Sent out in the afternoon on April 29th:
[Statement] Free the Cobb County 3: Georgia Attorney General Launches Yet Another Bogus Attack on Cop City Defendants
Dear [ ],
Four months after the Cop City RICO was dismissed in Fulton County, Georgia, on Thursday, April 23, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that a Cobb County grand jury indicted three of the 61 Cop City defendants on new charges.
Hannah Kass, Katie Kloth, and Tyler Norman are charged with two counts of felony destruction of property and one count of felony arson to lands just outside of Atlanta. These stale charges are related to a protest that occurred outside of Brassfield & Gorrie, the contractor that built Cop City, in May of 2022. The timing of the indictment came just three weeks before the statute of limitations would block Georgia’s ability to begin a prosecution. It is also just one month before the primary election in which Carr is running for Governor of Georgia, in a race he is losing.
Questionably, the Cobb County indictment is for the exact same allegations that the three defendants faced in the Fulton County RICO that was dismissed in December - allegations that are extreme and an attack on First Amendment activity. As in many other Georgia counties, the Attorney General has come back for yet another bite at the apple to try to prosecute demonstrators who opposed the construction of Cop City.
However, the language used by the Attorney General to describe the 2022 protest against the construction company has notably changed from the Fulton indictment. In a clearly politicized move, the highest prosecutor in Georgia now repeats language used by the federal government in the prosecution of the Prairieland Defendants in the North District of Texas. Whereas Carr referred to anarchist ideologies and a non-existent criminal enterprise in his 2023 Fulton RICO indictment, in his 2026 Cobb County press conference, he framed the defendants as members of “Antifa” - a boogeyman fabricated by the far right for years.
We are witnessing a coordinated attack on our social movements by both the state and federal governments. After previous charges against protesters failed to stick, Trump’s NSMP-7 directive gives government actors a new, dangerous weapon against the right to protest.
NLG demands that all Cop City charges be dropped and calls for solidarity with the Cobb County 3, the latest victims in Georgia’s political theater.
Signed,
Executive Council
Sent out in the afternoon on April 14th:
[Statement] NLG Stands With "Aunt Tifa", Criminalized for Antifascist Phallic Costume
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is in solidarity with Renea Gamble, a 62-year old protester who was assaulted by police officers at a “No Kings” protest in Fairhope, Alabama. Former NLG president, David Gespass is representing her, along with his partner, NLG member Kathy Johnson.
After being arrested and handcuffed, Ms. Gamble was asked her name and replied “Aunt Tifa”, for which she received a municipal ordinance citation for giving false information to an officer. She is also charged with misdemeanors of disorderly conduct, breach of the peace and resisting arrest. Why was she charged? For wearing an inflatable penis costume. “While the story seems amusing for an outsider, the charges and ramifications of this case are very serious.” says David Gespass. “It is an assault on free speech and the freedom to protest. Renea has said from the beginning that it is not she who is on trial, but the Constitution.” Recently, several protesters in eggplant costumes were seen at the latest “No Kings” rally.
Arrests and charges against protesters have been increasing in frequency and severity at all levels. However, the Trump administration has faced mixed success in securing convictions. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Chicago have had cases dismissed, while cases like the Prairieland Defendants in Texas have declared anyone who attends an anti-ICE protest, possesses zines, wears black, and uses Signal a “domestic terrorist.” In Minneapolis, the Department of Justice has filed charges against over 30 anti-ICE protesters, signaling that if you stand against the Trump administration, you will be subject to punishment. Yet the only thing more unpopular than Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents are artificial intelligence companies, which feed the deportation machine and cause devastating impacts on our communities and planet.
This escalation in protest-related arrests has been turbo-charged during this administration because of the increasing unpopularity of its policies and actions. In turn, it appears that all forms of dissent are being criminalized, in an attempt to push society to fall in line and accept fascist governance.
We demand that the charges against Renea Gamble be dropped. The NLG will continue to protect our movement's right to dissent, protest, and free ourselves.
Signed,
Executive Council
Sent out in the morning on March 31st:
[Statement] NLG Condemns Government’s Failure to Provide Evidence in Prairieland Defendants’ Federal Case
Last week, In These Times reported that the federal government in the Prairieland Defendants’ case failed to turn over a report from the FBI that declared “Dallas Fort Worth Antifa” posed “no credible threats to national security”. This likely constitutes a violation of the defendants’ rights at the hands of the prosecution, who is legally required to share any evidence that may help the defendants.
