#brennancenter — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #brennancenter, aggregated by home.social.
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Facing 60-day deadline, Trump administration claims Iran war ‘terminated’
The Trump administration is arguing that the war in…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #America #BrennanCenter #Congress #donaldtrump #FoundationforDefenceofDemocracies #iran #KatherineYonEbright #NationalSecurityCouncil #OperationEpicFury #PeteHegseth #RichardGoldberg #Senate #StraitofHormuz #SusanCollins #TimKaine #UnitedStatesofAmerica #WarPowersResolution
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/616877/ -
Facing 60-day deadline, Trump administration claims Iran war ‘terminated’
The Trump administration is arguing that the war in…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #America #BrennanCenter #Congress #donaldtrump #FoundationforDefenceofDemocracies #iran #KatherineYonEbright #NationalSecurityCouncil #OperationEpicFury #PeteHegseth #RichardGoldberg #Senate #StraitofHormuz #SusanCollins #TimKaine #UnitedStatesofAmerica #WarPowersResolution
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/616877/ -
Facing 60-day deadline, Trump administration claims Iran war ‘terminated’
The Trump administration is arguing that the war in…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #America #BrennanCenter #Congress #donaldtrump #FoundationforDefenceofDemocracies #iran #KatherineYonEbright #NationalSecurityCouncil #OperationEpicFury #PeteHegseth #RichardGoldberg #Senate #StraitofHormuz #SusanCollins #TimKaine #UnitedStatesofAmerica #WarPowersResolution
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/616877/ -
Trump administration speeds up new rules that would make it easier to charge some protesters
By REBECCA SANTANA
Updated 4:19 PM EDT, November 6, 2025Excerpts: "The new rules empower officers from the #FederalProtective #Service [#FPS] to make arrests and charge people for actions near the federal property, and they include new rules regulating unauthorized use of #drones and tampering with digital networks.
"The Homeland Security news release gave some examples of conduct that the Federal Protective Service could now charge someone for, both on federal property and off, including wearing a #mask while committing a crime, #obstructing access to federal property and tampering with government IT systems like card readers.
"Spencer Reynolds, a former intelligence and counterintelligence lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security who’s now with the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a think tank, said Congress gave the Federal Protective Service the ability to work and carry out arrests off of federal property as necessary. But he’s concerned that the new regulations codifying these powers will be used as a way to target #protesters.
" 'I see this as being guidance to go after peaceful protests where they are happening in the vicinity or even not in the vicinity of federal property,' he said.
"In a report last year issued by the Brennan Center, Reynolds said the FPS expanded dramatically after Sept. 11 and that’s led to 'overreach under political pressure.' "
[...]"The Federal Protective Service is tasked with protecting federal properties. The agency used to fall under the U.S. General Services Administration, which is responsible for purchasing and managing federal real estate, but when the Department of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the FPS was transferred to Homeland Security."
Full article:
https://apnews.com/article/federal-protective-service-rules-charge-protesters-trump-b6d1d5212d3064b2ea107b02ea9a5646#USPol #AbolishICE #AbolishDHS #DHS #Fascism #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Authoritarianism
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(3/n)
...weder an Zeit, noch an Einsicht. Sehr wohl jedoch an Willen:
Bereits 2022 urteilte das renommierte #BrennanCenter ([email protected]):
"What’s left of the Voting Rights Act is not enough to fight racial discrimination in voting. Every American, of every race, should have the freedom to vote. "
@BrennanCenter 🔗 https://newsie.social/users/BrennanCenter/statuses/111251860872977195
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What’s left of the Voting... -
#NOtotheSAVEAct #Midterms #VoterRights
#NaziUSA #VoterSuppression by any other name
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UBl9oaRCNUM&pp=ygUdc2F2ZSBhY3QsIHRybnNnZW5kZXJzLCB2b3Rpbmc%3D
#TransAndNonbinaryRigtsAreHumanRights :heart_trans: :heart_nb:
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Ignoring Court Ruling, #Trump Sends Troops to #PortlandOR to Break Imagined #Antifa “Siege”
Trump’s order to send the Oregon #NationalGuard to Portland appeared to surprise #Pentagon officials.
by Nick Turse, September 29, 2025
Excerpt: "Recent protests in Portland have been muted and focused on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building located outside the city’s downtown area. In court this month, a Portland police official said federal officers were 'instigating' confrontations with protesters outside the ICE facility. Several demonstrators have been charged with assault. Others have been charged with crimes like arson and resisting arrest.
"Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the #BrennanCenter’s liberty and national security program, said there was no cause for Trump’s order. 'Under law and tradition, the military should be used to quell civil unrest only in the most extreme circumstances where state and local authorities are overwhelmed and have asked for help. The situation in Portland comes nowhere close to the level of disorder that has historically prompted states to request assistance from the federal military, which is why local authorities haven’t made such a request,' she told The Intercept. 'Throwing out the term ‘#DomesticTerrorism’ doesn’t change matters. Domestic terrorism is a crime that is prosecuted by civilian authorities. Some protesters in Portland have been charged with misdemeanors, but none have been charged with #terrorism.'
"Trump’s Portland announcement appeared to surprise #Pentagon officials, who offered no information even a day after Trump issued his order on Truth Social. 'We stand ready to mobilize U.S. military personnel in support of #DHS operations in Portland at the President’s direction,' chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told The Intercept. 'The Department will provide information and updates as they become available.' The Intercept never received any updates.
"The National Guard also appeared to have been kept in the dark. At this time, we do not have any additional information,' a spokesperson told The Intercept on Sunday. On Monday, Northern Command — which will oversee the Portland deployment — still had no details to offer. 'We don’t have any [sic] to provide in addition to the OSW statement,' a spokesperson told The Intercept.
"Trump has long expressed animus toward Portland, stretching back to his first term, when he called it a 'beehive of terrorists.' In 2020, federal agents wearing camouflage were deployed in the city, in the wake of #protests over the police killing of #GeorgeFloyd. Then-Gov. #KateBrown described it as a 'blatant abuse of power' and said it was designed to distract citizens from Trump’s bungled handling of the #Covid19 pandemic.
Trump’s new Portland order follows a series of #authoritarian actions that have pushed the nation ever closer to a genuine police state. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order claiming to designate #antifa — a loose-knit #AntiFascist movement — as a 'domestic terror organization.' On Thursday, he issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which directs the Justice Department and elements of the Intelligence Community and national security establishment to target 'anti-fascism … movements' and 'domestic terrorist organizations.' Such enemies, according to Trump, not only espouse 'anti-Americanism' and 'support for the overthrow of the United States Government,' but also are typified by advocacy of opinions protected by the #FirstAmendment including '#AntiCapitalism,' 'anti-Christianity,' and 'hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.'“ 'President Trump’s order mobilizing federal law enforcement to investigate perceived opponents of his administration turns reality on its head,' said Federico Borello, acting executive director of #HumanRightsWatch. 'It fabricates a nonexistent plot as a #pretext to suppress speech and ideas across the U.S. political spectrum.' "
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2025/09/29/trump-portland-troops-antifa/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/VSSp1#USPol #Authoritarianism #SilencingDissent #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ChristoFascism #PDX #Oregon
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—> #PlanetAmerica ⦁ Weekend <—
#CharlieKirk's Assassination sparks bitter Blame-Game
Is this a New Era of Political Violence?
#Trump’s extensive use of Emergency Powers - can he just do whatever he wants?
We ask #BrennanCenter’s #LizaGoiteinFormer Astronaut #MikeMassimino on America’s Mission to return to the Moon
#Pol #Politics #GeoPolitics #WorldNews #News
#AusPol #CdnPoli #EUpol #NZpol #UKpol #USpol
https://youtu.be/3OSOun8et0Q -
🚨🚨🚨#ALERT 🚨🚨🚨
The #TrumpAdministration’s Campaign to Undermine the Next #Election | #BrennanCenter for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trump-administrations-campaign-undermine-next-election
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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New Brennan Center Survey about local election security
Local Election Officials Survey — July 2025
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/local-election-officials-survey-july-2025 -
Seven states in the middle of the country have, at least for now, near-free reign to pass laws and draw districts that racially discriminate against voters thanks to an astonishing court ruling. Here's why this matters. #BrennanCenter
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/appeals-court-strips-voters-ability-file-voting-rights-act-lawsuits-7 -
Looking for facts, not fear? The Brennan Center delivers trusted information on democracy, voting rights, and the rule of law. Stay informed by following @brennancenter (Mastodon-only users, go to https://www.brennancenter.org/ to find their latest info).
