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ACLU Discloses Documents in Extraordinary Sealed Challenge to Patriot Act Spying Power (04/28/2004)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union today disclosed documents in an extraordinary sealed case in federal court involving the Patriot Act's expanded ""National Security Letter"" power. The ACLU lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a provision that allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation to demand sensitive customer records from businesses without judicial oversight.

Bush to Promote Patriot Act in New York, Pennsylvania; ACLU Urges Congress to Resist Calls to Make Law's Problems Permanent (04/19/2004)
WASHINGTON - On the eve of President Bush's trips to Pennsylvania and New York, during which he is expected to promote the USA Patriot Act and ask that its "sunset" provisions be removed, the American Civil Liberties Union renewed its call today for reconsideration of the law in Congress and urged lawmakers to fix the act and bring it back in line with the Constitution.

Richmond City Council Passes Safe and Free Resolution (03/09/2004)
RICHMOND, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today applauded the City of Richmond for adopting a resolution asking Congress to repeal parts of the USA Patriot Act that infringe on personal rights, liberties and due process. The ""Safe and Free Resolution,"" which passed city council on a 6-1 vote, makes Virginia's capital the third city in the state and the 262nd governing body in the nation to take aim at the increasingly unpopular law passed by Congress only a few weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Bipartisan Commission Finds Pre-9/11 Gaps in Border Security Stemmed From Missed Opportunities, Not Lack of Powers (01/27/2004)
WASHINGTON - Responding to the recent findings of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, the American Civil Liberties Union today called upon Congress to reexamine many of the government policies adopted post 9/11, saying that the Commission found that it was an improper enforcement of powers already in place -- and not a lack of broader law enforcement powers -- that contributed to the terrorist attacks.

California ACLU and Library Association Launch Campaign to Take Action Against the Patriot Act and Restore Constitutional Rights (01/22/2004)
SAN FRANCISCO - The American Civil Liberties Union's California affiliates and the California Library Association today called upon voters to urge their representatives to support legislation that would roll back some of the USA Patriot Act's most dangerous provisions, including the government's ability to indiscriminately search individual's library records, Internet activity and bookstore purchases.

Federal Court in Detroit Hears Arguments Today in ACLU Challenge to PATRIOT Act (12/03/2003)
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union will present arguments in federal court today in the first case to review the constitutionality of a controversial section of the PATRIOT Act. The hearing marks the first time the Justice Department has been called upon to defend the law in court.

New Yorkers Rally for Resolution 909, Call on NYC Council to Vote Before Session Ends (12/02/2003)
NEW YORK -- Congressional Representatives, Council Members and civil rights, immigrant, and union groups joined hundreds of New Yorkers today for a rally in support of a bill calling on government officials to uphold civil liberties when prosecuting the war on terrorism.

PATRIOT Act Fears Are Stifling Free Speech, ACLU Says in Challenge to Law (11/03/2003)
NEW YORK - Fear of the PATRIOT Act has caused a dramatic decline in memberships and donations at mosques and forced a church-sponsored group that aids refugees to change its record-keeping practices, the American Civil Liberties Union said in legal papers filed today in Detroit.

ACLU Youth Leaders Spearhead National Week of Student Action Against the PATRIOT Act (10/22/2003)
NEW YORK - Students across the country are joining in the American Civil Liberties Union's National Week of Student Action to Oppose the Patriot Act, October 26-November 2. At college campuses from New York to California, they will reach out to their peers with information, petitions, rallies, letter-writing campaigns and other educational initiatives that highlight the violations of basic individual rights and liberties embedded in the PATRIOT Act and its planned sequel, known as Patriot II.

Sarasota Becomes Latest "Civil Liberties Safe Zone," Joins Communities Nationwide to Oppose Portions of the USA PATRIOT Act (10/20/2003)
SARASOTA, FL - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida heralded the passage of a resolution by the Sarasota City Commission tonight that reaffirms civil liberties and freedoms and calls for corrections to be made to the controversial anti-terrorism bill - the USA PATRIOT Act - that was rushed through Congress in the aftermath of 9/11.