We stand firm in our support for the Prairieland Defendants, whose case has been highly politicized, since the beginning. Many of the defendants languished for months inside of Texas jails, while no formal charges were filed against them. Only after the Trump administration declared that it would implement NSPM-7 to target leftists, the defendants were accused of extreme federal charges. Many abuses happened during their pre-trial detention, such as mandatory segregation, failure to meet dietary restrictions, and rampant gender violence. Trump-appointed Judge Mark Pitman also declared a mistrial due to a defense attorney’s shirt and lobbied hostile fines against the defense attorneys.
Since their wrongful conviction, the federal defendants continue to face abusive incarceration conditions. Defendants who are awaiting sentencing at FMC Fort Worth Detention Center report broken air conditioning and a lack of access to hygiene products. These harsh conditions of confinement are unacceptable. The fact that the defendants must continue to remain in cages under these conditions is all the more outrageous given the news of the missing exculpatory evidence that could have changed their faulty verdicts. From arrests to raids to trial, this case has been a dire warning of the Trump administration's criminalization of dissent, and an assault on the Prairieland Defendants’ rights.
Prior NLG Statements on the Prairieland Defendants:
- March 2026: More Support Needed for Prairieland Defendants after Verdict.
- February 2026: All Eyes on North Texas.
- January 2026: Who Isn’t a Domestic Terrorist?
- November 2025: Alarming Criminalization of Green Card Holder.
- October 2025: NLG Stands with Anti-ICE Dissent.
- August 2025: NLG Stands in Support of Prairieland Defendants.
Signed,
Executive Council
Sent out in the afternoon on March 2nd:
ABOLISH ICE: 2026 NLG Student Week of Abolition Begins Today!
Dear [ ],
NLG's 2026 student Week of Abolition is underway!
In honor of NLG's resolutions to abolish prisons (2016) and abolish the police (2020), the Guild holds an annual student Week of Abolition (WOA) to reflect the Guild’s commitment to finding alternatives to current systems of incarceration and policing.
Given the ongoing escalated attacks on immigrant communities and the huge expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by the Trump administration, the 2026 WOA theme is “ABOLISH ICE.”
Dozens of NLG student chapters at law schools across the country have planned WOA events this week! Check out some of their actions below (and stay tuned for more updates):
University of North Carolina NLG
We will continue to highlight and uplift NLG student organizing throughout the Week of Abolition!
In solidarity,
NLG National Office
Sent out in the afternoon on February 20th:
[Statement] All Eyes on North Texas: Judge’s Attacks on the Right to Fair Trial in First “Antifa” Case
After spending over seven months in multiple jails across North Texas, the Prairieland Defendants finally had their federal trial start on Tuesday, February 17. But then, as soon as the first defense attorney started asking questions to the prospective jurors, presiding Judge Mark Pittman declared a mistrial. Why? Because attorney MarQuetta Clayton, the only Black woman among the defense lawyers and counsel for defendant Maricela Rueda, was wearing a t-shirt featuring civil rights leaders of the past. Judge Pitman also took issue with Ms. Clayton’s voir dire questions, which reasonably probed jurors’ feelings about protest.
As experienced defense attorneys, we can attest that Ms. Clayton did nothing wrong. Despite both the prosecution and the defense opposing more delays, Judge Pittman nevertheless declared a mistrial and dismissed the entire jury pool. Significantly, immediately before the judge’s decision, prospective jurors had overwhelmingly expressed criticism of ICE, and several took the position that the Second Amendment extends to protests – opinions with which the judge appeared to take issue.
Ms. Clayton now faces a threat of being held in contempt at a hearing that Judge Pittman has announced will take place after the trial commences. NLG affirms that Ms. Clayton is clearly facing anti-Black retaliation for her zealous advocacy, while wearing a t-shirt with Black civil rights icons.
Alarmingly, this mistrial order is just the latest example of attacks on the Prairieland Defendants’ constitutional rights to access to counsel, a fair and impartial jury, an adequate defense, a public trial, and more. Judge Pittman has made highly unusual moves that suppress defense teams and which federal lawyers have not seen during their entire careers:
- Judge Pittman refused to allow local counsel, George Lobb, to represent defendant Maricela Rueda, threatening to hold him in contempt for 90 days if he did not withdraw from his role as her attorney. This led Rueda to hire Ms. Clayton as her attorney.
