“Because of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, the public is highly interested in government’s wider enforcement response to acts of domestic terrorism. In fact, last year in the wake of protests surrounding the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, there has been a large jump in federal prosecutions classified as… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2021
A Civilian’s Guide to Insurrection Legalese
The Marshall Project – Everyone’s talking about sedition, treason and conspiracy. Here’s what these terms actually mean and how they’ve been enforced. “In the 24 hours since a mob incited by the president of the United States stormed the Capitol attempting to halt the functioning of American democracy, the news media and everyone else have… Continue Reading
The deplatforming of President Trump
Tech Crunch: A review of an unprecedented and historical week for the tech industry: “After years of placid admonishments, the tech world came out in force against President Trump this past week following the violent assault of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. From Twitter to PayPal, more than a dozen companies… Continue Reading
Advanced Searches Using Legislative Action Codes on Congress.gov
In Custodia Legis: “The following is a guest post by senior legal reference librarian Beth Osborne. Recently, one of my colleagues from the blog team asked me if I knew of any “hidden treasures” at the Law Library of Congress that I wanted to mention in her recent post. Of course, I realized she was… Continue Reading
What is Signal? The basics of the most secure messaging app
Mashable: “…Over the past three years, Signal has also been investing in more infrastructure and features to support its users. That’s a good thing: Signal first saw an increase in users in the spring as people participating in anti-racist protests around the killing of George Floyd realized how closely law enforcement was surveilling them and… Continue Reading
Mayor Bowser’s Letter to DHS Acting Sec Chad Wolf Regarding Inauguration Preparations
Sunday, January 10, 2021 (WASHINGTON, DC) – “Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser released her letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf regarding inauguration preparations. The full letter is below. Dear Acting Secretary Wolf: Following the unprecedented terrorist attack on the United States Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, and the continued threat… Continue Reading
Post-Riot, the Capitol Hill IT Staff Faces a Security Mess
Wired – Wednesday’s insurrection could have exposed congressional data and devices in ways that have yet to be appreciated. “…the mob Wednesday had ample opportunities to steal information or gain device access if they wanted to. And while the Senate and House each build off of their own shared IT framework, ultimately each of the… Continue Reading
Racial Allies – public interest law sector in the United States
Adediran, Atinuke O., Racial Allies (December 24, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3755013 – “Public interest law has played a critical role in American social and legal change both historically and in modern times. From abolitionist lawyers, to lawyers involved in civil rights and civil liberties, to lawyers challenging economic inequality, the eviction crisis and immigration, public… Continue Reading
Sealed U.S. Court Records Exposed in SolarWinds Breach
Krebs on Security: “The ongoing breach affecting thousands of organizations that relied on backdoored products by network software firm SolarWinds may have jeopardized the privacy of countless sealed court documents on file with the U.S. federal court system, according to a memo released Wednesday by the Administrative Office (AO) of the U.S. Courts. The judicial… Continue Reading
The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears
MIT Technology Review: “As a violent mob incited by President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on January 6, halting the procedure in Congress to formally certify Joe Biden as president-elect, a Redditor with the username Adam Lynch began a thread on the subreddit r/DataHoarder—a forum dedicated to saving data that might be erased or… Continue Reading
Masked and armed rioters who were inside the Capitol intent on violence
Slate – They Were Out for Blood – “The men who carried zip ties as they stormed the Capitol weren’t clowning around. “…But there were other rioters inside the Capitol, if you look at the images. And once you see them, it’s impossible to look away. The zip-tie guys. Call the zip ties by their… Continue Reading
Right-Wing Political Violence – Historical Background
Researcher Ernie Lazar: “Despite the current attempt to portray some of our major cities in the grip of lawlessness and disorder which is incited or conducted by ANTIFA or Black Lives Matter or other “radical left” individuals and organizations, it should be noted that, historically, most of the politically-inspired violence in the United States during the past 50… Continue Reading