ACLU Welcomes Bi-partisan "True PATRIOT Act," Measure Seeks to Restore Freedoms Lost Post 9/11 (09/24/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined with members of Congress and civil rights groups in welcoming bi-partisan legislation aimed to correct some of the most contentious provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and other controversial measures adopted post 9/11. At a news conference today, Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Ron Paul (R-TX) unveiled their ""Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act.""

ACLU Endorses Bipartisan Kucinich-Paul Fix-PATRIOT Act Bill (09/24/2003)
Statement of Gregory T. Nojeim Associate Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

Ashcroft Yields to Public Pressure, Declassifies Personal Records Snooping; ACLU Calls for Full Disclosure of Government Spying Powers (09/17/2003)
WASHINGTON - In response to reports today that Attorney General John Ashcroft has caved under growing public pressure to declassify information about how his department is using 2001's USA PATRIOT Act, the American Civil Liberties Union today called the Justice Department's concession a victory for civil liberties, but said that much more is necessary before the full story of how much liberty has been sacrificed in the name of security can be known.

President Bush Plugs New Ashcroft PATRIOT Act Power Grab; ACLU Says Congress Should Resist Granting Expanded Police Powers (09/10/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today decried President Bush's endorsement, on the eve of the second anniversary of the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001, of a further expansion of the unprecedented policing powers granted in the now hot-button USA PATRIOT Act, which Attorney General John Ashcroft has been touring the country over the past month to promote.

Uncle Sam Asks: "What The Hell Is Going On Here?"in New ACLU Print and Radio Advertisements (09/03/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union has launched the latest installment in its advertising campaign to "Keep America Safe and Free," using the image of Uncle Sam to urge certain fixes to problem provisions -- which go beyond anything conceivably necessary to fight terrorism -- in the controversial USA PATRIOT Act.

ACLU Says Justice Dept.'s PATRIOT Act Website Creates New Myths About Controversial Law (08/26/2003)
NEW YORK - A new Justice Department website purporting to ""dispel the myths"" about the controversial PATRIOT Act in fact creates fresh myths about the law and gives new life to old ones, according to analysis released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Ashcroft Roadshow, Continued: Attorney General Ducks Demonstrators on Visit to Iowa's Heartland (08/21/2003)
DES MOINES -- Today in Des Moines, the Attorney General of the United States gave yet another speech to yet another closed audience of law enforcement personnel. Outside the hotel where he spoke, nearly 100 people gathered to demonstrate in opposition to the government's anti-civil liberties initiatives. But like many in this administration, Attorney General Ashcroft has chosen to avoid speaking to the American people. Instead he prefers to confine his speaking to hand-picked audiences, thus creating the illusion of agreement and consensus.

ACLU Says Ashcroft Speech Obscures True Threat of PATRIOT Act (08/19/2003)
WASHINGTON - We need to be vigilant in the face of terrorism. The ACLU's headquarters are less than 10 blocks from Ground Zero and every member, supporter and employee fears a new era of terrorism. However, every American of democratic spirit also fears a day when the threat of terrorism needlessly saps our basic free traditions.

Justice Department Kicks Off PATRIOT Act Roadshow; ACLU Doubtful Public Relations Offensive Will Change Minds (08/19/2003)
WASHINGTON - In response to the Justice Department's launch today of a multi-city public relations ""roadshow"" promoting the controversial USA PATRIOT Act, the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the tour's closure to the public, presumably intended to squelch protests, and questioned the agency's use of public money to counter broad public concern about the expansive surveillance powers in the law.

ACLU Says Ashcroft Could Benefit From Visit to Philadelphia's Constitution Center During Controversial Patriot Act "Roadshow" (08/19/2003)
PHILADELPHIA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today suggested that Attorney General John Ashcroft use tomorrow's visit to the National Constitution Center to actually tour the exhibits at the Center and learn more about the constitutional rights he is supposed to uphold.