Sign in

The Protect the Protest coalition

@protectingprotest.bsky.social
167 followers 46 following 161 posts

A task force of nonprofit organizations that have combined our expertise and collective power to fight back against SLAPPs and protect the free speech of public interest advocates in the United States. Shares ≠ endorsements. #StopSLAPPs #ProtectTheProtest

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 29/09/2026
Huge win for government transparency and accountability! CA Senate Bill 423 was signed into law today, requiring release of 911 calls from ICE detention centers. This critical info will cast light on how ICE is treating people it holds. Congrats to coalition of advocates who made this possible.
calmatters.org
Data from 911 calls at ICE detention centers must be disclosed under new California law
Gov. Newsom signed a law compelling disclosure of emergency calls from ICE detention centers. It followed CalMatters' reporting about alleged rapes at one site.
113370
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
ACLU @aclu.org · 29/09/2026
NEW: Today, Florida Governor DeSantis and other state officials voted to designate two leading Muslim civil rights nonprofits as “domestic terrorist organizations.” The state's actions are baseless and unconstitutional.
15565206
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Paul Paz y Miño @paulpaz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Energy Transfer has sought to silence the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe by attacking Greenpeace and its allies. They have failed and will continue to fail. #NoDAPL! www.aptnnews.ca/videos/scath...
aptnnews.ca
Scathing report documents extensive due process violations in Greenpeace trial - APTN News
An independent committee of prominent advocates has issued a scathing report documenting extensive due process...
043
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Illinois law says local officials can't help federal agents deport people. So how did so many residents end up on ICE's radar through information shared by local police, sheriffs, and prosecutors? I filed 394 FOIA requests to find out. (An @injusticewatch.org partnership with @theintercept.com!)
injusticewatch.org
Illinois promised to protect immigrants. Local officials helped deport them anyway.
In over a third of Illinois counties, cops, sheriffs, and even prosecutors helped federal immigration agents route at least 150 people into the deportation system since Trump returned to office, despi...
16503258
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
In a sharp rebuke to Florida International University, a federal judge has ruled that the school violated the First Amendment rights of students who staged a silent protest against the university’s voluntary collaboration with ICE. | WLRN www.wlrn.org/government-p...
wlrn.org
Federal judge says FIU violated First Amendment rights of anti-ICE student protesters
Seven FIU students scored a major free speech victory over their university, days before the start of the Fall Semester.
614275
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
School at Florida International University starts this morning and the FIU student protesters are looking forward to wearing their 'ICE Off FIU' shirts to class today! #ProtectTheProtest #Solidarity
000
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves + each other as we organize + protest in this political climate. They want to sow fear among us a tactic to suppress opposition, but we can't let this slow us down. Protesting is our right, and it's more important than ever that we continue to exercise it.
theguardian.com
US government extensively spied on anti-ICE protesters and leftwing groups, records reveal
DHS sent undercover agents to meetings, infiltrated chats and obtained financial records in vast operation into groups opposing Trump’s immigration crackdown
0125
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
"The solidarity that will matter most is not what we declare at rallies. It is what is already organized, funded, practiced, and legally prepared on the day it is needed." An important and timely illustration of what solidarity actually means and why we need to build it right now.
antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com
Solidarity Is Not a Feeling
It is the mechanism by which movements survive
000
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
ACLU of Florida @aclufl.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
BREAKING: Students have filed a lawsuit against FIU for violating their right to protest on campus. They silently stood against the university's decision to contract with ICE while wearing "ICE OFF FIU" t-shirts—and they got punished for it. That's unconstitutional.
13748215
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 27/07/2026
The federal government’s efforts to consolidate massive amounts of personal data could make it easier to monitor and target protesters, ramp up mass deportations, and more. Here’s what to know about the threats and how states and Congress can push back: bit.ly/44t5Rob
brennancenter.org
Dangers of Trump Administration's Data Consolidation Efforts
Congress and state and local governments must create new safeguards around the collection, integration, and misuse of people’s data to protect privacy and First Amendment rights.
