tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17067705595731604172024-03-06T19:34:39.016-08:00MadisonNLGMadison chapter of the National Lawyers GuildMadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-75733453642311284712020-09-08T08:26:00.001-07:002024-03-06T06:00:16.293-08:00Know your Rights Bandana<p> The Guild has teamed up with PM Press for a limited edition "Know
Your Rights" bandana in Spanish and English!</p><p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pmpress.org/bandana" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.pmpress.org/bandana</a></p>
The bandanas are available by mail order only from the PM Press
website for $15 each. At least $5 raised from each bandana will go
toward the Mass Defense Committee.<br />
<br />Don't be caught in the streets without your KYR bandana! Order
one--or more--today and please share the link widely!<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRq3DoeOiHoFfvUrqOcCu4QOmdFtovYMpMHJkdYDuI3jMVp74Yt0IPODTVWPoPgHb89C2pS6A5oLaL-ECLnNhIremS9UVIpvyztxg23brwCGdSdvUbdxF0-cCgt8yEVCBqIh5r5aYUv0/s2048/KYR-bandana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRq3DoeOiHoFfvUrqOcCu4QOmdFtovYMpMHJkdYDuI3jMVp74Yt0IPODTVWPoPgHb89C2pS6A5oLaL-ECLnNhIremS9UVIpvyztxg23brwCGdSdvUbdxF0-cCgt8yEVCBqIh5r5aYUv0/s320/KYR-bandana.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-38053295503165035472020-07-23T12:36:00.003-07:002020-07-23T12:36:57.816-07:00Federal Defense Hotline<br />
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National Lawyers Guild Announces Federal Defense Hotline</h2>
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16211&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">https://www.nlg.org/nlg-announces-federal-defense-hotline/</a><br />
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
Contact: massdef@nlg.org<br />
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The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) National Office is launching a
hotline for activists and lawyers to report incidents of federal
repression, such as FBI “door-knocks” at activists’ homes, grand jury
investigations and subpoenas, and any other federal law enforcement
efforts to undermine civil rights, such as federal grab squads and the
use of unidentified federal agents to police protests. The line is live
at:<b> 212-679-2811.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Since May, the NLG has continued to support the movement for Black lives, organizing to support <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16212&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">legal defense efforts</a> and provide <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16213&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">Legal Observers</a>
for demonstrations. In the last week, we have seen the use of
anti-protest shock troops by the federal government, such as Portland,
where <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16214&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">federal grab squads</a> have arrested activists and taken them away from demonstrations in
unmarked vans.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16215&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">A memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security </a>(DHS)
suggests that these officers are acting under the auspices of DHS and
are members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC). This is a unit
typically tasked with high level law enforcement operations and it is
formed under US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). These officers are
acting <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16216&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">under direct orders from the Trump Administration</a> and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf.<br />
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The use of BORTAC to disrupt activism is a recent escalation by the federal government, which <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16217&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">has also used the National Guard, FBI, and Secret Service</a>
in order to violently quell protests. These efforts come in combination
with an aggressive political and legal strategy labeling ‘antifa’ a
domestic terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors are also filing <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16218&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">criminal charges against activists</a> throughout the country.<br />
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The NLG Federal Defense Hotline will allow callers to have privileged
conversations with attorneys, and to receive attorney referrals,
know-your-rights information, and resources for responding to grand jury
investigations and subpoenas. Inquiries about the line can be sent to
massdef@nlg.org. The line is staffed by attorneys organizing with the
NLG, and will remain active as long as federal prosecution efforts
continue.<br />
<br />
<i>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</i><br />
<b>Related:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>VIDEO: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16219&qid=4586374" rel="nofollow">Federal Repression of Activists & Their Lawyers: Legal & Ethical Strategies to Defend Our Movements</a></li>
</ul>
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<br />MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-46241897855221310852020-07-16T11:59:00.004-07:002020-07-16T11:59:56.914-07:00NLG Legal Observers<div>
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from <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/07/15/george-floyd-protests-police-far-right-antifa/">the Intercept</a>:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">In
early June, New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
(NJOHSP) issued a two-page report detailing how legal observers with the
National Lawyers
Guild, a progressive association of attorneys and legal advocates that
has been around since the 1930s and sends representatives to public
protests to monitor police activity, were in fact “an anarchist
extremist subgroup.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">“‘Lawyers’
may be identified by their bright neon green hats or clothing; however,
these individual [sic] may or may not be licensed lawyers,” </span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6981454-ANTIFA-Sub-Groups-and-Indicators-LES.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;"><span style="color: #6653ff;">the
office warned</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">. “Their role is to record information
regarding the interactions Antifa members are having during an arrest.
This individual will record the interaction with the aid of another
member, while noting information. The ‘lawyer’ will also
obtain booking information and are known to argue with police over
arrests and interactions.”</span></div>
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MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-28359900890760886732020-07-15T12:27:00.001-07:002020-07-15T12:27:41.179-07:00NLG Partners with Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp<img shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/LOs%20at%20NYC%20NoDAPL_1_.png" style="float: left; height: 365px; margin: 10px; width: 550px;" /><br />
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The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is proud to announce a new sustainable partnership with <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16164&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">Know Your Rights Camp</a>
(KYRC), founded by Colin Kaepernick. KYRC's mission is to advance the
liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through
education, self-empowerment, and mass mobilization.<br />
<br />
KYRC and NLG will partner to expand legal support for social justice
movements and increase capacity for providing legal resources for
freedom fighters arrested in relation to the movement for Black lives.
The agreement includes a $500,000 grant to the National Lawyers Guild
Foundation. "This inspiring grant will help the NLG strengthen digital
security for mass defense organizing, assist chapters with mass defense
infrastructure, expand criminal defense preparations, and create timely
new know-your-rights publications," said NLG Executive Director Pooja
Gehi.<br />
<br />
This partnership builds on decades of mass defense organizing by the
NLG and the recent work of Kaepernick's KYRC. The grant will be used in
part to support the NLG's growing infrastructure of 65 chapters and 125
student chapters across the country. During the protests following the
killing of George Floyd and many others, the NLG has played an important
role in supporting activists and the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16165&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">movement for Black lives</a>. The NLG has provided <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16166&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">jail and legal support</a> to arrested activists,
tracked federal prosecution efforts, and trained and deployed thousands of <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16167&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">Legal Observers</a>.
The NLG's mass defense efforts serve to strengthen its continued
support for various intersectional social justice movements, including
health and housing rights, labor struggles, environmental justice,
immigration, anti-police violence, LGBTQ rights, disability rights,
international solidarity, and abolition of the prison-industrial
complex.<br />
<br />
The NLG is a proud endorser of <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16168&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">#8toAbolition</a>,
which calls for defunding police, investing in communities, and freeing
people from jails and prisons. "Abolitionism is a crucial component of
the NLG's mass defense efforts because both seek to dismantle the
institutions most responsible for driving the racist exploitation of
Black and Brown communities and political repression of activists," said
NLG Director of Mass Defense Tyler Crawford. The NLG recognizes and
welcomes the recent increased public support for abolition movements and
dedicates itself to continuing to support communities working to make
this a reality.<br />
<br />
The NLG was formed in 1937 and was the first racially integrated bar
association in the United States. The NLG has provided mass defense
since 1969 along with its <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16169&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">mass defense committee</a>
(MDC). The MDC is a network of lawyers, legal workers, law students,
and jailhouse lawyers who provide legal support for activists,
protesters, and movements for social change. In addition to providing
direct legal support to movements, the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=16169&qid=4557624" rel="nofollow">mass defense program</a>
also distributes know-your-rights materials,
hosts reports on state responses to movements, and its widely
recognizable green Legal Observer hats are a prominent feature at
protests around the country.<br />
<br />
Featured image: NLG Legal Observers document arrests during a #NoDAPL protest in New York City, 2016.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</i>MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-20931327210197901722020-06-15T15:54:00.002-07:002020-06-15T15:54:43.314-07:00Street medic training in Milwaukee: June 26th-28th<a aria-describedby="u_dm_1" aria-owns="js_72k" class="_hli" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/4124790680894940/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%22106%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D" id="js_72l">20-hour Street Medic Training</a><br />
<br />
Forward Action Medics (FAM) is hosting a 20 hour street medic training in Milwaukee:<br />
<br />
Friday, June 26th: 5:30PM – 10:00PM<br />
Saturday, June 27th: 9:00AM – 6:30PM<br />
Sunday, June 28th: 9:00AM – 6:30PM<br />
<br />
Location will be shared with participants. We can help make transportation arrangements if needed.<br />
You must be on time for the training. Individuals later than 30
minutes will not be able to attend. This is because there is a lot of
information to cover in a very short amount of time, and what we cover
in 30 minutes is the equivalent of one workshop’s worth of information….
so please be on time! If you know that you are often late to events,
make sure you leave early to compensate.<br />
<br />
This 20-hour training covers basic first aid skills and prepares you
to help others stay safe and healthy at protests. It will also prepare
you to meet health needs as part of a team in your organization, in your
community, or as a member of Forward Action Medics, so that activists
and communities can stay well and stay in the streets.<br />
<br />
This training is rooted in street medics’ history of sharing first
aid skills as a form of self-defense for our communities. It focuses on
situational awareness and on issues that are common at protests
including weather, delays in accessing medical care, and police
violence. This training does not cover CPR.<br />
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<br />
<b>Accessibility</b>: While we strive to make these training opportunities accessible to
all, some restrictions apply due to the intense physical nature of the
training scenarios. Must be able to lift 30 pounds, move 25 feet
independently, and easily handle and utilize first aid supplies. To
request and/or discuss accommodations, please indicate so on the
registration form and we will contact you.<br />
<br />
Please register as space is limited. We will be in contact with participants before the training.<br />
<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.gle%2FThKnkAtmuSu96QvC6%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3ZKAHgmeTHp3xC46WhYJMxFnGlWNENT2TldXLpbsKuJxFG4BdK5nPjGZ8&h=AT0LwIfQIfyLNMWh0C07Sk8619ANFq4wCSNZIzKBjJHj-36fubxo38lzTQYNgKd_w8SU3ns-3XBxYwYDd02a40Imb1TAPf5MnbLC1iKRw9O1EyED23hl4Vf9ASXgkCfr8Q" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://forms.gle/ThKnkAtmuSu96QvC6</a><br />
<br />
<img alt="No photo description available." src="https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/103587195_117723943304037_5541732766077988401_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_sid=b386c4&_nc_oc=AQl823FMV-fxft_m6F0uu8bSx2C97mSoq-OBUHRv3oSykv-8addFje-SriOQdSz4F2g&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=5e61a61715eb1d855925625b3fec20af&oe=5F0AEBA8" />MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-65817453127994887512020-06-07T14:39:00.000-07:002020-06-07T14:40:00.327-07:00Police Targeting NLG Legal Observers at Black Lives Matter Protests<br />
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<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15242&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">https://www.nlg.org/police-targeting-nlg-legal-observers-at-black-lives-matter-protests/</a></div>
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<strong>Police Targeting NLG Legal Observers at Black Lives Matter Protests</strong></h2>
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</div>
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June 7, 2020<br />
Contact: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15243&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">communications@nlg.org</a></div>
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Since protests have spread to all 50 states in response to the
police murders of George Floyd and countless other Black people, law
enforcement has responded with a violent show of force against
protestors as well as <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15244&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">journalists</a>, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15245&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">street medics</a>, and legal support. Multiple <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15246&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Legal Observers (LOs)</a>
have been arrested or injured while monitoring
demonstrations against racialized police brutality. The NLG strongly
condemns this attack on Legal Observers, who attend protests to document
police activity and ensure demonstrators’ legal rights. Guild LO’s wear
neon green hats and other paraphernalia with the label “NLG Legal
Observer” to identify their role, but this visibility has also made them
a target for police. </div>
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In the past week, police have arrested, attacked, and tear gassed LOs in a least a dozen cities. In <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15247&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">Sacramento</a>,
LO Danny Garza was shot in the face with a rubber bullet while covering
local demonstrations, and hospitalized due to a concussion. A Bay Area
LO was shot with high speed impact munition by police in Oakland, and a
San Jose LO suffered multiple contusions from rubber bullets. While
legal observing in Chicago, Guild member Michael Drake was knocked to
the ground and beaten with batons by at least five officers
simultaneously before being arrested. Several LOs in Detroit were beaten
with batons, punched,
tear gassed and then arrested while trying to take names from arrested
protesters. Multiple LOs in various cities have been detained or
arrested for monitoring protests after the start of arguably illegal
curfews, including Washington D.C. and <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15248&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">New York City</a>. Most charges against LOs include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and breaking curfew.</div>
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Reports from <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15249&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">NLG chapters</a> in multiple cities lead us to conclude that police are intentionally targeting LOs. In <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15250&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">Atlanta</a>,
LOs Megan Harrison and Asia Parks were arrested and held for 17 hours
before being released. According to Harrison, she was walking down a
line of protesters linking arms, taking names and dates of birth in case
of arrest. When police attacked the crowd, she heard “get the girl in
the green hat,” before being grabbed from behind and forcibly arrested.
