Defending Rights & Dissent

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.

2 protests

August 20, 2017, 2:00 pm

Gaithersburg, MD

Resisting Surveillance of MoCo Youth

Since 2014, Montgomery County has participated in a national program that targets youth, particularly Muslim youth, for surveillance and thought policing based on vague and unfounded theories of radicalization. The Countering Violent Extremism...

February 17, 2017, 1:00 pm

Washington, DC

Legal Community Strikes Back on #F17: Washington, DC

As part of the nationwide General Strike on #F17, DC Metro Area Lawyers, legal workers, law students, paralegals, court interpreters, investigators, social service advocates, and others who work in the courts will gather in front of the...