Come check out this plenary during the National Lawyers Guild Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference at 12:15pm on Saturday, April 9th at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law.

For more than a decade, the police and public officials have used a playbook of tactics with the clear aim of stifling and suppressing dissent. As we approach the DNC 2016 in Philadelphia, it’s important to review and assess the pattern of tactics used so that activists and the legal community can better prepare to fight back.

Some of the tactics used by police and public officials include: (a) heavy surveillance and infiltration of activist groups, (b) entrapment and malicious prosecution, (c) controlling the media narrative to undermine activists, and (d) the passage of municipal anti-protest ordinances used to stifle dissent and arrest activists.

Plenary Co-presenters:
Kris Hermes, Legal Worker, author and former NLG staff
King Downing, NLG Mass Defense Director
Sue Udry, Defending Dissent Foundation
Jody Dodd, Up Against the Law

The plenary will be structured as a presentation with Q&A, including a panel of legal workers and attorneys experienced in mass mobilization legal support.

Presenters will speak about the historical practices of police across the country as well as the reaction to protests by Philadelphia police in particular, and how to address repressive police tactics expected this summer in advance of and during the DNC. Presenters will also discuss some of the innovative legal support efforts used in the past and in preparation for the DNC protests, some of the ways to push back against repressive state tactics on the streets and in the courtrooms, and reclaiming the media narrative.