With much less fanfare than it received before the Democratic National Convention, the insurance policy protecting Philadelphia police from liability against a host of rights violations perpetrated against protesters was finally obtained last month by journalist Dustin Slaughter.
Check out the advanced release of the New Interventions Pamphlet on Jail Solidarity by activist and PM Press author Kris Hermes set to appear in the latest issue of Upping the Anti.
Last week, the Municipal Archive of New York City found over one million “lost” pages—more than 520 boxes—documenting the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) surveillance and infiltration of political groups during the 1960s and 70s.
Notably, the discovery comes just days after the federal court closed a rare comment period linked to a decades-old class-action lawsuit challenging the spying operations of the NYPD.
Wednesday, the Cleveland Police Department (CPD) allegedly unveiled its Republican convention security "plans" to the city's Safety Committee, but it left the public with a lot more questions than it answered.
In addition to the vague, awkwardly-worded "increased greater-than-normal protection in the neighborhoods" and 12-hour work days for police officers, Deputy Chief Ed Tomba told NBC affiliate WKYC that, "We're not purchasing nerve gas" and "We're not purchasing tanks."
Politically motivated surveillance is a prominent feature of today’s National Security State and is part of a playbook of tactics aggressively used by police against Muslims, dissidents, social change movements, and other targeted groups and individuals. Less known, but no less offensive or threatening is the government’s ongoing attacks against the sanctity of attorney-client privilege.
Police infiltration of political dissidents—one indicator of society’s failure to adhere to basic democratic principles—is on the rise in the twenty-first century and shows no signs of letting up.
Infiltration of political movements like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street illustrates the extent to which law enforcement will go in their efforts not just to seek information, but also to aggressively disrupt political organizing.
Last week, a Cleveland.com article asked if Tampa's approach to policing the RNC 2012 protests would "provide a blueprint for Cleveland as it prepares to host the next Republican National Convention a year from now?"
However, that may be the wrong question to ask.
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