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Dear John,
Andrea Sahouri, a journalist with the Des Moines Register, was covering a Black Lives Matter protest when police in riot gear showed up, ordered people to disperse, and began firing tear gas into the crowd.
Even as she identified herself as a working journalist, Andrea was pepper sprayed on her face and arms twice at close range. She was arrested, cuffed with zip ties behind her back, and placed into a police van. She told Amnesty, “My face was covered in pepper spray, and my mask was coated in pepper spray. My entire face and eyes were burning, and I was crying out in pain.”
Peacefully protesting is not a crime — it’s a human right. But these days, that right is in jeopardy, and we must take every step to defend it. Please make an urgent donation to support Amnesty’s fight to protect the rights of protesters and journalists in this critical moment.
Earlier this week, Amnesty released a distressing new report* that exposed gross violations of the human rights violations of Black Lives Matter protesters, journalists, legal observers, and medics by law enforcement officers across the country. And what we documented is deeply disturbing: beatings, the misuse of tear gas and pepper spray, and the inappropriate and, at times indiscriminate, firing of kinetic impact projectiles including sponge rounds and rubber bullets.
Militarized law enforcement officers and their extralegal actions are threatening the values that have long been cherished by people across this country — and we cannot sit back while protesters are targeted and attacked. Please rush an urgent gift to help us ramp up our efforts to publicize our report and mobilize activists to pressure decision makers to end militarized policing of protesters.
In these tenuous times, when our right to protest is under assault, we must say that enough is enough. Amnesty is holding the line, but we need you now to strengthen our efforts to track, expose, and fight these attacks on our human rights.
Thank you in advance for your support. People like you are the conscience of our country. Let’s make our voices heard once and for all.
Sincerely,
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