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Inauguration

DOJ Drops Request For IP Addresses From Trump Resistance Site

August 23, 2017 Morgan Chalfant, www.thehill.com , , ,
By Morgan Chalfant for The Hill - The government said in a brief released Tuesday that it has "no interest" in the 1.3 million IP addresses related to the website disruptj20.org. It says it is solely focused on information that could constitute evidence related to criminal rioting on Inauguration Day. “The Warrant — like the criminal investigation — is singularly focused on criminal activity,” the reply brief states. “It will not be used for any other purpose.” Privacy and civil liberties advocates were up in arms last week when the web hosting company DreamHost publicized a July 12 search warrant for information related to disruptj20.org, which was used to organize protests on Inauguration Day. DreamHost said complying with the request would amount to handing over roughly 1.3 million visitor IP addresses and other information about visitors to the site. Lawyers for DreamHost opposed the warrant, arguing it raised First and Fourth Amendment concerns. “In essence, the Search Warrant not only aims to identify the political dissidents of the current administration, but attempts to identify and understand what content each of these dissidents viewed on the website,” the company’s lawyers said in a legal argument opposing the request.

In J20 Investigation, DOJ Overreaches Again. And Gets Taken To Court Again.

August 16, 2017 Mark Rumold, www.eff.org , , ,
By Mark Rumold for EFF - We’ve already written about problems with the government’s investigation into the J20 protests—a series of demonstrations on January 20, the day of President Trump’s inauguration—which resulted in the arrest of hundreds of protesters. But prosecutors in DC are still at it. And they’re still using unconstitutional methods to pursue their investigation. This time they served a search warrant on hosting provider DreamHost that would require the company to turn over essentially all information on a website it hosts, www.disruptj20.org—a site that was dedicated to organizing and planning the protest. Did you click on that link? Well, that’s apparently information the government wants to know. In just one example of the staggering overbreadth of the search warrant, it would require DreamHost to turn over the IP logs of all visitors to the site. Millions of visitors—activists, reporters, or you (if you clicked on the link)—would have records of their visits turned over to the government. The warrant also sought production of all emails associated with the account and unpublished content, like draft blog posts and photos.

DOJ Seeks 1.3M IP Addresses Associated With J20 Protests

August 15, 2017 Staff, www.dreamhost.com , , ,
By Staff of Dream Host - You would be shocked to see just how many of these challenges we’re obligatedto mount every year! Chris Ghazarian, our General Counsel, has taken issue with this particular search warrant for being a highly untargeted demand that chills free association and the right of free speech afforded by the Constitution. Demand for Information. The request from the DOJ demands that DreamHost hand over 1.3 millionvisitor IP addresses — in addition to contact information, email content, and photos of thousands of people — in an effort to determine who simply visitedthe website. (Our customer has also been notified of the pending warrant on the account.) That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment. That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone’s mind.

#DisruptJ20 Protester Receives Prison Sentence For Felony Rioting

July 8, 2017 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us , ,
By Anne Meador for DC Media Group - A judge sentenced a man who broke windows and threw rocks at police officers during Inauguration Day protests to 36 months in prison for each of two counts, all but 4 months suspended. Dane Powell, 31, who participated in an “anti-fascist march” on January 20, accepted a government deal in late April in which he pleaded guilty to two charges, felony rioting and felony assault on police officers. In addition to the prison sentence, DC Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz imposed two years supervised probation and three years supervised release. Powell was among over two hundred people arrested related to #DisruptJ20 protests on the day of President Trump’s inauguration in downtown Washington, DC. Most of those arrested and charged that day, including journalists and bystanders, were indiscriminately rounded up by police. Powell, however, was arrested the following day after he was identified by police standing outside the courthouse while waiting for other protesters to be released. In January, he was charged with six offenses, including three counts of assault on a police officer, destruction of property and felony rioting. In April, he was hit with additional charges in a superseding indictment, including conspiracy to riot. The seriousness of the charges could have resulted in decades in prison. Powell accepted a plea deal on April 28.

