Democratic Rights in the US
999 CPJ and Assange
14 December 2019
Warrant targeting Assange supporter reveals scope of US government campaign against WikiLeaks
By Oscar Grenfell, 13 December 2019
As part of the FBI probe into supposed Russian interference in the 2016 US election, the entire contents of a Google account belonging to Somerset Bean, a WikiLeaks supporter and graphic designer, was subpoenaed by the American government.
Two executions in one week
Blind man dies by electric chair in Tennessee, Texas inmate executed amid claims of false testimony
By Kate Randall, 13 December 2019
The final two executions of 2019 involved cases in which juries were not told about defendants’ mental health struggles and violent upbringing, and trials involving false testimony and faulty jury selection.
ACLU intervenes in police lawsuit against Black Lives Matter’s DeRay Mckesson
By Fred Mazelis, 13 December 2019
The US Supreme Court is being asked to hear an appeal in a case seeking to hold Mckesson liable for injuries caused during a protest after a police killing in Louisiana.
The sordid deal between former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and his accusers
By David Walsh, 13 December 2019
Weinstein and his bankrupt company have reached a $25 million settlement with dozens of women who charged him with sexual misconduct, various media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Worker injured in New Orleans hotel collapse deported by ICE
By Aaron Murch, 9 December 2019
Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma had been called a “crucial witness” to the mismanagement that caused the collapse which killed three workers in October.
Mueller probe accessed the Google account of Assange supporter Somerset Bean
By Kevin Reed, 5 December 2019
Somerset Bean, an artist and political activist, who has been a staunch supporter of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, revealed on Monday that Google was compelled by court order to provide the US authorities access to his online account.
Opera singer Plácido Domingo defends himself against sexual harassment allegations
By David Walsh, 5 December 2019
In an interview with the Spanish online publication El Confidencial, opera legend Domingo explained that these “have been the most difficult months of my life.”
Halt the extradition of Julian Assange!
CIA spying on Assange’s lawyers exposes criminal operation against WikiLeaks founder
By Eric London, 3 December 2019
The surveillance violates the centuries-old right to attorney-client privilege and exposes the prosecution and extradition effort as an illegal frame-up.
WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson: “If Julian is taken to that Devil’s Island across the Atlantic, his life is lost”
By Oscar Grenfell and Richard Phillips, 3 December 2019
In an interview with the WSWS, Hrafnsson stated: “The case of Julian Assange is, in all senses, the turning point. It is the biggest and the most serious attack on journalism and the free press in decades, if not 100 years.”
US Attorney General William Barr’s brief for presidential dictatorship
By Tom Carter, 2 December 2019
Even by the degraded standards of American political discourse at present, Barr’s speech was exceptional for its essentially anti-democratic and fascistic content.
Baltimore, Maryland: Three men exonerated after 36 years behind bars for wrongful murder conviction
By Kate Randall, 27 November 2019
The trio’s harrowing experience was the direct result of a rush to solve a brutal crime, abetted by gross misconduct on the part of police and prosecutors.
Google fires four workers in apparent retaliation for their workplace activism
By Kevin Reed, 27 November 2019
Google dismissed the workers on Monday in retaliation for their participation in the organized opposition of the workforce to company policies and practices.
Billionaire Bloomberg enters race for Democratic presidential nomination
By Patrick Martin, 25 November 2019
Bloomberg has made a $37 million down-payment on what could well be a billion-dollar campaign.
US activist who sheltered migrants found not guilty in second trial
By Aaron Murch, 22 November 2019
The verdict, after less than two hours of deliberation, reflects the broad support for humanitarian aid for immigrants.
Patriot Act extension concealed in funding bill passed by House Democrats
By Barry Grey, 21 November 2019
Coming in the midst of the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, the extension of the Patriot Act underscores the absence of any democratic content in their opposition to Trump.
Leaked emails reveal Trump aide Stephen Miller’s fascist politics
By Trévon Austin, 15 November 2019
Emails published by the Southern Poverty Law Center show Stephen Miller, White House senior adviser in charge of immigration policy, espousing racist views and promoting white supremacist and neo-Nazi publications.
Following Georgia execution
Protests mount vs. planned execution of Texas inmate Rodney Reed
By Kate Randall, 15 November 2019
In the case of both Ray Cromartie and Rodney Reed, state authorities and courts have ruled against new DNA testing that could prove their innocence.
