Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Politically-Motivated Violence, Calls for Leaders to Uphold Our Rights and Constitution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Dena Craig, [email protected]

Civil Rights Coalition Condemns Politically-Motivated Violence, Calls for Leaders to Uphold Our Rights and Constitution 

WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the multiple heinous attacks against our democracy, from the murders and shootings in Minnesota to the mistreatment of SEIU California president Huerta, Representative McIver, and Senator Padilla:

“Our democracy is under siege from coordinated attacks on oversight, activism, and truth itself. Local and national nonprofit leaders like David Huerta and elected leaders like Representative McIver and Senator Padilla have faced inappropriate physical force, and two of them now even face what appear to be retaliatory criminal prosecutions. We have seen political threats and violence, including the politically-motivated murder of former Minnesota Assembly Speaker Melissa Hortman and the shooting of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman, goaded by disinformation that floods our media ecosystems unchecked by appropriate content moderation. Through it all, the administration in Washington is deliberately and explicitly undermining government institutions designed to protect justice and civil rights. 

“These are not isolated events. These actions seek to silence dissent and the practice of free speech, petitioning the government, and the nonpartisan protection of rights. They erode public trust in government in general, law enforcement and the military in particular, and endanger the gains of the last 60 years of the civil rights movement in all its many forms. 

“Civil rights organizations stand at the front lines of this fight, facing unprecedented challenges in defending truth, accountability, and the rights of all people. We must act with urgency, clarity, and unity to resist these threats and uphold the Constitution and the democratic values on which we all depend.” 

The Leadership Conference sent a letter to President Trump condemning the efforts he has taken to attack the First Amendment right to free speech and those who have lawfully exercised it to speak out against his policies.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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