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
Two of the #ElPaso9 Hunger Strikers Have Been Released. But 3 Have Been Deported, 4 Remain in Detention.
Two of the #ElPaso9 hunger strikers, were released from the Otero County Processing Center last week. The men endured verbal and physical abuse including force feeding during their hunger strike.
Defending Rights & Dissent’s Statement on the Indictment of Julian Assange
Earlier this morning, London police entered the Ecuadorian embassy and arrested Julian Assange. Press freedom, civil liberties, and human rights groups have long opposed the extradition of Assange to the US.
Washington Court of Appeals Upholds Right to Present Necessity Defense in Climate Case
Valve-turner Ken Ward will be allowed to explain to a jury why his civil disobedience was necessary.
Missouri General Assembly Takes Aim at Anti-Pipeline Protests
Missourians! Take action now to help us defeat a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that would crackdown on protests near pipelines and other energy infrastructure.
MoCo Police Absolve Themselves in Killing of Innocent Black Man
Family, Friends, and Advocates React with Outrage and Determination to Make Change Following Release of County Findings in the Police Killing of Robert White
Watch the Spying Dissent Event
On March 28 at Howard University Law School, we convened a conversation about the surveillance of activists in the digital age with activists who have been targeted by law enforcement and two policy experts.
Defending Rights & Dissent Demands Chelsea Manning’s Release From Solitary Confinement
On March 26, 2018 Defending Rights & Dissent sent a letter to the Alexandria Sheriff demanding Chelsea Manning be released from solitary confinement.
Three ways to join us for Spying Dissent: The Surveillance of Activists in the Digital Age
This event is co-hosted by the Center for Media Justice, Defending Rights & Dissent, National Lawyers Guild, Protect the Protest and the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University School of Law.
Immigration Advocates Warn of Physical and Mental Harm to Hunger Strikers in El Paso Detention Facility
The “El Paso 9” have been subjected to brutal force-feedings, mistreatment and retaliatory actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and private contractors following their hunger strike, which began in late December 2018.
39 Groups Present 8 More Reasons to Retire Section 215
We have an opportunity to stop intelligence agencies from collecting our phone, email and other records in bulk when Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act sunsets at the end of 2019.