First Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Oral Arguments in Lawsuit Challenging the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
[BOSTON, MA] Yesterday members of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and their supporters packed a Boston, MA courtroom, as Senior Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol demanded the First Circuit Court of Appeals strike down the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) as a violation of the First Amendment. The AETA is a federal criminal statute ushered […]
Activists Launch Monthly Vigils Demanding “No Separate Justice” at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center
NEW YORK, NY — Activists will gather on Monday, February 10, at 6pm, for a vigil outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in lower Manhattan [150 Park Row and Pearl St]. The event will be the first of a series of monthly vigils organized by a critical new campaign titled No Separate Justice (NSJ). Launched on […]
As Controversy Couples Debo Adegbile’s Appointment to Head DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Activists Usher in New Campaign to Bring Mumia Abu-Jamal Home
WASHINGTON, DC — Since the President’s nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, some media outlets have zealously revisited the case of celebrated political prisoner and radio journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Specifically, controversy has arisen over Abegbile because his name appears in post-sentencing legal briefs that successfully challenged […]
MIT PhD Candidate Sues CIA for the Records Surrounding the 1962 Arrest of Nelson Mandela
[WASHINGTON, DC] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) PhD candidate Ryan Shapiro filed a lawsuit this morning against the Central Intelligence Agency over the spy agency’s failure to comply with his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records on recently deceased anti-apartheid activist and South African President, Nelson Mandela. Shapiro wants to know why the […]
No Separate Justice: Advocates & Families Impacted by the “War on Terror” Launch New Campaign Challenging Prosecutorial Overreach & Unjust Incarceration
[NEW YORK, NY] On January 7, 2014, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Educators for Civil Liberties, CUNY School of Law’s Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR) Project, and Amnesty International USA will host a panel discussion to launch “No Separate Justice: A Post-9/11 Domestic Human Rights Campaign.” This new campaign aims to shed […]
This Is What Solidarity Looks Like: How Long Island Food Not Bombs’ Hunger Relief Efforts are Eclipsing That of NGO’s With Multi-Million Dollar Annual Budgets
[HEMPSTEAD, NY] The hunger relief efforts of a small group of dedicated and caring Long Islanders operating on a near-zero budget is eclipsing that of the relief efforts of many well-funded 501-c3 organizations, both in number of people served and in the volume of food distributed. The group, a Long Island chapter of the decentralized, […]
We Will Not Be Silent: Activists and Creatives Will Carry Over One Hundred Messages to New York’s Financial District
[NEW YORK, NY] For three days this December (12/19, 12/23, 12/31), creative and concerned people in New York City will carry over one hundred unique messages on large, hand-held black and white placards to Wall Street. The activists, members of the arts and activism collective We Will Not Be Silent, will create a visual arresting […]
As Anniversary of Sandy Hook Shooting Approaches, Cerberus Capital Management Makes Tepid Offer Allowing Investors to Unload Toxic Firearm Investments
NEW YORK, NY — A late-Sunday news report has indicated the Cerberus Capital Management LP will allow individual investors the option of divesting from Cerberus’ stake in Freedom Group, the manufacturer of the military-style assault rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting. Cerberus Capital Management owns a 94% stake in Freedom Group and has had difficulty structuring a deal to […]
Projection Artists Light up Walls of Brooklyn Detention Center with Visually Arresting Messages of Solidarity for Imprisoned Activist, Jeremy Hammond
[NEW YORK, NY] A collective of projection artists and activists lit up the bleak walls of The Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC Brooklyn) last night with visually arresting images and messages proclaiming solidarity with jailed political activist Jeremy Hammond. The artists’ stunning action, which captured the attention of prisoners and administrators alike, comes two weeks […]
Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, Jeremy Hammond Uses Allocution to Give Consequential Statement Highlighting Global Criminal Exploits by FBI Handlers
NEW YORK, NY — Jeremy Hammond, a 28-year-old political activist, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to participating in the Anonymous hack into the computers of the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor). The Ceremonial Courtroom at the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York was filled today with an […]
The FBI Claims MIT PhD Candidate, Ryan Shapiro’s FOIA Research will “Irreparably Damage National Security”
[CAMBRIDGE, MA] The Federal Bureau of Investigation is claiming the dissertation research of Ryan Shapiro, a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will “irreparably damage national security.” Radical and unprecedented in nature, the FBI’s efforts in this case stand to change the landscape of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as we know it. […]
Strike Debt’s Rolling Jubilee Has Abolished $13.5 Million in Medical Debt, Owned by 2,693 People, in 45 States & Puerto Rico
[NEW YORK, NY] Strike Debt, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, announced this morning that since the launch of the group’s Rolling Jubilee effort one year ago, it has abolished $13.5 million worth of medical debt owed by 2,693 people across 45 states and in Puerto Rico. This is the third announcement by Strike Debt […]
