October, 22 2015, 04:00pm EDT

Free Press Praises the FCC's Prison-Phone Decision
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to reduce the exorbitant cost of prison-phone calls charged to incarcerated people and their families. Among other improvements, the ruling caps rates for local and in-state long-distance inmate calling and cuts by up to 50 percent the agency's cap adopted in August 2013 on state-to-state long-distance calls.
WASHINGTON
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to reduce the exorbitant cost of prison-phone calls charged to incarcerated people and their families. Among other improvements, the ruling caps rates for local and in-state long-distance inmate calling and cuts by up to 50 percent the agency's cap adopted in August 2013 on state-to-state long-distance calls.
These improvements have been championed by FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and supported by a coalition of advocacy organizations that in October delivered 80,000 petition signatures urging the agency to cap rates for all prison-phone calls.
Free Press Senior External Affairs Director Joseph Torres made the following statement:
"Commissioner Clyburn and her colleagues Commissioner Rosenworcel and Chairman Wheeler deserve immense praise for recognizing the injustice of predatory prison-phone rates and taking action on behalf of some of our society's most vulnerable communities.
"The coalition -- which includes MAG-Net, ColorOfChange.org, the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, the Human Rights Defense Center and the United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc. -- has worked tirelessly for years to provide relief from the exorbitant prices prison-phone companies have long charged.
"Unscrupulous phone companies like Securus Technologies often charge $10 or more for a 15-minute call -- and that's before tacking on a range of astronomical fees. These charges place an enormous financial burden on both incarcerated people and their families.
"Targeting these families is unacceptable -- not to mention harmful to our communities, our economy and our whole society. The FCC's action will make a difference for millions of people who struggle to stay connected to loved ones. Now they can do it without getting fleeced by unprincipled companies."
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
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Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin says Democrats should stop using the term "oligarchy" because, she says, no one knows what it means. These people say she’s wrong.
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— John Nichols (@nicholsuprising.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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This is a breaking story... Please check back for possible updates...
Federal agents arrested a sitting Wisconsin judge on Friday, accusing her of helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media.
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FBI arrests judge in escalation of Trump immigration enforcement effort Federal agents arrested Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan on obstruction charges. Dugan is accused of “helping” an immigrant evade arrest. The fascism getting turned up!
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— RootsAction (@rootsaction.org) April 25, 2025 at 8:05 AM
It is unclear why Patel deleted the post. U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron and multiple Milwaukee County judges confirmed Dugan's arrest, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. McCarron said Dugan is facing two federal felony counts: obstruction and concealing an individual.
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Marc Van Der Hout, an attorney representing Khalil, said Thursday that "DHS agents who arrested Mahmoud lied to him: They wrote in their arrest report that the agents told him that they had an arrest warrant, but DHS has now admitted in their filing that that was a lie and that there was no warrant at all at the time of the arrest."
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