In Des
Moines, LO Ryan Krause was physically detained by a group of police who
tried to take his notes and called legal observation “suspicious
activity” and “harassment.” In Kansas City, several LOs were physically
shoved and pepper sprayed by police, while being told their “credentials
would not protect them.” </div>
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“The targeting of NLG LOs goes right to the heart of why we do this
work. While the police enforce the law on protesters, who is there to
monitor the police? The intentional targeting of NLG Legal Observers by
the police is a showing of confidence and hubris that they expect to
remain unaccountable,” said Garza. </div>
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<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15251&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">NLG Legal Observers</a> are a core part of the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15252&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">NLG Mass Defense program</a>,
which began in 1968. For the past 50+ years the Guild has provided
legal support designed to enable people to express their political views
as fully as possible without unconstitutional disruption or
interference by the police. The NLG will be putting the full support of
our network of thousands of legal professionals into assisting
protesters, including our LOs and the many journalists and street medics
who have also been
arrested or injured during these <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15253&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">police riots</a>.</div>
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We are deeply grateful to our LOs on the ground, and Guild members
and staff are following up with LOs arrested or injured to assist with
possible legal, physical, and mental health needs. We affirm our ongoing
support for Black organizers and activists who continue to face the
greatest amount of violence, harassment and intimidation by law
enforcement. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
NLG Resources:</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15254&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">NLG Mass Defense Program</a><br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15255&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">NLG Know Your Rights Materials</a><br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15256&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">Bail and Legal Defense Fund Best Practices Guide</a><br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15257&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">Recent NLG Statements and Press Releases</a><br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15249&qid=4308396" rel="nofollow">Find your local NLG Chapter</a></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Image: NLG Legal Observer arrested by Atlanta Police, June 1 (John Bazemore/AP).</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<em>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</em></div>
<br />
NLG National Office<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/facebook.com/NLGnational"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-8613 size-full" height="32" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/facebook-32X32.png" width="32" /></a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/twitter.com/NLGnews"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-8615 size-full" height="32" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/twitter-32x32.png" width="32" /></a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/instagram.com/nationallawyersguild"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-8614 size-full" height="32" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IG-32x32.png" width="32" /></a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/vimeo.com/nlg"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-8616 size-full" height="32" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/vimeo-32x32.png" width="32" /></a><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/open.php?q=4308396" width="1" /></div>
<br /></div>
<br />MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-7550043143597685172020-06-02T11:28:00.001-07:002020-06-02T11:28:42.697-07:00<br />
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<h1 class="entry-title">
NLG Statement on the President’s Unlawful Declaration of Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization</h1>
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15097&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nlg.org/nlg-statement-on-the-presidents-unlawful-declaration-of-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/</a><br />
</center>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
June 2, 2020<br />
Contact: communications@nlg.org<br />
<br />
In the long history of protest, governments have often sought to
discredit political activists who challenge the status quo. President
Donald Trump’s recent declaration, that “Antifa”—shorthand for
“anti-fascist”—is a domestic terrorist organization, is no departure
from this tradition. As protests continue to erupt around the country <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15098&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">in response to the murder of George Floyd</a>
by a Minneapolis Police officer on May 25, people of all classes,
races, genders, and political orientations are expressing outrage and
grief in the streets and on social media. The demonstrators have
been repeatedly and violently <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15099&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">attacked by heavily militarized police departments</a>
using an array of tactics—including chemical weapons during a global
pandemic—against people in the streets. In an effort to shift blame away
from legitimate calls for racial justice and the violent police
response to protests, the President is using his bully pulpit to obscure
the fact that these demonstrations are supported by a broad majority of
Americans.<br />
<br />
The term Antifa originates in the 1930s when progressive activists
organized to oppose far-right authoritarianism emerging throughout the
world. In recent history, some have re-adopted the phrase as a political
orientation opposed to the re-emergent ultranationalism in the US and
throughout Europe and Latin America. Contrary to the suggestions of
Trump and many of the right-wing politicians who support his presidency,
Antifa has no leaders and it is not a formal organization, although
activists who identify with the term often favor direct action instead
of policy reform, as well as autonomous mutual aid. It is not clear who
or what the targets of a federal Antifa investigation would be, and
whether such an effort would be
lawful.<br />
<br />
"When police continue to murder Black people with impunity and when
calls for systemic change to policing and structural racism are ignored,
popular unrest is inevitable," said National Lawyers Guild legal worker
Kris Hermes. "Federal investigations and the targeting of antifa will
unfortunately result in increased surveillance and repression, and must
be resisted."<br />
<br />
While the Department of Justice (DOJ) can indict people on federal
terrorism charges, no clear legal authority exists for the President to
designate Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization.” Nevertheless,
Attorney General William Barr quickly followed Trump’s declaration with
an official statement announcing that the DOJ would use its existing
network of 56 FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) offices to
investigate Antifa. DOJ investigations will only serve to harass
protesters and provide the state with additional means to prosecute
political activists. The Trump administration’s threats are nothing more
than political theater and an attempt to sow division and intimidate
those who exercise their right to
fight injustice.<br />
<br />
"Trump's declaration that Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization
has no basis in fact or law and is merely an attempt to criminalize
ordinary people who are exercising their right to protest," said NLG
Mass Defense Director Tyler Crawford, "The NLG condemns any such
attempts by the government to interfere with the right of the people to
have their voices heard in demanding justice for George Floyd and an
end to racist police violence."<br />
<br />
The NLG will continue to oppose any attempts to exploit this crisis
to repress political activism and social justice movements working to
end to white supremacy. The Trump administration continues to ignore the
ongoing injustice wrought on Black communities by institutional racism,
including police brutality, in favor of seeking to physically or
politically punish those who are part of anti-racist and anti-fascist
movements. The NLG will continue to provide legal support to activists
as they take to the streets to call for justice for George Floyd, from
Minneapolis to Washington, D.C. and many other cities.<br />
<br />
<strong>Related Links & Resources:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15111&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">NLG Know Your Rights Guides</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15101&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">Directory of NLG Chapters</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15102&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">NLG Mass Defense Program</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15112&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">Movement for Black Lives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15113&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">Law for Black Lives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15114&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">Directory of US bail funds</a> by the National Bail Fund Network</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15115&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">Black Lives Matter petition to #DefundThePolice </a></li>
<li>6/1/20: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15099&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">NLG Condemns Violent Police Response to Black Lives Matter Protests Nationwide</a></li>
<li>5/28/20: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15098&qid=4270648" rel="nofollow">NLG in Solidarity with Minneapolis Following Police Killing of George Floyd</a></li>
</ul>
<i>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</i><br />
# # #<br />
<br /></div>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-46959476532970886052020-06-02T07:06:00.000-07:002020-06-02T07:06:55.487-07:00<br />
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<center>
<h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/nlg.org"><img alt="" shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/nlg%20name%20and%20logo%20civi%20header.jpg" style="height: 120px; width: 600px;" /></a></h3>
<h3>
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15049&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/MN%20Protests%20Chad%20Davis%20600.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 600px;" /></a></h3>
<h1 class="entry-title">
NLG Condemns Violent Police Response to Black Lives Matter Protests Nationwide</h1>
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15049&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nlg.org/nlg-condemns-violent-police-response-to-black-lives-matter-protests-nationwide/</a><br />
</center>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
June 1, 2020<br />
Contact: communications@nlg.org<br />
<br />
<i>NOTE: As this press release was being published, we learned about
James Scurlock, a 22-year-old Black man, shot and killed during a
protest last night in Omaha, NE by an alleged white supremacist yelling
racial slurs. Support the Scurlock family at this</i><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15050&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow"> <i>GoFundMe here</i></a><i>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Spurred by the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15051&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">uprising in Minneapolis</a>
last week in response to the police killing of George Floyd,
demonstrations took place in more than 75 cities over the weekend of May
29-31 as thousands of people protested to demand an end to racialized
police violence and justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and
so many others. <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15052&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Chapters</a>
across the country have mobilized to provide legal support to these
people’s movements and will continue to do so for as long
as necessary. As a grassroots organization led by volunteer members who
take direction from movements on the ground, we remain committed to the
struggle for Black lives and an end to white supremacy.<br />
<br />
“Racialized, violent policing of Black, Brown, and Indigenous bodies
has always existed in this country. Now is the time for accountability.
Property can always be replaced. Black lives can not,” stated NLG
Executive Director Pooja Gehi.<br />
<br />
The unwarranted and excessively violent police reaction to
demonstrators was strikingly similar across protests: NLG attorneys and
Legal Observers consistently report accounts of police attacking people
with batons and bicycles, running protesters down with horses and police
vehicles, and freely deploying tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets,
and flash-bang grenades. In addition to both mass and targeted arrests
of protesters, police also arrested journalists, legal observers,
medics, and bystanders. Multiple NLG Legal Observers, clearly visible in
bright green caps, were injured by police as they monitored the
demonstrations.<br />
<br />
By late Saturday, mayors and governors began calling in the military
and National Guard, and imposing curfews in an attempt to shut down
protests. Currently, more than 40 cities are under curfew and the
National Guard has been activated in 15 states and Washington, D.C. In
Minneapolis, video footage of National Guard and state troopers shutting
down streets and attacking people on their porches went viral. In
Chicago, police violently surrounded and mass arrested demonstrators.
