Dear Friend,
Donald Trump has declared war on the American people.
On Monday night, he named himself the "president of law and order" and
announced that he's "dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed
soldiers" to disperse the protests. And then law enforcement tear gassed
peaceful protesters and journalists standing across from the White House
so he could do a photo op.^1
But it's not just tear gas and rubber bullets that are being used to
suppress the protests. Police are using facial recognition to target
protesters and stingrays to track cell phones, and the Trump
administration is trying to get the power to collect web browser
information on any American without a warrant—including protesters.^2
Our First Amendment right to protest is the foundation of our democracy,
and Demand Progress is fighting the government's effort to quash it.
[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Demand Progress and help protect our right to
protest?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:
[ [link removed] ]Donate $5
[ [link removed] ]Donate $20
[ [link removed] ]Donate $40
[ [link removed] ]Donate $75
[ [link removed] ]Or, donate another amount
In his statement, Trump said he would use the military to "dominate the
streets," and he encouraged state governors to do the same.^3 Backed by
his encouragement, police departments across the country are deploying
military weapons and vehicles against their own constituents.^4
And the targeting of protesters doesn't end when they leave the march to
go home.
Police can use Clearview AI facial recognition technology and stingray
cell phone locators to track dissidents.^5 The government scours millions
of social media posts about protests so they know who to keep an eye on.^6
Just three years ago, Trump's Department of Justice demanded that a web
host hand over the IP addresses of people who visited a dissident
website—imagine the information they are scraping now.^7
The surveillance state is a threat to our ability to protest freely.
People need to be able to take to the streets without fear of government
reprisal down the road.
Demand Progress has always fought for our right to privacy on the internet
and beyond, and right now, we're working to:
* Stop the Trump administration from collecting our web browser history
without a warrant. We shut down recent attempts to reauthorize the
PATRIOT Act with that provision, and we're going to fight it again
when it comes back up for a vote soon.
* Prevent government and police from using racist and faulty facial
recognition technology to identify us in public and track our
whereabouts.
* Put an end to Trump's emergency power grab, including his attorney
general’s attempt to suspend habeas corpus during the coronavirus
pandemic.
* Continue to fight warrantless surveillance at large, including the
NSA's cell phone record dragnets and the widespread use of Clearview
AI.
We're not going to let the Trump administration scare us into accepting an
authoritarian government. Demand Progress will not stop taking action to
defend our right to protest and our democracy itself.
[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to Demand Progress and help protect our First Amendment
right to protest?
For our democracy,
Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. CBS News, "Trump says he's 'president of law and order,' declares
aggressive action on violent protests," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
2. Wired, "How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance," [ [link removed] ]May 31,
2020
3. CBS News, "Trump says he's 'president of law and order,' declares
aggressive action on violent protests," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
4. The New York Times, "Facing Protests Over Use of Force, Police Respond
With More Force," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
5. Marketplace, "Police can track protesters even after the demonstrations
end," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
6. Fast Company, "The long, ugly history of how police have tracked
protesters," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
7. Forbes, "Feds Demand '1.3 Million IP Addresses' Of Visitors To Trump
Protest Website," [ [link removed] ]August 14, 2017
----------
PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (<a href="[link removed]">DemandProgress.org</a>) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on <b><a href="[link removed]">Facebook</a></b> or <b><a href="[link removed]">Twitter</a>.</b>
You can unsubscribe from this list at any time: [link removed]
