Help the NLG Protect Protest!

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http://www.nlg.org/news/announcements/help-the-nlg-protect-protest-at-the-rnc-and-dnc-2/



08/15/2012

Help the NLG Protect Protest at the RNC and DNC

Have you ever written the number for a National Lawyers Guild hotline on your arm before setting out to a protest march? Have you ever stood in a crowd squaring off with police and been comforted by the sight of bright green NLG Legal Observer® hats? Has an NLG member ever helped you through a legal problem stemming from a demonstration?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you simply care about keeping the First Amendment strong and the streets safe for protesters, now is the time to consider giving to the NLG through our Indiegogo campaign at http://indiegogo.com/nlg.

The Republican and Democratic national conventions are rapidly approaching. In addition to the delegates coming to shake hands and eat catered food, thousands of demonstrators will converge to protest politics as usual, and the NLG is mobilizing dozens of volunteers to provide protest legal support. That means keeping Legal Observer® eyes on police for as long as protesters are in the streets. That means staffing a support office and a 24-hour legal hotline to ensure that each arrested protester has an ally in the courtroom. And, despite the fact that the NLG is not-for-profit, that means coming up with money.

The things we need are simple: office space and office supplies, gas money, housing, and hats for our Legal Observers®. But every piece is vital to this effort, and the costs add up. To make this happen we need $20,000. We know it sounds like a lot, but it is only 1/5,000 of the budget for policing the two conventions. Put another way, law enforcement may have the latest in tear gas and surveillance technology, but with some of the best legal minds in the country volunteering their services, a few computers and hats will go along way.

Help us defend dissent. Donate today, and pass the word on to your friends and family.