Cody Bloomfield, Author at Defending Rights & Dissent

October 7, 2022

FBI files overlaying an image of AIM protesters on the National Mall

Published by Cody Bloomfield at October 7, 2022

The FBI is an enemy of indigenous liberation

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we remember how the FBI surveilled and repressed AIM and other indigenous liberation movements. In 1969, American Indian Movement (AIM) activists occupied Alcatraz Island, invoking the Sioux Treaty of 1868, which grants unused federal lands to

September 30, 2022

Drone over world map with the Middle East, Africa, and the United States in scope sights, symbolizing the need to abolish the War on Terror at home and abroad

Published by Cody Bloomfield at September 30, 2022

Abolitionist Policy Tool Dreams of a Post-War on Terror World

Two decades of the War on Terror make it clear that incremental reforms are insufficient to ameliorate the harms of a global system predicated upon Islamophobia and violence. Tendrils of the War on Terror encircle the globe and extend deep

July 29, 2022

Cop cars near school buses. Profiling through threat assessment feeds the school-to-prison pipeline

Published by Cody Bloomfield at July 29, 2022

Threat Assessment: Where Difficulties, Dissent, and Disability Become Harbingers of Violence

In the aftermath of Uvalde and other school shootings, the knee-jerk reaction has been to expand threat assessment. CP3’s TVTP grant program has recently allocated more funding for threat assessment conducted by universities and nonprofits in conjunction with law enforcement.

July 20, 2022

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are selling out the Fourth Amendment by buying from data brokers

Published by Cody Bloomfield at July 20, 2022

Guess Who’s Buying Their Way Around the Fourth Amendment? (If You Guessed ICE, FBI, IRS, DOD, DEA and CBP…You Are Right)

This week, FOIA documents revealed that Customs and Border Protection and ICE are dodging the Fourth Amendment by buying our private data from third-party data brokers, instead of bothering with a warrant. Add these agencies to a list that already

July 8, 2022

abortion protesters in front of the Supreme Court with a runner along the bottom reading "terrorism?"

Published by Cody Bloomfield at July 8, 2022

Here’s a Bad Idea: Some Members of Congress wants to classify abortion protesters as terrorists.

In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, thousands of people across the country have turned out on the streets to protest the rollback of reproductive rights. Some, like the group Jane’s Revenge, have pursued more confrontational

June 30, 2022

Published by Cody Bloomfield at June 30, 2022

One year of the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism: Where are we now?

It’s been just over a year since the Biden administration released the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. Since the ADL put out their own analysis, we decided to evaluate the strategy ourselves in light of what the National Strategy

June 16, 2022

Published by Cody Bloomfield at June 16, 2022

CP3/CVE is a free expression issue

Researching foreign policy…while Muslim. Wondering about injustice….while experiencing mental illness. Protesting police violence….while Black. These are all suspect activities under Biden’s CP3 program. Last year, the DHS announced a “new” countering domestic violent extremism initiative: the Center for Prevention

June 13, 2022

Staircase overlaid with puzzle pieces, colored red

Published by Cody Bloomfield at June 13, 2022

The persistent myth of radicalization

You’ve seen the story in the media. A kid stumbles across fringe ideas online, gets involved with the wrong crowd, and ends up in the headlines for committing some act of violence. These stories follow a familiar arc. The only

June 2, 2022

Surveillance camera overlooking "keep abortions legal" sign in front of Supreme Court

Published by Cody Bloomfield at June 2, 2022

When abortion prosecutions begin, will Google be complicit?

The impending Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade doesn’t just endanger bodily autonomy. It also raises the specter that cruel forms of government surveillance will be used to target pregnant people. Under current data collection policies, Google holds the

May 27, 2022

Published by Cody Bloomfield at May 27, 2022

Ohio Supreme Court Should Step in to Protect Student Free Speech

Recently, Defending Rights & Dissent filed an amicus brief urging the Ohio Supreme Court to take up Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College. It’s a messy case with far-reaching implications for student speech. If allowed to stand, the lower court’s ruling

September 14, 2021

Published by Cody Bloomfield at September 14, 2021

Anti-White Supremacy Program Reinforces White Supremacy

Terrorism is not contagious. It seems like an obvious statement, but it’s one belied by language about “terrorist radicalization.” National security discourse continually resurrects the myth that there is a traceable path to terrorism that starts with adoption of ideology

August 11, 2021

Published by Cody Bloomfield at August 11, 2021

The Legacy of Atomic McCarthyism

This week marks 76 years since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities. (Friday was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima; Monday was the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.) We remember the victims of Hiroshima and

August 4, 2021

Published by Cody Bloomfield at August 4, 2021

New Name, Same Flaws Pt. 4: The War on Terror’s Education Division

Our schools are battlegrounds. At least, that’s how DHS sees them. Letting the national security state run rampant through schools creates what Nicole Nguyen calls “school securitization.” Students, socialized into a world of threats around every corner, learn to fear

July 29, 2021

Published by Cody Bloomfield at July 29, 2021

New Name, Same Flaws Pt. 3: Fighting The Stalker State

For a decade, activists from the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition have fought on the front lines to oppose further expansion of what they term the “stalker state.” Members of the Coalition join us to deconstruct national security mythology and reappraise

July 22, 2021

Published by Cody Bloomfield at July 22, 2021

New Name, Same Flaws, Pt. 2: Muslim Activists Call BS on Biden

Why are Muslim-led organizations leading the fight against Biden’s anti-white supremacy counterterrorism strategy? Because his strategy just reheats the CVE program, an insidious form of psychological warfare that has deeply harmed Muslim communities. As the national security state strong-armed community