“The Chicago Police rioted. Police violently attacked hundreds if not
thousands of people demanding an end to police violence. This response
was unacceptable and unnecessary,” the NLG Chicago Chapter and Chicago
Community Bond Fund <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15053&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">said in a joint statement</a> yesterday.<br />
<br />
Video and witness accounts indicate that far right nationalists and
white supremacists were in attendance at many of the demonstrations,
further stoking conflict by brandishing guns and arrows. Rather than
condemning these actions, Trump has instead attacked left-wing activists
and declared he will designate antifa a terrorist organization.<br />
<br />
The number of arrests continues to grow. While many have been
detained, not all have been charged and processed, making it difficult
to give exact arrest numbers. However, NLG chapters report arrests in
almost all cities, ranging from a few dozen to nearly 1,000 depending on
location. As of now, protesters are being charged with disorderly
conduct, resisting arrest, and failure to disperse. NLG Chapters have
been continuously providing Legal Observers, running legal support
hotlines, tracking arrests, and coordinating representation for those
arrested.<br />
<br />
The NLG denounces the violent and in many cases openly racist attacks
of the police. In solidarity with movements for Black lives, the family
of George Floyd, and all victims of racialized police violence, we are
demanding a full, transparent, and independent investigation into his
murder and the Minneapolis Police Department. We also call for
investigations into the many law enforcement officers who have been
documented brutalizing protesters this weekend, as well as all police
officers who have records of complaints for violence. Finally, we call
for the defunding and demilitarizing of the police, an investment in
community resources including housing, healthcare and income and
reparations for the families of those murdered. Please
read, sign and share this <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15054&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">petition from Black Lives Matter to #DefundThePolice</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>Donations to the NLG Mass Defense Program can be made at </i><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15055&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow"><i>nlg.org/donate/massdefense</i></a><i>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<strong>Resources:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15052&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">Find your local NLG Chapter</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15056&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG Mass Defense Program</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15057&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">Movement for Black Lives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15058&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">Law for Black Lives</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15059&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">Directory of US bail funds</a> by the National Bail Fund Network</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15054&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">Black Lives Matter petition to #DefundThePolice </a></li>
</ul>
<strong>Statements by Local NLG Chapters and How to Help:</strong><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15053&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG Chicago & Chicago Community Bond Fund</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15060&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG Chicago Call for Volunteer Attorneys</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15061&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG San Francisco Bay Area</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15073&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG Massachusetts</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15063&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">NLG Los Angeles: Support for DTLA Protesters</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=15052&qid=4252262" rel="nofollow">List of NLG Chapters</a></li>
</ul>
<i>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</i><br />
# # #<br />
<br /></div>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-72859816823778474362020-03-26T18:24:00.000-07:002020-03-26T18:24:26.596-07:00 NLG Statement on COVID-19: Solidarity in Times of CrisisThe National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is committed to building collective power and solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spirit of our mission of valuing human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests: “We must lift coercive economic sanctions, prioritize mutual aid, ensure access to quality health care for all, and secure protections for houseless people, disabled people, prisoners, immigrants in detention, and low wage workers,” says NLG president Elena Cohen.<br />
<br />
The NLG National Office staff is taking necessary steps to keep ourselves and our communities safe, including working from home. We recognize this and the ability to “self-isolate” are tremendous privileges, and we remain dedicated to using those privileges to further our mandate of using the law for the people.<br />
<br />
In times of global crisis, the interconnectedness of our struggles is laid bare. We urge our members to remain engaged to the extent possible with their NLG chapters’ and committees’ email lists and other forums as we build strategies and tactics to support each other during this time. However, without access to our physical office, we must temporarily suspend our postal mailing operations, impeding our ability to communicate with our incarcerated jailhouse lawyer members who mostly rely on postal mail for connection with the outside world. That’s why efforts like that of Baltimore IWOC to establish <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/covid19-prison-hotline?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1">a nationwide hotline for prisoners</a> who may be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are so important.<br />
<br />
Knowing the myriad harms of our governments and the capitalist system, it is heartening to see so many people acting in solidarity with their neighbors near and far during the crisis. <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/people-fighting-coronavirus-mutual-aid-efforts-help-each-other">Mutual aid networks</a> are emerging across the world, and <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1uP49OQGhosfBN4BOYQvyy_Mu3mpCSOYzip13LksC-S8/mobilebasic#h.i06mu3oxtl9l">this comprehensive list</a> by the Anarchist Agency and activist and author Cindy Milstein details efforts in the US.<br />
<br />
As NLG Executive Director Pooja Gehi states, “The NLG has always known that we cannot rely on state and corporate structures to support our most vulnerable communities. During this global crisis, we are carefully monitoring the expanded role of the military, police, and other forms of state power and how it is increasing surveillance, violence and repression in the name of national security and public health. This is a moment when it is critical to release incarcerated and detained people and to show solidarity with the people most marginalized in government response.”<br />
<br />
Let’s take care of each other.<br />
In solidarity,<br />
NLG National Office<br />
<br />
Additional resources available <a href="https://www.nlg.org/nlg-statement-on-covid-19-solidarity-in-times-of-crisis/">here</a>.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-76132365072326515672019-11-20T08:44:00.000-08:002019-11-20T08:44:31.288-08:00Coup in Bolivia: National NLG statement<img shrinktofit="true" src="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/files/civicrm/persist/contribute/images/bolivia-contra-el-golpe%20400.jpg" style="float: left; height: 225px; margin: 10px; width: 400px;" /><br />
November 19, 2019<br />
(<em>Traducción en español abajo</em>)<br />
The <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12376&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">National Lawyers Guild</a>
(NLG) strongly condemns the military coup that took place in Bolivia on
November 10, followed by the self-declared presidency of extreme
right-wing Bolivian senator Jeanine Áñez, in violation of the
Constitution of Bolivia.<br />
<br />
There is strong evidence that U.S. elected officials and agencies
worked to foment this coup in the Plurinational State of Bolivia against
elected President Evo Morales, at the expense of indigenous people,
campesinos and social movements of the poor and working class and in
violation of the OAS Charter, the UN Charter and international law and
resolutions.<br />
<br />
The role of the Organization of American States (OAS) is particularly
troubling, especially as the OAS leadership is serving as a proxy for
U.S. political maneuvers throughout the region, despite the position of
many American states in opposition to this intervention.<br />
<br />
We also express our strongest solidarity with the people of Bolivia
who continue to march, organize and resist despite facing harsh violence
and military repression. We emphasize the importance of ending U.S.
intervention in Bolivia and throughout Latin America and urge the
restoration of legitimate civil government and democracy in Bolivia.<br />
<br />
<b>The Coup Violates the Constitution of Bolivia</b><br />
President Morales’ eligibility to run for re-election was established
by the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, which in 2017 abolished
term limits as violating the American Convention on Human Rights. This
decision overturned the results of a 2016 referendum which would have
prohibited Morales from running.<br />
<br />
The Constitutional Tribunal was established by the 2009 Bolivian
Constitution. It is the final authority in Bolivia adjudicating the
constitutionality of laws, government power, and treaties. There is no
argument that the Tribunal’s decision was outside its subject matter
jurisdiction or otherwise <i>ultra vires</i>. Thus, its decision
establishing President Morales’ eligibility for re-election was final
and binding. The coup’s perpetrators are unhappy with the result of the
court’s decision. But the coup plotters rejected the course provided by
the Constitution of Bolivia to address their unhappiness, which would
be to elect a new President using the democratic process established by
the Constitution,
who could appoint members of the Tribunal more to their liking.<br />
<br />
There is no dispute that the coup perpetrators’ candidate, the
neoliberal Carlos Mesa, lost the first round to Morales. The only
question was the margin of Morales’ victory. Instead of joining
President Morales’ call for new elections, the plotters gained the upper
hand in the military and forced Morales out with violence and threats
of force. As the second Vice-President of the Senate, Añez, the
self-proclaimed President installed by the coup plotters, was not in the
Constitutional line of succession. All the Constitutional successors
resigned along with Morales. Restoration of Constitutional authority
requires restoration of Morales to the Presidency. Then, the election
could be rerun in accordance
with the Constitution and domestic and international law, as already
proposed by Morales before the coup, with Morales as a candidate and
with more credible and reputable international election observers than
the Organization of American States (OAS).<br />
<br />
<b>No Credible Findings of Election Fraud: Fraud a Pretext for the Coup</b><br />
The lead-up to the coup included allegations of electoral fraud
against President Morales. Primarily, these allegations centered on the
claim that Morales was unable to legitimately achieve a 10% margin above
the second-place candidate, Carlos Mesa, thus avoiding a December
runoff. Most commonly, an alleged delay in the reporting of results was
used to back up these allegations. Of course, by the time the coup was
executed in Bolivia, Morales had already agreed to call new elections,
despite the lack of any proof or documentation backing up these
allegations.<br />
<br />
Despite the lack of evidence of election fraud, the OAS issued a
statement one day after the October 20 elections warning of an
“inexplicable” change in the trend of the vote count. This statement
came despite the fact that rural areas in Bolivia have consistently
shown slower-reporting results as well as higher support for Morales and
the MAS. The OAS issued a “preliminary” report <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12377&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">questioning the outcome</a> of the elections on November 10, shortly before the coup was carried out.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12378&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)</a>
presented a comprehensive statistical analysis that found not only no
evidence of fraud or irregularities but also indicated that the voting
and results pattern reflected highly similar patterns from past years,
especially in terms of the delay in reporting of rural votes. Further <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12379&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">research by CELAG (Centro Estratigico Latinonamericano de Geopolítica)</a> also backed up this
analysis and pointed to the insufficient evidence to back up the assertions in the OAS statement.<br />
<br />
<b>OAS Violates its own Charter and Serves as An Arm of US Foreign Policy </b><br />
The role of the OAS leadership in Bolivia echoes its actions in
Venezuela, Nicaragua and elsewhere in the region. In Venezuela, the
officialdom of the OAS has been an increasingly vociferous proponent of
regime change, and its pronouncements have come closely in line with the
mandates of U.S. foreign policy. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro has
repeatedly promoted the exclusion of the internationally recognized
Venezuelan government from hemispheric and international bodies and
supported the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against the
country, despite their illegitimacy under international law and their
devastating effects on the social and economic rights of the Venezuelan
population. These actions by OAS leadership
undermine the organization’s legitimacy as a representative of American
states collectively.<br />
<br />
Despite the OAS’ stated concern with constitutional order in Bolivia,
it failed to condemn or even criticize the military coup or the
self-designated presidency of Jeanine Áñez. The OAS has a long history
of anti-communism and was founded at a conference convened by U.S.
