Protesters Were Supposed To Hear Warnings Before Federal Police Moved In. They Didn't
NPR's Morning Edition talks to PCJF's Mara Verheyden-Hilliard about the clearing of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park, and how the police violated previous agreements imposed upon them after their previous misconduct at Pershing Park in 2002.
Read more
US drops charges against remaining J20 anti-Trump defendants
U.S. Attorney's Office drops charges against remaining J20 anti-Trump defendants; PCJF calls for an investigation into the US Attorney's Office and the DC Metropolitan Police Department for this crime against the First Amendment.
Read more
D.C. Police and the Feds Partner With Hard Right to Convict Trump Protesters
Washington, D.C. police and federal prosecutors have been collaborating with notorious right-wing groups and using doctored videos to ambush their targets in an attempt to convict and jail protesters from President Trump’s inauguration. How deep is the relationship between the police, federal prosecutors and these extremists? And in MPD’s case, are DC police breaking the law, as its city council has passed laws barring them from spying on protesters or protest groups? A PCJF FOIA lawsuit seeks to answer these questions.
Read more
The Political Prosecution of J20 Protesters
Alex Rubinstein, an independent journalist who was one of the 200 people falsely arrested during the "J20" protests at the Trump inauguration, interviews PCJF Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard about the work of the PCJF, in particular how it relates to the rights of the arrested protesters and the behavior of the police.
Group Investigating Police Conduct on Inauguration Day has History of Siding with Police
The Police Foundation “is extremely tied in with police departments and with police leadership, as well as police officials who retire and go into the very lucrative business of police consulting,” said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a constitutional lawyer and executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which filed a lawsuit in March charging that D.C. police are unlawfully denying public records requests related to Inauguration Day. “We believe that, for there to be a truly independent investigation, it would need to be through an entity that has no ties to police departments, police officials, or former police officials.”
Read more
Trump and Sessions' War on Consent Decrees and Police Accountability
Carl Messineo, Legal Director of the PCJF, appeared on "Law and Disorder" Radio recently to discuss the Trump administration's attacks on consent decrees and police accountability in the United States with Heidi Boghosian and Michael Smith.
Read more
PCJF Helps Win $125K Judgment for Illegal Public Strip Search
PCJF Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard talks about the latest victory — a $125K judgment for a man who was publicly strip searched by a Laurel, MD police officer (who remains on the police force). The suit was a joint effort between PCJF and the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
The Brutal Arrest and Political Targeting of Ray McGovern
After his brutal arrest at a Hillary Clinton speech, the State Dept. put him on a list to be stopped and questioned on sight, citing his political activism.
Read more