Defending Rights & Dissent

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Defending Rights & Dissent

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Get involved: https://www.rightsanddissent.org/online-actions/ In short, together both groups have been Defending Rights & Dissent for decades

Defending Rights & Dissent is product of the merger between the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the Defending Dissent Foundation. The Bill of Rights Defense Committee was founded in 2001 to fight the Patriot Act and the Defending Dissent Foundation was founded all the way back in 1960 to work for the abolition of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Both organizations were involved in the intervening years opposing violations of civil liberties whenever, wherever they popped up. We worked to propose model ordinances to limit racial profiling, to rein in the FBI’s spying on dissent, and to end torture, detention without trial, and mass surveillance.

10/06/2026

Big news at Defending Rights & Dissent 🚨

Today we announce the appointment of veteran human rights attorney and former Board co-president Shannon Al-Wakeel as our new Executive Director!

Shannon brings more than a decade of experience defending civil liberties and human rights, with particular expertise at the intersection of national security policy, free expression, and the protection of Muslim communities’ constitutional rights.

Al-Wakeel succeeds longtime Executive Director Sue Udry, who will retire in November 2026 after nearly two decades leading the organization.

09/25/2026

Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons explains that although the FBI claims it doesn’t surveil political speech and Congress passed the Privacy Act, a number of court rulings and executive branch legal opinions have rendered these speech protections meaningless. Now under Trump’s NSPM-7, his plan to crackdown on dissent and the left, the situation is all the more dire.

Read our new report at rightsanddissent.org/FBIreport

09/25/2026

Our revelatory new analysis of the FBI’s spying on Americans’ political speech concludes with a series of reforms Congress must enact to rein in this affront to the First Amendment and the right to dissent.

Read more at rightsanddissent.org/FBIreport

09/25/2026

Can the FBI Spy on First Amendment-Protected Activity?

According to a major new analysis of the FBI’s rules from Defending Rights & Dissent, the answer is — Yes.

We sent this in-depth report to every Congressional office today, on the 1-year anniversary of Trump’s NSPM-7.

Read the full report at RightsAndDissent.org/FBIreport

09/11/2026

Defending Rights & Dissent policy director Chip Gibbons explains how after 9/11, the Bush administration went after supporters of Palestinian rights to tout victories in the “war on terror.” 25 years later, it’s high time to end the war on our rights here at home.

09/11/2026

Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons on the 25th anniversary of 9/11: We must end the war on terror, but we must also end the war on dissent, civil liberties, and the Constitution here at home

08/27/2026

Seth Stern of Freedom of the Press Foundation from our panel event today: While Trump undermines public access to government records, he’s selling access to his Truth Social posts

08/27/2026

From our panel today Independent Media & the New McCarthyism: ADC National President Jenin Younes: The Trump admin is conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism to punish free speech

08/27/2026

From our panel event Independent Media & the New McCarthyism: The Trump administration attacks Hasan Piker & other activists who oppose the U.S. blockade on Cuba

08/27/2026

From today’s panel Independent Media & the New McCarthyism: ADC National president Jenin Younes is representing Grayzone reporter Max Blumenthal on his stop at the border where agents seized his phones

Address

1325 G Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20005

Website

https://rightsanddissent.org/

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