military officials at the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12380&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">beginning of the Cold War</a>
in 1948. Even with this history, however, the membership of the OAS has
not been willing to go along with the plans of its leadership and their
U.S. backers, prompting the creation of the Lima Group. Nonetheless, in
2018, the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) – which has provided millions of
dollars to anti-Morales Bolivian groups over the years – <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12381&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">declared that the OAS</a>
“promotes U.S. political and economic interests in the Western
Hemisphere by countering the influence of anti-U.S. countries such as
Venezuela.”<br />
<br />
These actions undermine the OAS’ own charter, which <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12382&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">claims to support</a>
“the peace and security of the continent.” The OAS charter declares
that “Every State has the right to choose, without external
interference, its political, economic, and social system and to organize
itself in the way best suited to it, and has the duty to abstain from
intervening in the affairs of another State.” Nevertheless, the OAS has
served as an arm of U.S. foreign policy in the region, at the same time
that the U.S. has withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council and has
otherwise attempted to undermine multilateral human rights
organizations.<br />
<br />
<b>Violation of the UN Charter and UN Resolutions </b><br />
The UN Charter also obliges member countries to “refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any
other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” This
provision of the Charter is expanded upon by UN Resolution 2625, the
Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and
Cooperation Among States, which makes clear that this principle applies
not only to military intervention but to other forms of intervention,
including unilateral coercive measures such as economic sanctions. A
mainstay of generally accepted international law, these <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12383&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">principles emphasize the necessity</a>
of “the strict observance by States of the obligation not to intervene
in the affairs of any other State is an essential condition to ensure
that nations live together in peace with one another, since the practice
of any form of intervention not only violates the spirit and letter of
the Charter, but also leads to the creation of situations which threaten
international peace and security…[and] the duty of States to refrain in
their international relations from military, political, economic or any
other form of coercion aimed against the
political independence or territorial integrity of any State.”<br />
<br />
In Bolivia as in Venezuela, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador
and repeatedly throughout the region, the U.S. government has repeatedly
breached and continues to breach its obligations under the UN Charter,
the OAS Charter and international law. The cooptation of the OAS to do
so does not mitigate the responsibility of the U.S. government for the
current destabilization in Bolivia, including ongoing violations of the
right to freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of the
press and the right to life itself. We also note the dire threat to the
economic, social and cultural rights of the plurinational peoples of
Bolivia, particularly the rights of indigenous peoples. Under the
MAS-led government of Evo Morales, Bolivia <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12384&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">reduced poverty by 42%</a>
and extreme poverty by 60%. The fomentation of a military coup risks
the destruction of over a decade of advances that has seen Bolivia <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12385&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">lower its Gini coefficient</a>, measuring economic inequality, by 19%.<br />
<br />
<b>The Coup is Led by Openly Fascist, Anti-Indigenous Groups and Oligarchic Interests</b><br />
The racist, anti-indigenous nature of the coup is apparent in the
statements of many of the coup’s leaders and most widely recognized
public figures. When Áñez declared herself president of Bolivia despite
the lack of a quorum in the Senate due to the absence of senators from
the Movimento al Socialismo (MAS), President Morales’ party, she lifted a
huge bible, declaring that “The Bible has returned to the palace,”
echoing <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12386&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">her 2013 tweet</a>
that the indigenous Aymara people’s new year celebrations were
“satanic,” and declaring that
“no one can replace God.” (The Aymara people make up 41% of Bolivia’s
plurinational population.) It also echoes the rhetoric of fellow
far-right coup proponent Luis Fernando Camacho, formerly affiliated with
the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12387&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">openly fascist Unión Juvenil Cruceñista</a>.
Camacho entered the presidential palace after Morales’ exit, holding a
Bible as one of his supporters declared that “Pachamama will never
return to the palace. Bolivia belongs to Christ.”<br />
The anti-indigenous aspects of the coup were not confined to
statements from prominent far-right leaders. Video footage was widely
disseminated featuring pro-coup groups on the streets in La Paz, burning
the Wiphala, the square flag representing indigenous people of the
Andes. Police were photographed cutting out the Wiphala from the flag
patches on their uniforms or lowering the indigenous flag from the front
of Bolivian state flags. The Wiphala was integrated by the Morales
government as the dual flag of Bolivia in 2009, along with a new
constitution.<br />
<br />
In the days following the coup, at least 23 deaths at the hands of
military or police forces have been documented in Bolivia. A decree
issued by self-proclaimed president Áñez claims to exempt members of the
military or police from prosecution for crimes committed during the
repression of anti-coup protests. Despite the role that OAS leadership
has played in Bolivia, the <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12388&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an arm of that body</a>,
expressed grave concerns about this decree, noting that it “ignores
international human rights standards and encourages violent
repression.”<br />
The coup, unsurprisingly, also implicates the Bolivian oligarchy,
whose control over wealth and resources continued to be challenged by
the MAS government and its social programs Camacho himself <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12389&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">has a long-running alliance</a>
with separatist oligarchs and large landowners in the Santa Cruz area
of Bolivia. The government’s efforts toward nationalization were limited
rather than radical. Indeed, many left and indigenous organizers and
social movements sharply criticized the Morales government for the
concessions that it made to oligarchs and multinational corporations.
Nevertheless, the Morales government faced fierce opposition from
oligarchic figures like Branko Marinkovic, a longtime Camacho backer and
the former president of the Federation of Private Industries in Santa
Cruz. He warned in 2006 that pursuit of <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12390&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">land reform would lead to “civil war,”</a>
and was charged in 2009 with providing $200,000 to plotters planning
the assassination of Morales. He fled to Brazil, where he remains today,
a strong supporter of extreme-right president Jair Bolsonaro. The
Bolivian oligarchy has retained a close alliance with foreign
corporations,
including Canadian, Swiss and German mining companies, who have objected
strongly to constraints on their activities by the Morales government
and brought lawsuits in an attempt to perpetuate their <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12391&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">exploitation of Bolivian resources</a>.
In particular, Bolivia is home to the world’s largest reserves of
lithium, an element necessary to the development of electric-car
batteries. The future of Bolivia’s lithium industry and the people and
lands affected by it also hang in the balance.<br />
<br />
<b>The United States Has a Long History Of Destabilizing Progressive
Regimes in Bolivia and throughout Latin America via the School of the
Americas</b><br />
There is a lengthy history of U.S. involvement in destabilization and
dictatorship in Bolivia. In the 1970s, Gen. Hugo Banzer, a right-wing
military dictator, was backed by the U.S. in his coup to bring down the
left-leaning government of Juan José Torres, who was later killed in the
U.S.-backed covert Operation Condor in Argentina. The military training
academy in Fort Benning, Georgia, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12392&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">now known as WHINSEC and previously as the School of the Americas</a>, has trained coup plotters and human rights violators throughout the region for decades. Infamous training manuals used at
the school openly encouraged the use of blackmail, torture and the targeting of civilians.<br />
<br />
At least six major figures in the coup <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12393&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">were trained at WHINSEC/School of the Americas</a>.
Bolivian army commander Williams Kaliman, who issued the “suggestion”
that Morales resign only hours before he did, citing a “civic, military
and political coup,” completed a class there in 2003. He also served as
Bolivia’s past military attache in Washington. Meanwhile, commanding
police general Vladimir Yuri Calderon Mariscal, who reportedly led a
police revolt on November 9, previously served as the President of
Police Attachés of Latin America in the United
States of America (APALA). This security alliance has been strongly
criticized for attempting to bring Latin American police departments
into the security ambit of U.S. intelligence agencies.<br />
<br />
<b>Political Leaders in the US Openly Supported the Coup</b><br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12394&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Leaked audios released</a>
before the coup implicate SOA alumnus Manfred Reyes Villa, a U.S.
resident, in plotting to bring down the Morales government. Four former
military officials, all SOA graduates, are also heard on the recordings.
But most troubling, the recordings include boasts of support from
various U.S. elected and appointed officials, including Marco Rubio, Ted
Cruz and Bob Menendez. Rubio, in particular, has made no secret of his<a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12395&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow"> advocacy to bring down the Bolivian government</a>, echoing his threats against the Venezuelan and Cuban governments. He also attempted to intervene in and <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12396&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">impugn the credibility</a> of the Bolivian electoral process.<br />
<br />
Following the coup, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12397&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">President Donald Trump</a>
issued a statement “applauding…the Bolivian military,” and declaring
that the military coup “send[s] a strong signal to the illegitimate
regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua….We are now one step closer to a
completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere,” in a
blatant endorsement of the seizure of power by unelected military
officials.<br />
<br />
<b>NLG Calls for A Restoration of the Legitimate MAS Government and
Compliance With the Bolivian Constitution and Laws against the Coup</b><br />
The National Lawyers Guild supports the movement of the Bolivian
people marching and struggling to undo the coup and restore the
legitimate government in line with the Bolivian Constitution. A strong
response of solidarity has been seen in other Latin American countries,
including mass mobilizations in Argentina as well as official responses
from Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua and Uruguay. For lawyers, law students,
legal workers and jailhouse lawyers in the United States, it is urgent
that we do our utmost to stop U.S. human rights violations and
violations of international law throughout Latin America and the world.
Of course, there is a long, bloody history of U.S. imperialism in Latin
America that continues to threaten the continent and the
world today. In particular, we must act to challenge U.S. involvement in
the ongoing coup in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and unilateral
coercive measures against states in the region including Cuba, Venezuela
and Nicaragua, and show solidarity with indigenous people, campesinos,
workers and social movements braving military control to stand for their
rights and restore democracy in Bolivia.<br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="spanish"></a><strong> Spanish</strong><br />
El Gremio Nacional de Abogados (NLG) de los Estados Unidos condena
enfáticamente el golpe militar que tuvo lugar en Bolivia el 10 de
noviembre, seguido por la presidencia autodeclarada de la senadora
boliviana de extrema derecha Jeanine Áñez, en plena violación de la
Constitución de Bolivia.<br />
<br />
Hay pruebas contundentes de que funcionarios y organismos electos de
los Estados Unidos trabajaron para fomentar este golpe de estado en el
Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia contra el presidente electo Evo Morales,
a expensas de los pueblos indígenas, los campesinos y los movimientos
sociales de los pobres y la clase trabajadora y en violación de la Carta
del Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), la Carta de las Naciones
Unidas, y las leyes y las resoluciones internacionales.<br />
<br />
El papel de la OEA es particularmente preocupante, especialmente
porque el liderazgo de la OEA está sirviendo como un apoderado de las
maniobras políticas de Estados Unidos en toda la región, a pesar de la
posición de muchos estados de América Latina en oposición a esta
intervención.<br />
<br />
También expresamos nuestra firme solidaridad con el pueblo de Bolivia
que continúa marchando, organizando y resistiendo a pesar de enfrentar
violencia dura y represión militar. Destacamos la importancia de
terminar la intervención de los Estados Unidos en Bolivia y en toda
América Latina e insta a la restauración del gobierno civil legítimo y
la democracia en Bolivia.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>El golpe de estado viola la Constitución de Bolivia</b><br />
La elegibilidad del presidente Morales para postularse a la
reelección fue establecida por el Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional,
que en 2017 abolió los límites del mandato por violar la Convención
Americana sobre Derechos Humanos. Esta decisión anuló los resultados de
un referéndum de 2016 que habría prohibido a Morales postularse.<br />
<br />
El Tribunal Constitucional fue establecido por la Constitución
boliviana de 2009. Es la autoridad final en Bolivia que adjudica la
constitucionalidad de las leyes, el poder del gobierno y los tratados.
