Three individuals who were arrested while serving as NLG Legal Observers during the #J20 protests on Inauguration Day submitted this testimony to the DC City Council in opposition to Peter Newsham (currently Interim Police Chief) being confirmed as the permanent Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief of Police, citing: “His disrespect for First Amendment rights as […]
Tag Archives: Legal Observers
Lawsuit Challenges DC Police Dept’s Unlawful Use of Chemical & “Less Lethal” Weapons, Felony Riot Charges on J20
Above: DC Metro Police kettling protesters at 12th and L St. NW. (Photo: Cynthia Tarana) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2017 Contact: Tasha Moro, NLG Communications Director (212) 679-5100, ext. 15 | communications@nlg.org WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Friday, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) unlawfully detained and arrested 222 protesters, bystanders, journalists, and NLG Legal Observers while […]
NLG Preparing Legal Support for #J20 Inaugural Protests
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 17, 2017 Contact: Tasha Moro NLG Communications Director 212-679-5100, ext. 15# communications@nlg.org NEW YORK—The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is coordinating with the DC NLG Chapter in preparation for anticipated mass protests at the upcoming 58th Presidential Inauguration and related protests taking place January 19-21, 2017. Large numbers of protestors (and counter-protestors) are […]
Protest Policing in Trump’s America: Notes for J20 and Beyond
By Traci Yoder, NLG Director of Research and Education When independent media collective Unicorn Riot filed a records request to the North Dakota Department of Corrections related to the indigenous movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline, they received the updated Field Force Operations Manual produced by the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s Center for […]
Extralegal Observations of a Protest Arrest
By Andy Izenson, NLG-NYC The criminal complaint associated with my arrest dated 4/29/2015, lists the following charges: PL 195.05 Obstructing Governmental Administration in the Second Degree PL 205.30 Resisting Arrest PL 240.20(5) Disorderly Conduct PL 240.20(6) Disorderly Conduct It says that I attempted to grab two officers who were making an arrest, and that when […]
Arrests of NLG Legal Observers Call Attention to Rights Violations during Protests
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 12, 2016 Contact: Tasha Moro, NLG Communications Director 212-679-58100, ext. 15 | communications@nlg.org King Downing, NLG Mass Defense Director 212-679-5100, ex. 14 | massdef@nlg.org NEW YORK—Last month’s arrest of Amy Mei Willis, a member of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Georgia Chapter and Legal Observer (LO) during a #FightFor15 demonstration in […]
Facing Unprecedented Challenges, NLG Prepares for 2017 and Beyond
By Pooja Gehi, NLG Executive Director As the National Lawyers Guild enters into our 80th year, we face a political landscape more outwardly repressive than we’ve seen in decades. The election of Donald Trump to the US presidency marks a renewed legitimization of racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, misogyny, anti-Semitism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of […]
NLG and BMLP Support Charlotte Uprising, Endorse Demands and Call for Immediate Release of Protesters
September 30, 2016 Contact: Tasha Moro, NLG Communications Director communications@nlg.org | 212-679-5100, ext. 15# Nicole Lee, Esq., BMLP Co-Founder Nicole@bmlp.org | 202-270-0774 CHARLOTTE, NC—On Monday night, police arrested about 10 people, including unsuspecting protesters, bystanders, and an NLG Legal Observer, during a peaceful march in Charlotte Center City, NC. Witnesses say there was no dispersal […]
Black Lives Matter Clarion Call for Black-Led Legal Support: Is This a Turning Point for the NLG?
This is post 11 of 13 in the series “Guild Notes Vol. 40, No. 4 (Winter 2015)” By Dr. Jill Humphries, 2015 Legal Worker Honoree Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists’ clarion call for Black-led legal support that is primarily provided by Black attorneys, legal workers, and community members is a critical moment for the National […]
Q&A with Kris Hermes: RNCs, DNCs, and NSSEs—Oh My!
This is post 10 of 15 in the series “Guild Notes Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring 2016)” Drawing on first-hand experience and in-depth research, Former Mass Defense Coordinator and longtime Guild member Kris Hermes authored Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lessons from the RNC 2000 (PM Press, September 2015), which shows how the escalation of […]