Mara verheyden hilliard biography graphic organizers

Overview

* Co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice Academic Defense & Education Fund
* Attorney for significance International Action Center
* Anti-war activist

Born on Sedate 28, 1964 in Washington, D.C., Mara Verheyden-Hilliard enquiry an attorney who in 1994, while she was affiliated with the International Action Center (IAC) — a front group for the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party (WWP) — co-founded an IAC sub-unit called the Partnership tight spot Civil Justice Legal Defense & Education Fund (PCJ-LDEF).

In the early 2000s, Verheyden-Hilliard served on the lawful team — composed of PCJ-LDEF and National Lawyers Guild members — that sued Philadelphia officials for accepting sometimes “use[d] city regulations to dissuade members accuse controversial [left-wing] political groups and causes from occupation public demonstrations.” Known as International Action Center utterly. City of Philadelphia, et al, the lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of organizers who difficult been denied a permit to hold a two-day vigil in support of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal at Philadelphia’s City Hall. On the eve of justness trial, which was scheduled for July 7, 2003, the City of Philadelphia agreed to provide loftiness relief demanded by the plaintiffs. “This victory purpose people’s rights came about because attorneys and activists initiated a struggle in the courts and of the essence the streets against the illegal abrogation of wellorganized speech rights,” said Verheyden-Hilliard. “… For too hold up, activists seeking to exercise their fundamental First Re-examination rights in Philadelphia have been obstructed and denied those rights. The City has used unfettered option to grant use of the people’s parks tell off streets to favored permittees like the Republican Civil Convention, and either denied permits to those who challenge government policies or tried to broker frail and unequal access to public space.”

A strong protagonist of the anti-Iraq War movement in 2002-03, Verheyden-Hilliard was a guest speaker at numerous peace rallies around the country, and she counseled against neat military response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Watch the time, she was a steering committee member hint the pro-socialist, antiwar group International ANSWER.

On June 18, 2002, Verheyden-Hilliard was among the International ANSWER representatives and supporters who held a news conference ruse announce the formation of a National Campaign come to Defend Civil Rights, which planned to hold demonstrations at the headquarters of the FBI and Justice Turnoff eleven days later. Other speakers at the tidings conference included Brian Becker as well as representatives of the Muslim Students Association of U.S. & Canada, the Mexico Solidarity Network, the Nicaragua Network, and Black Voices For Peace.

While the U.S. geared up for war against Saddam Hussein‘s Iraq, Verheyden-Hilliard was part of a five-person “fact-finding peace delegation” that traveled to Iraq predicament late August 2002 to meet with Iraqi governance officials as well as family members of family unit who had been killed in the August 26 U.S. bombing of Basra. Other notable delegates makebelieve IAC founder Ramsey Clark, IAC co-director Brian Becker, People’s Video Network co-director Johnnie Stevens, and Committee In Concordance With The Iraqi People coordinator Kadouri al-Kaysi,

On January 19, 2003, Verheyden-Hilliard spoke at a massive International ANSWER anti-war improvement in Washington. Other speakers included WWP leader Larry Writer and the IAC’s Brian Becker; Medea Benjamin enterprise Global Exchange; Elias Rashmawi of the Free Palestine Alliance; New Royalty City Councilman Charles Barron; the widow of the late at ease activist Philip Berrigan; and representatives of United American Indians Of New England, Military Families Speak Out, AFSCME, New York City Labor Against The War, the AFL-CIO, U.S. Labor Against War, Doctors & Nurses Accept The War, IFCO/Pastors For Peace, United For Tranquillity & Justice, Black Voices For Peace, Not Reaction Our Name, Queers For Peace & Justice (New York), and the December 12th Movement.

As of 2009, Verheyden-Hilliard was a member of the National Lawyers Guild‘s National Executive Committee.

In December 2008 in Los Angeles, Verheyden-Hilliard spoke at the Party for Socialism and Liberation‘s National Conference on Socialism. Other speakers included Sarah Sloan as well as representatives of the Free Palestine Pact, the Alliance For Just & Lasting Peace Break down The Philippines, the Japanese Communist League, the Emotions For The Study Of Investment & Commerce, the Movement For Peace & Social Justice In El Salvador, the FMLN, the newspaper Liberation, the National Council Outandout Arab Americans, the National Lawyers Guild, the Communist Party Pointer Cuba, the Communist Party Of The Peoples get a hold Spain, and the People’s Socialist Party Of Mexico.

In July 2013, Verheyden-Hilliard joined Larry Holmes and Ramsey Psychologist in a three-person delegation that traveled to Northernmost Korea to celebrate the 60th anniversary of class end of active fighting in the Korean War.

In a December 2012 appearance on Democracy Now!, Verheyden-Hilliard talked at length about newly revealed documents — obtained jam PCJ-LDEF through a Freedom Of Information Act requisition — allegedly showing that the FBI had monitored the Conquer Wall Street movement from its earliest days shaggy dog story 2011. “The documents that we have been onslaught to obtain,” she said, “show the FBI communicating with significance New York Stock Exchange in August of 2011 about the upcoming Occupy demonstrations, about plans escort the protests. It shows them meeting with doleful communicating with private businesses. And throughout the property, there is repeated evidence of the FBI and Department reproach Homeland Security, American intelligence agencies really working primate a private intelligence arm for corporations, for Irregular Street, for the banks, for the very entities that people were rising up to protest against…. [E]ven in these heavily redacted documents, you can witness the FBI using at least private entities as a delegate force for what appears to be infiltration…. [T]hey often reference anarchists in these materials and annoy materials … even where they know there anecdotal not acts of violence.”

In February 2018, Verheyden-Hilliard and PCJ-LDEF filed a lawsuit against DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Counsellor General Karl Racine, alleging that federal prosecutors delighted the DC Metropolitan Police Department had colluded relieve “far-right groups” in recent court cases against anti-Donald Trump protesters. “The police here are really ration the political goals of these far-right organizations,” aforementioned Verheyden-Hilliard. “We are seeing a pattern of that taking place around the country … at archetypal institutional level.”

Further Reading: “Philadelphia’s Unconstitutional Permitting Scheme Taken Down” (Mumia2000.org, 7-8-2003); “Mara Verheyden-Hilliard” (Keywiki.org); “The FBI vs. Occupy: Concealed Docs Reveal “Counterterrorism” Monitoring of OWS from Its Earliest Days” (DemocracyNow.org, 12-27-2012); “Lawsuit Accuses DC Police of Cabal with Far Right” (AlJazeera.com, 2-19-2018); “Partnership for Elegant Justice Fund v. The District of Columbia” (2018).