Civil rights groups warn the First Amendment right to protest could be in peril after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a key case brought by Black Lives Matters organizer DeRay Mckesson. Mckesson led a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following the police killing of Alton Sterling in 2016. A police officer was injured at the protest, triggering a lawsuit against Mckesson — even though he himself did not injure the officer. The ruling against Mckesson by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals could threaten organizers of any mass protest in Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas.

In other Supreme Court news, Justice Clarence Thomas was absent from the bench Monday without explanation and did not participate in remote arguments. At 75, Thomas is the oldest and longest-serving member of the Supreme Court.