The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

About The Volokh Conspiracy Editorial Independence Who we are Books Volokh Daily Email Archives Search DMCA RSS

Free Speech

Lawsuit Against New York AG Letitia James over Letter Alleging Group's Event Was Connected to "White Nationalist Ideals" …

can go forward on First Amendment coercion, First Amendment retaliation, and defamation grounds, a federal district court concludes.

Eugene Volokh | 11.6.2026 11:01 AM

From Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder's Report and Recommendation Sept. 22 in Doyle v. James, affirmed Wednesday by Judge John Sinatra (W.D.N.Y.), plaintiff's allegations:

Plaintiff Paul Doyle ("Doyle") is the Senior Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Batavia, New York. Cornerstone is a small, rural church with a history of service and community outreach. Cornerstone has worked to build relationships with communities of color and was aggressive in their assistance to victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo.

Plaintiff Clay Clark ("Clark") is the owner and operator of The Thrive Time Show, a highly successful business podcast. Clark has twice been named the US Small Business Association Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of other business awards.

"ReAwaken America" is a conservative political movement that hosts events throughout the country. The ReAwaken America Tour ("the Tour") was scheduled to host an event in Rochester, New York on August 12, 2022 at the Main Street Armory. However, after community members and local politicians spoke out against the event, the Armory cancelled it.

The Tour then reached out to Doyle to see if Cornerstone would be willing to host the event. Doyle met with groups from Rochester to try to understand their concerns and concluded that "the Tour was not what was being portrayed in the media and by government officials." Doyle thus agreed to host the event at Cornerstone "due to his strong belief that free speech should not be restricted and those who attempt to exercise it should not be intimidated, particularly by government officials." The event was scheduled for August 11-13, 2022.

On August 3, 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter addressed to Clark and General Michael Flynn—a co-organizer of the Tour—to Doyle's home address "c/o Cornerstone Church." Plaintiffs allege that the letter was "nothing less than an attempt to covertly intimidate and threaten the Plaintiffs into shutting down the event."

James's letter stated, in part:

As New York's top law enforcement officer, I have significant concerns that the ReAwaken America Tour's upcoming event at the Cornerstone Church in Batavia, New York on August 12 and 13 could spur extremist or racially motivated violence. These concerns center around the event's proposed dates, which coincide with the five-year anniversary of the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and past extremist statements made by yourselves and the other featured speakers on the tour.

I am especially concerned about featured speakers' regular allusions to white nationalist ideals connected to the "Great Replacement Theory," a conspiracy theory that warns of white genocide and efforts to replace native born Americans with immigrants. The theory is frequently linked to violent actions, including the racially motivated mass shooting that killed 10 people at a Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo. Especially in light of this racist mass shooting, and other recent episodes of racially motivated violence in New York and throughout the country, the Office of the Attorney General is concerned that such rhetoric could contribute to violent or unlawful conduct at the ReAwaken America Tour's upcoming event….

The Office of the Attorney General writes to remind you that New York law prohibits racially motivated violence, harassment, or interference with another person in the exercise of their civil rights. New York Civil Rights Law § 79-n empowers the Office of the Attorney General to investigate acts of violence, intimidation, threats, or harassment directed at people based on a belief or perception regarding an individual's race, color,........

© Reason.com