Visually Arresting Portrait of Activist Photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur, ‘The Ghosts in Our Machine’ Launches Oscar Qualifying Screening Series
[NEW YORK, NY] The Sparrow Project is humbled to be supporting the award winning documentary THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE as it launches its Oscar qualifying run of screenings in major US markets [screenings & tickets here]. This visually arresting portrait follows photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur as she documents the lives held captive in the bowels […]
Whistleblowers & Journalists to Support Jeremy Hammond at 11/15 Sentencing for Anonymous Hack Exposing Extralegal Corporate Surveillance by Stratfor
[NEW YORK, NY] Jeremy Hammond, a 28-year-old political activist, will be sentenced Friday, November 15 at the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York [500 Pearl St, The Ceremonial Courtroom on the 9th Floor] after pleading guilty to participating in the Anonymous hack into the computers of the private intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor). […]
Legal Team for Defendants in Chevron’s RICO Suit File Motion to Strike Testimony of Aberto Guerra, Company’s Star Witness
[NEW YORK, NY] Today, the legal team for Steven Donziger and the Ecuadorian Defendants in Chevron’s RICO suit filed a motion to strike the testimony of the company’s star witness, Alberto Guerra, on grounds that Chevron’s compensation for his testimony is tantamount to a bribe, not unlike the dozens Guerra admitted on the stand to making […]
‘Will I be Next?’ Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Publish Report on US Drone Strikes in Pakistan
[WASHINGTON, DC] New evidence indicates that the USA has carried out unlawful killings in Pakistan through drone attacks, some of which could even amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said in a major new report released today. The report, “’Will I be next?’ US drone strikes in Pakistan”, is one of the most comprehensive studies […]
Chevron Withdraws Key Element in RICO Lawsuit Against Ecuadorian Pollution Victims & Their US Advocates
[NEW YORK, NY] With the first week of trial in Chevron’s RICO case over, it is becoming clear that the oil giant is facing significant hurdles as it attempts to salvage a verdict that will allow it to block international efforts to enforce the $19 billion Ecuador judgment. After the first four witnesses, several issues […]
Activists Protest Tuesday as Trial Opens in Chevron RICO Lawsuit Against Ecuadorian Pollution Victims & Their US Advocates
[NEW YORK, NY] On Tuesday, Ecuadorean villagers from the Amazon rainforest region ravaged by Chevron’s oil contamination will join supporters for a large rally in Foley Square across from the courthouse where a trial will open in the California-based oil giant’s retaliatory R.I.C.O. (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organization Act) lawsuit against the Ecuadorians and their […]
National Lawyers Guild Launches Animal Rights Activism Committee
[NEW YORK, NY] The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) has formed a committee dedicated to the furtherance of animal liberation issues and defending those imprisoned while fighting for animal rights. This Thursday, October 3rd at 6pm the NLG Animal Rights Committee will host a launch event for this new committee, at the CCR offices located at […]
Newtown Families Demand Cerberus Capital Management End Investment in Freedom Group Gun Manufacturer
NEW YORK, NY — Families of Sandy Hook victims, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY-13), Geoffrey Eaton, NAACP Mid-Manhattan President, and a diverse coalition of gun violence prevention advocates held a press conference and action at 12pm today, outside the offices of Cerberus Capital Management (875 3rd Avenue, New York) to call on the hedge fund to immediately sell all […]
In Search of Prisoner 650, The Story of Aafia Siddiqui: A Free Film Screening & Press Conference at NYC’s Diversity Plaza
[NEW YORK, NY] As the United Nations convenes for its annual general meeting in New York this September, the timing coincides with the anniversary of the 86-year-long prison sentence handed to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui by Richard Berman on September 23, 2010. A ruling viewed by many international activists as a black eye for the UN’s Human […]
6 CUNY Students Violently Arrested Protesting Ex-General David Petraeus, Group Releases Statement
[NEW YORK, NY] Six students were arrested Tuesday evening in an unprovoked police attack against a peaceful protest lead by City University of New York (CUNY) students and faculty decrying the University’s appointment of former CIA chief and ex-General, David Petraeus as an adjunct professor to the Honors College. Students were punched, pushed against parked […]
10 Arrests in 87 Minutes: The Anatomy of the NYPD’s Protest Dispersal Process
[NEW YORK, NY] On the eve of the second anniversary of the Occupy movement, two video activists, have released a 10 minute short film providing perhaps the most detailed civilian account to date of the NYPD’s process of crowd dispersion during mass mobilizations. The video, shot on September 17th, 2012, during Occupy Wall Street’s first […]
Former Political Prisoner David McKay will Confront FBI Informant Brandon Darby at Lincoln Center Documentary Premiere
[NEW YORK, NY] Journalists and activists are invited to a free special advance screening of and discussion of INFORMANT, the documentary portrait of of Brandon Darby, former radical activist turned FBI informant, Wednesday, September 11, 7:30pm, at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Amphitheater, 144 W. 65th St., in NYC. This is the first time that Darby (in […]