#antiterrorism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #antiterrorism, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/videos/63580/ Europe Today: Spain crowned World Cup champions as US strikes in Iran continue #AntiTerrorism #Euronews #IranWar #Spain #UnitedKingdom #WorldCup2026
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#MissKittyPolitics
At a certain point the threat of withholding #Anti-terrorism funding becomes the terrorism itself.
#MissKitty does not have it twisted. The #GOP is a terrorist organization and she does not negotiate with terrorists.
#Human #Rights are the only rights.
#CrimesAgainstHumanity
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bam3rkdzsg74tx5ddflbgils/post/3mq7esdkll32o -
#MissKittyPolitics
At a certain point the threat of withholding #Anti-terrorism funding becomes the terrorism itself.
#MissKitty does not have it twisted. The #GOP is a terrorist organization and she does not negotiate with terrorists.
#Human #Rights are the only rights.
#CrimesAgainstHumanity
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bam3rkdzsg74tx5ddflbgils/post/3mq7esdkll32o -
#MissKittyPolitics
At a certain point the threat of withholding #Anti-terrorism funding becomes the terrorism itself.
#MissKitty does not have it twisted. The #GOP is a terrorist organization and she does not negotiate with terrorists.
#Human #Rights are the only rights.
#CrimesAgainstHumanity
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bam3rkdzsg74tx5ddflbgils/post/3mq7esdkll32o -
#MissKittyPolitics
At a certain point the threat of withholding #Anti-terrorism funding becomes the terrorism itself.
#MissKitty does not have it twisted. The #GOP is a terrorist organization and she does not negotiate with terrorists.
#Human #Rights are the only rights.
#CrimesAgainstHumanity
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bam3rkdzsg74tx5ddflbgils/post/3mq7esdkll32o -
#MissKittyPolitics
At a certain point the threat of withholding #Anti-terrorism funding becomes the terrorism itself.
#MissKitty does not have it twisted. The #GOP is a terrorist organization and she does not negotiate with terrorists.
#Human #Rights are the only rights.
#CrimesAgainstHumanity
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bam3rkdzsg74tx5ddflbgils/post/3mq7esdkll32o -
If states do not agree to engage in #VoterSuppression, Trump would reduce the safety of their citizens: "Administration Demands States Change Voting Rules or Lose #Antiterrorism Funds.
Federal officials said they would withhold some money unless states pursue paper ballot systems, verify citizenship and conduct costly audits":
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/climate/fema-grants-states-election-changes.html
#PublicSafety #Trump #terrorism #PutinsPuppet #politics copy: @renewedresistance -
If states do not agree to engage in #VoterSuppression, Trump would reduce the safety of their citizens: "Administration Demands States Change Voting Rules or Lose #Antiterrorism Funds.
Federal officials said they would withhold some money unless states pursue paper ballot systems, verify citizenship and conduct costly audits":
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/climate/fema-grants-states-election-changes.html
#PublicSafety #Trump #terrorism #PutinsPuppet #politics copy: @renewedresistance -
If states do not agree to engage in #VoterSuppression, Trump would reduce the safety of their citizens: "Administration Demands States Change Voting Rules or Lose #Antiterrorism Funds.
Federal officials said they would withhold some money unless states pursue paper ballot systems, verify citizenship and conduct costly audits":
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/climate/fema-grants-states-election-changes.html
#PublicSafety #Trump #terrorism #PutinsPuppet #politics copy: @renewedresistance -
If states do not agree to engage in #VoterSuppression, Trump would reduce the safety of their citizens: "Administration Demands States Change Voting Rules or Lose #Antiterrorism Funds.
Federal officials said they would withhold some money unless states pursue paper ballot systems, verify citizenship and conduct costly audits":
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/climate/fema-grants-states-election-changes.html
#PublicSafety #Trump #terrorism #PutinsPuppet #politics copy: @renewedresistance -
Greece in Shock: Violent Attack Claims Life Amidst Political Turmoil https://www.byteseu.com/2159283/ #AfroditiNestora #antiterrorism #attack #firebomb #Greece #NewDemocracy #PoliticalViolence #Terrorism #Thessaloniki #VagiaNestora
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Hamas Suspect Arrested in Crete Over Alleged Israeli Cruise Ship Bomb Plot https://www.byteseu.com/2086732/ #AgiosNikolaos #AntiTerrorism #Conflicts #crete #Cyprus #Greece #GreekNews #Hamas #Intelligence #Israel
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Attorney-general defends blocking counterterror documents from Bondi royal commission
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has defended moves by the government to block the public release of cabinet documents relating…
#Australia #antiterrorism #AU #Austrlia #BondiRoyalCommission #cabinetdocuments #michellerowland #royalcommissiononantisemitismandsocialcohesion #terror
https://www.europesays.com/australia/20547/ -
Some Thoughts On India’s Newest Strategic Partner, Cyprus https://www.byteseu.com/2043777/ #AntiTerrorism #Cyber #Cyprus #defence #Erdoğan #homeslider #kashmir #PresidentNikos #StrategicPartnership #Turkey
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Get the feeling Slow Horses is an aspiration for the real MI5?
I mean, what ARE they doing apart from spying on Grandmas protesting Genocide?
Who do they protect, Us or Them?*(*Rhetorical)
#AntiTerrorism #MI5 #UKPol #UKPolitics #GoldersGreen #Terrorism #Prevent #SlowHorses
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Get the feeling Slow Horses is an aspiration for the real MI5?
I mean, what ARE they doing apart from spying on Grandmas protesting Genocide?
Who do they protect, Us or Them?*(*Rhetorical)
#AntiTerrorism #MI5 #UKPol #UKPolitics #GoldersGreen #Terrorism #Prevent #SlowHorses
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Get the feeling Slow Horses is an aspiration for the real MI5?
I mean, what ARE they doing apart from spying on Grandmas protesting Genocide?
Who do they protect, Us or Them?*(*Rhetorical)
#AntiTerrorism #MI5 #UKPol #UKPolitics #GoldersGreen #Terrorism #Prevent #SlowHorses
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Get the feeling Slow Horses is an aspiration for the real MI5?
I mean, what ARE they doing apart from spying on Grandmas protesting Genocide?
Who do they protect, Us or Them?*(*Rhetorical)
#AntiTerrorism #MI5 #UKPol #UKPolitics #GoldersGreen #Terrorism #Prevent #SlowHorses
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Get the feeling Slow Horses is an aspiration for the real MI5?
