On January 9th, 2026, the Committee to Defend Tom Alter sponsored a two-hour forum at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago titled “Fighting MAGA and the Far Right From the Campus to the Streets.” The event featured speakers were Tom Alter, Socialist Horizon; A. Naomi Paik, University of Illinois-Chicago; Ellen Schrecker, Independent Scholar; Valerie Johnson, Depaul University; Erik Wallenberg, Independent Scholar. The Forum advanced arguments for free speech, sanctuary communities, and defense of academic freedom.