Blog & Press Releases
100 Reps for Liberation: Malik Muhammad Shares Stories from Snake River Correctional Institute
Black resistance pumps through the veins of August. In August 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived on these shores. The Watts Rebellion erupted on August 11, 1965, outside of Los Angeles, sparked by the racist hatred spewed by the Los Angeles Police Department...
Celebrating the World’s Indigenous Peoples 🌿
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, observed annually on August 9th carries the theme “Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Self-Determination: A Pathway for Food Security and Sovereignty.” While this day draws global attention to the fundamental rights...
CLDC to Launch Updated Climate Critical Infrastructure Primer
Every summer, we are reminded of the ways the world looks after us. When we need food, the bushes ripen their berries. When we need shade, the trees unfurl their leaves. Yet, every summer, we are also reminded of the ways the world is suffering at our hands. Extreme...
“Don’t Give Up the Fight”: One activist’s story of LandBack, dam removal, and over a century of Indigenous-led resistance
In July 2025, at the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County, California, three historic victories converged in a powerful celebration that made international headlines: the Yurok Tribe had just completed California's largest LandBack transfer, reclaiming...
In Defense: A Benefit Album for the Civil Liberties Defense Center
2010, Autonomous Music Fifteen years ago, one of CLDC’s then-board members was a music producer with Autonomous Music. He generously devoted his time and energy to creating a benefit album in order to help fund CLDC’s work. Musicians on the album included Willie...
Keeping up with the Cop City cases: Mistrial declared in Ayla King’s trial – What happened and what’s next for Stop Cop City defendants?
The first of the Stop Cop City RICO trials was scheduled to start with defendant Ayla King on July 7. Instead, an expected mistrial was declared by the new judge assigned to the case. With much confusion circling around, we wanted to break down how exactly we got to...
Contempt of Court: How the Government Uses Grand Juries to Jail Dissenters
Grand jury witch hunts have targeted environmental and animal rights activists during the Green Scare and AETA[1] prosecutions as well as water protectors and indigenous people at Standing Rock, and more recently were used to intimidate Stop Cop City activists before...
CLDC Responds to Frivolous Lawsuit by Patriot Front Members: Protecting Political Speech from White Nationalist Retaliation
Paul Gancarz, Daniel Turetchi, Colton Brown, James Johnson, and Amelia Johnson, all members or affiliates of the white nationalist group Patriot Front, have filed what appears to be a classic federal SLAPP suit (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). The...
The Threat Has Been Realized: Trump’s Military Occupation of Los Angeles and the Attack on Dissent
Back in November 2024, Donald Trump made a chilling promise: to unleash the U.S. military on our communities. This month, that threat was realized. In a grotesque show of force, Trump and his allies in the Department of Defense mobilized 4,000 National Guard troops...
Pride Solidarity🏳️🌈
Solidarity has always been the heartbeat of the movement. This heartbeat is a rally cry right now as we fight back against the fascist ICE kidnappings of our neighbors, genocide in Palestine, and attempts to silence and eradicate transgender people. We instinctively...
Militaristic Response to Protests in LA
“If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) Regardless of whether we have Republican or Democratic leadership, if Americans continue to sip the poisoned...
International Day of Solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners – June 11, 2025
This year, the International Day of Solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners hits a little differently. The government’s increasingly blatant disregard for constitutional protections —particularly those guaranteed under the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 14th Amendments —...
The State’s Precision Target Practice: From George Floyd to Mahmoud Khalil
Five years ago, the world watched the video of George Floyd’s murder go viral. We saw him gasping for breath, repeating “I can't breathe,” while Derek Chauvin's knee crushed his neck into the Minneapolis pavement. This past week, Mahmoud Khalil — Columbia University...
Sanctuary.
Sanctuary predates humanity. Providing or receiving safe harbor from danger or pain does not require common language, it does not need to be taught. The willingness to offer comfort and safety, or to seek it when in need, resides in the same neighborhood of our psyche...
Musk’s Lawfare and the Fragility of the Oligarchy
As many of you know, “SLAPPs” have been around for decades – “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation,” typically used to target activists who speak out against corporate wrongdoing, in recent months and years have been increasingly focused on the media – even...
Radical Roots of May
What do Australian stonemasons, International Harvester Company, Chicago anarchists, dirty 19th century politicians, and your standard 8-hour workday have in common? International Workers’ Day/May Day, of course! Let’s reflect on why, as we exit this tumultuous April,...
Courtroom Victories Prove We Must Keep Fighting
Comrades – look towards the light! This week brought us a flurry of reminders that resistance is not futile. While the halls of power may seem stacked against us, our judicial system is showing glimmers of its intended purpose: a check against unchecked executive...
Hands Off: The Resistance Awakens
On April 5, 2025, over 1,400 cities and towns around the United States, as well as many locations around the globe, witnessed the first real mass street protests against the second installation of the Trump regime. Conservative estimates in the U.S. place the number...
The White Rose
Beloved members and supporters of Civil Liberties Defense Center – first, we thank you. As a grassroots organization, we are strengthened and heartened by your continued support not only for us, but also for movements seeking justice, wherever your passions stem from....
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