FEF’s First Amicus Brief Accepted In California Rise Above Movement Case

On May 31, 2019, Judge Cormac Carney granted FEF’s application to file its amicus (Friend of the Court) brief in the United States v. Rundo, et al. prosecution in the federal District Court for the Central District of California.  This Rundo case is one of two federal prosecutions of Rise Above Movement (“RAM”) members under the federal Anti-Riot Act (the other is in Charlottesvillle, Virginia).  As noted in a prior post, the RAM defendants are young men prosecuted for political purposes for doing little more than defending themselves and others against attacks by antifa and similar hard left anarchists. This is FEF’s first application to file an amicus brief and its application was granted!

FEF’s amicus brief argues that the Anti-Riot Act is unconstitutional for a variety of reasons and supports the motions to dismiss the indictments against the RAM defendants. FEF’s brief traces the history of the Anti-Riot Act, explains its flagrant inconsistency with fundamental First Amendment doctrine, and exposes how it can be and is being misused for political purposes.