Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) warned Wednesday night that the United States may soon see the same kind of speech-related arrests taking place in the United Kingdom and Europe—unless action is taken to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights. The remarks came during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s Hannity, where Jordan discussed rising censorship threats and international trends in free speech suppression.
The Judiciary Committee chairman cited the recent arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan, who was detained upon arrival in the UK for tweets about transgender issues made while he was in Arizona. Jordan called the incident a wake-up call, saying, “It’s just a matter of time before that happens to an American.”
Jordan linked the situation overseas to the Biden administration’s failed Disinformation Governance Board, calling it a precursor to what European governments are now enforcing through law. “Europe has now codified, made law the disinformation governance board,” Jordan told Sean Hannity. “You’ve got a bunch of bureaucrats now with the force of law behind them going after Europeans.”
He also reiterated findings from congressional investigations showing the Biden administration’s direct pressure on tech companies to censor American speech. Jordan recalled that on the third day of Biden’s presidency, the White House emailed Twitter demanding the removal of a tweet by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a political rival. “That’s the real threat,” Jordan said, “the Biden administration pressuring big tech to censor Americans.”
Jordan concluded by warning that the authoritarian speech policies gaining traction in Europe pose a growing danger to Americans if not aggressively countered. “It’s going to impact Americans just like this Irish citizen who was arrested when he landed for some joking tweet,” he said.
