Dear John,

On No Kings Day, seven million people rallied around the country against Donald Trump’s authoritarian abuses of power. It marked a clear turning point and sent a clear message to all MAGA politicians that Americans will not surrender our democracy without a fight.

However, under new legislation introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, the organizers of a future “No Kings” protest could end up in prison.

The bill, S.2376, would allow Trump’s Justice Department to use the federal RICO statute, which was designed to fight organized crime, to shut down organizers of peaceful protests.

In other words, the leaders of organizations like Inequality Media Civic Action (including yours truly) could be treated like mafia bosses and face criminal prosecution for simply exercising our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and assembly.

This is one of the most dangerous attacks on the First Amendment that we’ve seen from MAGA Republicans, but the corporate media is almost totally ignoring it. So we’re sounding the alarm to our ten million followers across social media and flooding Capitol Hill with petitions demanding that Democrats and Republicans alike stand against this attack on democracy.

Will you make a monthly donation to help educate the public and stop Ted Cruz’s legislation to criminalize peaceful protest?

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The Cruz anti-protest bill, which he calls the “Stop FUNDERs Act,” would allow the Justice Department to go after progressive nonprofit organizations and activists using RICO tools designed to prosecute organized crime, including group prosecution, conspiracy charges, asset forfeiture, and enhanced criminal penalties.

In other words, under this bill, if you join or organize a peaceful protest against Donald Trump or any other MAGA politician, you could be committing a felony that is punishable by lengthy prison terms and the confiscation of your entire life savings.

Sen. Cruz openly admitted that his goal was to go after the organizers and funders of the No Kings protests, telling Fox News, “You look at this No Kings rally and there’s considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies, which may well be riots all across the country. So I’ve introduced legislation called the Stop FUNDERs Act that would add rioting to the list of predicate offenses for RICO.”

He also mentioned pro-Palestine organizing on campus and anti-ICE protests among his intended targets.

Friends, the right to speak, the right to assemble, the right to protest — these are our shields against tyranny. We must fight to defend them. That’s why I’m asking you today to make a monthly donation to help educate the public and stop Ted Cruz’s legislation criminalizing peaceful protest.