TPAN Opposes Creation Of New Domestic Terrorism Legislation

Today, Texas Progressive Action Network joined with 134 other civil rights organizations led by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Arab American Institute, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Muslim Advocates, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to urge Congress to utilize the over 50 federal statutes already in existence to investigate and prosecute individuals who participated in the insurrection.

We hold that the challenge before us of addressing white nationalist and far-right militia violence without further impacting already disproportionately hit communities by the criminal-legal system is one Congress must meet.

From the letter: “The failure to confront and hold accountable white nationalist violence is not a question of not having appropriate tools to employ, but a failure to use those on hand.”

“We are concerned that a new federal domestic terrorism statute or list would adversely impact civil rights and — as our nation’s long and disturbing history of targeting Black Activists, Muslims, Arabs, and movements for social and racial justice has shown — this new authority could be used to expand racial profiling or be wielded to surveil and investigate communities of color and political opponents in the name of national security.”

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Texas Progressive Action Network is a people powered nonprofit committed to advancing voter education and good public policy in Texas through advocacy and outreach.

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Texas Progressive Action Network
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