Ramsey is "synonymous with militarized and repressive policing. If this task force is under his command, it does not stand a chance of substantially changing the status quo."

Ms. Verheyden-Hilliard noted the difference between the Ferguson-related protests and some demonstrations in the last 10 years in which Metropolitan Police officers were more confrontational. She attributed the recent tolerance to safeguards put into place after years of lawsuits, including some brought by her organization, and to legislation to protect the rights of protesters.

Months later, Dave Lindorff reported for WhoWhatWhy, a document obtained in December 2012 from the Houston FBI office shows that the agency was aware of a plot to assassinate Occupy movement leaders—and did nothing about it.

Washingtonians are pushing back against suggestions that the U.S. Secret Service might make it harder for the public to get close to the White House.

Civil liberties advocates are sounding the alarm amid reports that federal authorities may impose new restrictions to public access around the White House in response to a security lapse last week that allowed a fence jumper to walk through the front door of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, a Washington-based civil liberties legal group, called proposals to further restrict the area around the White House, frequently the site of protests, “an outrageous assault on free speech.”

one of the officials recruited to consult on Ferguson, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who currently serves as president of both the Police Executive Research Forum and the Major Cities Chiefs Association, is known less for healing communities than for kicking up costly lawsuits over allegations of excessive force and false arrest against demonstrators and bystanders.

Hundreds of people arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge in the early days of the Occupy Wall Street protests can proceed with their lawsuit against the police, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Many were arrested, even though they protested peacefully on public streets and in public parks all over the country.