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 the CVE model as a mechanism of social control instead of safety.

On Wednesday, July 28, DRAD hosted the third event in our #LunchtimeLive series focused on the “new” Biden counterterror strategy and what it means for dissent in America. Moderator Cody Bloomfield was joined by members of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition to discuss how we came to have counterinsurgency tactics in schools, and why no amount of surveillance can eradicate terrorism and violence. A far cry from remedying white supremacist violence, CVE deepens structural racism and eviscerates community resources. 

The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition is a collective of diverse community members dedicated to dismantling the surveillance state. Since 2011, the coalition has resisted LAPD’s efforts to surveil communities and sow suspicion. The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition maps the architecture of surveillance, debunks deceptive counterterror narratives, and engages in policy advocacy against the national security state’s characterization of community members as criminals in the making. In 2016, Stop LAPD Spying banded together with the United Teachers of Los Angeles to fight back against implementation of CVE in schools. Since then, they’ve created activist toolkits and educational materials contextualizing CVE within broader national security state abuses and history of white supremacy.