concluding that if Villarreal’s arrest “is not an obvious violation of the Constitution, it’s hard to imagine what would be.” But the entire Fifth Circuit decided to reconsider the ruling, and in a 9-7 decision, tossed out her lawsuit, leaving the Supreme Court as Priscilla’s only avenue to justice. 

In April, FIRE asked the Supreme Court to hear Priscilla’s case and make clear that Americans can hold officials accountable when they violate undoubted First Amendment rights. A broad coalition of more than 40 individuals and organizations, including press freedom advocates and critics of qualified immunity, submitted “friends of the court” briefs on Priscilla’s behalf. 

Today, the Court agreed to review Priscilla’s case, vacated the Fifth Circuit’s 9-7 decision against her, and sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit, ordering it to reconsider Priscilla’s claims in light of a June Supreme Court decision, Gonzalez v. Trevino. The decision affirmed the power of Americans to sue government officials when they retaliate against speakers by selectively enforcing statutes.   

“We’re thrilled over today’s decision, and look forward to helping Priscilla continue her fight,” said FIRE attorney JT Morris. “This case is vital for free speech, a free press, and ensuring officials are accountable when they trample the First Amendment.” 

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

CONTACT
Katie Kortepeter, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org