U.S. Treasury Sanctions Nonviolent Protest Group Palestine Action

Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it has imposed sanctions on groups including UK-based direct action group Palestine Action, which organizes nonviolent protests in opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons issued the following statement in response to the news:

“We at Defending Rights & Dissent are adamantly opposed to the Trump administration’s escalating use of counterterrorism sanctions against nonviolent political organizations.

We are especially disturbed that Palestine Action, a nonviolent, direct action organization, has been sanctioned under a Bush-era Executive Order issued in response to the September 11th attacks, essentially putting civil disobedience for Palestinian rights on equal footing with al-Qaeda.

Such sanctions have broad speech implications, as they not only are retaliation against the sanctioned for holding political views the Trump administration dislikes, but they severely curtail and criminalize U.S. citizens ability to engage in otherwise lawful associations with these groups.”