View: https://twitter.com/civilrightsorg/status/1351625963696746503
Leading Civil Rights Organizations Oppose Creation of New Domestic Terrorism Legislation
FIGHTING HATE & BIAS NEWS, JUSTICE REFORM NEWS 01.19,21
Contact: Janessa Sambola-Harris, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,
sambolaharris@civilrghts.org
Nadia Aziz, Arab American Institute,
nadia@aaiusa.org
Logan Smith, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action,
lsmith@bendthearc.us
Eric Naing, Muslim Advocates,
eric@muslimadvocates.org
Juan Martinez, NAACP Legal Defense Fund,
media@naacpldf.org
WASHINGTON— In the aftermath of the January 6 deadly attack on Congress by far right extremists, including white nationalists, 135 civil and human rights organizations led by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Arab American Institute, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Muslim Advocates, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund called on Congress to ensure that the Department of Justice utilize the over 50 federal statutes already in existence to investigate and prosecute individuals who participated in the insurrection. The groups identified other actions Congress can take to address the long-standing and ongoing threat posed by white supremacists and urged them to abstain from passing any additional domestic terrorism laws.
In strongly opposing the creation of a new domestic terrorism charge, the organizations pointed out the harsh reality that counterterrorism practices are far too often blatantly misused to target and criminalize the very marginalized communities that white supremacists target for hate. “We are concerned that a new federal domestic terrorism statute or list would adversely impact civil rights and — as our nation’s long and disturbing history of targeting Black Activists, Muslims, Arabs, and movements for social and racial justice has shown — this new authority could be used to expand racial profiling or be wielded to surveil and investigate communities of color and political opponents in the name of national security,” they noted.
“The government’s inadequate response to rising white nationalism is a disgraceful policy failure. The problem is hardly new, and prosecutors have long had a multitude of criminal statutes at their disposal to confront white supremacist violence,” said
Wade J. Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The time is overdue to refocus resources, implement prosecutorial guidance, and prioritize combatting white nationalism as the grave threat that it is. Congress can support these efforts, not by passing additional counterterrorism laws, but instead by enforcing existing laws and using its formidable oversight and appropriations authority to demand a more effective response from federal law enforcement agencies.”
“We don’t lack the tools to hold white supremacists and anti-government actors accountable — we have lacked the political will to do so. At the same time, as part of the endless ‘war on terror,’ Arab Americans and American Muslims are treated as suspicious,” said
Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. “In an inherently biased criminal legal system, we know how additional legal authorities will be used — they will be used just as they have previously — to target directly impacted communities, including Black and Brown people and religious minorities.”
“For years, authorities have ignored or downplayed the threat that violent white nationalists pose not only to the individuals and communities they target, but to democracy itself. While there are many reasons why our justice system has failed to prosecute these groups, a lack of resources or laws is not among them — and must not be part of any rushed solution,” said
Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, Washington director of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “We need a thorough accounting of what resources are being allocated to target and contain these groups, as well as a full accounting of the extent to which these groups have infiltrated law enforcement agencies themselves.”
“American Muslims know all too well what happens when policymakers who want to look like they’re doing something expand terrorism-related authorities in response to extremist violence,” said
Madihha Ahussain,
special counsel for Anti-Muslim Bigotry at Muslim Advocates. “Giving law enforcement yet more power to surveil and criminalize people will ultimately hurt Muslims and communities of color. As the acting U.S. attorney in charge of the Capitol riot investigation made clear: Law enforcement already has all the tools they need and more to investigate and prosecute threats and criminal activity. The problem is that the government is not prioritizing preventing white nationalist violence, not that they don’t have enough power and resources.”
“The January 6 coup attempt led by white supremacist groups attempting to overturn the will of the American people to choose its leader is a clear example of how pervasive white supremacy is in our society and within the ranks of law enforcement itself,” said
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. “Violence perpetrated by white supremacist groups has been allowed to increase because federal law enforcement officials have chosen not to enforce the investigatory and prosecutorial statutes already in place. What we do not need is for Congress to undertake an unnecessary expansion of federal domestic terrorism statues that will inevitably threaten the civil rights of Black communities and other communities of color.”
The full letter and signatories are available
here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
The Arab American Institute is a national civil rights advocacy organization whose mission is to encourage and nurture the direct participation of Arab Americans in civic life. Representing the estimated 3.7 Million Arab Americans across all 50 states, The Arab American Institute provides research and analysis to policy makers on a range of issues including on strengthening democracy, protecting civil rights and civil liberties for all, and standing for international peace and human rights. You can follow the work of AAI on Twitter at @AAIUSA, or by visiting aaiusa.org.
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action is uniting a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews across the country who are fighting for justice and equality for all. We are the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on social change in the United States.
Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.
Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
