Defending Our Constitutional Rights Initiative

Federal power in the United States has expanded rapidly, often with limited transparency and inadequate accountability. Across the country, individuals exercising basic constitutional rights—filming government officials, protesting, speaking out, or simply existing in heavily policed spaces—are increasingly subjected to surveillance, intimidation, detention, or force. These actions raise serious constitutional concerns and threaten the foundational protections that limit government authority.

The Rights and Reason Project is expanding its work to confront civil-rights violations arising from federal enforcement and national-security practices. This initiative focuses on the real-world impact of federal power when it intersects with the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments, particularly in the contexts of protest activity, public recording, immigration enforcement, surveillance, and due process.

Agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection increasingly operate in domestic settings that implicate constitutionally protected conduct. Public-space enforcement, protest policing, intelligence-driven operations, and digital surveillance now routinely affect individuals who are not suspected of criminal activity, raising recurring questions about the lawful limits of federal authority.

A central pillar of this initiative is public education. The Project provides clear, practical guidance on constitutional rights as they actually function in everyday encounters—not abstract theory, but usable information. This includes the right to film and record government officials performing their duties, the lawful scope of protest and assembly, the boundaries of government surveillance, and the procedural protections that apply when the government detains, questions, or searches individuals.

Equally important is documentation and exposure. The Project tracks and highlights current civil-rights abuses, focusing on patterns and systemic practices rather than isolated incidents. This work is grounded in verified sources, legal standards, and constitutional doctrine, with the goal of countering misinformation and preventing the normalization of unlawful conduct through repetition or secrecy.

When education and exposure are insufficient, the Rights and Reason Project engages in strategic, impact-driven litigation. Litigation is pursued selectively and deliberately, guided by evidentiary strength, jurisdictional posture, plaintiff safety, and the potential to establish durable legal precedent. The objective is not symbolic litigation, but enforceable outcomes—judicial rulings that constrain unlawful practices, compel transparency, and deter future misconduct.

This initiative operates on a core principle: constitutional rights do not evaporate during moments of enforcement, protest, or crisis. They exist precisely to restrain government power in those moments. Accountability is not radical. Transparency is not subversive. Enforcement of constitutional limits is essential to democratic governance.

Public support makes this work possible. Donors enable the Project to publish know-your-rights materials, investigate federal practices, pursue public-records litigation, and bring carefully chosen cases that would otherwise go unchallenged. Legal allies and journalists play a critical role in amplifying verified information and holding institutions accountable.

Through education, documentation, and strategic litigation, the Rights and Reason Project works to ensure that constitutional protections remain real, enforceable, and accessible—not theoretical promises, but lived rights.