CBLDF Leads Coalition to Protect the First Amendment Rights of Editorial Cartoonist


CBLDF is leading a coalition protesting the removal of a cartoon satirizing President Donald Trump by Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson from the online marketplace Redbubble. The removal arises from a meritless complaint by the Trump re-election campaign. The cartoon constitutes speech protected by the First Amendment, and its removal misuses mechanisms designed to protect intellectual property to suppress protected speech.

On May 18, the Daily Kos reported that Redbubble removed products featuring Anderson’s cartoon “The Trump Cult,” based on allegations of trademark infringement from Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. The Trump Campaign has misused Redbubble’s reporting mechanism to suppress political expression in the form of parody, critique, and satire protected by the First Amendment.

CBLDF and our coalition partners Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, American Library Association, Office For Intellectual Freedom, Authors Guild, Freedom to Read Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, and PEN America call upon Redbubble to reinstate Mr. Anderson’s product listings to affirm its commitment to its sellers’ — and its own — First Amendment rights.

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