Defending Rights & Dissent Stands Against McCarthyite Attacks on Center for Security, Race and Rights
May 30, 2024
11 Years After the Snowden Revelations: It’s Time to Fix the Espionage Act
June 6, 2024Newsletter: June 2024
Assange wins in the UK
DRAD Policy Director Chip Gibbons was in London to cover the Assange proceeding where the UK largely ruled in Assange’s favor and permitted him to further appeal his extradition. Chip broke the stunning news live on Democracy Now! and in an article for Jacobin, reminding us of the dire consequences this case holds for press freedom across the globe.
Our George Floyd protest report highlights police abuse
On the 4th anniversary of the police murder of George Floyd, DRAD published The Cost of Police Violence and Mayhem: A Report on Police Misconduct during the George Floyd Protests. We analyzed 132 lawsuits brought by people brutalized by cops and found that the police were often the instigators of violence and chaos. Police bombarded unarmed protesters with chemical and projectile weapons, trapped and tear gassed protesters, and impeded journalists’ ability to cover events.
Calling for urgent intervention on Guantánamo
The clock is ticking on the Biden administration’s promise to close Guantánamo, meanwhile, many of the men who have been released face health issues as a result of torture, political and financial precarity, and further persecution. Last month, we increased the pressure on the Biden administration by organizing a letter signed by thousands of grassroots activists (thank you to everyone who took action!) and ten organizations calling for Guantánamo to be closed, for concerted diplomatic intervention to protect former detainees, and payment of reparations to all the men tortured and wrongly imprisoned.
On our radar:
- Taking a stand against congressional witch hunts against human rights advocacy and scholarship. DRAD recently stepped up to defend our allies at The Rutgers Law Center for Security, Race and Rights from harassment and unfounded attacks. We organized over 30 organizations to publicly rebuke members of Congress.
- DHS questioned an Israeli academic at the Detroit airport about his views on Hamas and asked about his connections to Arab and Muslim people in the United States. Policy Director Chip Gibbons wrote an op-ed for The Guardian contextualizing the incident within a sweeping history of counterterrorism abuses.
- We’ve been working with allies to block attempts to use the Treasury Dept. to undermine civil society. Thousands of you took our action against S. 4136 (there is still time if you haven’t done so yet!) which would let the Treasury Secretary declare any non-profit “terrorist supporting” on thin or non-existent evidence. Relatedly, we joined with other free-speech advocates to condemn another attempt to weaponize the treasury department to go after “anti-American” groups.
- For over a decade we’ve been advocating for a federal shield law, to protect journalists from government subpoenas and surveillance. We are close to securing passage of the PRESS Act in the next few weeks (look for an action alert coming to your inbox soon!). We joined allies to ask Senator Durbin to bring the bill up for a vote ASAP.
