Newsletter: June 2026

Suing the U.S. Gov’t Over Palestine Protest Crackdown

Defending Rights & Dissent is suing the State Department, FBI, DOJ, & ICE under the Freedom of Information Act to compel the agencies to release documents related to the government’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests across the United States. We’re working to expose multi-agency coordination with private vigilante groups, like the ADL, Betar, and Canary Mission, who single out protesters exercising their freedom of speech in defense of Palestinian rights and provide blacklists of student demonstrators for the administration to target.

This program has led to the arrest and attempted deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Mohsen Madawi, Leqaa Kordia, and many more students who merely spoke out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. 

The government has stonewalled our request – first filed back in April 2025 – leading to the lawsuit. You can support this lawsuit and help us bring further FOIA requests to court with a contribution to Defending Rights & Dissent today. 

June is Espionage Act History Month

Some of the most important milestones in the history of the Espionage Act, one of the worst laws in the U.S. legal code, have occurred in June, starting with its inception in June of 1917. That’s why Defending Rights & Dissent has declared June to be Espionage Act History Month, a time to memorialize these milestones, highlight the law’s century of abuse, and emphasize the urgency of direly needed reform.

We’ve kicked off the campaign with a video message from our Board member and CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling, himself a victim of the Espionage Act’s overbroad abuse, in which Jeffrey recounts the way the law was used against him and why we must work to pass the reform bill Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced earlier this year, the Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act.

CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling on Espionage Act History Month, his own experience being charged under the Act, and the urgency of reforming it now pic.twitter.com/RK7ql3q0RU

— Defending Rights & Dissent (@RightsDissent) June 5, 2026

We’ve also marked some key anniversaries already. June 3 marked 13 years since Chelsea Manning’s court martial trial began in Fort Meade, Maryland, when she was tried under the Espionage Act among other counts for her releases to WikiLeaks exposing rampant abuses in the War on Terror. On June 5 of the same year, The Guardian began publishing documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who remains in exile due to an Espionage Act indictment.

We’ll continue to release videos throughout the month from other whistleblowers, lawyers, experts and advocates, to talk about the history of the Espionage Act as a draconian tool used to silence dissent for over 100 years. 

The Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act would finally reform the Espionage Act to end its use against journalists and the public and to allow whistleblowers to explain their motives in court. Urge your representatives to cosponsor the bill using this action tool. 

Petition: Release Courtney Williams! 

The Espionage Act’s abuses are not confined to history – the law continues to be used against journalists and their sources to this day. 

Defending Rights & Dissent continues to defend Courtney Williams, a U.S. Army veteran who has been charged under the Espionage Act after she spoke out against gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the military for investigative reporter Seth Harp’s book, The Fort Bragg Cartel. 

In coordination with Drop Site News, we’ve launched a petition to the Department of Justice urging all charges against Williams to be dropped immediately. 

Responding to Subpoenas for Activists Over Cuba Trip

Late last month, the U.S. government issued subpoenas to investigate CodePink founder Medea Benjamin and political commentator Hasan Piker over their recent trip to Cuba. 

Defending Rights & Dissent issued a statement condemning this attack on political activism as a blatant abuse of the sanctions system:

Once again the Trump administration is using the U.S.’s abusive sanctions regime to attack humanitarians and retaliate against critics of U.S. foreign policy.

We stand against this outrageous attempt to intimidate Medea Benjamin and Hasan Piker for standing up against the U.S.’s blockade of Cuba, an illegal act of collective punishment which has brought misery and devastation to ordinary Cubans.

702 Update: Fighting Warrantless Surveillance

Since Congress passed a short term extension of FISA Section 702 in April, Defending Rights & Dissent staff, board members, and activists, along with our coalition partners, have continued to pressure Congress to refuse to extend the foreign intelligence surveillance program without significant reforms – most importantly, a warrant requirement for searching Americans’ communications and closing the data broker loophole. 

DRAD was part of a bipartisan coalition of 80 groups standing together to urge Congress to pass these reforms. When Trump appointed former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac chairman Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, we were quick to highlight the threat he would pose: 

“Given his lack of qualifications and backgrounds, we can only assume Bill Pulte has been selected for his only qualification that matters to Trump–personal loyalty,” said Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director, Chip Gibbons.  “Watching Tulsi Gabbard go from one of the leading critics of U.S. wars and surveillance to helping Trump carry out the very policies she once claimed to oppose shows the last thing we need is personal loyalty to Trump in DNI.” 

Although extending 702 was always a bad idea no matter who is the Director of National Intelligence, Pulte’s appointment starkly demonstrates the danger of unchecked government surveillance powers. Even Senators who have long supported 702 cast their vote against extending the program last week after Trump’s appointment. The Senate defeated the measure on a vote of 47-52, but we haven’t won just yet. Look for another Call to Action in your inbox this week as we mobilize to stop FISA 702 in the House.