Charges Dropped Against Journalist Covering Inauguration Protests

February 22, 2017 Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us , ,
By Anne Meador for DC Media Group - Shay Horse, an independent photographer, was notified by the U.S. Attorney’s office that felony rioting charges against him had been dropped without prejudice. He had been arrested and charged during protests in Washington, DC on Jan. 20, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Horse was among seven journalists who were arrested when police indiscriminately rounded up hundreds of protesters using a technique called “kettling.” Mass arrests in 2000 and 2002 led to lawsuit settlements in the millions. As part of the legal settlements, new policies were implemented which prohibited kettling. Police also tear gassed and pepper sprayed protesters and threw concussion grenades at them after a few “Black Bloc” demonstrators allegedly broke storefront windows and torched a limosine. In total, seven journalists were arrested and charged along with more than 200 protesters.

Did Interim DC Police Chief Order Mass Arrests Also Order 2002 Mass Arrests

January 28, 2017 Steven Nelson, www.usnews.com , , ,
By Steven Nelson for U.S. News - The interim police chief in the nation’s capital is declining to address details of a 235-person mass arrest Friday during President Donald Trump's inauguration as it becomes clear that some journalists were booked alongside activists. So far, seven journalists have been identified as being among the 230 adults charged with felony rioting, which carries a maximum 10 years in prison and a large fine. Peter Newsham told U.S. News he could not confirm that he ordered the mass arrest and said that he could not comment on why some journalists were charged while at least four others were allowed to leave a large penned-in group.

DC Police Resume Unlawful Mass Arrest Tactic At Inauguration Protests

January 28, 2017 Mark Hand, www.dcmediagroup.us , , ,
By Mark Hand for DC Media Group - The Washington, DC, police assault on protesters on Donald Trump’s inauguration day was reminiscent of how police forces handle dissidents under dictatorships and tyrannical regimes around the world. For several hours, the police used pepper spray, tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets on people gathered in the streets of the capital city. The police also rounded up people indiscriminately, including more than a handful of journalists, and arrested them. The people spent the night in jail, with the bulk of them facing felony rioting charges that carry a possible penalty of 10 years in prison.

Are Police Searching Inauguration Protesters’ Phones?

January 27, 2017 George Joseph, www.citylab.com , , ,
By George Joseph for City Lab - A lawyer for several protesters arrested in inauguration protests on Friday claims that police appear to be mining information from mobile phones taken after they were detained. On Friday, January 20, thousands of protesters took to the streets of D.C. to disrupt Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities. A small fraction of them damaged property and threw projectiles at police in riot gear, who deployed flash-bang grenades, tear gas, and pepper spray on large crowds throughout the day. But according to CityLab’s observations of the demonstrations that morning, most of the roughly 230 people arrested—who included a number of legal observers, journalists, and medics

Our Streets: The Story from the Front Lines & How We Fight

January 26, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, www.Occupy.com/ActOut , , , , ,
By Eleanor Goldfield for ACT Out. Yawn points out that condemning black bloc tactics divides us and that we should not limit ourselves to only permitted protests. He asks: what violence would have to be done to you before you fight back? Is that being done to others in our country? Is it being done by the United States to others around the world? With these questions in mind he points out that opposing black bloc tactics comes from a place of privilege, the privilege of not suffering violence at the hand of the state. Yawn describes how tactics must be analyzed in the context of the situation and the goals of the protest.

Journalists & Dissent Under Attack In The United States

January 25, 2017 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org , , , ,
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. When we discussed these specific arrests with Chris Hedges over email his view was "This is just the start." On our radio show, Hedges described how cowering the media is a key part of silencing dissent. If the media is not there to cover the mistreatment of protesters, then law enforcement will become even more abusive. Reporters Without Borders described the media as "Public Enemy Number One for the Trump administration," writing it is "alarmed by the new administration’s repeated attacks on the media and blatant disregard for facts in the first three days of Donald Trump’s presidency. . . In the first 72 hours since the 45th President of the United States took his oath of office, his administration has executed a coordinated attack on the media and demonstrated a clear disregard for facts." Margaux Ewen, Advocacy and Communications Director for RSF North America, said: It is clear that Trump views the media as his number one enemy and is taking every single opportunity to try to weaken their credibility.