Las Vegas, Nevada city council passes punitive anti-homeless ordinance
By Jacob Crosse, 15 November 2019
Passed by a 5-2 vote, the ordinance enforcement mechanisms include up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
US court rules routine border search and seizure of electronic devices unconstitutional
By Kevin Reed, 14 November 2019
The court ruled that routine searches and seizures of electronic devices at US ports of entry without “reasonable suspicion” are a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Missouri officials tracked women’s menstrual periods in effort to shut down state’s last abortion provider
By Jessica Goldstein, 13 November 2019
The state’s spreadsheet contained confidential, non-medical information, such as women’s names and medical ID numbers, which could be used by the state to identify and locate them—effectively spying on patients.
12 November 2019
The Democrats’ campaign for internet censorship: Who is to determine what are “lies”?
By Andre Damon, 9 November 2019
While couched in demagogic language accusing Facebook of “profiting” off of “disinformation,” the Democrats’ campaign for internet censorship is aimed at silencing political opposition and dissent.
210 Assange video
8 November 2019
Roger Waters on RT: “The US and UK are trying to kill Julian Assange”
By Kevin Reed, 2 November 2019
Roger Waters, the internationally acclaimed musician and creative force behind the rock band Pink Floyd, is playing a prominent and welcome role in the fight to free the WikiLeaks publisher.
Twitter’s ban on political advertisement: A new move to censor the internet
By Andre Damon, 1 November 2019
The move by Twitter is a capitulation to demands by congressional Democrats and the media that technology companies more aggressively censor political statements, in the guise of “fact-checking.”
Pentagon awards $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft
By Kevin Reed, 1 November 2019
Amazon was widely expected to win the ten-year agreement, but Trump’s intervention apparently tipped the contract to Microsoft.
Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal arrested in Washington DC
By Kevin Reed, 30 October 2019
The independent journalist was shackled in a cage for five hours on a false charge stemming from protests at the Venezuelan embassy in April and May of this year.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the forgotten history of Iraq
By Andre Damon, 29 October 2019
Whether Baghdadi was an enemy of the United States, a CIA asset, or both, one thing is certain: the rise of ISIS was the byproduct of criminal actions by the US government spanning four decades.
GM fires Flint workers over social media posts during strike
By Jerry White, 29 October 2019
Flint Assembly workers, including a 19-year veteran of GM, have been targeted in a campaign of retaliation aimed at silencing opposition to the corporations and the UAW.
Trump makes fascist appeal to police in Chicago
By Barry Grey, 29 October 2019
The U.S. president doubled down on his efforts to rally support within the police and military for dictatorial methods and the use of state violence against immigrants and the working class as a whole.
Britain obstructs Spanish investigation into CIA spying on Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 26 October 2019
The British judiciary is terrified that the investigation into the illegal surveillance of Assange will further expose the lawless character of the attempt to extradite him to the US.
US military allowed to shoot at vehicles at entry ports along southern border
By Patrick Martin, 25 October 2019
Migrants at the US-Mexico border will be treated like suspected terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.
UK police gain access to details of thousands of men, women and children through government’s Prevent database
By Barry Mason, 19 October 2019
In the three years up to March last year, 21,042 individuals were referred to the Prevent programme, giving the police full access to their private information.
Fort Worth, Texas police officer charged with murder after shooting woman in her home
By Jacob Crosse, 15 October 2019
Atatiana Jefferson was shot through the window of her home early Saturday morning, while playing video games with her nephew.
US Supreme Court term begins with new threats to democratic rights
By Ed Hightower, 15 October 2019
The newly consolidated 5-4 far-right majority on the court is poised to hand down rulings imposing further restrictions on abortion rights, gay rights and basic civil liberties.
Prosecutors in Illinois charge nine-year-old with murder after mobile home fire claims the lives of five family members
By Jacob Crosse, 11 October 2019
The fire took place on April 6 at the Timberline Mobile Home Park located in Eureka, Illinois, a small community outside of Peoria.
New York City transit authority adds 500 police officers
By Philip Guelpa, 11 October 2019
Amidst crumbling infrastructure, deteriorating service, and repeated fare increases, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is hiring 500 new police officers to patrol the New York City transit system.
FISA court documents expose illegal FBI mass surveillance
By Kevin Reed, 10 October 2019
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a series of previously classified documents and secret rulings that provide details of illegal spying on US citizens by the federal agency.
Why do the CIA assassins and coup-plotters love this “whistleblower”?
