Our first amendment rights are under attack.

Since First Assistant US Attorney Bilal "Bill" Essayli took office in the Central District of California, he's taken action to criminalize average Californians exercising their right to free speech. We must stand up for the First Amendment Rights of Californians, and stop Bill Essayli from using the powers of the FBI and the DOJ to threaten people who oppose the Trump Administration.

Sign our petition to tell the Department of Justice and the State Bar of California to stop Essayli from trampling on Californian's First Amendment Rights.

This petition will be sent to:

1. The Office of Professional Responsibility of the U.S. Department of Justice 
   (Trump has not named the new Director and Chief Counsel for the Office of Professional Responsibility since removing Former Director and Chief Counsel Jeffrey Ragsdale in March 2025)
   
   
2. Rob Bonta, California Attorney General 
   
   
3. José Cisneros, Chair, State Bar of California
4. Steven Moawad, Chief Trial Counsel, State Bar of California
   Enrique Zuniga, Public Trust Liaison, State Bar of California
   
   
5. House Representatives David Min, Lateefah Simon, Nanette Barragán, Jared Huffman, Brad Sherman, Mike Thompson, Salud Carbajal, Scott Peters, Ted Lieu, Mark Takano, Jimmy Gomez, Danny Davis and Rashida Tlaib
   
   
6. Senators Alex Padilla, Adam Schiff, and Chuck Schumer

We, the undersigned people of California, call upon the State Bar of California and the Office of Professional Responsibility of the U.S. Department of Justice to stop First Assistant US Attorney Bilal "Bill" Essayli's attack on the First Amendment Rights of the people of California.

We are concerned about First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's use of his position and the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California to criminalize political opponents of the Trump Administration. Since he's taken office, Bill Essayli has repeatedly filed criminal charges unsupported by probable cause, and publicly disparaged people exercising their right to speech on social media, suggesting they had engaged in criminal activity, even when there is no evidence to support that claim.

Essayli has reportedly charged over 60 people in the Central District of California federally "tied to immigration protests and enforcement actions." These include the felony charges he filed against SEIU Service Workers West President and labor leader David Huerta for obstruction of justice for his participation in a rally protesting ICE agents in the summer of 2025. The charges were later cut to a misdemeanor.

Several news outlets, including Bloomberg Law and the LA Times have reported that Essayli has "instructed staff to disregard Justice Department policies," and ordered lawyers to doggedly reattempt failed indictments with new grand juries. Dozens of his staff have left their positions, with some anonymously reporting to media outlets they left in part because of his repeated pattern of yelling at attorneys, demanding they pursue politically motivated cases despite lacking proper evidence. 

Essayli's apparent intention to use his position as a cudgel against opponents of the Trump Administration has led Democratic Representative Dave Min and 12 other lawmakers to call for an investigation. In their letter to Counsel of the Office for Professional Responsibility of the U.S. Department of Justice, the lawmakers cite several examples of Essayli breaking the rules governing conduct for his office and his profession, including shouting "f--- the Justice Manual" to a team of DOJ attorneys in his insistence that they pursue politically motivated charges.

As people of California and the United States of America, we demand that you take action to protect our first amendment rights against this assault by Bill Essayli. The Trump Administration has criminalized people because of where they come from and the work they do. They are now coming after us for what we say, what we think, and how we stand up for one another. We urge you to refuse to allow Essayli to create a culture of fear in California. Our freedom of speech is a critical cornerstone of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect it.