Felony Riot Charges Against Trump Inauguration Protesters

January 23, 2017 Sarah Lazare, www.alternet.org , , ,
By Sarah Lazare for AlterNet - More than 200 people who were mass-arrested at the Washington, D.C. protests against the inauguration of Donald Trump have been hit with felony riot charges that are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Those picked up in the sweep—including legal observers and journalists—had their phones, cameras and other personal belongings confiscated as evidence, a lawyer confirmed to AlterNet. Demonstrators warn that the crackdown signals a new wave of repression against the protesters, whose mass mobilization was met with riot police violence, National Guard and Department of Homeland Security deployments, heavy surveillance and law enforcement snipers positioned on rooftops.

Why Is Trump So Sensitive About The Small Turnout For His Inauguration?

January 23, 2017 Jonathan Freedland, www.theguardian.com , ,
By Jonathan Freedland for The Guardian - For it was Groucho Marx’s character – impersonated for that scene by brother Chico – who asked, in the 1933 classic Duck Soup, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?” In his first appearance at the podium as White House press secretary on Saturday, Sean Spicer adhered to that same Marxist doctrine by demanding that the media ignore the clear evidence of their own eyes, as well as photographs and video footage, and instead believe Trump’s claim that he had drawn record-breaking crowds to his inauguration ceremony the previous day. Or to be precise, “the largest audience to ever witness the inauguration – period. Both in person and around the globe.”

Secret Service Blocks Press From Inauguration Protest Space

January 20, 2017 John Zangas and Anne Meador, www.dcmediagroup.us , ,
By John Zangas and Anne Meador for DC Media Group - Washington, DC–The Secret Service has denied credentialed press access to a protest space permitted to ANSWER Coalition along the Inauguration route at the Navy Memorial, according to Brian Becker, National Coordinator for the group. Becker said that the Secret Service is not granting press permits to set up stands to cover the protest area between 7th and 9th Streets NW, which falls midway along the route Donald Trump’s motorcade will pass after he is sworn in as the 45th President. An ANSWER Coalition press release condemned the action an “outrage” and “a blatant act of political discrimination and a grave threat to free speech and the right to dissent in the Trump Era.”

Phony Video On Anti-Trump Protest Plans

January 18, 2017 Tyler Durden, www.zerohedge.com , , , ,
By Tyler Durden for Zero Hedge - Yesterday we noted Part I of a new Project Veritas undercover series that exposed the efforts of several protest groups to disrupt the Trump inauguration by deploying butyric acid (aka "stink bombs") at the National Press Club during the Deploraball event scheduled for January 19th. Part II of that series was just released and exposes further plotting by a group know as "DisruptJ20" to completely paralyze various modes of transportation on inauguration day. Among other things, the protesters in the video plot to shut down surface traffic with "checkpoint blockades" and "a series of clusterfuck blockades" intended to shut down "all the major ingress points in the city."

Protest Groups Plan Massive Disruption Of Trump Inauguration

January 15, 2017 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us , , ,
By John Zangas for DC Media Group. January 20, 2017 may go down in history as the most chaotic inauguration ever as groups opposed to the administration of Donald Trump are finalizing plans to disrupt it. The groups form a loose coalition under the banner #DisruptJ20 with plans to blitz all 12 entry checkpoints with blockades, among other civil disobedience actions. The morning trip into the District likely won’t be easy either, since organizers announced plans to block traffic at key points around the city. Plans include training for arrests with instruction in legal rights for non-violent direct actions during the entire day. Washington will in effect transform into a series of chaotic demonstrations along the two-mile route Trump will travel from the U.S. Capitol to the White House after he is sworn in as the 45th President.
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