Hundreds of celebrities relaunch a McCarthy-era committee to defend free speech

On Wednesday, over 550 celebrities relaunched a group first organized during the post-World War II Red Scare: the Committee for the First Amendment . Their intent is to stand up in what they call a "defense of our constitutional rights," adding: "The federal government is once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government, the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry."

The current group is headlined by actor and activist Jane Fonda — whose father, actor Henry Fonda, was one of the early members of the first Committee for the First Amendment, which was founded in the 1940s to oppose the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee , through which the federal government accused many top entertainers of being communists or communist