No hay argumento de que la decisión del Tribunal estuvo fuera de la
jurisdicción de su tema o de otra manera ultra vires. Por lo tanto, su
decisión de establecer la elegibilidad del presidente Morales para la
reelección fue final y vinculante. Los perpetradores del golpe no están
contentos con el resultado de la decisión del tribunal. Pero los
golpistas rechazaron el curso provisto por la Constitución de Bolivia
para abordar su infelicidad, que sería elegir un nuevo presidente
utilizando el proceso democrático establecido por la Constitución, quien
podría nombrar a los miembros del Tribunal más a su gusto.<br />
<br />
No hay argumento que el candidato de los golpistas, el neoliberal
Carlos Mesa, perdió la primera ronda ante Morales. La única pregunta era
el margen de la victoria de Morales. En lugar de unirse al llamado del
presidente Morales para nuevas elecciones, los conspiradores ganaron la
delantera en el ejército y obligaron a Morales a salir con violencia y
amenazas de fuerza. Como segundo vicepresidente del Senado, Añez, la
autoproclamada presidente instalado por los golpistas, no estaba en la
línea constitucional de sucesión. Todos los sucesores constitucionales
renunciaron junto con Morales. La restauración de la autoridad
constitucional requiere la restauración de Morales a la
Presidencia. Luego, la elección podría volverse a ejecutar de
conformidad con la Constitución y los leyes nacional e internacional,
como ya propuso Morales antes del golpe, con Morales como candidato y
con observadores de elecciones internacionales más creíbles y
respetables que la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) .<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>No hay resultados creíbles de fraude electoral: el fraude es un pretexto para el golpe</b><br />
El período previo al golpe incluyó acusaciones de fraude electoral
contra el presidente Morales. Principalmente, estas acusaciones se
centraron en la afirmación de que Morales no pudo lograr legítimamente
un margen del 10% por encima del candidato del segundo lugar, Carlos
Mesa, evitando así una segunda vuelta en diciembre. Más comúnmente, una
supuesta demora en la notificación de resultados se utilizó para
respaldar estas acusaciones. Por supuesto, cuando se ejecutó el golpe de
estado en Bolivia, Morales ya había acordado convocar nuevas
elecciones, a pesar de la falta de pruebas o documentación que respalde
estas acusaciones.<br />
<br />
A pesar de la falta de evidencia de fraude electoral, la OEA emitió
un comunicado un día después de las elecciones del 20 de octubre
advirtiendo sobre un cambio ‘inexplicable” en la tendencia del conteo de
votos. Esta declaración se produjo a pesar del hecho de que las áreas
rurales en Bolivia han mostrado consistentemente resultados de informes
más lentos, así como un mayor apoyo para Morales y su partido, el
Movimiento Ante Socialismo (MAS). La OEA emitió un informe “preliminar” <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12377&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">cuestionando el
resultado</a> de las elecciones del 10 de noviembre, poco antes del golpe de estado.<br />
<br />
El <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12378&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Centro de Investigación Económica y Política</a>
(CEPR) presentó un análisis estadístico integral que no solo no
encontró evidencia de fraude o irregularidades, sino que también indicó
que la votación y el patrón de resultados reflejaban patrones muy
similares de años anteriores, especialmente en términos de la demora en
la presentación de informes de votos rurales.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12379&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Investigaciones adicionales del CELAG</a>
(Centro Estratégico Latinoamericano de Geopolítica) también respaldaron
este análisis y señalaron la evidencia insuficiente para respaldar las
afirmaciones en la declaración de la OEA.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>La OEA viola su propia Carta y sirve como brazo de la política exterior de los Estados Unidos</b><br />
El papel del liderazgo de la OEA en Bolivia se hace eco de sus
acciones en Venezuela, Nicaragua y en otras partes de la región. En
Venezuela, el oficialismo de la OEA ha sido un defensor cada vez más
vociferante del cambio de régimen, y sus pronunciamientos han estado muy
en línea con los mandatos de la política exterior de Estados Unidos. El
Secretario General de la OEA, Luis Almagro, ha promovido en repetidas
ocasiones la exclusión del gobierno venezolano internacionalmente
reconocido de los organismos hemisféricos e internacionales y ha apoyado
la imposición de medidas coercitivas unilaterales contra el país, a
pesar de su ilegitimidad en virtud del derecho internacional y
sus efectos devastadores sobre los derechos sociales y económicos de la
población venezolana. Estas acciones del liderazgo de la OEA socavan la
legitimidad de la organización como representante de los estados
americanos colectivamente.<br />
<br />
A pesar de la preocupación expresada por la OEA con el orden
constitucional en Bolivia, no logró condenar ni criticar el golpe
militar o la presidencia autodenominada de Jeanine Áñez. La OEA tiene
una larga historia de anticomunismo y fue fundada en una conferencia
convocada por oficiales militares estadounidenses <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12380&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">al comienzo de la Guerra Fría</a>
en 1948. Sin embargo, incluso con esta historia, la membresía de la OEA
no ha estado de acuerdo con los planes de su liderazgo y sus
patrocinadores estadounidenses, lo que provocó la
creación del Grupo de Lima. No obstante, en 2018, la Agencia de los
Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID), que ha
proporcionado millones de dólares a grupos bolivianos contra Morales a
lo largo de los años, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12381&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">declaró que la OEA</a>
promueve los intereses políticos y económicos de los Estados Unidos en
el Hemisferio Occidental al contrarrestar la influencia de países
anti-EEUU como Venezuela.”<br />
<br />
Estas acciones socavan la propia carta de la OEA, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12382&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">que afirma apoyar</a>
“la paz y la seguridad del continente”. La carta de la OEA declara que
“Todo Estado tiene derecho a elegir, sin interferencia externa, su
sistema político, económico y social y a organizarse de la manera más
adecuada para él, y tiene el deber de abstenerse de intervenir en los
asuntos de otro Estado.” Sin embargo, la OEA ha servido como un brazo de
la política exterior de los EEUU. En la región, al mismo tiempo que los
EEUU se han retirado del Consejo
de Derechos Humanos de la ONU y han intentado socavar a las
organizaciones multilaterales de derechos humanos.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Violación de la Carta de la ONU y las Resoluciones de la ONU</b><br />
La Carta de la ONU también obliga a los países miembros a “abstenerse
en sus relaciones internacionales de la amenaza o el uso de la fuerza
contra la integridad territorial o la independencia política de
cualquier estado, o de cualquier otra manera incompatible con los
propósitos de las Naciones Unidas.” Esta disposición de la Carta se
amplía mediante la Resolución 2625 de la ONU, los Principios de Derecho
Internacional sobre Relaciones Amistosas y Cooperación entre Estados,
que deja en claro que este principio se aplica no solo a la intervención
militar sino a otras formas de intervención, incluidas medidas
coercitivas unilaterales como sanciones
económicas. Un pilar del derecho internacional generalmente aceptado, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12383&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">estos principios enfatizan la necesidad</a>
de “la estricta observancia por parte de los Estados de la obligación
de no intervenir en los asuntos de ningún otro Estado es una condición
esencial para garantizar que las naciones vivan juntas en paz entre sí,
ya que la práctica de cualquier forma de intervención no solo viola el
espíritu y la letra de la Carta, sino que también conduce a la creación
de situaciones que amenazan la paz y la seguridad
internacionales … [y] el deber de los Estados de abstenerse en sus
relaciones internacionales de los militares, política, económica o
cualquier otra forma de coerción dirigida contra la independencia
política o la integridad territorial de cualquier Estado.”<br />
<br />
En Bolivia, como en Venezuela, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador
y repetidamente en toda la región, el gobierno de los EE.UU. ha
incumplido reiteradamente y sigue incumpliendo sus obligaciones bajo la
Carta de la ONU, la Carta de la OEA y el derecho internacional. La
cooptación de la OEA para no mitiga la responsabilidad del gobierno de
EE. UU. por la actual desestabilización en Bolivia, incluidas las
violaciones continuas del derecho a la libertad de reunión, la libertad
de asociación, la libertad de prensa y el derecho a la vida misma.
También observamos la grave amenaza a los derechos económicos, sociales y
culturales de los pueblos plurinacionales de Bolivia, en particular los
derechos de los pueblos indígenas. Bajo el gobierno de Evo Morales,
liderado por el MAS, Bolivia <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12384&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">redujo la pobreza en un 42%</a>
y la pobreza extrema en un 60%. El fomento de un golpe militar arriesga
la destrucción de más de una década de avances que han visto a Bolivia <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12385&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">reducir su coeficiente de Gini</a>, midiendo la desigualdad económica, en un 19%.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>El golpe está liderado por grupos abiertamente fascistas, anti-indígenas e intereses oligárquicos.</b><br />
La naturaleza racista y anti-indígena del golpe es evidente en las
declaraciones de muchos de los líderes del golpe y las figuras públicas
más reconocidas. Cuando Áñez se declaró presidenta de Bolivia a pesar de
la falta de quórum en el Senado debido a la ausencia de senadores del
MAS, el partido del presidente Morales, levantó una gran biblia,
declarando que “La Biblia ha vuelto a el palacio,” haciéndose eco de <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12386&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">su tuit de 2013</a>
de que las celebraciones de año nuevo de los pueblos
indígenas aymara fueron “satánicas” y declarando que “nadie puede
reemplazar a Dios.” (El pueblo aymara representa el 41% de la población
plurinacional de Bolivia). También se hace eco de la retórica del
defensor golpista de extrema derecha Luis Fernando Camacho,
anteriormente afiliado a la <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12387&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">abiertamente fascista Unión Juvenil Cruceñista</a>.
Camacho ingresó al palacio presidencial después de la salida de
Morales, sosteniendo una Biblia mientras uno de sus partidarios
declaraba que “Pachamama nunca
volverá al palacio. Bolivia pertenece a Cristo.”<br />
<br />
Los aspectos anti-indígenas del golpe no se limitaron a declaraciones
de destacados líderes de extrema derecha. El video fue ampliamente
difundido con grupos pro golpistas en las calles de La Paz, quemando el
Wiphala, la bandera cuadrada que representa a los pueblos indígenas de
los Andes. Se fotografió a la policía cortando el Wiphala de los parches
de la bandera en sus uniformes o bajando la bandera indígena desde el
frente de las banderas estatales bolivianas. El Wiphala fue integrado
por el gobierno de Morales como la doble bandera de Bolivia en 2009,
junto con una nueva constitución.<br />
<br />
En los días posteriores al golpe, se han documentado al menos 23
muertes a manos de fuerzas militares o policiales en Bolivia. Un decreto
emitido por el autoproclamado presidente Áñez afirma que exime a los
miembros del ejército o la policía del enjuiciamiento por crímenes
cometidos durante la represión de las protestas contra el golpe. A pesar
del papel que ha desempeñado el liderazgo de la OEA en Bolivia, <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12388&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, un brazo de ese organismo</a>,
expresó su profunda
preocupación por este decreto y señaló que “ignora las normas
internacionales de derechos humanos y alienta la represión violenta.”<br />
<br />
El golpe de estado, como era de esperar, también implica a la
oligarquía boliviana, cuyo control sobre la riqueza y los recursos
continuó siendo desafiado por el gobierno del MAS y sus programas
sociales. El mismo Camacho <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12389&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">tiene una alianza de larga data</a>
con oligarcas separatistas y grandes terratenientes en el área de Santa
Cruz de Bolivia. Los esfuerzos del gobierno hacia la nacionalización
fueron más limitados que radicales. De hecho, muchos organizadores y
movimientos sociales de izquierda e indígenas criticaron duramente al
gobierno de Morales por las concesiones que hizo a los oligarcas y las
corporaciones multinacionales. Sin embargo, el gobierno de Morales
enfrentó una feroz oposición de figuras oligárquicas como Branko
Marinkovic, un antiguo defensor de Camacho y ex presidente de la
Federación de Industrias Privadas en Santa Cruz. Advirtió en 2006 que la
búsqueda de una <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12390&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">reforma agraria conduciría a una “guerra civil,”</a>
y fue acusado en 2009 de proporcionar $200.000 a los conspiradores que
planearon el asesinato de Morales. Huyó a
Brasil, donde permanece hoy, un firme defensor del presidente de extrema
derecha Jair Bolsonaro. La oligarquía boliviana ha mantenido una
estrecha alianza con corporaciones extranjeras, incluidas compañías
mineras canadienses, suizas y alemanas, que se han opuesto firmemente a
las restricciones sobre sus actividades por parte del gobierno de
Morales y han presentado demandas en un intento por perpetuar su <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12391&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">explotación de los recursos bolivianos</a>.