I mean, what ARE they doing apart from spying on Grandmas protesting Genocide?
Who do they protect, Us or Them?*(*Rhetorical)
#AntiTerrorism #MI5 #UKPol #UKPolitics #GoldersGreen #Terrorism #Prevent #SlowHorses
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https://www.europesays.com/africa/175939/ Morocco dismantles a terrorist cell #AntiTerrorism #Antiterrorisme #Antiterrorismo #Maroc #Marruecos #Morocco #Portada
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USA planen eine Anti-Antifa-Konferenz
Als Teil der Prozesses der Faschisierung soll der Krieg gegen Antifaschist:innen auch international weitergeführt werden.
Deshalb planen die USA für Sommer eine internationale Konferenz, auch mit dem Ziel ggf in der EU 'Antifa' oder einzelne Aktivist:innen auf die Terrorliste setzen zu lassen.
Deutschland dürfte sich die Teilnahme kaum entgehen lassen.
#usa #trump #AntiAntifa #antifascism #antifaost #Antifaschismus #politic #uspolitics #uspol #deutschland #europe #antiterror #antiterrorism #faschismus #faschisierung #donnerstag #innenpolitik #Rechtspolitik #berlin @bmi
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USA planen eine Anti-Antifa-Konferenz
Als Teil der Prozesses der Faschisierung soll der Krieg gegen Antifaschist:innen auch international weitergeführt werden.
Deshalb planen die USA für Sommer eine internationale Konferenz, auch mit dem Ziel ggf in der EU 'Antifa' oder einzelne Aktivist:innen auf die Terrorliste setzen zu lassen.
Deutschland dürfte sich die Teilnahme kaum entgehen lassen.
#usa #trump #AntiAntifa #antifascism #antifaost #Antifaschismus #politic #uspolitics #uspol #deutschland #europe #antiterror #antiterrorism #faschismus #faschisierung #donnerstag #innenpolitik #Rechtspolitik #berlin @bmi
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USA planen eine Anti-Antifa-Konferenz
Als Teil der Prozesses der Faschisierung soll der Krieg gegen Antifaschist:innen auch international weitergeführt werden.
Deshalb planen die USA für Sommer eine internationale Konferenz, auch mit dem Ziel ggf in der EU 'Antifa' oder einzelne Aktivist:innen auf die Terrorliste setzen zu lassen.
Deutschland dürfte sich die Teilnahme kaum entgehen lassen.
#usa #trump #AntiAntifa #antifascism #antifaost #Antifaschismus #politic #uspolitics #uspol #deutschland #europe #antiterror #antiterrorism #faschismus #faschisierung #donnerstag #innenpolitik #Rechtspolitik #berlin @bmi
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USA planen eine Anti-Antifa-Konferenz
Als Teil der Prozesses der Faschisierung soll der Krieg gegen Antifaschist:innen auch international weitergeführt werden.
Deshalb planen die USA für Sommer eine internationale Konferenz, auch mit dem Ziel ggf in der EU 'Antifa' oder einzelne Aktivist:innen auf die Terrorliste setzen zu lassen.
Deutschland dürfte sich die Teilnahme kaum entgehen lassen.
#usa #trump #AntiAntifa #antifascism #antifaost #Antifaschismus #politic #uspolitics #uspol #deutschland #europe #antiterror #antiterrorism #faschismus #faschisierung #donnerstag #innenpolitik #Rechtspolitik #berlin @bmi
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https://www.europesays.com/africa/149112/ Morocco Ranks Among Safest Countries in Global Terrorism Index 2026 Morocco Ranks Among Safest Countries in Global Terrorism Index 2026 #AntiTerrorism #AntiTerrorismInMorocco #Morocco
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If Joe Kent claimed that he was Clark Kent's father, I'd believe him. #superman #antiterrorism #uspol
edit - not an endorsement of a right wing shill.
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If Joe Kent claimed that he was Clark Kent's father, I'd believe him. #superman #antiterrorism #uspol
edit - not an endorsement of a right wing shill.
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If Joe Kent claimed that he was Clark Kent's father, I'd believe him. #superman #antiterrorism #uspol
edit - not an endorsement of a right wing shill.
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If Joe Kent claimed that he was Clark Kent's father, I'd believe him. #superman #antiterrorism #uspol
edit - not an endorsement of a right wing shill.
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If Joe Kent claimed that he was Clark Kent's father, I'd believe him. #superman #antiterrorism #uspol
edit - not an endorsement of a right wing shill.
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https://www.europesays.com/africa/136654/ France Charges Two Moroccan-Italian Brothers in Terror Plot #AntiTerrorism #antisemitism #MoroccanTerrorPlot #MoroccansInFrance #Morocco
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Spies, Lies and the War on Terror by Paul Todd, 2018
This book traces the transformation of intelligence from a tool for law enforcement to a means of avoiding the law--both national and international. The "War on Terror" has seen intelligence agencies emerge as major political players. "Rendition," untrammelled surveillance, torture and detention without trial are becoming normal.
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Spies, Lies and the War on Terror by Paul Todd, 2018
This book traces the transformation of intelligence from a tool for law enforcement to a means of avoiding the law--both national and international. The "War on Terror" has seen intelligence agencies emerge as major political players. "Rendition," untrammelled surveillance, torture and detention without trial are becoming normal.
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Spies, Lies and the War on Terror by Paul Todd, 2018
This book traces the transformation of intelligence from a tool for law enforcement to a means of avoiding the law--both national and international. The "War on Terror" has seen intelligence agencies emerge as major political players. "Rendition," untrammelled surveillance, torture and detention without trial are becoming normal.
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Spies, Lies and the War on Terror by Paul Todd, 2018
This book traces the transformation of intelligence from a tool for law enforcement to a means of avoiding the law--both national and international. The "War on Terror" has seen intelligence agencies emerge as major political players. "Rendition," untrammelled surveillance, torture and detention without trial are becoming normal.
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Spies, Lies and the War on Terror by Paul Todd, 2018
This book traces the transformation of intelligence from a tool for law enforcement to a means of avoiding the law--both national and international. The "War on Terror" has seen intelligence agencies emerge as major political players. "Rendition," untrammelled surveillance, torture and detention without trial are becoming normal.
