Report finds Federal Gov’t targeted BLM protesters

<p>A new report from the Movement for Black Lives found the federal government targeted Black Lives Matter protesters with harsher prosecution in order to disrupt and deter activism. <br>--<br>Tiffany Bui reports: </p><p><br></p><p>A <a href="https://m4bl.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Struggle-For-Power-The-Ongoing-Persecution-of-Black-Movement-by-the-U.S.-Government.pdf">new report</a> from the <a href="https://m4bl.org/">Movement for Black Lives</a> found that the federal government targeted Black Lives Matter protesters with harsher prosecution in order to disrupt and deter activism. </p><p><br></p><p>The social justice organization partnered with the <a href="https://www.law.cuny.edu/academics/clinics/clear/">CLEAR clinic</a> at the  City University of New York School of Law. CLEAR analyzed 326 criminal cases initiated by federal prosecutors against protesters following the murder of George Floyd. According to the report, in over 80% of the cases the federal charges carried more severe punishments than state or local law.</p><p><br></p><p>The drive to federally prosecute protesters came from former President Donald Trump and the former Attorney General William Barr. Ash-Lee Henderson, the executive director of the Highlander Research &amp; Education Center in Tennessee, said the report shows the government is continuing a historic campaign against Black-led movements. </p><p><br></p><p>“What this data proves is <em>quantitatively</em> what we've been saying <em>qualitatively</em> now for centuries about the overreach of the government to stop and try to slow down or cease and desist the liberation movement led by Black people, particularly as it calls out their complicity in police brutality and mass incarceration of our people,” she said. </p><p><br></p><p>Data on the race of the defendants was only available for 27% of cases, and it shows an overwhelming majority were Black men.</p><p><br></p><p>“When we look at the anti-mask protests, when we look at the insurrection at the Capitol, these people