En particular, Bolivia alberga las mayores reservas de litio del mundo,
un elemento necesario para el desarrollo de
baterías de automóviles eléctricos. El futuro de la industria de litio
de Bolivia y las personas y tierras afectadas por ella también están en
juego.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Estados Unidos tiene una larga historia de desestabilizadores de
los regímenes progresivos en Bolivia y en toda América Latina a través
de la Escuela de las Américas</b><br />
Hay una larga historia de participación estadounidense en la
desestabilización y la dictadura en Bolivia. En la década de 1970, el
general Hugo Banzer, un dictador militar de derecha, fue respaldado por
Estados Unidos en su golpe de estado para derrocar al gobierno de
izquierda de Juan José Torres, quien luego fue asesinado en la Operación
Cóndor encubierta respaldada por Estados Unidos en Argentina La
academia de entrenamiento militar en Fort Benning, Georgia, ahora
conocida como <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12392&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">WHINSEC y anteriormente como la Escuela de las
Américas</a>, ha capacitado a golpistas y violadores de los derechos
humanos en toda la región durante décadas. Los infames manuales de
capacitación utilizados en la escuela fomentaron abiertamente el uso del
chantaje, la tortura y los ataques contra civiles.<br />
<br />
Al menos seis figuras importantes en el golpe <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12393&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">fueron capacitadas en WHINSEC/School of the Americas</a>.
El comandante del ejército boliviano Williams Kaliman, quien emitió la
“sugerencia” de que Morales renunciara solo unas horas antes que él,
citando un “golpe de estado cívico, militar y político,” completó una
clase allí en 2003. También se desempeñó como agregado militar de
Bolivia en Washington. Mientras tanto, el comandante general de policía
Vladimir Yuri Calderón Mariscal,
quien presuntamente encabezó una revuelta policial el 9 de noviembre,
anteriormente se desempeñó como Presidente de Agregados de Policía de
América Latina en los Estados Unidos de América (APALA). Esta alianza de
seguridad ha sido fuertemente criticada por intentar llevar a los
departamentos de policía latinoamericanos al ámbito de seguridad de las
agencias de inteligencia estadounidenses.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Los líderes políticos en los Estados Unidos apoyaron abiertamente el golpe</b><br />
Los <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12394&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">audios filtrados publicados</a>
antes del golpe implican al alumno de SOA Manfred Reyes Villa, un
residente de EE. UU., En un complot para derrocar al gobierno de
Morales. Cuatro ex oficiales militares, todos graduados de SOA, también
son escuchados en las grabaciones. Pero lo más preocupante es que las
grabaciones incluyen alardes de apoyo de varios funcionarios electos y
designados de los Estados Unidos, incluidos Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz y Bob
Menéndez. Rubio, en particular, no ha ocultado <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12395&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">su defensa para derrocar al gobierno boliviano</a>, haciéndose eco de sus amenazas contra los gobiernos venezolano y cubano. También intentó intervenir e <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12396&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">impugnar la credibilidad</a> del proceso electoral boliviano.<br />
<br />
Después del golpe, el <a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12397&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">presidente Donald Trump</a>
emitió una declaración “aplaudiendo … al ejército boliviano,” y
declarando que el golpe militar “envió una fuerte señal a los regímenes
ilegítimos en Venezuela y Nicaragua … Ahora somos uno acercarse a un
hemisferio occidental completamente democrático, próspero y libre,” en
un apoyo rotundo a la toma del poder por oficiales militares no
elegidos.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>NLG llama a la restauración del gobierno legítimo del MAS y al
cumplimiento de la Constitución y las leyes bolivianas contra el golpe</b><br />
El Gremio Nacional de Abogados apoya el movimiento del pueblo
boliviano que marcha y lucha por deshacer el golpe y restaurar el
gobierno legítimo de acuerdo con la Constitución boliviana. Se ha
observado una fuerte respuesta de solidaridad en otros países de América
Latina, incluidas movilizaciones masivas en Argentina, así como
respuestas oficiales de México, Cuba, Nicaragua y Uruguay. Para los
abogados, estudiantes de derecho, trabajadores legales y abogados de la
cárcel en los Estados Unidos, es urgente que hagamos todo lo posible
para detener las violaciones y violaciones de los derechos humanos en
los Estados Unidos.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Featured Image: Indigenous woman marching against coup in Bolivia. Twitter/<a href="https://www.nlg.org/home/members/nlg/sites/nlg.org/web/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=12398&qid=3470863" rel="nofollow">Redfish</a></i>MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-19832368375605020842019-06-03T10:16:00.002-07:002019-06-03T10:16:52.219-07:00Federal FOIA for activistsThe <a href="https://ccrjustice.org/">Center for Constitutional Rights</a> just published a new <a href="https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/05/FOIA-Basics-for-Activists-May-2019.pdf">FOIA BASICS FOR ACTIVISTS</a>, an 18 page how-to manual.<br />
<br />
Check it out.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-25111052696439023802019-03-13T09:58:00.000-07:002019-03-13T09:59:03.255-07:00NLG condemns monitoring of journalists, lawyers, and activities by Homeland Security<h2>
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<h2>
NLG Condemns Secret US-Mexican List of Journalists and
Advocates Documenting and Providing Humanitarian Aid at the Border</h2>
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br />
March 8, 2019<br />
Contact: communications@nlg.org<br />
<br />
TIJUANA, Mexico—Leaked <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9263&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">US-Mexican government documents</a>
revealed both governments are maintaining a secret database targeting
at least 59 journalists, activists, and an attorney as part of an
intelligence-gathering mission under “Operation Secure Line,” based on
their work reporting on and offering humanitarian aid to the recent
caravans of migrants fleeing from violence and poverty. The National
Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns this practice as a blatant violation of
civil liberties and attempt to intimidate those seeking to provide
necessary, legal and legitimate aid to migrants and their families.<br />
<br />
An NLG delegation was in Tijuana investigating violations of
migrants’ rights by US and Mexican authorities when the documents,
titled “San Diego Sector Foreign Operations Branch: Migrant Caravan
FY-2019, Suspected Organizers, Coordinators, Instigators and Media,”
were uncovered. Prior to the leaked report, the delegation heard stories
of hours-long interrogations, harassment, confiscation of electronic
devices, and intimidation of activists and lawyers by immigration
authorities on both sides of the border related to their humanitarian
work, including members of the group Pueblo Sin Fronteras (PSF). Many
activists who felt singled out by CBP correctly <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9264&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">suspected</a>
that they were on a government watch list due to their association with
the migrant caravan, especially following the of two journalists and US
attorneys with Al Otro Lado who were <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9265&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">denied entry into Mexico</a> earlier this month, who were held and faced questioning for up to 10 hours.<br />
<br />
Alex Mensing, a US citizen living in Tijuana who helped coordinate
the delegation’s meetings with domestic and international NGOs, as well
as Mexican human rights and immigration authorities, chose not to
accompany the delegation to San Diego on Wednesday for meetings with the
ACLU, Border Angels, and the International Rescue Committee. Mensing
has been repeatedly stopped for secondary questioning by US Customs and
Border Patrol (CBP) on a clear effort to intimate PSF and other
volunteers. “It’s worrisome, but not surprising,” <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9266&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">Mensing told Telemundo</a>
yesterday. “I was taken into a concrete
cell for interrogation and they took my phone, scanned all my notebooks,
all the papers I brought… It angers me that the government is using
taxpayer funds to create a database meant to intimidate people.” For the
last four months, Mensing has attempted to obtain information directly
from CBP about his repeated questioning to no avail.<br />
<br />
Pooja Gehi, Executive Director of the NLG and member of the Tijuana
delegation, said, “We witnessed migrants who had traveled days fleeing
violence and persecution, only to be denied their right to claim asylum
at the border, in contravention of international law. Instead, they were
required to put their name on a handwritten list, then wait
indefinitely while trying to find food and shelter, dodging violence and
deportation, in hope that their names would be called to start the
arduous process that is the US asylum system.”<br />
<br />
It is also important to note that Mexico has previously
operationalized their surveillance of activists and journalists through
practices such as <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9267&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">Pegasus malware</a>, and the leaked list also delegitimizes the Democrats’ offer of a <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9268&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">“technological wall”</a> as an acceptable compromise to Trump’s border wall that would be any more lawful or based in human rights principles.<br />
<br />
While <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9269&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">government surveillance of activists</a>
is nothing new, and an issue the NLG has a long history of fighting, we
are particularly concerned that binational surveillance of activists
will not only deter people from engaging in humanitarian action but will
also leave migrants in need of humanitarian and legal support with
neither, thereby exacerbating human suffering at the border.<br />
<br />
Since last year, NLG lawyers, legal workers, and law students have been <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9270&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">on the ground</a>
in Tijuana volunteering legal support, training, and observation in
coordination with other organizations such as Al Otro Lado. The NLG
urges <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9271&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">deepened investigation</a> into this report and demands an immediate termination of the illegal practice of targeting activists and journalists.<br />
<br />
<i>The National Lawyers Guild, whose membership includes lawyers,
legal workers, jailhouse lawyers, and law students, was formed in 1937
as the United States’ first racially-integrated bar association to
advocate for the protection of constitutional, human and civil rights.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
# # #<br />
<br />
Related:<br />
<ul>
<li>1/8/19: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9272&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">Open Letter to the President of the United Mexican States, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador</a></li>
<li>12/10/18: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9273&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">Hunger Strike Demands by Central American Migrant Exodus</a></li>
<li>12/6/18:<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9274&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow"> Demands by Central American Refugees at Border</a></li>
<li>12/5/18: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9275&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">Refugee Caravan: A Legal Observer’s Report from Tijuana</a></li>
<li>11/29/18: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9276&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">“Deployed to the Border: A Test of Conscience for GI’s” Military Law Task Force of the NLG</a></li>
<li>11/28/18: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9277&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">WEBINAR: Why Do Refugee Caravans Exist? A Lesson in Geo-Political History of Central America</a></li>
<li>11/20/18: <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9278&qid=2635919" rel="nofollow">NLG & Al Otro Lado Mobilizing Legal Support for Central American Refugee Caravan at Mexico-US Border</a></li>
</ul>
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</article>
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NLG National Office<br />
<br />
<div class="location vcard">
<span class="adr"><span class="street-address">132 Nassau Street, Rm. 922</span><br /><span class="locality">New York</span>, <span class="region">NY</span> <span class="postal-code">10038</span><br /><span class="country-name">United States</span></span></div>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-53206484038491508112018-11-21T07:38:00.003-08:002018-11-21T07:39:40.996-08:00Family separations and concentration camps are still hereThe New York Review of Books has <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/12/06/our-concentration-camps-an-open-letter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+nybooks+(The+New+York+Review+of+Books)">an open letter</a> describing current camp conditions for separated children at <b>one</b> of the camps created by the current President, Tornillo, Texas. The letter concludes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The US government is detaining more than 13,000 migrant children, the highest number ever; as of last month, some 250 “tender age” children aged twelve or under had not yet been reunited with their parents. Recently, the president has vowed to “put tents up all over the place” for migrants.
