Teenage persistence

A Redding teenager announced Monday he will defy an order to stop contacting Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s offices with complaints against the congressman’s policies.

Joshua Brown and his parents, Robert and Lillian, received a cease-and-desist letter from LaMalfa’s Washington, D.C., office on Aug. 9. The young Brown, who turned 14 since receiving that letter, said his frequent contacts were within his rights as a constituent (see Newslines, “The congressman and the kid,” Aug. 31).

“I think what LaMalfa has done to me here is in direct violation of the First Amendment; freedom of speech, freedom to seek redress of grievances,” Joshua said by phone Tuesday.

Attorneys Ryan Birss and Eric Berg are advising the Brown family pro bono, and Birss said Tuesday he’s ready to defend against further efforts to silence them.