The freedom of Worcester's Press is being threatened, and we need your help to protect it.
We believe it is in the best interest of the people of Worcester to have transparent access to accurate information that affects their daily lives. As such, we view a new lawsuit that attempts to forcibly silence your local news as an open threat to censor the information you are allowed to access and share.
On December 29, 2025 Officer Thomas Duffy filed the following lawsuit against local reporter Tom Marino, the local independent news outlet This Week in Worcester, and any parties with a financial interest in This Week in Worcester:
The facts of the case speak for themself. This case is an attempt to intimidate your local independent news outlet into censoring both known and verified information that exposed important factors in the decision-making process regarding the charging of Councilwoman Etel Haxhiaj for an incident involving ICE in May 2025.
This Week in Worcester needs our help. We are starting with a request for $25,000 to cover legal fees, in the hopes that the merits of the case support a brief existence for it. If the case continues, the amount we need to raise will increase. It will never exceed what is needed for legal fees.
If you agree that your news should be looking into and transparently reporting how local decisions are made, please support our efforts to legally defend This Week In Worcester. Should any money be collected in excess of legal needs, the excess will be donated to Mass Spring, LTD, a local nonprofit working for Worcester charter reform.
What do we need FROM YOU:
First and foremost - PLEASE share this fund throughout the region. Over and over. If this is all you can do, it's helpful.
Secondly, to any extent you can contribute, please donate through this link.
We will update this fund as soon as there are case updates that can be shared.