By Patrick Martin, 9 October 2019
The CIA official who filed a formal whistleblower complaint against Trump is being defended by those who spent eight years under the Obama administration persecuting whistleblowers.
Key witness in trial and conviction of police officer Amber Guyger murdered in Dallas
By Kevin Reed, 8 October 2019
Joshua Brown was killed two days after the sentencing of the officer to ten years in prison for the September 6, 2018 off-duty shooting death of Botham Jean in his own apartment.
Trump issues proclamation to deny immigration visas to workers lacking health insurance
By Casey Gold, 8 October 2019
Last Friday, the White House released a presidential proclamation suspending immigration visas for applicants “who will financially burden the United States health care system.”
Mississippi city attorney argues immigrant killed by police had no rights under US Constitution
By Kevin Martinez, 3 October 2019
Ismael Lopez was shot and killed by Southaven, Mississippi police in July 2017 as they invaded his home, confusing it with the address of another man wanted for domestic assault.
Thousands of children under age ten arrested every year in the United States
By Casey Gold, 1 October 2019
The recent arrests of two 6-year-old children at their elementary school in Orlando, Florida has shone light on the shocking number of child arrests and detainments in the US.
Orlando, Florida police officer fired after arresting two six-year-old school children
By Casey Gold, 24 September 2019
School resource officer Dennis Turner was fired from his position in the face of widespread outrage Monday, not for brutalizing two children, but for making the arrests “without the approval of a commanding officer.”
Immigrant shot by ICE agents two weeks ago detained in lawyer’s parking lot in Nashville, Tennessee
By Casey Gold, 20 September 2019
ICE agents forced Jose Fernando Andrade-Sanchez to the ground, despite attempts to inform the agents that he was still injured from ICE’s previous attack.
Trump administration and California Democrats conspire to place the homeless in internment camps
By Rafael Azul, 13 September 2019
Democratic and Republican officials met this week in Los Angeles to discuss the removal of homeless people from the second largest city in the US.
Trump administration announces plan to ban flavored e-cigarettes
By Benjamin Mateus, 13 September 2019
The move is in reaction to the developing epidemic that has seen more than 450 people develop severe lung illnesses attributable to “vaping” e-cigarettes, with six now confirmed dead.
Federal court says secret US terrorism watchlist is unconstitutional
By Kevin Reed, 10 September 2019
A ruling on September 4 in the US Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said that the Terrorist Screening Database violates the due process and equal protection rights of US citizens.
080 Terrorism watch list found unconstitutional
9 September 2019
Pamela Anderson defends Assange, challenges McCain’s daughter on US TV
By Oscar Grenfell, 9 September 2019
Anderson’s powerful refutation of the official smears against Assange demonstrated why the corporate media has instituted an almost universal blackout on the WikiLeaks founder.
Pentagon begins second phase of diverting funds to Trump’s border wall
By Patrick Martin, 5 September 2019
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has selected $3.6 billion worth of military construction projects that will be deferred to help pay for the wall on the US-Mexico border.
Schools begin in Denver amid sweltering heat and ongoing protests
By Bill Knowles, 5 September 2019
Many Denver teachers, still reeling from the betrayal of their strike last February, have been forced to return to the classrooms in scorching heat.
Roger Waters holds concert on Monday
Take forward the fight to free Julian Assange!
By Joseph Kishore, 2 September 2019
Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning are the victims of a monstrous criminal conspiracy, involving the most powerful governments in the world, the intelligence agencies and the corporate media.
Former Fed official calls on central bank to end accommodation to Trump
By Nick Beams, 31 August 2019
An extraordinary intervention by former New York Federal Reserve president Bill Dudley reflects rising political tensions, fuelled by the growing prospect of a US recession.
Home video security systems increasingly linked to US police departments in violation of democratic rights
By Kevin Reed, 31 August 2019
More than 400 police department partnerships have been established by Amazon’s Ring home security system across the US over the past year.
New York Police Department collecting DNA from unsuspecting workers and youth
By Erik Schreiber, 31 August 2019
In violation of Fourth Amendment protection, the policy has targeted individuals who have not been accused of any crime.
Trump promises pardons for crimes committed to build border wall
By Patrick Martin, 30 August 2019
The report in the Washington Post underscores the criminal character of the Trump administration.
Harvard student deported over friends’ social media posts
By Trévon Austin, 30 August 2019
Ismail Ajjawi’s deportation is part of a campaign against immigrants and international students over purported concerns over “national security.”
