Rainforest Action Network (RAN) does not support or condone violence in any form. We believe that peaceful protest and civil disobedience are powerful forces for change in a democratic society, and we defend the rights of individuals and organizations to practice them.

RAN deplores any government-backed efforts that attempt to squelch public dissent and curtail civil liberties by criminalizing the constitutional right to peaceful protest. This includes the government’s use of taxpayer dollars to infiltrate activist spaces to spy on peaceful environmental and social justice groups or partnering with private security companies to surveil activists and control protests; legislation designed to criminalize constitutionally protected investigations of environmental destruction or human rights abuses; implementing “no-fly zones” to black out media coverage during heightened police crackdowns; and characterizing indigenous-led nonviolent movements and other peaceful activism as domestic terrorism in an effort to silence dissent.

RAN believes such tactics are fiscally and morally irresponsible and set frightening precedents for all individuals wishing to effect social change.