#NewsYouCanTrust #BrennanCenter #DemocracyMatters -
mentioned n the #WIRED video
Records Show #DC and Federal Law Enforcement Sharing Surveillance Info on #RacialJusticeProtests
15 May 2024
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#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SAVEAct #SAVEAmericaAct -
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SAVEAct #SAVEAmericaAct -
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SAVEAct #SAVEAmericaAct -
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SAVEAct #SAVEAmericaAct -
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SAVEAct #SAVEAmericaAct -
#AmnestyInternationalUSA Urges No Vote on #HR9495
November 12, 2024
"#Amnesty International USA warns that language in H.R. 9495 poses an alarming threat to the work of U.S. civil society organizations who document #HumanRights abuses around the world and urges members of Congress to vote against it.
"If enacted, this legislation would grant the Secretary of the Treasury broad discretionary powers to terminate the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations based solely on a subjective declaration that they are 'terrorist supporting organizations.'
"'In any other context, this legislation would be seen for what it is, a play from the #authoritarian leader’s playbook,' said Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA.
"The broad and vague authority to terminate non-profit status in the name of 'counterterrorism' is a practice that many governments have used to target civil society organizations. There are no safeguards to prevent H.R. 9495’s broad authority from being misused to harass or intimidate organizations for exercising their rights.
"The bill includes no due process for organizations deemed to be supporting 'terrorist' groups. The Secretary of the Treasury can use 'classified information' to make these designations without permitting nonprofits to review or challenge such evidence in federal courts. The loss of tax-exempt status similarly has no due process guarantees and would inflict economic harm and legally burden nonprofit organizations.
"Amnesty International USA joins more than 100 #CivilSociety groups, including #ACLU, #BrennanCenter, #PublicCitizen, #AFT, #NEA, #LCV, #CAP, #Indivisible, #NAACP, #ReproductiveFreedomForAll, and #NationalWomensLawCenter to oppose this legislation.
"'This bill, if it becomes the law, would not require officials to explain the reason for designating a group, nor does it require any evidence,' continued O’Brien. 'Members of Congress must recognize the danger posed and vote down this bill that could shrink civic space and silence civil society organizations.'"
https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usa-urges-no-vote-on-h-r-9495/
#StopHR9495 #CriminalizingDissent #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Fascism #HumanRights
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Maybe it's me, but I looked at the #BrennanCenter, #ACLU, #SouthernPovertyLawCenter, etc. websites and what I was looking for was a pre-election post, something along the lines of : If Trump wins, this is what we will DO right away.
Am I missing something?
#FUCKTrump #NoDotard47 #USAShitShow #farright #extrêmedroite #fascisme
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Does Mastodon, or the larger Internet, have anything similar to the Facebook birthday fundraisers? I just created one there, for the William J Brennan Center for Justice, given how my birthday is fairly close (24 days) to the election.
#charity #fundraiser #election #election2024 #birthday #brennancenter
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How #SCOTUS Cited #BrennanCenter #Voting Data While Reaching Wrong Conclusion in #Gerrymandering Case. The Court said that data on voters’ race couldn’t be used to advance or undermine #votingrights because of long-standing turnout gaps. That’s not true. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-scotus-cited-our-voting-data-while-reaching-wrong-conclusion #legalresearch #courts #SupremeCourt #states #SouthCarolina
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Call Congress: Demand #SupremeCourt #TermLimits - #Lawmakers in the #Senate and the #House have introduced #BrennanCenter endorsed #legislation that would implement 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices. Term limits for the highest #court in the country would advance a simple principle: in a #democracy, no one should have power for life. https://brennan.gospringboard.com/content/term-limits-legislation #corruption #billionaires #maga #justice https://brennan.gospringboard.com/content/term-limits-legislation
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📬 LAPD: Social-Media-Daten werden bei jeder Personenkontrolle abgefragt #Artikel #Datenschutz #BrennanCenter #HamidKhan #LAPD #RachelLevinsonWaldman #StopLAPDSpyingCoalition https://tarnkappe.info/lapd-social-media-daten-werden-bei-jeder-personenkontrolle-abgefragt/