060 Ring working with the police
30 August 2019
Washington invokes "domestic terrorism" to justify police state rule
By Eric London, 28 August 2019
Trump and the Democrats’ threats to create a new apparatus to combat “domestic terrorism” is part of renewed plans to violently strangle the class struggle.
Iowa college professor resigns under pressure after publicly supporting Antifa
By Kristina Betinis, 28 August 2019
Kirkwood President Sundberg affirmed Jeff Klinzman’s right to free speech while justifying the removal of the professor based on the claim that public safety is at risk due to his views.
Trump orders indefinite jailing of detained immigrant families, attacks birthright citizenship
By Eric London, 22 August 2019
Democrats have largely backed Trump’s attacks on immigrants, with the New York Times describing his concentration camps as “family detention centers.”
Voices from Ferguson, Missouri five years after the police murder of Michael Brown
By Zac Corrigan, 22 August 2019
Residents spoke about life in a country where the police kill with impunity to defend a capitalist social order based on historic levels of inequality.
Trump administration calls for permanent restoration of bulk phone communications surveillance
By Kevin Reed, 19 August 2019
The outgoing director of National Intelligence appealed to Congress for the restoration of the surveillance program that was exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Facial recognition technology and identity politics
By Kevin Reed, 17 August 2019
The Democrats are seeking to channel mass opposition to the wholesale invasion of privacy into a campaign to regulate and “equalize” facial recognition technology.
Protesters pepper-sprayed outside Rhode Island ICE facility after officer drives truck into crowd
By Trévon Austin, 16 August 2019
At least one demonstrator was seriously injured in the attack, suffering a broken leg, internal bleeding, and a back injury.
San Francisco school board proposes “compromise” in move to suppress historic Depression-era murals
By Toby Reese, 15 August 2019
School board officials in San Francisco continue their attempt to censor the left-wing murals painted by Victor Arnautoff at George Washington High School despite broad popular opposition.
Trump imposes new class-based immigration restrictions
By Eric London, 13 August 2019
The draconian regulation change means immigrants will be denied permanent residency if they have a low credit score, for example.
“Some kids are hiding in their house, Anne Frank-style”
Residents compare trauma of Mississippi ICE Raid to Hurricane Katrina
By Norisa Diaz, 13 August 2019
Children are afraid to attend school or leave their parents’ side. Families are hiding in their homes.
FBI presses for social media surveillance “early alerting tool” in aftermath of mass shootings
By Kevin Reed, 12 August 2019
The FBI is stepping up its campaign for a real-time social media alert tool to allow continuous surveillance of all social media activity across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Australian investigative journalist exposes Guardian/New York Times betrayal of Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 10 August 2019
Mark Davis made clear that the corporate media cynically exploited WikiLeaks, before ruthlessly turning on its founder Julian Assange and joining the state campaign against him.
New York judge orders Fordham University to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine club
By Fred Mazelis, 10 August 2019
The decision is a small but significant blow against the campaign to equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
The Mississippi raid: Trump’s attack on immigrants and his Democratic enablers
By Patrick Martin, 9 August 2019
Hundreds of children have been traumatized by having their parents ripped away from them and, in many cases, shipped to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison 150 miles away.
Chelsea Manning faces $441,000 in fines and another year in jail for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks
By Niles Niemuth, 9 August 2019
A federal judge rejected Manning’s motion to reconsider daily fines, which will bankrupt her as she refuses to testify before a grand jury impaneled to bring frame-up charges against WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange.
Capital One hack compromises personal data of 106 million credit card applicants
By Kevin Reed, 9 August 2019
The hack of customer information at Capital One revealed on July 29 has exposed millions to identity theft and added a further pretext for corporate and state attacks on democratic rights under the guise of fighting cyber-crime.
US military testing domestic wide-area surveillance with high-altitude balloons
By Kevin Reed, 8 August 2019
The balloons also have high-resolution cameras capable of recording panoramic images that are then stitched together to provide a wide-area view of entire cities.
Trump: The political enabler of fascist violence
By Patrick Martin, 5 August 2019
The president is the moral and political author of the bloody violence in El Paso, Gilroy and Dayton.
Media silent on dismissal of DNC suit against Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 August 2019
Having trumpeted the slander that Assange is a “Russian agent” for the past three years, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other corporate outlets have blacked out a court decision refuting their lies.