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Security forces re-engage terrorists in Kishtwar, J&K, during Operation Trashi-I. High-stakes anti-terror operation enters critical phase with joint forces. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/kishtwar-terror-operation-trashi-i-engagement-g3fecjd5?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #JammuAndKashmir #Terrorism #antiterrorism #indianarmy
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Security forces re-engage terrorists in Kishtwar, J&K, during Operation Trashi-I. High-stakes anti-terror operation enters critical phase with joint forces. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/kishtwar-terror-operation-trashi-i-engagement-g3fecjd5?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #JammuAndKashmir #Terrorism #antiterrorism #indianarmy
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Security forces re-engage terrorists in Kishtwar, J&K, during Operation Trashi-I. High-stakes anti-terror operation enters critical phase with joint forces. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/kishtwar-terror-operation-trashi-i-engagement-g3fecjd5?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #JammuAndKashmir #Terrorism #antiterrorism #indianarmy
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Cảnh sát gìn giữ hòa bình Việt Nam diễn tập xử lý tình huống chống khủng bố, bảo vệ yếu nhân tại phái bộ. Lực lượng thể hiện sự thuần thục, bản lĩnh tác chiến xuất sắc!
#CanhSatGinGiuHoaBinh #GinGiuHoaBinh #ChongKhungBo #BaoVeYeuNhan #PeacekeepingPolice #AntiTerrorism #VIPProtection #VietnamNews
https://vtcnews.vn/canh-sat-gin-giu-hoa-binh-dien-tap-chong-khung-bo-bao-ve-yeu-nhan-ar990348.html
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Cảnh sát gìn giữ hòa bình Việt Nam diễn tập xử lý tình huống chống khủng bố, bảo vệ yếu nhân tại phái bộ. Lực lượng thể hiện sự thuần thục, bản lĩnh tác chiến xuất sắc!
#CanhSatGinGiuHoaBinh #GinGiuHoaBinh #ChongKhungBo #BaoVeYeuNhan #PeacekeepingPolice #AntiTerrorism #VIPProtection #VietnamNews
https://vtcnews.vn/canh-sat-gin-giu-hoa-binh-dien-tap-chong-khung-bo-bao-ve-yeu-nhan-ar990348.html
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Cục Điều tra Liên bang Mỹ (FBI) đã ngăn chặn thành công một âm mưu tấn công khủng bố nhằm vào lễ hội Halloween tại bang Michigan. Các quan chức cho biết, kế hoạch này đã bị phát hiện và vô hiệu hóa trước khi có thể thực hiện, đảm bảo an toàn cho cộng đồng trong dịp lễ. Hiện FBI đang tiếp tục điều tra và làm rõ các chi tiết liên quan.
#FBI #Halloween #KhủngBố #AnNinh #Michigan #TinTức #WorldNews #AntiTerrorism #USAF #SecurityAlert
https://vietnamnet.vn/fbi-dap-tan-am-muu-khung-bo-dip-le-hallowe
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"A federal judge overturned a #HomelandSecurity decision to cut #anti-terrorism funding for #NewYork City. The ruling comes as the Trump administration faces lawsuits from Democratic governors over similar cuts." www.yahoo.com/news/videos/...
Judge blocks Trump cuts to New... -
"A federal judge overturned a #HomelandSecurity decision to cut #anti-terrorism funding for #NewYork City. The ruling comes as the Trump administration faces lawsuits from Democratic governors over similar cuts." www.yahoo.com/news/videos/...
Judge blocks Trump cuts to New... -
"A federal judge overturned a #HomelandSecurity decision to cut #anti-terrorism funding for #NewYork City. The ruling comes as the Trump administration faces lawsuits from Democratic governors over similar cuts." www.yahoo.com/news/videos/...
Judge blocks Trump cuts to New... -
"A federal judge overturned a #HomelandSecurity decision to cut #anti-terrorism funding for #NewYork City. The ruling comes as the Trump administration faces lawsuits from Democratic governors over similar cuts." www.yahoo.com/news/videos/...
Judge blocks Trump cuts to New... -
West #Germany #OTD in 1977. An example of how the "free world" was treating its opponents in prisons.
“I am afraid of being suicided in the same way as Ulrike. If there is no letter from me and I’m found dead; in this case it is an assassination.”
-Gudrun Ensslin to her lawyers...On October 17, a West German anti-terrorist commando stormed the airliner in Mogadishu, killing three guerillas and wounding the fourth. The next morning it was announced that Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader were dead, having allegedly committed suicide. It was also announced that Jan-Carl Raspe and fellow RAF prisoner Irmgard Möller had “attempted suicide.” Raspe subsequently died of his wounds.
An examination of the contradictions surrounding the alleged “suicides” of Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader, contradictions no less numerous than in the case of Ulrike Meinhof’s death, tends to support the conclusion that the deaths were in fact murders.
Baader and Raspe died as a result of gunshot wounds, Ensslin as a result of hanging, and the sole survivor, Irmgard Möller, suffered repeated stab wounds inflicted with a kitchen knife.
More: https://germanguerilla.com/2007/10/04/the-stammheim-suicides/
#history #democracy "#antiterrorism" #revolutionaries #imperialism -
West #Germany #OTD in 1977. An example of how the "free world" was treating its opponents in prisons.
“I am afraid of being suicided in the same way as Ulrike. If there is no letter from me and I’m found dead; in this case it is an assassination.”
-Gudrun Ensslin to her lawyers...On October 17, a West German anti-terrorist commando stormed the airliner in Mogadishu, killing three guerillas and wounding the fourth. The next morning it was announced that Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader were dead, having allegedly committed suicide. It was also announced that Jan-Carl Raspe and fellow RAF prisoner Irmgard Möller had “attempted suicide.” Raspe subsequently died of his wounds.
An examination of the contradictions surrounding the alleged “suicides” of Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader, contradictions no less numerous than in the case of Ulrike Meinhof’s death, tends to support the conclusion that the deaths were in fact murders.
Baader and Raspe died as a result of gunshot wounds, Ensslin as a result of hanging, and the sole survivor, Irmgard Möller, suffered repeated stab wounds inflicted with a kitchen knife.
More: https://germanguerilla.com/2007/10/04/the-stammheim-suicides/
#history #democracy "#antiterrorism" #revolutionaries #imperialism -
West #Germany #OTD in 1977. An example of how the "free world" was treating its opponents in prisons.
“I am afraid of being suicided in the same way as Ulrike. If there is no letter from me and I’m found dead; in this case it is an assassination.”
