September 25, 2026
Can the FBI Spy on First Amendment Protected Activity? According to a new analysis of the FBI’s rules from Defending Rights & Dissent, the answer is yes. This morning, Defending Rights & Dissent delivered Can the FBI Spy on the
July 16, 2026
NSPM-7, Trump’s presidential memo detailing his plan to crackdown on dissent and the left, also poses a serious threat to journalists and their constitutionally protected right to practice their profession. Next Wednesday, July 22, at 2pm ET, Defending Rights &
July 1, 2026
Last week, two federal judges in Texas sentenced eight activists to 30 to 100 years in prison for actions related to a July 4, 2025 protest at the ICE Prairieland detention center. Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons
May 6, 2026
Last fall, Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), his blueprint to crush the left. The memo relies on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces and gives a central role to his Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller. Days earlier, Trump
November 21, 2025
Defending Rights & Dissent condemns the FBI’s infiltration of a private chat of court watchers. The troubling situation is further confounded by the fact that the FBI labeled the individuals who were peacefully and lawfully attending and monitoring ICE proceedings
October 6, 2025
Responding to Trump’s plan to ‘crush’ the ‘radical left’ The Trump administration is using the killing of Charlie Kirk to escalate government targeting of political dissent into a full-blown crackdown on its political adversaries, with White House officials blaming nonprofits