Final answer:
Thomas Jefferson asserted that the freedom of the press was violated by John Adams with the enactment of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Thomas Jefferson believed that John Adams violated the freedom of the press when he signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into law. The Sedition Act, part of this legislative package, specifically targeted and restricted speech and newspaper articles critical of the federal government or its officials.
Jefferson, a proponent of limited government and individual liberties, mobilized against these Acts through the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, arguing that they infringed on rights protected by the First Amendment and advanced the notion of states' rights.