-Gudrun Ensslin to her lawyers...On October 17, a West German anti-terrorist commando stormed the airliner in Mogadishu, killing three guerillas and wounding the fourth. The next morning it was announced that Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader were dead, having allegedly committed suicide. It was also announced that Jan-Carl Raspe and fellow RAF prisoner Irmgard Möller had “attempted suicide.” Raspe subsequently died of his wounds.
An examination of the contradictions surrounding the alleged “suicides” of Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader, contradictions no less numerous than in the case of Ulrike Meinhof’s death, tends to support the conclusion that the deaths were in fact murders.
Baader and Raspe died as a result of gunshot wounds, Ensslin as a result of hanging, and the sole survivor, Irmgard Möller, suffered repeated stab wounds inflicted with a kitchen knife.
More: https://germanguerilla.com/2007/10/04/the-stammheim-suicides/
#history #democracy "#antiterrorism" #revolutionaries #imperialism -
West #Germany #OTD in 1977. An example of how the "free world" was treating its opponents in prisons.
“I am afraid of being suicided in the same way as Ulrike. If there is no letter from me and I’m found dead; in this case it is an assassination.”
-Gudrun Ensslin to her lawyers...On October 17, a West German anti-terrorist commando stormed the airliner in Mogadishu, killing three guerillas and wounding the fourth. The next morning it was announced that Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader were dead, having allegedly committed suicide. It was also announced that Jan-Carl Raspe and fellow RAF prisoner Irmgard Möller had “attempted suicide.” Raspe subsequently died of his wounds.
An examination of the contradictions surrounding the alleged “suicides” of Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader, contradictions no less numerous than in the case of Ulrike Meinhof’s death, tends to support the conclusion that the deaths were in fact murders.
Baader and Raspe died as a result of gunshot wounds, Ensslin as a result of hanging, and the sole survivor, Irmgard Möller, suffered repeated stab wounds inflicted with a kitchen knife.
More: https://germanguerilla.com/2007/10/04/the-stammheim-suicides/
#history #democracy "#antiterrorism" #revolutionaries #imperialism -
West #Germany #OTD in 1977. An example of how the "free world" was treating its opponents in prisons.
“I am afraid of being suicided in the same way as Ulrike. If there is no letter from me and I’m found dead; in this case it is an assassination.”
-Gudrun Ensslin to her lawyers...On October 17, a West German anti-terrorist commando stormed the airliner in Mogadishu, killing three guerillas and wounding the fourth. The next morning it was announced that Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader were dead, having allegedly committed suicide. It was also announced that Jan-Carl Raspe and fellow RAF prisoner Irmgard Möller had “attempted suicide.” Raspe subsequently died of his wounds.
An examination of the contradictions surrounding the alleged “suicides” of Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader, contradictions no less numerous than in the case of Ulrike Meinhof’s death, tends to support the conclusion that the deaths were in fact murders.
Baader and Raspe died as a result of gunshot wounds, Ensslin as a result of hanging, and the sole survivor, Irmgard Möller, suffered repeated stab wounds inflicted with a kitchen knife.
More: https://germanguerilla.com/2007/10/04/the-stammheim-suicides/
#history #democracy "#antiterrorism" #revolutionaries #imperialism -
From 2021... This started before #Trump, but things are way worse now!
#AntiProtestLaws Threaten #Indigenous and #Climate Movements
“#CriticalInfrastructure” laws in over a dozen states wrongly invoke national security to justify targeting #PipelineProtesters.
Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, March 17, 2021
"In 2016 as a member of Congress, #DebHaaland stood for four days in solidarity with protesters at the #StandingRockSioux Reservation against construction of the #DakotaAccessPipeline. Today, as the first #NativeAmerican to be the secretary of the interior — the first to lead any cabinet department — she has the opportunity to support the #FirstAmendment rights of the protesters she joined in the past.
"With her authority over energy development on federal lands, Haaland can be a voice for Indigenous and climate movements facing an urgent threat: the rapid spread of laws to protect 'critical infrastructure' that single out activists.
"Since 2016, 13 states have quietly enacted laws that increase criminal penalties for trespassing, damage, and interference with infrastructure sites such as oil refineries and pipelines. At least five more states have already introduced similar legislation this year. These laws draw from national security legislation enacted after 9/11 to protect physical infrastructure considered so 'vital' that the 'incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety.'
"Many industry sectors are designated critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, and communications, but most state critical infrastructure laws focus more narrowly on oil and gas #pipelines. While protecting critical infrastructure is a legitimate government function, these laws clearly target environmental and Indigenous activists by significantly raising the penalties for participating in or even tangentially supporting pipeline trespassing and property damage, crimes that are already illegal. Many laws are modelled on draft legislation prepared by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as #ALEC, a powerful lobbying group funded by #FossilFuel companies like #ExxonMobil and #Shell.
"Central to the new critical infrastructure laws are increased criminal penalties and vague, broad definitions that could discourage protest and particularly, nonviolent civil disobedience. Many laws make any 'damage' to or 'interference' with a facility deemed critical infrastructure a felony. Under #Ohio’s law, trespass with the purpose of 'tampering' with a facility is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Indiana, a felony conviction is applied for any facility trespass, a crime that is typically a misdemeanor or fine.
"Vague language like 'damage,' 'tamper,' and 'impede' in critical infrastructure laws makes it unclear if, for example, knocking down #SafetyCones and starting a fire next to a natural gas facility are the same under the law. Many critical infrastructure laws do not clarify if they apply only to land a company fully owns or also to pipeline easements, which run through both public and private lands. At least some laws apply to both. Only a week after Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law was enacted, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline were charged with trespassing for boating on public waters on the border of a pipeline easement.
"The combination of overly broad language and steep penalties in critical infrastructure laws make it likely that future activists and supporting organizations will be discouraged from exercising their First Amendment-protected protest rights. A lawsuit brought in response to the #BayouBridge charges will test the laws for the first time on First Amendment grounds.
"Many of these laws even extend beyond the protesters. In a proposed law in #Minnesota, anyone who 'recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires' someone to trespass without a 'reasonable effort' to prevent the trespassing is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. In #Oklahoma organizations that conspire with perpetrators are liable to be fined up to $1 million. These laws may infringe on the freedom of association protected under the First Amendment. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled that the illegal actions of a few individuals do not implicate an entire group.
