Cecily McMillan Found Guilty, Immediately Remanded Into Custody: Support Group Issues Statement to the Press
[NEW YORK, NY] At 2pm EST Occupy Wall Street Activist Cecily McMillan was convicted and immediately remanded into custody by Judge Zweibel of the New York Superior Court, a sentencing hearing is tentatively scheduled for May 19, 2014. The following is the official statement from Cecily McMillan’s support committee » Beyond Judge Zweibel, it is […]
Laura Poitras & Edward Snowden Awarded 2014 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, The Ridenhour Prizes announced that Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras will be jointly awarded the 2014 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling for exposing the US government’s vast warrantless surveillance operation. The revelations sparked a debate on the constitutionality of mass surveillance, and how technology has transformed the parameters of individual privacy. In reflecting […]
Trial Resumes Monday for Occupy Activist Cecily McMillan: Faces 7yrs in Prison After Beating by NYPD Left Her Unconscious
[NEW YORK, NY] After two years of delays, trial will begin for Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan. Set for this Monday, April 7th at 9:30am at 100 Centre St Room 1116 Part 41, Cecily’s case marks the last ongoing Occupy trial. On March 17th, 2012 Cecily was sexually assaulted by a plainclothes NYPD officer and then beaten unconscious by police […]
NSA Invokes “National Defense” and the Espionage Act to Stonewall MIT Student’s FOIA Request on Nelson Mandela
[WASHINGTON, DC] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) PhD candidate Ryan Shapiro filed a lawsuit this morning against the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Defense Intelligence Agency over the spy agencies’ failure to comply with his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records on anti-apartheid activist and South African President, […]
Sister of Slain Kent State Student Testifies in Front of United Nations Human Rights Committee
[GENEVA, SWITZERLAND] At 10am EST, Laurel Krause, whose sister Allison was among those killed at Kent State, addressed the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) as part of its 4th Periodic Review on Human Rights in America. Laurel asked the UNHRC to press the US to initiate a new and independent investigation into what occurred […]
Former Church Committee Chief Counsel Fredrick A.O. Schwarz, Jr. Calls for a Committee to Investigate Mass Surveillance
Today, The Nation Institute announced that Frederick A.O. “Fritz” Schwarz, Jr., Chief Counsel of the Brennan Center and former Chief Counsel of the Church Committee, will receive the Ridenhour Courage Prize. The Nation magazine will also publish his editorial, “Why We Need a New Church Committee to Fix Our Broken Intelligence System,” calling for a […]
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 […]
Monthly ‘No Separate Justice’ Vigil Outside NYC’s Metropolitan Correctional Center will Highlight the Case of Tarek Mehanna
[NEW YORK, NY] Activists will gather for a second candlelight vigil on Monday, March 10 at 6PM outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan [150 Park Row and Pearl St]. These monthly vigils are organized by a critical new campaign titled No Separate Justice (NSJ). Monday’s vigil focuses on the unjust prosecution and […]
In Remembrance of the Death of Trayvon Martin: Statement from Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color of Change
[New York, NY] Two years ago today, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down in Sanford, FL, triggering public outcry over “Stand Your Ground” laws. Introduced as model legislation in 2004 by the American Legislation Exchange Council (ALEC), Florida became the first state to pass an explicit “Stand Your Ground” law. Since 2004 similar […]
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 […]
Trial Begins for Occupy Wall Street’s Cecily McMillan: Activist Faces 7yrs in Prison After Beating by NYPD Left Her Unconscious
[NEW YORK, NY] Trial began in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday for Occupy Wall Street activist, Cecily McMillan, who faces 2nd degree assault charges stemming from a 2012 encounter with the NYPD that left her beaten and unconscious. Trial has been postponed until March 3rd due to the introduction of illuminating new evidence. McMillan was brutally arrested […]
Celebrities Demand President Make Japan’s Dolphin Slaughter “a Key Factor” in Next Round of TPP Negotiations
LOS ANGELES, CA — Dozens of celebrities and activists have joined hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in calling upon Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to pressure President Barack Obama to refuse signing the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) until Japan abandons its practice of drive hunt slaughter and capture of dolphins and porpoises. The letter does not assert a position […]
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 […]
