Judge Blocks a portion of the NDAA
The highly-controversial indefinite detention provision signed into law by the President at the end of last year has been ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. District court judge in New York. The provision allows the military to detain anyone indefinitely if they are suspected of associating with terrorists - whether they realize it or not.
But that law was challenged by a group of journalists and whistleblowers - including Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky, and Daniel Ellsberg - who argued the law violated the First Amendment - since journalists often come in contact with terrorist organization and thus under the law could be subject to detention. On Wednesday night, Judge Katherine Forrest agreed with the plaintiffs in the case, ruling that the law is unconstitutional - violating the First Amendment rights of the press and the Fifth Amendment right of due process.
Meanwhile, as a new version of the NDAA is being debated in Congress, brave members on both sides of the aisle are arguing that there should be no indefinite detention provision in it, invalidating the previous NDAA. We need to return to the values our nation was founded on, which include bravery and due process - and not fear and medieval imprisonment techniques.
-Thom
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