"The criminalization of environmental protest is fueled by federal security agencies and oil and gas companies, who are often major political donors. For years, the Department of #HomelandSecurity and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have labelled activists at infrastructure sites as #DomesticTerrorists and violent extremists in order to justify further #surveillance and #policing. Government documents have been released that detail the FBI’s focus on '#AnimalRights / #EnvironmentalExtremism,' describing even #NonviolentProtesters as #extremists.
"At Standing Rock, a private security firm [#Blackwater] hired by the pipeline companies consistently referred to protesters as 'terrorists' while working with law enforcement. Ahead of the #KeystoneXLPipeline protests in 2018, #DHS agents held an '#AntiTerrorism training' for state and local authorities. In contrast, members of the #FarRight militant group the #ThreePercenters have established a significant presence at oil and gas plants with little law enforcement reaction.
"To be sure, as the recent power outages in Texas showed so vividly, the United States needs reliable energy. But it’s questionable whether pipeline construction sites that could feasibly be moved or replaced with renewable energy sources should legitimately be considered 'vital' to the energy grid. Furthermore, a singular focus on this aspect of security comes at the cost of others. Whose essential resources do pipeline projects protect and whose do they threaten? Black Americans are disproportionately likely to live near natural #GasPipelines and experience higher #CancerRisk due to unclean air. An oil spill from the Dakota Access Pipeline could devastate the #SiouxTribe’s water source. Meanwhile, on some reservations, 10 percent of households lack electricity and as many as 40 percent of households must haul water and use outhouses. The well-being of these communities must count too.
"The rise in critical infrastructure laws may foreshadow more anti-protest legislation to come. A similar wave of anti-protest laws has already begun in response to the 2020 #BlackLivesMatter protests. State legislators contemplating critical infrastructure laws should bear in mind that laws that criminalize trespassing and protect the safety of construction workers and law enforcement already exist. Critical infrastructure laws don’t fill an unmet need — they only raise the penalties for specific groups of people. Courts adjudicating #FirstAmendment challenges in the coming years should recognize that these laws are overbroad and impose disproportionately severe penalties that chill freedom of assembly and association.
"As secretary of the interior, Haaland promises to uplift the voices of Indigenous and climate protesters in the Biden administration. State legislators, law enforcement, and the fossil fuel industry should follow suit and listen to these activists rather than suppressing constitutionally protected activity under the guise of national security."
#BrennanCenter #Authoritarianism #Fascism #NoDAPL #NoKXL #PipelineProtests #WaterIsLife #ACAB #ErikPrince #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #ExxonLied #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRockSioux
-
From 2021... This started before #Trump, but things are way worse now!
#AntiProtestLaws Threaten #Indigenous and #Climate Movements
“#CriticalInfrastructure” laws in over a dozen states wrongly invoke national security to justify targeting #PipelineProtesters.
Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, March 17, 2021
"In 2016 as a member of Congress, #DebHaaland stood for four days in solidarity with protesters at the #StandingRockSioux Reservation against construction of the #DakotaAccessPipeline. Today, as the first #NativeAmerican to be the secretary of the interior — the first to lead any cabinet department — she has the opportunity to support the #FirstAmendment rights of the protesters she joined in the past.
"With her authority over energy development on federal lands, Haaland can be a voice for Indigenous and climate movements facing an urgent threat: the rapid spread of laws to protect 'critical infrastructure' that single out activists.
"Since 2016, 13 states have quietly enacted laws that increase criminal penalties for trespassing, damage, and interference with infrastructure sites such as oil refineries and pipelines. At least five more states have already introduced similar legislation this year. These laws draw from national security legislation enacted after 9/11 to protect physical infrastructure considered so 'vital' that the 'incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety.'
"Many industry sectors are designated critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, and communications, but most state critical infrastructure laws focus more narrowly on oil and gas #pipelines. While protecting critical infrastructure is a legitimate government function, these laws clearly target environmental and Indigenous activists by significantly raising the penalties for participating in or even tangentially supporting pipeline trespassing and property damage, crimes that are already illegal. Many laws are modelled on draft legislation prepared by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as #ALEC, a powerful lobbying group funded by #FossilFuel companies like #ExxonMobil and #Shell.
"Central to the new critical infrastructure laws are increased criminal penalties and vague, broad definitions that could discourage protest and particularly, nonviolent civil disobedience. Many laws make any 'damage' to or 'interference' with a facility deemed critical infrastructure a felony. Under #Ohio’s law, trespass with the purpose of 'tampering' with a facility is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Indiana, a felony conviction is applied for any facility trespass, a crime that is typically a misdemeanor or fine.
"Vague language like 'damage,' 'tamper,' and 'impede' in critical infrastructure laws makes it unclear if, for example, knocking down #SafetyCones and starting a fire next to a natural gas facility are the same under the law. Many critical infrastructure laws do not clarify if they apply only to land a company fully owns or also to pipeline easements, which run through both public and private lands. At least some laws apply to both. Only a week after Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law was enacted, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline were charged with trespassing for boating on public waters on the border of a pipeline easement.
"The combination of overly broad language and steep penalties in critical infrastructure laws make it likely that future activists and supporting organizations will be discouraged from exercising their First Amendment-protected protest rights. A lawsuit brought in response to the #BayouBridge charges will test the laws for the first time on First Amendment grounds.
"Many of these laws even extend beyond the protesters. In a proposed law in #Minnesota, anyone who 'recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires' someone to trespass without a 'reasonable effort' to prevent the trespassing is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. In #Oklahoma organizations that conspire with perpetrators are liable to be fined up to $1 million. These laws may infringe on the freedom of association protected under the First Amendment. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled that the illegal actions of a few individuals do not implicate an entire group.
"The criminalization of environmental protest is fueled by federal security agencies and oil and gas companies, who are often major political donors. For years, the Department of #HomelandSecurity and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have labelled activists at infrastructure sites as #DomesticTerrorists and violent extremists in order to justify further #surveillance and #policing. Government documents have been released that detail the FBI’s focus on '#AnimalRights / #EnvironmentalExtremism,' describing even #NonviolentProtesters as #extremists.
"At Standing Rock, a private security firm [#Blackwater] hired by the pipeline companies consistently referred to protesters as 'terrorists' while working with law enforcement. Ahead of the #KeystoneXLPipeline protests in 2018, #DHS agents held an '#AntiTerrorism training' for state and local authorities. In contrast, members of the #FarRight militant group the #ThreePercenters have established a significant presence at oil and gas plants with little law enforcement reaction.
