Afternoon Session II – We Keep Us Safe: Movement Defense in the Age of Lawfare

The recent groundswell in support for the movement for Palestinian liberation has shone a spotlight on the repressive regimes and surveillance techniques that governments (and academic institutions) use to stifle dissent. But these are not new phenomena. This panel brings together veteran protest defense attorney Rachel Lederman and two anti-repression organizers with the Stop Cop City Imaginary Crimes Tour, alongside moderator David Palumbo-Liu, for a discussion on the role of movement lawyers as a support infrastructure for civil disobedience and other protest tactics, and on building internal movement resilience and autonomy beyond legal expertise.