Stop Bowing to Bullies. Start Broadcasting Democracy.

The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! following his commentary on the political exploitation of Charlie Kirk’s death marks a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign to silence dissent. This comes on the heels of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert being canceled, and daily threats from President Donald Trump and his allies to revoke broadcast licenses of networks that criticize him.

Let us be clear: political violence is never acceptable.
The killing of Charlie Kirk was a tragedy. It deserves solemn reflection not partisan weaponization. No one should lose their life for their beliefs, and no one should exploit that loss to justify censorship. 

In fact, it’s a betrayal of Charlie Kirk’s own beliefs.
In 2024, Kirk tweeted:

“Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.”

To silence satire in his name is to erase the very freedoms he defended.

President Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, calling him “not a talented person” and urging NBC to follow suit: “Do it NBC!!!”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, threatened ABC and Disney directly:

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way… These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Carr called Kimmel’s monologue “some of the sickest conduct possible” and floated revoking broadcast licenses. This is not regulation. This is retaliation.

We call on ABC, NBC, CBS, and other network affiliates to reject this authoritarian playbook and take a stand for the Constitution.

We demand that you:

• Refuse to air sanitized, pro-administration filler content in place of suspended programming.
• Use the vacated time slot to broadcast documentaries and educational programming about the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the history of free speech.
• Partner with independent creators, educators, and civic organizations to deliver programming that challenges viewers to think, not obey.

This is your moment to prove that local media can still serve the public, not the President.

Because if you’re afraid to air jokes, you’re already living in a joke of a democracy.

Silence is complicity. Complicity is not neutrality. And neutrality in the face of authoritarianism is surrender.

Air the truth. Air the Constitution. Air the voices that remind us what democracy looks like.

Sign this petition to demand that network affiliates stop enabling political censorship and start broadcasting the principles this country was built on.