"To be sure, as the recent power outages in Texas showed so vividly, the United States needs reliable energy. But it’s questionable whether pipeline construction sites that could feasibly be moved or replaced with renewable energy sources should legitimately be considered 'vital' to the energy grid. Furthermore, a singular focus on this aspect of security comes at the cost of others. Whose essential resources do pipeline projects protect and whose do they threaten? Black Americans are disproportionately likely to live near natural #GasPipelines and experience higher #CancerRisk due to unclean air. An oil spill from the Dakota Access Pipeline could devastate the #SiouxTribe’s water source. Meanwhile, on some reservations, 10 percent of households lack electricity and as many as 40 percent of households must haul water and use outhouses. The well-being of these communities must count too.
"The rise in critical infrastructure laws may foreshadow more anti-protest legislation to come. A similar wave of anti-protest laws has already begun in response to the 2020 #BlackLivesMatter protests. State legislators contemplating critical infrastructure laws should bear in mind that laws that criminalize trespassing and protect the safety of construction workers and law enforcement already exist. Critical infrastructure laws don’t fill an unmet need — they only raise the penalties for specific groups of people. Courts adjudicating #FirstAmendment challenges in the coming years should recognize that these laws are overbroad and impose disproportionately severe penalties that chill freedom of assembly and association.
"As secretary of the interior, Haaland promises to uplift the voices of Indigenous and climate protesters in the Biden administration. State legislators, law enforcement, and the fossil fuel industry should follow suit and listen to these activists rather than suppressing constitutionally protected activity under the guise of national security."
#BrennanCenter #Authoritarianism #Fascism #NoDAPL #NoKXL #PipelineProtests #WaterIsLife #ACAB #ErikPrince #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #ExxonLied #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRockSioux
-
From 2021... This started before #Trump, but things are way worse now!
#AntiProtestLaws Threaten #Indigenous and #Climate Movements
“#CriticalInfrastructure” laws in over a dozen states wrongly invoke national security to justify targeting #PipelineProtesters.
Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, March 17, 2021
"In 2016 as a member of Congress, #DebHaaland stood for four days in solidarity with protesters at the #StandingRockSioux Reservation against construction of the #DakotaAccessPipeline. Today, as the first #NativeAmerican to be the secretary of the interior — the first to lead any cabinet department — she has the opportunity to support the #FirstAmendment rights of the protesters she joined in the past.
"With her authority over energy development on federal lands, Haaland can be a voice for Indigenous and climate movements facing an urgent threat: the rapid spread of laws to protect 'critical infrastructure' that single out activists.
"Since 2016, 13 states have quietly enacted laws that increase criminal penalties for trespassing, damage, and interference with infrastructure sites such as oil refineries and pipelines. At least five more states have already introduced similar legislation this year. These laws draw from national security legislation enacted after 9/11 to protect physical infrastructure considered so 'vital' that the 'incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety.'
"Many industry sectors are designated critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, and communications, but most state critical infrastructure laws focus more narrowly on oil and gas #pipelines. While protecting critical infrastructure is a legitimate government function, these laws clearly target environmental and Indigenous activists by significantly raising the penalties for participating in or even tangentially supporting pipeline trespassing and property damage, crimes that are already illegal. Many laws are modelled on draft legislation prepared by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as #ALEC, a powerful lobbying group funded by #FossilFuel companies like #ExxonMobil and #Shell.
"Central to the new critical infrastructure laws are increased criminal penalties and vague, broad definitions that could discourage protest and particularly, nonviolent civil disobedience. Many laws make any 'damage' to or 'interference' with a facility deemed critical infrastructure a felony. Under #Ohio’s law, trespass with the purpose of 'tampering' with a facility is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Indiana, a felony conviction is applied for any facility trespass, a crime that is typically a misdemeanor or fine.
"Vague language like 'damage,' 'tamper,' and 'impede' in critical infrastructure laws makes it unclear if, for example, knocking down #SafetyCones and starting a fire next to a natural gas facility are the same under the law. Many critical infrastructure laws do not clarify if they apply only to land a company fully owns or also to pipeline easements, which run through both public and private lands. At least some laws apply to both. Only a week after Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law was enacted, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline were charged with trespassing for boating on public waters on the border of a pipeline easement.
"The combination of overly broad language and steep penalties in critical infrastructure laws make it likely that future activists and supporting organizations will be discouraged from exercising their First Amendment-protected protest rights. A lawsuit brought in response to the #BayouBridge charges will test the laws for the first time on First Amendment grounds.
"Many of these laws even extend beyond the protesters. In a proposed law in #Minnesota, anyone who 'recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires' someone to trespass without a 'reasonable effort' to prevent the trespassing is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. In #Oklahoma organizations that conspire with perpetrators are liable to be fined up to $1 million. These laws may infringe on the freedom of association protected under the First Amendment. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled that the illegal actions of a few individuals do not implicate an entire group.
"The criminalization of environmental protest is fueled by federal security agencies and oil and gas companies, who are often major political donors. For years, the Department of #HomelandSecurity and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have labelled activists at infrastructure sites as #DomesticTerrorists and violent extremists in order to justify further #surveillance and #policing. Government documents have been released that detail the FBI’s focus on '#AnimalRights / #EnvironmentalExtremism,' describing even #NonviolentProtesters as #extremists.
"At Standing Rock, a private security firm [#Blackwater] hired by the pipeline companies consistently referred to protesters as 'terrorists' while working with law enforcement. Ahead of the #KeystoneXLPipeline protests in 2018, #DHS agents held an '#AntiTerrorism training' for state and local authorities. In contrast, members of the #FarRight militant group the #ThreePercenters have established a significant presence at oil and gas plants with little law enforcement reaction.
"To be sure, as the recent power outages in Texas showed so vividly, the United States needs reliable energy. But it’s questionable whether pipeline construction sites that could feasibly be moved or replaced with renewable energy sources should legitimately be considered 'vital' to the energy grid. Furthermore, a singular focus on this aspect of security comes at the cost of others. Whose essential resources do pipeline projects protect and whose do they threaten? Black Americans are disproportionately likely to live near natural #GasPipelines and experience higher #CancerRisk due to unclean air. An oil spill from the Dakota Access Pipeline could devastate the #SiouxTribe’s water source. Meanwhile, on some reservations, 10 percent of households lack electricity and as many as 40 percent of households must haul water and use outhouses. The well-being of these communities must count too.