54840
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Student Press Law Center @splc.org · 11/05/2026
Attorney (and former SPLC board member) Laura Prather explains how lawsuits are used to silence truthful reporting — and why we need anti-SLAPP laws to stop the growing trend. youtu.be/_IV7veYUHFU?si=NOlFubRm-Dv… As Prather says, we must stand up to the bullies and defend free speech.
youtube.com
How legal bullying works—and how to protect yourself | Laura Prather | TEDxSurrey
In this talk, Laura Prather shares how her belief in free speech sparked by a high school teacher was tested when she witnessed the legal system used to silence truth. As a human rights lawyer, she saw firsthand how Lance Armstrong weaponized lawsuits to intimidate critics, revealing a growing threat known as SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Laura explains how these cases financially and emotionally punish people simply for speaking out, from students to caregivers. She argues that free speech depends on strong Anti-SLAPP laws, which stop abusive lawsuits early and protect ordinary citizens. Her message is a call to defend democracy by standing up to legal bullies and safeguarding everyone’s right to speak. Laura is a preeminent human rights attorney whose three decades of landmark free-speech victories are an urgent call to action. As partner and head of Haynes Boone’s media law group, she has forged protections that matter—leading coalitions to enact anti-SL
022
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Shane Burley (Blue Sky Edition) @shaneburley.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This is an example of the further criminalization of resistance as such: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/leak-rubio...
kenklippenstein.com
Leak: Rubio’s WMD Scandal Is “Far-Left Terrorism”
U.S. targets "anti-tech," "pro-Iranian" & "antisemitic networks" with new three-letter designation
0106
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Amy Westervelt @amywestervelt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This is more than people get for rape and murder
6342129
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 29/06/2026
Big win for privacy. Major setback for mass surveillance. For journalists, their sources, and everyone else, this Supreme Court decision is a powerful protection for location data, and potentially for other sensitive information stored on their phones.
eff.org
Victory! Supreme Court Says Constitution Protects People’s Location Data
You have an expectation of privacy in location data that reveals your movements in the physical world, and even short-term surveillance of these movements is a search subject to the Fourth Amendment, ...
28539
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
National Lawyers Guild @nlg.org · 01/07/2026
What is happening to the Prairieland Defendants is unchecked state repression. From the beginning, this case has been politicized, and was meant to send a message to others. The judges admitted as such. www.thenation.com/article/society/p…
thenation.com
In Texas, Protesting ICE Can Get You a Life Sentence
Under Trump, eight Prairieland defendants were sentenced to a combined four and a half centuries in prison.
45228
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 01/07/2026
SCOTUS just delivered its most important Fourth Amendment decision in years — and it's a win for your privacy. The government can't vacuum up sensitive location data from your cellphone without a warrant, the court ruled. Watch @trevortimm.bsky.social explain why this matters.
14913
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 01/07/2026
Right now, the only thing holding back most police from deploying armed drones and robots is the policies of companies and the social stigma surrounding the issue. Neither of these will hold forever. We need regulation. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
Lawmakers Must Act Now to Prevent Armed Police Drones
This is not science fiction. It’s not premature. If towns, cities, states, or the federal government want to act to reign in the emergence of armed police drones and robots, we have precious little
417670
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Willamette Week @wweek.com · 01/07/2026
The accused were brought before federal judges and told they could spend years in federal prison. But then, a WW review of the cases has found, most of them came to nothing.
wweek.com
Protesters Arrested Outside ICE Faced Daunting Prison Sentences—and Mostly Ended Up With Short Probations
Julian Balsley
03013
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Paul Paz y Miño @paulpaz.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Critically important NEW report from Earthrights International about the FARCE of a trial in the ET v Greenpeace case over Standing Rock. This is an EXTREME threat to #freespeech in the U.S. Read this report, it will BLOW YOUR MIND! earthrights.org/unreasonable...
earthrights.org
Unreasonable, Extreme and Excessive: The Case for Overturning a North Dakota Court's $345 Million Judgement Against Greenpeace | EarthRights International
Between August 2016 and February 2017, tens of thousands of people came to North Dakota to protest a crude oil pipeline that a Texas-based fossil fuel corporation called Energy Transfer was building n...
