Home : Safe and Free : Dissent

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, hundreds have been arrested for exercising their constitutionally protected freedom to dissent; some have lost their jobs or been suspended from school. Some government officials, including local police, have gone to extraordinary lengths to squelch dissent wherever it has sprung up, drawing on a breathtaking array of tactics -- from censorship and surveillance to detention, denial of due process and excessive force.

ACLU Asks Inspector General to Investigate Abuses of FBI Guidelines (09/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will hear testimony today on proposed changes to the attorney general guidelines. The guidelines govern FBI investigations and were adopted in the mid-1970’s after it was discovered that the agency was engaged in widespread abuses and violations of constitutional rights – including politically-motivated spying on figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. FBI Director Robert Mueller also answered questions about the guidelines last week during hearings before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to investigate whether the FBI violated previous guidelines before the new guidelines are put into place.

New FBI Guidelines Open Door to Further Abuse (09/12/2008)
Washington, DC - Following a briefing today at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the American Civil Liberties Union reiterated its deep concern over new guidelines that would govern FBI investigations. The new guidelines would lower standards for beginning "assessments" (precursors to investigations), conducting surveillance and gathering evidence, and would replace existing guidelines for five types of existing guidelines: general criminal, national security, foreign intelligence, civil disorders and demonstrations.

ACLU Skeptical of Senate Report on "Homegrown" Terrorism (05/08/2008)
Washington, DC – After Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a report on Islamic homegrown terrorism today, the American Civil Liberties Union strongly urged Congress to use caution when moving forward on related legislation, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 1959). The report, "Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorism Threat," is based on findings from hearings held by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The ACLU and nearly twenty other groups sent a memo to the committee outlining concerns with the report, most notably the free speech implications of labeling the internet as a "weapon" and the unfair singling out of one religious group as possible "extremists."

NYCLU Will Assist with FBI Investigation into NYPD's Arrests of Convention Protesters (05/17/2006)
NEW YORK - The FBI has asked the New York Civil Liberties Union to assist in a criminal civil rights investigation into the New York City Police Department's arrest of protesters during the Republican National Convention.

ACLU Condemns Government Censorship at the Borders, Says Freedom of Speech and Association Must Be Protected (03/28/2006)
WASHINGTON- The American Civil Liberties Union today told a House panel that a section of the Patriot Act is being misused to exclude people from the U.S. based on their political beliefs constitutes "censorship at the borders" and infringes on Americans' freedom of speech and association.

ACLU Letter to the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Urging An Investigation Into The FBI's Use Of The Attorney General Guidelines (09/22/2008)

Coalition Letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey Regarding New FBI Guidelines Governing Investigations (09/11/2008)

ACLU Testimony Before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations Regarding Censorship At the Borders (03/28/2006)
Statement of Caroline Fredrickson Director, Washington Legislative Office American Civil Liberties Union Before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations Committee on Government Reform, United States House of Representatives Concerning Setting Post-9/11 Investigative Priorities at the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, March 28, 2006

April 5th, 2004, DOJ OLC Opinion Condoning Controversial FBI Surveillance Tactics (08/16/2004)
The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued this previously undisclosed memorandum in support of the FBI's controversial surveillance of peaceful protesters. The memo was issued in response to an internal complaint by a government employee.