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Defending Rights & Dissent
October 23, 2020
Today, Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) sent a letter to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council,
October 21, 2020
Last night, the Oakland City Council terminated local police participation in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) by unanimously passing a measure introduced by County Council President Rebecca Kaplan. It was a smashing victory for a broad coalition of
October 16, 2020
Defending Rights & Dissent demands a full, transparent investigation into the shooting of Michael Reinoehl by a federal fugitive task force. Reinoehl was identified as an “antif-fasicst” activist. He was wanted by police for the second-degree murder of a Patriot
September 30, 2020
Pursuant to U.S. Army regulations, war detainees are “eligible for direct repatriation” if they are: (1) “suffering from disabilities as a result of injury, loss of limb, paralysis, or other disabilities, when these disabilities are at least the loss of
September 18, 2020
September 18, 2020
The shocking disclosures by Dawn Wooten, LPN, a nurse turned whistleblower, about dangerous and unethical medical practices, including mass hysterectomies, at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Georgia have once again turned attention to the appalling way ICE
September 2, 2020
Recently, Donald Trump when asked about a pardon for whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed he was looking into it. While it’s unclear how serious his answer was or what his intentions were, this has sparked a renewed discussion about Snowden. Unfortunately,
August 7, 2020
Students returning to High School in Paulding County, GA this week crammed the halls. At least one student was concerned about the crowding and lack of masks, so she tweeted a photo (above). It went viral and resulted in her
July 22, 2020
For Immediate Release July 22, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Defending Rights and Dissent (DRAD) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) were joined today by fifty civil society groups condemning the deployment of federal agents to Portland against the wishes
July 17, 2020
The board and staff of Defending Rights & Dissent mourns the loss of our longtime board member, Rev. C.T. Vivian, a legend of the civil rights movement and who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. He served
July 13, 2020
As the nation rises up against police brutality and racism, Attorney General William Barr has escalated his attacks on protesters. On June 26, 2020, he announced the formation of a task force on violent anti-government extremists. Although its stated purpose
July 13, 2020
Kenneth Marcus has announced that he is resigning as assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.Given Marcus’s long history of working to silence student speech supportive of Palestinian rights, Defending Rights & Dissent opposed his nomination to the post. While Defending Rights & Dissent supports robust enforcement of our nation’s civil rights laws, we oppose the misuse of those laws to silence political speech about Palestinian rights or Israeli policy, as Marcus did.
July 10, 2020
“If the technology is flawed and the policing is flawed, then the whole thing is flawed.” Robert Williams wrongfully arrested in Michigan due to false facial recognition match As millions of Americans rise up – both on the streets and
July 7, 2020
On Tuesday, July 7, Defending Rights & Dissent, along with a host of national organizations and security experts (including DRAD board president Sascha Meinrath) from civil society, industry and academia, signed onto a national letter expressing our strong opposition to