AJC: “’I am seeking clarification about whether DHS has designated any group in Georgia as a DVE, and if not, I request that DHS share this policy clarification with any relevant state and local law enforcement partners,’ Warnock said in a letter to Mayorkas.”

AJC: “’The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of peaceful association,’ Warnock wrote. ‘Consistent with these principles, I am concerned by any misunderstandings regarding a federal DVE designation and seek clarification for the public and our valued law enforcement partners.’”

Senator Reverend Warnock: “Peaceful protest is a quintessentially American activity—and a fundamental Constitutional right”

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) penned a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking the Department to provide public guidance to state and local partners on how to use the federal “domestic violent extremist” designation. The Senator’s letter follows the recent arrests of three people affiliated with an Atlanta bail fund during a May 31 show of force by local law enforcement in the Edgewood, Atlanta neighborhood.

Read coverage of the Senator’s letter in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution HERE. Key highlights from the AJC’s story, below:

• Charges of domestic terrorism against activists connected to protests of Atlanta’s proposed public safety training facility have repeatedly been justified by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security designation that does not exist.
  
• “I am seeking clarification about whether DHS has designated any group in Georgia as a DVE, and if not, I request that DHS share this policy clarification with any relevant state and local law enforcement partners,” Warnock said in a letter to Mayorkas.

• The Atlanta Democrat also asks Mayorkas to provide guidance to state and local law enforcement agencies on how to address threats of violent extremism without infringing on rights to assemble and protest.

• “The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of peaceful association,” Warnock wrote. “Consistent with these principles, I am concerned by any misunderstandings regarding a federal DVE designation and seek clarification for the public and our valued law enforcement partners.”

Read the full letter HERE.

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