011
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Nick Young @nickofnz.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
"This case should have been dismissed before going to trial" #Slapps #greenpeace
earthrights.org
Unreasonable, Extreme and Excessive: The Case for Overturning a North Dakota Court's $345 Million Judgement Against Greenpeace | EarthRights International
Between August 2016 and February 2017, tens of thousands of people came to North Dakota to protest a crude oil pipeline that a Texas-based fossil fuel corporation called Energy Transfer was building n...
075
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Protect the Protest coalition member @nlg.org has moved their Know Your Rights booklet online! Take a look and bookmark it: www.nlg.org/kyr-booklet/
nlg.org
Know Your Risks Booklet - National Lawyers Guild
Updated October 2025 Order KYR Booklet Written below is an online version of our latest KYR booklet. What Rights Do I Have? Whether or not you're a U.S. citizen, you have legal rights under the United...
154
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
These times call for courage, and thankfully those who stand up against fascism have organizations like @nlg.org to support them when they are targeted. Learn more in #ProtectTheProtest's newest member spotlight story ➡️ www.protecttheprotest.org/stories/member-spotlight-national-lawyers-guild
A man giving a speech into a microphone, with the text: What gives me hope is how courageous people are, that they do get SLAPPed – normal, regular people taking action that is so effective, that they suddenly get sued for thousands of dollars by corporations. I want more organizations to do that too. 

The quote is attributed to Xavier T. de Janon, the Director of Mass Defense at the National Lawyers Guild. The Protect the Protest coalition logo is in the bottom right corner.
011
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
"Most of the resistance to fascism comes from our own networks, communities & political relationships. Because if the federal government comes to your door & you don't know who to call or what group to ask for help, you might be disappeared." New Member Spotlight with @nlg.org! 👇 #ProtectTheProtest
protecttheprotest.org
Member Spotlight: National Lawyers Guild — Protect the Protest
National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Director of Mass Defense Xavier T. de Janon spoke with Protect the Protest about the NLG network of lawyers, law students, and legal workers’ work to protect social moveme...
0106
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Public officials have little ground to sue over criticism of how they wield power. But when the press is already under pressure from a fascist government, every lawsuit like this one is a test of how long our democratic freedoms and constitutional rights can hold. We can't back down.
000
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Even if this lawsuit is thrown out, as meritless SLAPPs often are, damage is already done. News outlets may be deterred from holding leaders accountable in their reporting if it could mean months of litigation. That’s how press freedom erodes: not in one dramatic moment, but one silencing at a time.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Is this a SLAPP? Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation are not filed to win, but to punish and silence targets with legal costs, making it too expensive to speak out. For a sitting government official to sue a magazine for reporting on how he does his job definitely raises red flags. 🚩🚩🚩
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Public officials can’t win defamation suits just by claiming a story is wrong. They must prove “actual malice” – that the outlet knew the story was false, or showed reckless disregard for the truth. That’s a high bar, and it exists to protect journalism from powerful people. #PressFreedom
110
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit on 4/20 against The Atlantic after it published an investigation alleging he drinks to excess and has unexplained absences from FBI headquarters. The story cited more than two dozen sources, including current and formal officials.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
"Lawsuits like this are meant to stifle dissent and intimidate critics. The Atlantic likely has good lawyers and insurance policies, but what about smaller outlets, independent journalists, or anyone with a social media account who is thinking about criticizing Patel?" - @freedom.press's Seth Stern
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The FBI Director sued a magazine for $250 million. Here’s why Patel vs. @theatlantic.com should concern everyone who cares about first amendment rights and a free press. 🧵👇 #StopSLAPPs #ProtectTheProtest
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
SLAPPs 🤝 Authoritarianism #StopSLAPPs #ProtectTheProtest
010
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
And the work isn’t done. The current administration is trying to undermine and roll back *all* of our rights, environmental + otherwise. This Earth Day, remember that we won’t save the planet or democracy with good intentions. Stand up, speak out, and demand better – relentlessly. #ProtectTheProtest
000
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Within months of that single day of protest the Environmental Protect Agency was created and the Clean Air Act was strengthened. 🌱 Protest works. Showing up in numbers too large to dismiss works.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Our first amendment right to protest gives ordinary people access to an essential channel for holding those in power accountable. In 1970, protesters were holding leaders to account for industrial pollution, unchecked corporate power, and a government that did not prioritize the environment.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
#TodayInProtestHistory: April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day 🌎 Fifty six years ago today, 20 million Americans (1 in 10 people in this country!) flooded city streets, college campuses, and town squares to participate in the demand for clean air, clean water, and a livable planet.
