Working to make the promise of the Bill of Rights a reality.
Welcome to Defending Rights & Dissent
Join the grassroots movement to fulfill the promise of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Together, we can make police and intelligence agencies accountable to we the people whom they serve. It’s time to convert your concern and outrage into political action. Let’s do this.
Dissent NewsWire
Ban Tear Gas
Tear gas is among the least of the problems facing those who care about the murder and destruction of war. But it is a major element in the militarization of local policing. In fact, it is widely deemed illegal in war, but legal in non-war.
Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit Is Both A Testament to the Power of Dissent And An Illustration of Government Hostility to Black Political Power
July 17 marks the 59th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s death. We recall Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”, a musical protest against this country’s white supremacist violence. “Strange Fruit” is a testament to the power of music as an impetus for social change. The government’s reaction is also a story about the repression of dissent. It is for both of these reasons why we at Defending Rights & Dissent continue to defend the right to dissent.
DEA Finds a New Way Around Encryption: Planting Spy Phones With Suspects, Raising Concerns About Privacy, Security, and Free Expression
“Putting a smartphone whose security has been compromised into circulation could create privacy and security risks for anyone who ultimately uses that device and jeopardize free expression,” said Sarah St.Vincent, researcher on US surveillance and domestic law enforcement at Human Rights Watch.
Fatema Ahmad Receives July Patriot Award
Fatema Ahmad, the recipient of DRAD’s July 2018 Patriot Award, does advocacy work in Boston by engaging in community building and empowering residents to resist abusive policing practices. She is the Deputy Director of the Muslim Justice League (MJL),… [Read More]
Coalition Calls for Urgent Investigation of Destruction of Records on Family Separation Crisis
Congress must demand full transparency and accountability to protect children from disappearing.
Why target Wells Fargo and private prison companies?
Private prison companies are not only making huge profits from the incarceration and detention of immigrants, they are also a huge political force in lobbying for the legislation and policies that criminalize immigrants and communities of color in the U.S.
Last Remaining Charges Dismissed Against Trump Inauguration Protesters
The US Attorney’s Office (USAO) have announced they are moving to dismiss without prejudice all charges against the remaining 38 protesters arrested during Donald Trump’s Inauguration.
California Enacts Law Protecting Consumer Privacy, But There is Still a Ways to Go
The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act is a law that will require technology corporations, such as Google and Facebook, to drastically alter their business models regarding data collection and privacy regulations. Despite the bill’s strong language, it has many shortcomings.
Statement on Reality Winner’s Plea Deal
We believe that whistleblowers who alert the public or the media to matters of public concern are heroes, not criminals. As such, we oppose the use of the Espionage Act in Winner’s case and would have opposed any criminal charges brought against the whistleblower.
Tell Tech Companies to Stop Helping ICE
Behind our back, some of these same companies are quietly helping ICE, and have multi-million dollar contracts with the agency.