<br />
<br />
This generation will be remembered for having allowed concentration camps for children to be built in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” This is happening here and now, but not in our names.</blockquote>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-49701055694649906862018-10-06T07:35:00.000-07:002018-10-06T07:35:55.752-07:00Securing your phone from law enforcementWith fingerprint unlocking and now facial recognition as a mechanism for securing your mobile phone, phone security against loss and theft has increased markedly.<br />
<br />
But, these <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/could-border-agents-trick-you-into-unlocking-your-face-id-enabled-iphone/">fingerprints and facial recognition provide little to no protection</a> against law enforcement. Essentially, because your face and your fingerprint are public -- visible to everyone -- you have no right in the law it seems to keep devices secure through these mechanisms.<br />
<br />
Law enforcement and even customs officials, however, have limited authority to order you to open your mobile devices via a pass code. The trick is how to de-activate your fingerprint or facial recognition ID quickly.<br />
<br />
On iPhones and iPads, one way is <a href="https://www.imore.com/how-quickly-disable-touch-id-when-you-need-extra-security">with this voice command</a>: "Hey Siri, whose iPhone is this?" (you need to say iPhone even when speaking to an iPad). The mobile device will now require a pass code to unlock.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-50311974372395108622018-04-14T09:54:00.000-07:002018-04-14T09:54:58.949-07:00ICE raid in Madison<a href="http://freedom-inc.org/index.php">Freedom Inc.</a> reports:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
April 31, 2018 -- Early this morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) came to pick up one of Freedom, Inc.'s longtime members, a Khmer man named Sophal Chuk. Sophal is 67 years old, does not speak English, and has a knee injury that needs medical attention. He is currently being detained in Milwaukee, and will potentially be deported to Cambodia.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sophal's family is very concerned about his safety and well-being, and they are not allowed to visit him until Monday. Today is the first day of Khmer New Year, and instead of spending the weekend with his family as he had planned, he is now spending it in a jail cell. Like all members of our Madison Khmer community, he does not deserve this treatment! We are working with Southeast Asian advocates to communicate with Sophal and gather information, and will keep sharing updates when we can.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This unjust detention is the direct result of President Trump's aggressively anti-immigrant agenda, which has led to the rounding up, detention, and deportation of hundreds of Southeast Asian refugees. Just last week, 43 Cambodian Americans were deported, joining a group of hundreds of refugees who came to the US to escape the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia and are now being torn away from their families and homes. We need to work together to oppose these inhumane actions and protect our Southeast Asian families in the U.S. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>SAFETY ALERT</b> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If you have a deportation order, do NOT open the door for ICE. They may claim to be the police or have a warrant, but they are lying. If you get an unscheduled check-in appointment, expect to be detained. Please call Advancing Justice ALC at (415) 896-1701 if you know of Khmer Americans being picked up by ICE, or if you have an ICE check-in. They will help assess the case and assist families in planning for the possibility of detention. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For more information from Freedom, Inc. please contact: <a href="mailto:nvuetran@freedom-inc.org" rel="nofollow">Nancy Vue</a> or <a href="mailto:schhorm@freedom-inc.org" rel="nofollow">Savang Chhorm</a><br />
</blockquote>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-21579457268462740722018-03-12T08:50:00.003-07:002018-03-12T08:50:51.127-07:00Youth protestFrom <a href="https://balkin.blogspot.com/2018/03/young-adults-and-politics.html">Balklinzation</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
New online resource--<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__youthinfront.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=hPqycz3z31v-uqzQmKg4iXKM4vEDPni3ZOVxdzSu50g&m=wya22si2OBoDU4y989mUBCtQVpSTpkz3iIu5C3bR5Xg&s=R2457VKUpgadOyr4Uyw58cs5O0pmWLtxXJmdKQO74rM&e=">youthinfront.org</a>--advice on leading change from experienced youth activists and allies.<br /> <br /> All around the country, inspired by activists from Ferguson to Parkland, a generation of young people are considering participating in their first political action or protest. They have questions. What’s the point of a walkout? Will I get in trouble? What happens after a march?<br /> <br /> YouthInFront is a community-created online learning resource. We started by interviewing and surveying youth about their questions, and then sourced questions from adult allies and educators as well. We believed the best people to answer those questions are experienced youth activists and allies. During an 18 day sprint from Feb 13 to March 7, we interviewed nearly 30 youth activists and educators, reviewed youth-produced and youth-focused resources from around the web, and benefitted from the generous contributions of media producers, civic educators, youth activists and organizers, software engineers, and many others.<br /> <br /> The YouthInFront community is made up of individuals with diverse array of beliefs about public policy, the tactics and strategy of protest, and how adults can best and most appropriately support students. What we all agree on, though, is that youth-led civic activism can transform society for the better. Young people are powerful civic actors, and during their apprenticeship of citizenship, their voices deserve to be heard. The youth in our community are leaders; the adults in our community are supporting them as they march up front.<br /> <br /> YouthInFront was kicked off by three longtime civic educators: Justin Reich from MIT, Doug Pietrzak from Fresh Cognate, and Meira Levinson from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Yes, this means that YouthInFront site was planned and organized by adults – but we hope that we have used the wealth of resources at our disposal to provide a model of how adults can support youth who are leading the way. We quickly had nearly 100 volunteers from Cambridge, Boston, and across the country, and we gratefully acknowledge their many contributions.<br /> <br /> YouthInFront is supported by a wide variety of organizations, led by the Harvard Graduate School of Education Usable Knowledge project, the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, Fresh Cognate, Justice in Schools, and the HGSE Teaching and Learning Lab. A wide variety of other organizations sent resources, offered suggestions, and shared our site within their networks. We gratefully acknowledge these informal partners below.<br /> <br /> The majority of project resources were generously provided by volunteers; we also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the HGSE Dean’s Office and Dean James Ryan. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Please send questions, comments, and feedback to <a href="mailto:youthinfront@mit.edu">youthinfront@mit.edu</a>. Apologies if we cannot respond to all queries.</blockquote>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-78754673522686565612017-12-06T07:58:00.001-08:002017-12-06T07:58:32.537-08:00Update on J20 prosecutions More than 200 folks are facing very serious charges and jail time when they were mass-arrested during public protests at the Trump inauguration. For instance, prosecutors are using Facebook "likes" of the <a href="http://www.disruptj20.org/">disruptj20 website</a> as evidence of an intent to commit violent protest.<br />
<br />
NLG's communications director, Tasha Moro, has <a href="https://www.nlg.org/cointelpro-disrupting-resistance-movements-in-the-digital-age/">an excellent update</a> on the trial in this case and how it intersects with new surveillance initiatives against protests on the left, including Black Lives Matters.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-23936922241458468212017-11-27T14:50:00.000-08:002017-11-27T14:50:38.547-08:00Vigil/rally for Jason Pero <div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details">On November 8th, 14
year old Jason Pero was shot and killed by an Ashland County Deputy in
front of his home in Odanah Wisconsin on the Bad River reservation. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details">Neighbors and relatives challenge the official story put
out by the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice, and their videos contradict the
officer's claim that he was in danger from a middle school kid with a
knife. The Bad River tribe has demanded a federal investigation. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details">Come
bring lights, drums, and songs to remember this young singer, drummer, and
keeper of his Anishinabe peoples' traditions. Demand justice for him
and protection for indigenous people across the world as we close out
Native American Heritage month in the U.S.A. Our heritage should no
longer excuse violence against our indigenous relatives. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details"><br /></span></div>
We will begin at Wisconsin DOJ's office on West Main Street and proceed to the US Attorney's office on West Washington Avenue.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
Thursday, November 30th, 4:30-5:30pm</div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details">Please come and invite your friends.</span></div>
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<span class="ydpe6f9a063_4n-j ydpe6f9a063_fbReactionComponent__eventDetailsContentTags ydpe6f9a063fsl" data-testid="event-permalink-details"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilB_lwQVLVywHvmXwMyc_vGqcKOEtgeJuoUCpq3FEYqyY-uGX4x4qGa0yehCSzw_trpPQTiUESnuwoF3pjiyZjP9rqaKS0yjMsRoetFJWP_UiFgj37oD0UNjcXAaulMGnXSYlVvJSPxXQ/s1600/Pero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilB_lwQVLVywHvmXwMyc_vGqcKOEtgeJuoUCpq3FEYqyY-uGX4x4qGa0yehCSzw_trpPQTiUESnuwoF3pjiyZjP9rqaKS0yjMsRoetFJWP_UiFgj37oD0UNjcXAaulMGnXSYlVvJSPxXQ/s320/Pero.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
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</style>MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-29864119268171678662017-11-27T14:42:00.001-08:002017-11-27T14:51:17.752-08:00Giving Tuesday for NLGFrom NLG's executive director:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5812&qid=1488591">On this global day of giving back, please consider making a $50 donation to support the National Lawyers Guild.</a> <br />
As the first integrated bar association and the oldest and most extensive network of social justice activists working within the legal system, the National Lawyers Guild has been resisting oppression for 80 years. With over <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5813&qid=1488591">150 chapters</a> and <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5814&qid=1488591">20 committees</a>, the NLG continues to be at the forefront of movements for social justice both in the United States and internationally. In this time of increasing state repression and political uncertainty, we need your support now more than ever.<br />
<br />
So please mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 28th and <a href="https://www.nlg.org/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5815&qid=1488591">make a donation</a> in support of the NLG’s work on #GivingTuesday.<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Pooja Gehi<br />
Executive Director<br />
NLG National Office<br />
132 Nassau Street, Rm. 922<br />
New York, NY 10038</blockquote>
Given the current political climate, the NLG's efforts at protecting protests against pipelines, the young, gifted & black, criminal justice reform, the environment, and free expression and association for those on the left will be ever more important in 2018.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-33937328350105226582017-10-27T11:30:00.000-07:002017-10-27T11:30:19.890-07:00Comments on SB303 and SB304<div class="tr_bq">
On 19 October 2017, our own <a href="http://herricklaw.net/PKHammel">PK Hammel</a> testified about <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/proposals/reg/sen/bill/sb303">SB303</a> and <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/proposals/reg/sen/bill/sb304">SB304</a>. These bills "allegedly" address rioting and blocking of roadways. Here is her testimony:</div>
<br />
<blockquote>
The Madison chapter of the National Lawyers Guild opposes the proposals to further criminalize public protest which are the basis for SB 303 and 304, the “riot” act and adding penalties for blocking access to streets and buildings. This legislation is unnecessary and constitutionally over-broad in sweeping protected speech and assembly into the criminal code and making felons of law abiding citizens. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
To be clear, threatening an act of violence against a person is already a crime. Section 947 of the Wisconsin Statutes already prohibits disorderly conduct (misdemeanor), disrupting a funeral or memorial service (misdemeanor or felony for repeat offenders), intimidation or harassment including by use of a computer (forfeiture to felony), threats of bombs or biological or toxic substance release (felonies) terrorist threats (felony since 2015) and unlawful assemblies (misdemeanor) including blocking entrances to buildings and failing to disperse when ordered, with additional punishments for University of Wisconsin students and employees. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Causing damage to property is also currently a crime in Wisconsin pursuant to sec. 943 of the statutes with enhanced penalties (felony) for damage to roads, public utility property and archaeological or cultural sites. Assault against another person is also a crime under sec. 940 of Wisconsin’s statutes; battery is generally a felony now, with increasing penalties for battery to vulnerable individuals and special provisions for vulnerable individuals, and law enforcement officers (threats are also felonies).<br />
