1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

The constitutional right to observe, record, and protest law enforcement is fundamental to our democracy. We can’t hold our government accountable if we can’t see for ourselves what they’re doing in our communities, and we won’t see change if we can’t tell the government we disapprove. Yet as ICE and other federal agents flood our streets, raid our communities, and terrorize our neighbors, recorders, observers, and protesters have faced harassment and retaliation for simply exercising their First Amendment rights. I’m urging you to co-sponsor and pass the Right to Record Act to protect our legal right to observe, film, and protest federal law enforcement. Observing and filming allows people to create an independent record and share information with their communities. Protesting allows us to demand better from our government. But in states like Tennessee and New Jersey, agents have harassed and targeted journalists, advocates, and community members alike in an attempt to intimidate them out of exercising their constitutional right to observe, record, and protest. The attacks on our First Amendment rights are unacceptable. I’m calling on you as my elected official in Congress to pass the Right to Record Act and protect our right to record and expose the truth without fear.