It's not over yet... A pox on #Harris for not speaking out against #IsraeliWarCrimes and alienating #ArabAmericans!

House #GOP Moves to Ram Through Bill That Gives #Trump Unilateral Power to Kill #Nonprofits

Dozens of #Democrats still support the bill — giving the Republican-controlled House plenty of breathing room to pass it next week.

Noah Hurowitz
November 15 2024

"A controversial '#nonprofit killer' bill is back on track after it was blocked earlier this week.

"A majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives rejected the bill on Tuesday out of fear that it could grant President-Elect Donald Trump legal tools with which to target his ideological foes, but Republicans are swiftly pressing ahead.

"The #StopTerrorFinancing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would empower the secretary of the Treasury to designate any #nonprofit as a '#terrorist supporting organization' and revoke its tax-exempt status, is set to go before the Committee on Rules on Monday for a hearing that could tee up the bill for a new floor vote.

"The hearing was announced Thursday evening, just two days after 144 Democrats and one Republican voted against the bill as part of a fast-track parliamentary procedure that required a two-thirds majority.

"The bill, also known as #HR9495, has come under withering criticism from a broad coalition of organizations that say its sponsors are pushing it as a means of cracking down on free speech — particularly speech in support of #Palestine. In a joint statement earlier this week, a coalition of #ArabAmerican and #MuslimOrganizations pledged to continue to fight the bill.

"'This bill was designed to #criminalize organizations and #activists who oppose the U.S.’s unconditional support of #Israel’s #genocide of Palestinians and the slaughter of #Lebanese civilians,' read the statement, which was signed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, American Muslims for Palestine, and others. 'We will continue to stand firm in protecting all organizations’ freedom to speak and operate without fear of political retribution.'

"Offices for the chair and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, through which the bill must pass, did not respond to requests for comment.

"With #ProIsrael groups lobbying for the bill, it gained popularity among House Democrats, in part due to a provision providing tax relief to Americans held hostage abroad.

"The reelection of Trump, however, galvanized opponents, including Rep. #LloydDoggett, D-Texas, who led the charge to reject the bill on Tuesday. Doggett doubled down on Thursday after learning of the newly scheduled Rules Committee hearing.

"'In this mislabeled bill, House Republicans are hiding behind hostages,' Doggett said in a statement to The Intercept. 'Their rush to reconsider this bill is solely to offer Trump more and more power, while Trump’s nominees for key #NationalSecurity posts this week indicate how he will be using it.'"

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2024/11/15/nonprofits-trump-bill-gop-republicans/

‘They #criminalize us’: how #felony charges are weaponized against #PipelineProtesters

Twenty states have passed laws that criminalize protesting, including on infrastructure including #pipelines. In #Minnesota, at least 66 felony theft charges against #Line3 protesters remain open

Alexandria Herr for Floodlight
Thu 10 Feb 2022

"Last summer [2021] Sabine von Mering, a professor of German at Brandeis University, drove more than 1,500 miles from Boston to Minneapolis to protest against the replacement of the Line 3 #OilPipeline that stretches from #Canada’s #TarSands down to Minnesota.

"Along with another protester, she locked herself to a semi-truck in the middle of a roadway, according to a filed court brief, as a means of #peaceful #resistance. But when she was arrested, she was charged with a serious crime: felony theft, which carries up to five years in prison.

"'It’s very scary that they criminalize us like that, and to face jail time,' said Von Mering, 54, of her June arrest. 'But what can I do? I feel responsible to my kids and #FutureGenerations.'

"The felony charges come as more than a dozen states have passed laws to criminalize #FossilFuel protests, and as the federal government has ramped up its own tactics for surveilling and penalizing protesters.

"Von Mering is one of nearly 900 protesters who were arrested in Minnesota for protesting against the pipeline’s construction, with the vast majority of arrests taking place during the summer of 2021, and one of dozens facing felony charges. Construction on the Line 3 pipeline was finalized in October 2021 and carries 760,000 barrels of oil per day across northern Minnesota. But its construction for years has stoked fierce protests and legal challenges, led by #Indigenous activists in northern Minnesota who worried about potential impacts of oil spills and the pipeline’s threat to #treaty rights to gather wild rice. While most of the arrests have led to misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor charges for crimes including 'disturbing the peace' and 'trespassing', felony charges like Von Mering’s mean protesters are facing years of jail time.

"Legal advocates say that in Minnesota the elevated charges are a novel tactic to challenge protest actions against pipeline construction. They see them as furthering evidence of close ties between Minnesota’s government and the #FossilFuelIndustry. It follows reporting by the Guardian that the Canadian pipeline company #Enbridge, which is building Line 3, reimbursed Minnesota’s #police department $2.4m for time spent arresting protesters and on equipment including ballistic helmets. Experts say the reimbursement strategy for arrests is a new technique in both Minnesota and across the US, and there’s concern it can be replicated.

"'I do a lot of representation for people in political protests and I’ve never seen anything like that,' said Jordan Kushner, a defense attorney representing clients charged in relation to Line 3 protests.

"Two of Kushner’s clients were charged with felony 'aiding attempted suicide' charges for crawling inside a pipe. The charge is for someone who 'intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another who attempts but fails to take the other’s own life', according to Minnesota law and carries up to a seven-year sentence. Authorities alleged that the protesters were endangering their lives by remaining inside the pipeline."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/10/felony-charges-pipeline-protesters-line-3