Dear Friend,

Trump's attorney general, William Barr, has co-opted the Drug Enforcement
Administration into infiltrating the Black Lives Matter protests.^1

Barr has told the DEA to "conduct covert surveillance" on people
participating in the protests—an abuse of power far outside the agency's
mandate.

Barr is using the DEA as an intimidation tactic against the people on the
front lines fighting for civil rights, and it's just another example of
how the Trump administration can't be trusted with widespread surveillance
powers without using them against citizens. Demand Progress is working to
end Trump's surveillance powers under the Patriot Act and protect our
rights to protest freely.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate to help stop the Trump administration's terrible
invasions of our First Amendment rights?

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Barr's use of the DEA harkens back to the FBI's misconduct during the
civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, when agents infiltrated
groups to spread misinformation and gather data that could be used to
weaken the cause.^2

Trump and Barr want to collect information that can be used against the
protesters who are fighting right now against police brutality and racial
injustice, in order to scare people into not participating.

This isn't all that the government is doing to put down the protests.
Police are using facial recognition technology and stingray cell phone
locators to track protesters.^3

And the Trump Administration is pushing Congress right now to reauthorize
a section of the Patriot Act with language that would allow the
administration to collect web browser history without a warrant.^4 The
prospect is terrifying—the government can collect political beliefs,
financial issues, and other material that it can use to scare dissidents
into staying quiet.

Our freedom to protest is paramount to preserving our democracy, and we
can't let Trump's abuse of power continue at this critical moment.

[ [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. BuzzFeed News, "The DEA Has Been Given Permission To Investigate People
Protesting George Floyd’s Death," [ [link removed] ]June 3, 2020
2. The Daily Beast, "The FBI’s War on Civil Rights Leaders," [ [link removed] ]June 3,
2020
3. Marketplace, "Police can track protesters even after the demonstrations
end," [ [link removed] ]June 2, 2020
4. The Hill, "House to consider amendment blocking warrantless web
browsing surveillance," [ [link removed] ]May 22, 2020
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