#StopTheDeal Coalition Statement on Elon Musk’s Twitter Acquisition Deal
A diverse coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups continues to sound the alarm on the dangers of an Elon Musk-owned Twitter as the deal comes to a close
Judge Rules FBI May Not Unilaterally Invent New FOIA Exemptions
Washington, DC — As reported in an exclusive report by Sam Thielman for The Guardian, a team of expert FOIA requestors and their attorneys has scored a major Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) victory against the FBI.
Will Potter Describes Being the First Journalist to Visit Federal Communication Management Unit
In a new TED Talk released today, investigative journalist and TED Senior Fellow Will Potter describes his experience as the first and only journalist to visit secretive prisons on U.S. soil that are referred to by prisoners and guards as “Little Guantanamo.” Communications Management Units, or CMUs, are experimental prison units in the United States for so-called […]
Sister of Kent State University Student Slain by National Guard will be Deposed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee
[GENEVA, SWITZERLAND] The 1970 shooting of unarmed students at Kent State University will for the first time be brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva on March 10-14, 2014. Laurel Krause, whose sister Allison was among those killed at Kent State, will address the UNHRC at its 4th Periodic Review on Human […]
The Criminalization of Journalism: Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir Pens Open Letter in Defense of Jailed Journalist, Barrett Brown
[DALLAS, TX] The curious case of Barrett Brown —a freelance journalist and satirist, turned political prisoner— has captivated thousands in the lead-up to what many are calling a “show trial” slated to take place in Dallas, TX, later this year. In an open letter published this morning (and attached below), Icelandic MP, Birgitta Jonsdottir claims the charges […]
First Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Oral Arguments in Lawsuit Challenging the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
[BOSTON, MA] Yesterday members of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and their supporters packed a Boston, MA courtroom, as Senior Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol demanded the First Circuit Court of Appeals strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) as a violation of the First Amendment. The AETA is a federal criminal statute ushered […]
The FBI Claims MIT PhD Candidate, Ryan Shapiro’s FOIA Research will “Irreparably Damage National Security”
[CAMBRIDGE, MA] The Federal Bureau of Investigation is claiming the dissertation research of Ryan Shapiro, a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will “irreparably damage national security.” Radical and unprecedented in nature, the FBI’s efforts in this case stand to change the landscape of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as we know it. […]
Sentencing of UK Lulzsec Hacktivists Highlights Disparity in Sentence Guidelines as US Activist Jeremy Hammond Still Faces 42 Years in Federal Prison
[New York & London] Three English co-defendants who plead guilty to being members of the Lulzsec hacktivist group were today sentenced by a UK court. Ryan Acroyd, the most technically experienced of the three, received the longest sentence – he will spend 15 months in prison. By contrast, their American co-defendant Jeremy Hammond has already […]
Supreme Court Denies Imprisoned Holy Land Foundation Members Appeal
[Washington, DC] After 11 years of raids, seized assets, arrests, a hung jury, a retrial, and the eventual conviction of the Holy Land Foundation and it’s leaders under the material support to terrorists statute, the case ended today with a 9-word notice from the Supreme Court notifying counsel that the appellants case would not be […]
Leah-Lynn Plante Remanded into Federal Custody for Refusal to Provide Grand Jury Testimony Against Northwest Activists
[Seattle, WA] At 2:45pm PDT yesterday (October 10, 2012) a federal judge for Washington’s Western district ordered that Leah-Lynn Plante be remanded into federal custody for her refusal to provide federal grand jury testimony regarding activists in the Northwest. At 5pm PDT Leah-Lynn was moved to the Seattle-Tacoma Federal Detention Facility (SEATAC) where she is […]
Federal Judge Hears Arguments For Permanent Injunction Against NDAA Indefinite Detention
[NEW YORK, NY] Today at 2pm at 500 Pearl St. in Manhattan Judge Katherine Forrest will hear arguments by plaintiffs and the government relative to an effort to block the government from using new “indefinite detention” powers. The lawsuit, brought by journalist Chris Hedges, Professor Noam Chomsky, activist Daniel Ellsberg (leaker of the Pentagon Papers) […]
Activists Declare Victory as Ruling Cripples Indefinite Detention Under the NDAA
[New York, NY] Today as congress prepares to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a federal judge has handed down a ruling that would prohibit the enforcement of two highly controversial sections within the NDAA should it pass. The 68 page ruling handed down by the newly-appointed NYC Federal Judge Katherine Forrest issues a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of section […]
‘What the Arrows on That Seal Above Your Head Represent’: The Sentencing of Tarek Mehanna
Last week Tarek Mehanna, a man charged with providing material support to terrorists, stood in front of a Massachusetts federal judge awaiting sentencing. Most would be weary after spending 2.5 years in solitary confinement but Tarek appeared defiant, while still polite, and deeply rational. While most use this brief moment in front of the judge […]
Activists & Journalists Sue President Over NDAA’s Chilling Effect on Constitutional Protections
[NEW YORK, NY] The first round of statements from seven high-profile plaintiffs suing President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, House Speakers, and DOD Representatives seeking injunctive relief barring the implementation of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)’s “Homeland Battlefield” provisions of indefinite detention and suspension of Habeas Corpus was heard […]
Repealing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: Event at Suffolk University
6pm-9pm Tuesday, March 27th 2012 Suffolk University Law School 120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108-4977 View Map · Get Directions · RSVP on Facebook Suffolk Law School, Harvard Law School, and New England School of Law present a panel discussion of how the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act is undermining our rights. Featuring: Odette Wilkens, Esq. (Executive Director of the […]
Johnny Cash Could Teach Peter King a Thing (or two) About Prison-Born Terrorism Plots
Yesterday Congressman Peter King held his second hearing into radicalization within Islamic communities in the United States. This hearing focused on the potential for radicalization within the state and federal prison industrial complexes, specifically highlighting a conspiracy by four California men to wage war against the United States through attacks against military recruitment facilities and […]
Green Is the New Red
Brilliantly written, meticulously accurate, and deeply emotional, Green Is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of A Social Movement Under Siege is a collection of intimately personal stories of activists that every-day Americans need to hear, without these accounts the draconian chapters in U.S. history filled with senate hearings and blacklists are doomed to repeat themselves …repetitions like these, we as a nation cannot afford.
Awake in my Cell
By Malik A. Uhmari, Sparrow Media Contributor Here I sit in my cell, alone. Alone in my thoughts, yet no more than three-feet away, just outside my door, there is life. There is commotion; there is a variety of activity. A more accurate description would be “festivity.” I resist engaging in this orchestrated and organized […]
Race and Religion as Red Herrings
[T]he hangover has hit hard, on many fronts and, true to form, post-racial America has proven itself to be as virulently racist as always; an ignominious tradition remains unbroken…
Peace Activists Targeted By FBI for Justice Work; Protests Planned Nation-Wide This Week to Show Solidarity & Support
If, in fact, there is anyone left who still believes that Barack Obama is a progressive, I offer this past Friday’s raids on peace activists in Minneapolis and Chicago as proof to the contrary. The homes of eight activists were invaded and their belongings confiscated due to their support of the Palestinian cause and the […]
Muzzling A Movement 3/23/2010 NYU
The NYU Student Animal Legal Defense Fund presents “Muzzling A Movement” a speaking engagement with former SHAC 7 prisoner Andy Stepanian, and Dara Lovitz whose book, Muzzling A Movement, on the suppression of speech & first amendment protected protest within the animal protection movement, is due out this summer from Lantern Books. Activist & former […]