Julian Assange’s lawyer briefs Australian parliamentarians on his persecution
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 August 2019
The event reflected concerns within the ruling elite over popular opposition to the Trump administration’s bid to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder.
Video shows Dallas, Texas police joking as a 32-year-old man dies in their custody
By Benjamin Mateus, 1 August 2019
Disturbing body camera footage was only released after all charges were dropped and the three officers who killed Tony Timpa in 2016 returned to active duty earlier this year.
More than 900 children taken from their families in the last year
Trump administration continuing family separations at US-Mexico border despite court order
By Julian James, 1 August 2019
Just over a year after a district court ordered Customs and Border Protection to cease its policy of family separations at the Mexico-US border, the ACLU reports that children continue to be wrenched from their families.
The fascist attack in Gilroy and the US epidemic of mass shootings
By Patrick Martin, 31 July 2019
Two processes are intersecting in the explosion of violence in America: the long-term impact of social decay and militarism, and the deliberate incitement of fascistic sentiments by President Trump.
Judge dismisses DNC lawsuit
US federal court exposes Democratic Party conspiracy against Assange and WikiLeaks
By Eric London, 31 July 2019
The decision exposes the Democratic Party in a conspiracy to attack free speech and cover up the crimes of US imperialism and the two parties of Wall Street.
30 July 2019
Trump threatens to declare Antifa a terrorist group
By Patrick Martin, 29 July 2019
The action would set a precedent for criminalizing left-wing opposition to attacks on immigrants and the policies of the Trump administration more generally.
US, Sweden and Britain dismiss UN finding that they tortured Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 29 July 2019
The responses to the detailed indictment issued by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer are the latest demonstration of the illegal character of the campaign against the WikiLeaks founder.
FTC imposes $5 billion fine on Facebook for “deceiving users” about data privacy
By Kevin Reed, 27 July 2019
The settlement is part of a concerted effort by the US government to implement regulations and control over social media platforms.
Florida police officer charged with planting drugs during traffic stops
By Matthew Taylor, 23 July 2019
Eight Floridians serving prison sentences have been released and had their cases dismissed due to the charges against a Jackson County, Florida sheriff’s deputy.
Consortium News website taken down by a malware attack after streaming program defending Julian Assange
By Kevin Reed, 20 July 2019
The independent investigative journalism website Consortium News was brought down on Monday by a malware attack following the inaugural episode of CN Live!
US Justice Department will not bring charges in 2014 police murder of Eric Garner
By Erik Schreiber and Fred Mazelis, 18 July 2019
The failure to charge Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death is an endorsement of lethal police violence against the working class, under conditions of growing social unrest.
Donald Trump’s fascist strategy
By Eric London, 17 July 2019
Trump is proceeding according to a deliberate political strategy worked out with the White House’s fascist brain trust.
Trump abolishes right to asylum on US southern border
By Bill Van Auken, 16 July 2019
The White House order condemns many thousands of Central American men, women and children to be summarily returned to conditions of murderous violence.
The fascists in the White House
By Patrick Martin, 16 July 2019
Trump speaks openly as a fascist, demonizing people of different races and national origins, vilifying socialism, and declaring that those who oppose his administration’s policies are disloyal to the country and should leave it.
As auto talks begin, UAW and companies conspire to enforce new wave of concessions on workers
By Jerry White, 16 July 2019
The conflict is not between the auto companies and their servants in the UAW, but between rank-and-file workers, on the one side, and the corporate-UAW alliance, on the other.
Thousands march in Chicago to demand end to US immigrant detention camps, raids and deportations
By Kristina Betinis, 15 July 2019
The event was aimed at containing the enormous social opposition to the extreme-right policies of the Trump administration and the Republicans, within the confines of the Democratic Party,
Voices from the protests against Trump’s attack on immigrants
By our reporters, 15 July 2019
The WSWS spoke with hundreds across the country, including Kare, a paralegal in New York City, who said, “Change certainly won’t be coming from the top. This has been going on too long, and now that people are aware of it, we have to stand up.”
Trump’s raids and the stench of fascism
By Eric London, 12 July 2019
Beginning Sunday, the Trump administration plans to launch the largest immigration raids in US history, targeting 2,000 families for arrest and deportation.
House Democrats back facial recognition technology in Washington hearing
By Kevin Reed, 12 July 2019
The plans by the federal police organizations to press forward with facial recognition and biometric identification regardless of any public concerns were made explicit by the panel of those testifying at the hearing.
11 July 2019
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