— President Thomas Jefferson

The authors of the United States constitution understood that the freedom of the people to express their disagreement with government policies is absolutely vital to democracy. The First Amendment makes explicit the protections afforded to this kind of expression: Americans have the right to "peacably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances." In other words, non-violent demonstration and disagreement are fundamental American values. They ensure that we have a government "by and for the people," and that a lively debate about the direction of our country remains a constant facet of American public and political life.

However, it stands to reason that no form of expression is so aggressively assailed as disagreement with leadership. Those in positions of power have obvious interests in stifling public discourse about government lies, corruption, or ineptitude, and many of the tactics they employ to short-circuit public dissent constitute particularly insidious forms of censorship.

Collected below are reports on incidents of censorship of political dissent. We also encourage you to explore our archive on government secrecy, as well as our collection of materials on press freedoms, propaganda, and war, in War and Speech.

Incidents

» ACLU Files Suit for Illegal Silencing of Anti-Bush Demonstrators The "Presidential Advance Manual" is the Bush administration's guide for planning presidential events around the country, and it repeatedly instructs organizers about "the best method for preventing demonstrators," "deterring potential protestors from attending events," "designat[ing] a protest area . . . preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route," and other strategies to suppress political dissent. » Police Spied Broadly Against RNC Protesters in 2004 This exposé details how the New York Police Department spied on groups who were planning to demonstrate during the Republican National Convention. The New York Times describes, "To date, as the boundaries of the department's expanded powers continue to be debated, police officials have provided only glimpses of its intelligence-gathering."

» U.S. Senate Barely Rejects Flag Desecration Ban The First Amendment won a narrow victory in a 66 - 34 Senate vote — read NCAC's statement, plus additional resources and commentary.

» U.S. Senate Considering a Constitutional Ban on Flag Burning A revived effort to introduce an amendment to ban burning or desecration of the flag poses a severe risk to dissent that is protected by the First Amendment.
Related: See the ACLU site for more information on the Flag Desecration Amendment

» Anti-War Groups Subject to Surveillance, Infiltration by Federal Authorities A collection of accounts of suppression of political dissent relating to the war in Iraq.

» March 2, 2006 - Colorado Teacher Disciplined for Expressing Political Views in the Classroom Over 100 students at Overland High School in Aurora, CO, walked out of class to protest disciplinary action against teacher Jay Bennish.