Federal Defense Hotline

National Lawyers Guild Announces Federal Defense Hotline

https://www.nlg.org/nlg-announces-federal-defense-hotline/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: massdef@nlg.org

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: 212-679-2811.

Since May, the NLG has continued to support the movement for Black lives, organizing to support legal defense efforts and provide Legal Observers for demonstrations. In the last week, we have seen the use of anti-protest shock troops by the federal government, such as Portland, where federal grab squads have arrested activists and taken them away from demonstrations in unmarked vans.

A memorandum from the Department of Homeland Security (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 under direct orders from the Trump Administration and Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf.

The use of BORTAC to disrupt activism is a recent escalation by the federal government, which has also used the National Guard, FBI, and Secret Service 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 criminal charges against activists throughout the country.

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.

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.
Related:

• VIDEO: Federal Repression of Activists & Their Lawyers: Legal & Ethical Strategies to Defend Our Movements

NLG Partners with Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is proud to announce a new sustainable partnership with Know Your Rights Camp (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.

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.

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 movement for Black lives. The NLG has provided jail and legal support to arrested activists, tracked federal prosecution efforts, and trained and deployed thousands of Legal Observers. 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.

The NLG is a proud endorser of #8toAbolition, 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.

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 mass defense committee (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 mass defense program 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.

Featured image: NLG Legal Observers document arrests during a #NoDAPL protest in New York City, 2016.


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.

Police Targeting NLG Legal Observers at Black Lives Matter Protests

https://www.nlg.org/police-targeting-nlg-legal-observers-at-black-lives-matter-protests/

Police Targeting NLG Legal Observers at Black Lives Matter Protests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2020
Contact: communications@nlg.org

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 journalists, street medics, and legal support. Multiple National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Legal Observers (LOs) 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. 

In the past week, police have arrested, attacked, and tear gassed LOs in a least a dozen cities. In Sacramento, 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 New York City. Most charges against LOs include disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and breaking curfew.

Reports from NLG chapters in multiple cities lead us to conclude that police are intentionally targeting LOs. In Atlanta, 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.” 

“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. 

NLG Legal Observers are a core part of the NLG Mass Defense program, 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 police riots.

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. 

NLG Resources:

NLG Mass Defense Program
NLG Know Your Rights Materials
Bail and Legal Defense Fund Best Practices Guide
Recent NLG Statements and Press Releases
Find your local NLG Chapter

Image: NLG Legal Observer arrested by Atlanta Police, June 1 (John Bazemore/AP).

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.

NLG National Office

         

NLG Statement on the President’s Unlawful Declaration of Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization

https://www.nlg.org/nlg-statement-on-the-presidents-unlawful-declaration-of-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2020
Contact: communications@nlg.org

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 in response to the murder of George Floyd 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 attacked by heavily militarized police departments 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.

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.

"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."

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.

"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."

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.

Related Links & Resources:

• NLG Know Your Rights Guides
• Directory of NLG Chapters
• NLG Mass Defense Program
• Movement for Black Lives
• Law for Black Lives
• Directory of US bail funds by the National Bail Fund Network
• Black Lives Matter petition to #DefundThePolice 
• 6/1/20: NLG Condemns Violent Police Response to Black Lives Matter Protests Nationwide
• 5/28/20: NLG in Solidarity with Minneapolis Following Police Killing of George Floyd

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.
# # #

NLG Condemns Violent Police Response to Black Lives Matter Protests Nationwide

https://www.nlg.org/nlg-condemns-violent-police-response-to-black-lives-matter-protests-nationwide/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2020
Contact: communications@nlg.org

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 GoFundMe here.

Spurred by the uprising in Minneapolis 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. National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Chapters 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.

“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.

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.

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 said in a joint statement yesterday.

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.

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.

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 petition from Black Lives Matter to #DefundThePolice.

Donations to the NLG Mass Defense Program can be made at nlg.org/donate/massdefense.

Resources:

• Find your local NLG Chapter
• NLG Mass Defense Program
• Movement for Black Lives
• Law for Black Lives
• Directory of US bail funds by the National Bail Fund Network
• Black Lives Matter petition to #DefundThePolice 

Statements by Local NLG Chapters and How to Help:

• NLG Chicago & Chicago Community Bond Fund
• NLG Chicago Call for Volunteer Attorneys
• NLG San Francisco Bay Area
• NLG Massachusetts
• NLG Los Angeles: Support for DTLA Protesters
• List of NLG Chapters

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.
# # #

Giving Tuesday for NLG

From NLG's executive director:

On this global day of giving back, please consider making a $50 donation to support the National Lawyers Guild.
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 150 chapters and 20 committees, 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.

So please mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 28th and make a donation in support of the NLG’s work on #GivingTuesday.

Thank you,
Pooja Gehi
Executive Director
NLG National Office
132 Nassau Street, Rm. 922
New York, NY 10038

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.

Election and NLG

Familia,

Many of us woke up to a reality different from the one we expected. Many have expressed deep mourning and fear. However, as a progressive legal community, we know that regardless of what the outcome would've been, we would still be standing in solidarity and providing legal support to movements.

As an organization that values human rights over property interests, the National Lawyers Guild's relentless defense of those rights will always be needed. As our nearly 80 years as an organization have shown, we will resist and we will overcome. In response to possible deepening government abuse and repression, peoples' movements will develop creative strategies to resist, organize, and hold corporate and government officials accountable. We will collectively learn new ways of defiance and as we have stood in solidarity with peoples' democratic movements across the world, they will stand now with us. We will openly question the legitimacy of our government when necessary. We will support those who disobey it's institutions when necessary. We will create alternatives to oppressive institutions and structures. We will call out and hold accountable those with tyrannical dispositions. We will organize and educate and teach with a new passion and focus. We will build community in ways perhaps we haven't yet needed to, and it will be transformative for our work. We are not the first nor the last to face the threat of enhanced repressive tactics targeting communities of color, LGBTTIQ, people with disabilities, women and gender-non conforming individuals, Muslims and immigrants, and we will overcome it together.

In Solidarity,
Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan
President, National Lawyers Guild