100
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 20/04/2026
We can't list everything wrong with this lawsuit but here's one: Patel says The Atlantic should have filed FOIAs before reporting. The FBI’s average FOIA response time is two years.
29636
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Oil Change International @oilchange.org · 15/04/2026
@recommon.org won't back down and we will stand in solidarity with them!
073
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
zohra ahmed @azohra.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I wrote about the Prairieland trial, the first to pilot the White House’s theory that antifa is a vector for terrorism. The case is a dangerous escalation in the admin's war against the left. Yet it also highlights a longer history... lpeproject.org/blog/guilty-...
27331
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
ACLU @aclu.org · 07/04/2026
The power of the people is rooted in the ability of the free press to investigate and report news, especially in times of war.
nbcnews.com
Trump threatens to jail journalists in hunt to find leaker of Iran fighter jet story
In a news conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, Trump touted the rescue of two U.S. airmen whose jet was shot down over Iran.
630185
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Jewish Voice for Peace @jvp.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Trump is threatening to eliminate the people of Iran overnight. Years of normalizing genocidal rhetoric and mass violence has brought us to this cataclysmic moment.
219257
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Public Citizen @publiccitizen.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I don’t know about you…but jailing journalists for protecting sources sounds a lot like something that starts with an “A” and ends with “tarian.” Clearly this isn’t isolated. It’s part of a relentless, calculated attempt to erode press freedom. Our democracy is in danger.
410130
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Amnesty International @amnesty.org · 07/04/2026
President Donald Trump’s apocalyptic warning that Iran's “whole civilization will die tonight” is a threat to commit war crimes and may constitute a threat to commit genocide. The international community must take urgent action to avert an impending catastrophe. Read more 👇
amn.st
Iran: President Trump’s apocalyptic threats of large-scale civilian devastation demand urgent global action to prevent atrocity crimes
Responding to the United States President Donald Trump’s statement about Iran on Truth Social on 7 April 2026, warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”, Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International said: “President Trump’s very act of making such apocalyptic threats, including his warning of ending ‘a […]
1217680
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Greenpeace USA @greenpeaceusa.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
It was just round 1. It is not over. It’s time to resist. We will APPEAL this ruling in North Dakota. Energy Transfer’s intimidation lawsuit is a billionaire-backed attack on the right to protest. We won’t back down. Learn more: www.greenpeace.org/usa/what-tod... #TimeToResist
greenpeace.org
What today’s judgment means for Greenpeace USA - Greenpeace
A final judgment has officially been entered in Big Oil company Energy Transfer’s massive lawsuit against us.
38543
Reposted by The Protect the Protest coalition
Center for International Environmental Law @ciel.org · 03/03/2026
A North Dakota judge ordered @greenpeace.org to pay $345 million in damages to the pipeline company Energy Transfer caused by protest actions in 2016/17. This is a textbook #SLAPP – a strategic lawsuit against public participation, designed to silence dissent through crushing legal costs. A 🧵
11110
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
#StopSLAPPs
12713
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
This is a blatant attempt to silence resistance, at a time when our right to protest is more important than ever. We stand boldly and unequivocally with our #ProtectTheProtest coalition member, Greenpeace.
000
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
When movements for liberation grow strong enough to demand systemic change, backlash follows, so our responsibility is to safeguard protest as a fundamental, living right, & to honor Black freedom struggles not just in memory, but in action. Black history is American history. #TodayInProtestHistory
000
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Especially during #BlackHistoryMonth, this moment reminds us that protest has always been met with pushback and that protecting the right to organize is inseparable from the broader fight for racial justice.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
This history directly echoes the work we do at Protect the Protest today: defending the right to dissent, challenging anti-protest laws, and supporting communities targeted for speaking out against injustice.
100
The Protect the Protest coalition @protectingprotest.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
At a time when the Panthers were building community survival programs which included free breakfasts, health clinics, political education and the state responded not with support but with surveillance, criminalization, and attempts to legislate them out of existence.
100