John -

Our democracy is threatened when equal access to justice depends on who you know, on how much money you have, or on the color of your skin.

Our democracy is threatened when a corrupt president, who has trafficked in racism and racial division for years, even before his campaign for president, is advocating for military action against Americans protesting racial injustice.

Our democracy is threatened when the government’s role in perpetuating and enabling violence against black and brown people is allowed to continue and to escape accountability.

CREW’s work is focused on transparency, accountability, getting big money out of politics, and fighting corruption. But our overarching vision is for a democracy that works for all of us: where equal justice under the law is truly realized, where our elected officials and public servants at all levels are truly accountable, and where our government does not enforce or perpetuate racial injustice or white supremacy.

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others have catalyzed an outpouring of public protest all across the country. When the police kill unarmed black people and get away with it, we see a dangerous system operating without accountability. And when President Trump has peaceful protesters tear gassed so that he can pose with the Bible for a photo op, we see that the lack of accountability for violence goes all the way to the highest levels of the federal government.

Here are a few ways CREW has been working and speaking out on these issues:

CREW has been calling for Attorney General Barr to resign, but given his recent actions—directing and enabling federal law enforcement to suppress and violently remove Americans peacefully protesting against racist abuses by law enforcement—that is not enough. Congress should impeach Barr, because he poses a direct threat to our democracy and to the lives and safety of Americans. For more on why Barr must be removed from office, read our op-ed in USA Today.
Barr’s DOJ has declared its intent to target so-called domestic terrorist groups for their role in the protests against racial injustice, despite the lack of evidence of “antifa” involvement or any other organized threat. We’re taking action to obtain records about this politicized and potentially dangerous targeting of protesters, which echoes President Trump’s rhetoric.
Amid reports that ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are playing a role in policing protests, we’re investigating their involvement, including the commitment to not carry out immigration enforcement at protests and whether officers could face consequences for failing to do so.
Last week’s violent removal of peaceful protestors from outside the White House in order to enable a photo op for the president was a dangerous attack on free expression. We’ve begun an investigation into the Secret Service and Park Police about the decision to forcefully remove protesters, and whether their own procedures and policies were followed.

Our democracy is weakened when its promise is not realized equally. That can be a sad realization, and indeed, last week was a devastating time for many Americans. We stand with all the Americans who know that our government can do better and can be better. At CREW, we’re going to continue fighting for accountability, on all levels, no matter what.

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW

Donald Sherman
Deputy Director, CREW

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