Activists Launch Monthly Vigils Demanding “No Separate Justice” at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center
NEW YORK, NY — Activists will gather on Monday, February 10, at 6pm, for a vigil outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan [150 Park Row and Pearl St]. The event will be the first of a series of monthly vigils organized by a critical new campaign titled No Separate Justice (NSJ). Launched on […]
As Controversy Couples Debo Adegbile’s Appointment to Head DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Activists Usher in New Campaign to Bring Mumia Abu-Jamal Home
WASHINGTON, DC — Since the President’s nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, some media outlets have zealously revisited the case of celebrated political prisoner and radio journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Specifically, controversy has arisen over Abegbile because his name appears in post-sentencing legal briefs that successfully challenged […]
MIT PhD Candidate Sues CIA for the Records Surrounding the 1962 Arrest of Nelson Mandela
[WASHINGTON, DC] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) PhD candidate Ryan Shapiro filed a lawsuit this morning against the Central Intelligence Agency over the spy agency’s failure to comply with his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records on recently deceased anti-apartheid activist and South African President, Nelson Mandela. Shapiro wants to know why the […]
No Separate Justice: Advocates & Families Impacted by the “War on Terror” Launch New Campaign Challenging Prosecutorial Overreach & Unjust Incarceration
[NEW YORK, NY] On January 7, 2014, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Educators for Civil Liberties, CUNY School of Law’s Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) Project, and Amnesty International USA will host a panel discussion to launch “No Separate Justice: A Post-9/11 Domestic Human Rights Campaign.” This new campaign aims to shed […]
This Is What Solidarity Looks Like: How Long Island Food Not Bombs’ Hunger Relief Efforts are Eclipsing That of NGO’s With Multi-Million Dollar Annual Budgets
[HEMPSTEAD, NY] The hunger relief efforts of a small group of dedicated and caring Long Islanders operating on a near-zero budget is eclipsing that of the relief efforts of many well-funded 501-c3 organizations, both in number of people served and in the volume of food distributed. The group, a Long Island chapter of the decentralized, […]
We Will Not Be Silent: Activists and Creatives Will Carry Over One Hundred Messages to New York’s Financial District
[NEW YORK, NY] For three days this December (12/19, 12/23, 12/31), creative and concerned people in New York City will carry over one hundred unique messages on large, hand-held black and white placards to Wall Street. The activists, members of the arts and activism collective We Will Not Be Silent, will create a visual arresting […]
As Anniversary of Sandy Hook Shooting Approaches, Cerberus Capital Management Makes Tepid Offer Allowing Investors to Unload Toxic Firearm Investments
NEW YORK, NY — A late-Sunday news report has indicated the Cerberus Capital Management LP will allow individual investors the option of divesting from Cerberus’ stake in Freedom Group, the manufacturer of the military-style assault rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting. Cerberus Capital Management owns a 94% stake in Freedom Group and has had difficulty structuring a deal to […]
Projection Artists Light up Walls of Brooklyn Detention Center with Visually Arresting Messages of Solidarity for Imprisoned Activist, Jeremy Hammond
[NEW YORK, NY] A collective of projection artists and activists lit up the bleak walls of The Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC Brooklyn) last night with visually arresting images and messages proclaiming solidarity with jailed political activist Jeremy Hammond. The artists’ stunning action, which captured the attention of prisoners and administrators alike, comes two weeks […]
Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, Jeremy Hammond Uses Allocution to Give Consequential Statement Highlighting Global Criminal Exploits by FBI Handlers
NEW YORK, NY — Jeremy Hammond, a 28-year-old political activist, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to participating in the Anonymous hack into the computers of the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor). The Ceremonial Courtroom at the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York was filled today with an […]
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. […]
Strike Debt’s Rolling Jubilee Has Abolished $13.5 Million in Medical Debt, Owned by 2,693 People, in 45 States & Puerto Rico
[NEW YORK, NY] Strike Debt, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, announced this morning that since the launch of the group’s Rolling Jubilee effort one year ago, it has abolished $13.5 million worth of medical debt owed by 2,693 people across 45 states and in Puerto Rico. This is the third announcement by Strike Debt […]