- Judge Pittman attempted to place limits on defense objections, allowing only one defendant’s lawyer to object during the prosecution’s case. After a motion from attorney Leigh W. Davis, counsel for defendant Ines Soto, the judge is now limiting duplicative objections which, practically, will still limit defendant-specific arguments.
- In a pretrial hearing, Judge Pittman fined attorneys Patrick McLain, Brian Bouffard and Bradley Sauer, counsel for defendant Zachary Evetts, $500 each for filing a discovery motion, effectively discouraging other defense attorneys from filing motions in the case. It is not only the right of counsel to file pre-trial motions; attorneys are obligated by the Rules of Professional Conduct to competently and diligently represent their clients. This ruling by Judge Pittman arguably violates defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights and puts counsel in an untenable position with respect to their independent professional ethical duties.
- Defense attorneys have been allotted only eight minutes each for their opening statements, and 35 hours total across nine defendants to put up witnesses. Judge Pittman has justified these time limit restrictions in a case where several defendants are facing life in prison by citing “other pressing matters on the court’s docket.”
- Since the mistrial, Judge Pittman has moved the trial to a smaller room in the Federal Courthouse in Fort Worth, and assigned an overflow room for the public to observe in Dallas, more than 30 minutes drive away.
- Most recently, Judge Pittman ordered that only the Court will be allowed to ask questions to the jury during voir dire.
NLG remains extremely concerned about these cases. Defendants' First Amendment rights to free expression, assembly, and association; their Sixth Amendment rights to counsel; their Fifth Amendment rights to a public trial; and their Second Amendment rights to bear arms are under attack in North Texas. If unchecked and ignored, this case and the judicial decisions coming from it will set a very dark precedent for the rest of the country.
Signed,
Executive Council
Sent out the evening of February 19th:
[Statement] National Lawyers Guild Condemns DHS’s Violence and Killings
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues its violent practices, resulting in death across the U.S. Their actions are impacting the lives of everyday people, our neighbors, and immigrant communities. NLG members from our Portland chapter, alongside the ACLU, won a Temporary Restraining Order against ICE’s widespread use of chemical weapons. In Chicago, federal agents used chemical weapons at least 49 times on protesters, in violation of orders from judges. Earlier this week, Immigration Customs and Enforcement’s (ICE) actions led to the death of Linda Davis, a school teacher in Georgia. This is the latest in a string of deaths related to DHS’s, ICE’s, and Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) campaign of terror.
Keith Porter was murdered at his apartment complex in Northridge, California, after an off-duty ICE agent shot and killed him. ICE shot Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, hitting one of them in the leg, after accusing them of assaulting an agent. It turned out they lied under oath. In Chicago, Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez was shot and killed by ICE, after initial reports claimed the ICE agent feared for his life. News reports claim that the ICE agent described his own injuries as “nothing major”.
Renee Nicole Good was killed by ICE in her car for doing the constitutionally protected action of observing law enforcement. Alex Pretti was also killed in broad daylight by CBP officers, because he was recording them. These incidents are not an anomaly. They are designed to cause terror and fear. The message is clear: DHS, ICE, and CBP agents can get away with any violence, and the Trump administration is happy to let them do it.
This is an escalation of who is deserving of violence: since 2004, ICE has been responsible for over 250 deaths inside of its cages. Over 30 occurred just last year, making it one of the deadliest years in ICE detention. The majority of these deaths go underreported, likely because the typical victims of ICE are Black and brown immigrants. Nonetheless, the outrage even reached the 2026 Winter Olympics, where ICE agents were strangely assisting with security in Italy.
The NLG emphasizes that what we are experiencing today is part of a U.S. legacy of anti-Black and anti-indigenous State violence, met with impunity throughout history. Additionally, the normalization of imperialist horrors that we see in Gaza, Venezuela and elsewhere continue to lay the groundwork for domestic, unfettered State repression.
The NLG continues its calls to abolish ICE and to end the occupation of our cities. We demand that these masked agents immediately stop the State-directed racial profiling, excessive force, wrongful detainment, and killings of civilians, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status.
Signed,
Executive Council
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