<br />So what do SB 303 and 304, adding the “riot” provision and singling out groups of three or more (?) accomplish? They make “Whoever participates in a riot” in which someone else, who may be completely unknown or even adverse to the person being charged, a felon by association. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
These proposals are unnecessary and unconstitutional. It is worth remembering that the State has lost challenges to over-broad penalties against groups of four assembling in the Capitol without a permit as recently as 2013. U.S. District Court Judge William Conley issued an injunction against enforcement of the Wisconsin Administrative Code and Capitol Access policies on July 8 2013, finding that the Dept. of Administration’s assembly permitting scheme was improperly content based and overly broad, and that the plaintiff Michael Kissick had shown a likelihood of success in his case against DOA Secretary Huebsch and Capitol Police chief Erwin. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
To be constitutional, a statute limiting First Amendment rights of speech and assembly must be narrowly drawn to achieve a legitimate objective. A statute criminalizing the mere presence of a person with two or more others who are violent or threatening violence is NOT narrowly drawn. It is overly broad. It chills protected conduct by imposing a potential felony charge on someone who is not doing anything wrong, and may be participating in activity that deserves the highest level of constitutional protection. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
A felony charge is a serious matter. The number of attorneys who take cases of people charged with felonies is relatively limited because these are serious charges that can affect a person’s access to jobs, housing, education and the right to vote. Retainers for attorneys in a felony case are in the thousands of dollars. The State Public Defender’s office is underfunded and the number of attorneys who take private appointments has declined because private attorneys can’t keep their doors open getting $35 an hour. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
You may say that other states have “riot” bills so we should have one too. Those states (North Dakota being the one I am most familiar with) do not have unlawful assembly bills and the penalty for participating in a “riot” is a misdemeanor there. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>1. This crime is a B misdemeanor </i><i>North Dakota has three levels of misdemeanors: Class A, Class B, and Class C. A class B misdemeanor carries a Maximum penalty of 30 days in prison, a $1,500 fine, or both. N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 12.1-32-01 (West). </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>2. The terms of the crime </i><i>A person is guilty of Engaging in a Riot if he participates in “a public disturbance involving an assemblage of five or more persons which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government function.” N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 12.1-25-03 (West). N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 12.1-25-01 (West).” </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
Most of the people charged with “riot” in North Dakota last year have had their charges dismissed. Merely being there has not been found sufficient reason to sustain a misdemeanor charge. Wisconsin does not need a “riot” statute and people who assemble to exercise their free speech rights should not face felony charges. There are already penalties for committing acts of violence or being parties to such activity, and for blocking streets, and escalating penalties that adequately address any illegal activity. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
The Madison Mass Defense group, involving attorney and legal worker members of the National Lawyers Guild, ACLU and others concerned about federal and state constitutional rights to petition and protest the government, represented over 100 defendants given over 330 tickets in the “crackdown” ordered by Capitol Police Chief Erwin since he became chief in 2013. Only one case went to a jury trial resulting in a guilty verdict, nearly all of them were dismissed by the prosecuting Wisconsin Attorney General’s office after every Dane County judge assigned to the cases dismissed them. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
The Madison Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is the local arm of the national organization of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers. The National Lawyers Guild represents progressive political movements, and its motto is that human rights are more sacred than property interests.</blockquote>
MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-65162841136947817372017-10-24T06:48:00.000-07:002017-10-24T06:48:50.108-07:00Chicago Community Bond Fund Interview<a href="https://shadowproof.com/2017/10/22/interview-max-suchan-bond-court-reforms-chicago/">Shadowproof</a> has an interview with Max Suchan about the <a href="https://www.chicagobond.org/">Chicago Community Bond Fund</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
CCBF is a part of a local coalition, the Coalition to End Money Bond, which includes labor, legal advocacy, and faith-based organizations. They have put pressure on the city to reform the money bond system. Externally, Suchan said, the city also has noticed a national trend demanding reforms to the most racist practices in the criminal justice system.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Lawyers affiliated with the coalition launched a lawsuit last year that seeks a “declaratory judgment that Cook County’s bond-setting practices violate the Constitution; that actually they disproportionately impact people that don’t have money, and it’s a system that punishes people because they’re poor,” according to Suchan.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
* * * </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Of 180 cases that we’ve tracked of people that were given money bonds, within seven days, only half those people were able to post their bonds,” Suchan added. “Fewer than 10 percent were able to pay their bond at their review hearing. Most people are not getting review hearings at all.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“More than 90 percent of cases that we’ve been tracking are not given bond reviews within the seven-day review period or after.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“It’s very rare that I’m sitting in court, where I don’t see something particularly disturbing. It happens. That’s the norm. It’s not actually the exception,” Suchan shared.</blockquote>
Listen to the interview of Max Suchan by <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/unauthorizeddisclosure/S4_E34.mp3">going here</a>.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-57493073771335379082017-10-05T07:49:00.001-07:002017-10-05T07:49:56.597-07:00Legal primer on DACAThe folks at <a href="https://balkin.blogspot.com/">Balkinization</a> have created a detailed <a href="https://balkin.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-primer-on-daca-rescission.html">legal primer on DACA rescission</a> along with descriptions (and links) to various efforts at challenging the rescission.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-52356261438673710472017-09-26T07:58:00.003-07:002017-09-26T07:58:57.391-07:00Police crackdown in St. LouisThe <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/">St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a> has <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/undercover-cop-air-force-officer-med-student-among-those-police/article_e2dcc3de-f228-5311-a35f-e60e1bd9ebee.html">details</a> about military officers, med students, and many, many neighbors being abused by police officers in St. Louis. Here is one such incident:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A documentary filmmaker from Kansas City, visiting with his wife, said he was knocked unconscious during the sweep. Drew Burbridge, 32, said he never heard orders to disperse until officers started to advance, banging their batons and chanting, “Move back.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I turned my camera off and asked if there was anywhere I could go, but I was denied the right to leave,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a part of this.”
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Officers ordered him to turn his camera off and get down on the ground, and he complied.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The only thing I cared about then was putting my arms around my wife,” he said. “I just, I just kept saying: ‘It’s going to be OK.’”
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Burbridge said officers then grabbed him by both his arms and dragged him away.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I just said: ‘I am a member of the media, I am not protesting, I am not resisting,’” Burbridge said.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An officer sprayed his face with a chemical, his head was forced into the ground and an officer ripped his camera from his neck.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Burbridge claims his hands were then bound by zip ties before two officers started kicking him in the back, neck, arm and legs while he lay restrained on the ground. He said he was knocked unconscious on the pavement for about 10 to 30 seconds.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After he came to, Burbridge said an officer lifted his head by his hair and pepper sprayed him in the face again.
</blockquote>
Naturally (or rather, un-naturally), these events trace back to Ferguson and the protests there:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When all hell broke loose in Ferguson, Missouri, after the murder of a Black, unarmed teen, it was not clear, to the untrained eye, all of the intersecting forces that had collided. In the weeks— and months—following the murder of Mike Brown by Ferguson cop Darren Wilson, those forces became more visible.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Political disenfranchisement</i>. A majority African-American city (nearly 70%) was being ruled by a minority white city council, school board, and police department.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Segregated housing</i>. As Black residents from the City of St. Louis were pushed north of the city limits, municipalities like Ferguson steered them into particular neighborhoods and wards.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Failing schools</i>. Mike Brown made it to graduation, but unbeknownst to most people outside of St. Louis, his high school was part of an unaccredited Black school district. His diploma was worthless in the real world.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Militarization of the police</i>. St. Louis County police were trained by the Israeli military in counter-terrorism tactics. During the Ferguson Uprising, police departments unveiled their arsenal of military weaponry made possible with the support of the 1033 Program that donates billions of dollars in surplus military equipment to mainly urban police departments.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Labor solidarity</i>. It was difficult to ignore the role of labor, especially once it was revealed that Mike Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). In the aftermath of the Ferguson Uprising, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka met with key leaders on the ground, and proclaimed that racial justice would be central to his labor organization. This gutsy proclamation has resulted in tensions inside the labor movement, tensions that will have to get resolved as the demographics of workers become more Black and brown, and more female.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>International solidarity</i>. In a matter of days after unbridled anger manifested on the streets of Ferguson, messages of unity from other parts of the world, in struggling against capitalism and globalism, took social media by storm. Most notable were words of advice and solidarity from Palestinians who instantly recognized the military tactics used on them daily. There were lots of hashtags connecting Ferguson and Gaza, and soon #BlackLivesMatter protests were happening in major cities around the world, from London to Tokyo ...
</blockquote>
Excerpt from Jamala Rogers, <a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/4AA/ni0YAA/t.2b1/NoTKZJQTSKCdJVKbJoU8bw/h3/WQ-2BlIwq7W2eCmkkcwbDiBbRqdXavHGxrFsLDlLdhol6ZhYn5agDHTvsx99YoKxhXCJrxgDSiht-2B5kStJZsw2jKIQrgUUPWGVvVKyx-2BqIORSOqoA6L7WLQr49lEgCRD-2BZHPam5-2BHTpUQLTCYwdObfkTDxi9v0a7-2FXRQWfihBfY-2Fgmeac78wjUmRtunZ463z0W7E4w-2FCdWPCz-2FFmKrnpO7OqjteaRbBn7NjJdZ-2FgkLbEJ28a3mzkVvqvlomzW7nIfxVqK62-2FOcD4tBMFifQBAhJHRWWSm7c281lQ7NOIZEmHH-2BGljMGZuuZEMvQ2O5Wz0wmHdPtMjCWv2oYPKqapJLDvgvwM0LdEiNRLqyX4-2Fo-2BP6-2FPZEkQqHv2kbT2wXzB2o32g5KGK882luVFCeyieQzM2kQjaEiq3Kd6cN-2FDWDdEWC5gIgO-2Fmq-2BBQv3mEE5bM9Yb5Y-2B7T6dP95ip9ztEZ-2FrvrlgADvHWwz-2Bqcx6C1LhfR8-3D">FERGUSON IS AMERICA: THE ROOTS AND RISE OF UNIVERSAL RESISTANCE</a>, featured in Charlie Derber, <em><a href="http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/4AA/ni0YAA/t.2b1/NoTKZJQTSKCdJVKbJoU8bw/h0/QyMCHiQ2-2FUGAjfdNYYQHZbOed7xR0xaCCudPl8JzPru-2FBKWyyP3zdGw2zXe2MamPtLuXZDSnklT-2Fh2YSqZGQzeT9jUs87GcpIANvcbKoHyLlDhx2MQcI78kZBZHE5ya6Uogu8UfcbDwlnwDBc3rV-2FWCmTzKsAG-2B1V-2BtfkdqPQGaDKic0E6hcFOn56Fk5eYU19DcOE7wKTHY4olBAHsa7jyubgw76vVw7ZL0G-2FxtVXvU4-2FLgjfNf7gKon5NYOaSj3SvLCE5r8nafw5vgnpSf7DxvNXDhO2ko-2FLhXCSLjERdRgrSp63nqtRlxl8-2FTgG64Qb4w0dP-2Boupm9-2FHhkG3c4NveYkUTjD6NG6g-2BlwlDieHnQNOG-2F-2FtyuxzBr2ZVJh9jJ0-2B-2BIdq-2FJiJxZNq4ZbGQRkCI-2F8Y7CZD0IcjOQ4VjOyLxeOFBgV3my4jQvpBqnNFyY" target="_blank">Welcome to the Revolution</a></em><em>.</em>MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-61583859882367404132017-09-19T13:10:00.000-07:002017-09-19T13:10:07.597-07:00Dakota Access Pipeline protests being dismissedThe Bismark Tribune has <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/protest-cases-close-in-late-summer/article_6e6f2970-3d41-5fad-bd7f-f261b0b5cbef.html">the latest good news</a>: more and more pipeline protest cases being dismissed.MadisonNLGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635008217868283077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706770559573160417.post-26354717402230773542017-09-08T06:58:00.000-07:002017-09-08T06:58:06.523-07:00Guidance for DACA folksA <a href="https://www.informedimmigrant.com/daca-faq-august-2017/">good resource updated in August 2017</a> for immigrants and dreamers having to deal with the DACA changes underway is available <a href="https://www.informedimmigrant.com/">Informed Immigrant</a>.<br />
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