Dear Friend,

We need your support to stop Trump's plans to eviscerate the First Amendment — plain and simple. An incredible outpouring of 140,000 people took action to challenge the administration's planned anti-protest rules — and now we are preparing to meet the Trump administration head on in court.

We need you to keep up the fight and are asking you to make a year-end contribution now.


If you prefer to make a contribution by check, you may send it to PCJF, 617 Florida Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20001.

For all the power of the presidency, the power of the people is far greater — and Trump knows that. That's why his administration introduced a massive antidemocratic plan to block free speech and assembly. A plan that would criminalize and restrict fundamental First Amendment rights. A plan that would make people pay for the right to protest. A plan that would literally take the ground out from under our feet on which we historically have gathered in peaceable assembly to demand change.

But while the Trump administration thought they could sneak this outrageous plan through they were met with the very force they were trying to suppress — the power of the people. With you and thousands of others we held the line against this attack and fought back in full force. The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund jumped into action. The PCJF's legal team took apart the complex nearly 100-page rulemaking and exposed point by point the key changes that would eviscerate free speech in Washington, D.C. as we know it. We uncovered the secret plan to close the White House sidewalk to protest and got the word out to the media and the public — and more than 140,000 people flooded the administration with comments on the rules.

The Trump administration hoped that they could sneak this massive assault on First Amendment rights in under the radar. That's not happening.

There is so much work to do as we enter 2019 — including preparing the litigation to stop this plan.


For over two decades the PCJF has been honored to serve as a rapid-response force to defend the First Amendment and social justice movements in Washington, D.C. and nationwide.

With your support we will continue the fight for our democracy, for our right to speak out, to assemble on our public spaces and stand together.

We will continue our challenges to police abuse and violence that have resulted in landmark reform agreements controlling police civilian interactions.

With your support our groundbreaking investigative work has exposed U.S. security agencies domestic spying on peaceful political movements and protests. We will continue to shine a bright light on government actions that run counter to fundamental democracy. And we will continue to expose the inside deals of Trump's hotel in Washington, D.C. — this year alone we uncovered thousands of pages of new communications.

We have done so much together this past year — as we look ahead to 2019 we know the fights we take on are going to be more important than ever.

On the front lines together we can make the differences that matter now, and matter for the generations that follow.


We are grateful for your steadfast commitment.

Thank you,

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard  PCJF Executive Director

Carl Messineo  PCJF Legal Director