"The rise in critical infrastructure laws may foreshadow more anti-protest legislation to come. A similar wave of anti-protest laws has already begun in response to the 2020 #BlackLivesMatter protests. State legislators contemplating critical infrastructure laws should bear in mind that laws that criminalize trespassing and protect the safety of construction workers and law enforcement already exist. Critical infrastructure laws don’t fill an unmet need — they only raise the penalties for specific groups of people. Courts adjudicating #FirstAmendment challenges in the coming years should recognize that these laws are overbroad and impose disproportionately severe penalties that chill freedom of assembly and association.
"As secretary of the interior, Haaland promises to uplift the voices of Indigenous and climate protesters in the Biden administration. State legislators, law enforcement, and the fossil fuel industry should follow suit and listen to these activists rather than suppressing constitutionally protected activity under the guise of national security."
#BrennanCenter #Authoritarianism #Fascism #NoDAPL #NoKXL #PipelineProtests #WaterIsLife #ACAB #ErikPrince #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #ExxonLied #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRockSioux
-
From 2021... This started before #Trump, but things are way worse now!
#AntiProtestLaws Threaten #Indigenous and #Climate Movements
“#CriticalInfrastructure” laws in over a dozen states wrongly invoke national security to justify targeting #PipelineProtesters.
Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, March 17, 2021
"In 2016 as a member of Congress, #DebHaaland stood for four days in solidarity with protesters at the #StandingRockSioux Reservation against construction of the #DakotaAccessPipeline. Today, as the first #NativeAmerican to be the secretary of the interior — the first to lead any cabinet department — she has the opportunity to support the #FirstAmendment rights of the protesters she joined in the past.
"With her authority over energy development on federal lands, Haaland can be a voice for Indigenous and climate movements facing an urgent threat: the rapid spread of laws to protect 'critical infrastructure' that single out activists.
"Since 2016, 13 states have quietly enacted laws that increase criminal penalties for trespassing, damage, and interference with infrastructure sites such as oil refineries and pipelines. At least five more states have already introduced similar legislation this year. These laws draw from national security legislation enacted after 9/11 to protect physical infrastructure considered so 'vital' that the 'incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety.'
"Many industry sectors are designated critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, and communications, but most state critical infrastructure laws focus more narrowly on oil and gas #pipelines. While protecting critical infrastructure is a legitimate government function, these laws clearly target environmental and Indigenous activists by significantly raising the penalties for participating in or even tangentially supporting pipeline trespassing and property damage, crimes that are already illegal. Many laws are modelled on draft legislation prepared by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as #ALEC, a powerful lobbying group funded by #FossilFuel companies like #ExxonMobil and #Shell.
"Central to the new critical infrastructure laws are increased criminal penalties and vague, broad definitions that could discourage protest and particularly, nonviolent civil disobedience. Many laws make any 'damage' to or 'interference' with a facility deemed critical infrastructure a felony. Under #Ohio’s law, trespass with the purpose of 'tampering' with a facility is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Indiana, a felony conviction is applied for any facility trespass, a crime that is typically a misdemeanor or fine.
"Vague language like 'damage,' 'tamper,' and 'impede' in critical infrastructure laws makes it unclear if, for example, knocking down #SafetyCones and starting a fire next to a natural gas facility are the same under the law. Many critical infrastructure laws do not clarify if they apply only to land a company fully owns or also to pipeline easements, which run through both public and private lands. At least some laws apply to both. Only a week after Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law was enacted, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline were charged with trespassing for boating on public waters on the border of a pipeline easement.
"The combination of overly broad language and steep penalties in critical infrastructure laws make it likely that future activists and supporting organizations will be discouraged from exercising their First Amendment-protected protest rights. A lawsuit brought in response to the #BayouBridge charges will test the laws for the first time on First Amendment grounds.
"Many of these laws even extend beyond the protesters. In a proposed law in #Minnesota, anyone who 'recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires' someone to trespass without a 'reasonable effort' to prevent the trespassing is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. In #Oklahoma organizations that conspire with perpetrators are liable to be fined up to $1 million. These laws may infringe on the freedom of association protected under the First Amendment. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled that the illegal actions of a few individuals do not implicate an entire group.
"The criminalization of environmental protest is fueled by federal security agencies and oil and gas companies, who are often major political donors. For years, the Department of #HomelandSecurity and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have labelled activists at infrastructure sites as #DomesticTerrorists and violent extremists in order to justify further #surveillance and #policing. Government documents have been released that detail the FBI’s focus on '#AnimalRights / #EnvironmentalExtremism,' describing even #NonviolentProtesters as #extremists.
"At Standing Rock, a private security firm [#Blackwater] hired by the pipeline companies consistently referred to protesters as 'terrorists' while working with law enforcement. Ahead of the #KeystoneXLPipeline protests in 2018, #DHS agents held an '#AntiTerrorism training' for state and local authorities. In contrast, members of the #FarRight militant group the #ThreePercenters have established a significant presence at oil and gas plants with little law enforcement reaction.
"To be sure, as the recent power outages in Texas showed so vividly, the United States needs reliable energy. But it’s questionable whether pipeline construction sites that could feasibly be moved or replaced with renewable energy sources should legitimately be considered 'vital' to the energy grid. Furthermore, a singular focus on this aspect of security comes at the cost of others. Whose essential resources do pipeline projects protect and whose do they threaten? Black Americans are disproportionately likely to live near natural #GasPipelines and experience higher #CancerRisk due to unclean air. An oil spill from the Dakota Access Pipeline could devastate the #SiouxTribe’s water source. Meanwhile, on some reservations, 10 percent of households lack electricity and as many as 40 percent of households must haul water and use outhouses. The well-being of these communities must count too.
"The rise in critical infrastructure laws may foreshadow more anti-protest legislation to come. A similar wave of anti-protest laws has already begun in response to the 2020 #BlackLivesMatter protests. State legislators contemplating critical infrastructure laws should bear in mind that laws that criminalize trespassing and protect the safety of construction workers and law enforcement already exist. Critical infrastructure laws don’t fill an unmet need — they only raise the penalties for specific groups of people. Courts adjudicating #FirstAmendment challenges in the coming years should recognize that these laws are overbroad and impose disproportionately severe penalties that chill freedom of assembly and association.
