DC police saw racial justice protesters as threats
Analysis of 700,000 documents obtained in a public records lawsuit show that the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department in collaboration with federal law enforcement characterised racial justice protesters and activists in 2020 and 2021 as threats based on information gathered from social media platforms and mass email chains. Widescale monitoring of social media blurs the line between monitoring for genuine public safety threats and scrutinising speech and assembly rights protected under the First Amendment. In some cases, police singled out individuals for further attention even though the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful.
Publication: Brennan Center for Justice
Writer: Ivey Dyson, José Guillermo Gutiérrez, and Yeshi Milner
Publication date: 2024-05-15