Protest is an essential way to bring issues to light, to demand accountability and to inspire people to keep fighting for a better future. But as governments increasingly seek to impose limits on protest and shrink civic space, many activists are finding it harder than ever to speak out.
The number of anti-protest bills has spiked since Trump’s inauguration. Some would criminalize peaceful protests on a wide range of topics from the US-backed war in Gaza to climate change. Experts warn that this trend threatens to erode First Amendment freedoms to freedom of speech, assembly and petition.
One of the most shocking examples occurred last month in Venezuela, where police beat and roughed up professors protesting against President Nicolas Maduro’s government at campuses from Washington University to Dartmouth. In several cases, the victims were accused of supporting the proscribed organization “Palestine Action,” and two of them have now been charged with terrorism offences.
In a sign of growing frustration with the government, students and faculty at universities across America are organizing demonstrations. They believe that federal policies – from visa revocations to investigations into classroom discussions – amount to a coordinated attempt to reshape higher education priorities and stifle dissent. Some fear that universities will be forced to choose between federal support and their core missions of inclusion, research and free speech.