"As secretary of the interior, Haaland promises to uplift the voices of Indigenous and climate protesters in the Biden administration. State legislators, law enforcement, and the fossil fuel industry should follow suit and listen to these activists rather than suppressing constitutionally protected activity under the guise of national security."
#BrennanCenter #Authoritarianism #Fascism #NoDAPL #NoKXL #PipelineProtests #WaterIsLife #ACAB #ErikPrince #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #ExxonLied #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRockSioux
-
From 2021... This started before #Trump, but things are way worse now!
#AntiProtestLaws Threaten #Indigenous and #Climate Movements
“#CriticalInfrastructure” laws in over a dozen states wrongly invoke national security to justify targeting #PipelineProtesters.
Kaylana Mueller-Hsia, March 17, 2021
"In 2016 as a member of Congress, #DebHaaland stood for four days in solidarity with protesters at the #StandingRockSioux Reservation against construction of the #DakotaAccessPipeline. Today, as the first #NativeAmerican to be the secretary of the interior — the first to lead any cabinet department — she has the opportunity to support the #FirstAmendment rights of the protesters she joined in the past.
"With her authority over energy development on federal lands, Haaland can be a voice for Indigenous and climate movements facing an urgent threat: the rapid spread of laws to protect 'critical infrastructure' that single out activists.
"Since 2016, 13 states have quietly enacted laws that increase criminal penalties for trespassing, damage, and interference with infrastructure sites such as oil refineries and pipelines. At least five more states have already introduced similar legislation this year. These laws draw from national security legislation enacted after 9/11 to protect physical infrastructure considered so 'vital' that the 'incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety.'
"Many industry sectors are designated critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture, energy, water and wastewater, and communications, but most state critical infrastructure laws focus more narrowly on oil and gas #pipelines. While protecting critical infrastructure is a legitimate government function, these laws clearly target environmental and Indigenous activists by significantly raising the penalties for participating in or even tangentially supporting pipeline trespassing and property damage, crimes that are already illegal. Many laws are modelled on draft legislation prepared by the American Legislative Exchange Council, also known as #ALEC, a powerful lobbying group funded by #FossilFuel companies like #ExxonMobil and #Shell.
"Central to the new critical infrastructure laws are increased criminal penalties and vague, broad definitions that could discourage protest and particularly, nonviolent civil disobedience. Many laws make any 'damage' to or 'interference' with a facility deemed critical infrastructure a felony. Under #Ohio’s law, trespass with the purpose of 'tampering' with a facility is a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. In Indiana, a felony conviction is applied for any facility trespass, a crime that is typically a misdemeanor or fine.
"Vague language like 'damage,' 'tamper,' and 'impede' in critical infrastructure laws makes it unclear if, for example, knocking down #SafetyCones and starting a fire next to a natural gas facility are the same under the law. Many critical infrastructure laws do not clarify if they apply only to land a company fully owns or also to pipeline easements, which run through both public and private lands. At least some laws apply to both. Only a week after Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law was enacted, opponents of the Bayou Bridge pipeline were charged with trespassing for boating on public waters on the border of a pipeline easement.
"The combination of overly broad language and steep penalties in critical infrastructure laws make it likely that future activists and supporting organizations will be discouraged from exercising their First Amendment-protected protest rights. A lawsuit brought in response to the #BayouBridge charges will test the laws for the first time on First Amendment grounds.
"Many of these laws even extend beyond the protesters. In a proposed law in #Minnesota, anyone who 'recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires' someone to trespass without a 'reasonable effort' to prevent the trespassing is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. In #Oklahoma organizations that conspire with perpetrators are liable to be fined up to $1 million. These laws may infringe on the freedom of association protected under the First Amendment. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruled that the illegal actions of a few individuals do not implicate an entire group.
"The criminalization of environmental protest is fueled by federal security agencies and oil and gas companies, who are often major political donors. For years, the Department of #HomelandSecurity and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have labelled activists at infrastructure sites as #DomesticTerrorists and violent extremists in order to justify further #surveillance and #policing. Government documents have been released that detail the FBI’s focus on '#AnimalRights / #EnvironmentalExtremism,' describing even #NonviolentProtesters as #extremists.
"At Standing Rock, a private security firm [#Blackwater] hired by the pipeline companies consistently referred to protesters as 'terrorists' while working with law enforcement. Ahead of the #KeystoneXLPipeline protests in 2018, #DHS agents held an '#AntiTerrorism training' for state and local authorities. In contrast, members of the #FarRight militant group the #ThreePercenters have established a significant presence at oil and gas plants with little law enforcement reaction.
"To be sure, as the recent power outages in Texas showed so vividly, the United States needs reliable energy. But it’s questionable whether pipeline construction sites that could feasibly be moved or replaced with renewable energy sources should legitimately be considered 'vital' to the energy grid. Furthermore, a singular focus on this aspect of security comes at the cost of others. Whose essential resources do pipeline projects protect and whose do they threaten? Black Americans are disproportionately likely to live near natural #GasPipelines and experience higher #CancerRisk due to unclean air. An oil spill from the Dakota Access Pipeline could devastate the #SiouxTribe’s water source. Meanwhile, on some reservations, 10 percent of households lack electricity and as many as 40 percent of households must haul water and use outhouses. The well-being of these communities must count too.
"The rise in critical infrastructure laws may foreshadow more anti-protest legislation to come. A similar wave of anti-protest laws has already begun in response to the 2020 #BlackLivesMatter protests. State legislators contemplating critical infrastructure laws should bear in mind that laws that criminalize trespassing and protect the safety of construction workers and law enforcement already exist. Critical infrastructure laws don’t fill an unmet need — they only raise the penalties for specific groups of people. Courts adjudicating #FirstAmendment challenges in the coming years should recognize that these laws are overbroad and impose disproportionately severe penalties that chill freedom of assembly and association.
"As secretary of the interior, Haaland promises to uplift the voices of Indigenous and climate protesters in the Biden administration. State legislators, law enforcement, and the fossil fuel industry should follow suit and listen to these activists rather than suppressing constitutionally protected activity under the guise of national security."
#BrennanCenter #Authoritarianism #Fascism #NoDAPL #NoKXL #PipelineProtests #WaterIsLife #ACAB #ErikPrince #BigOilAndGas #Oiligarchy #CorporateColonialism #EnvironmentalRacism #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #ExxonLied #Blackwater #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRockSioux
