I guess you know, but six months after the October No Kings protest in Fairhope that led to Renea (Penis Lady) Gamble's arrest, the case was tried in municipal court and she was found not guilty of all charges. Dev Wakeley was the LO for the protest, collected witness names and contact info. My partner, in life and law, Kathy Johnson and I represented Renea. The courtroom had a ton of supporters, not to mention 16 Fairhope cops for some reason, and plenty of media. Following the acquittals, we filed a notice of claim with the city, a prerequisite to suing the city under state law, detailing the various common law and constitutional violations we are contemplating.

Friday, May 15, 2026 from 6pm - 9pm, Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA

We are thrilled to invite you to the NLG-Mass Chapter's 2026 Annual Testimonial Dinner, set to take place on Friday, May 15th, at the Arts at the Armory in Somerville! 

This year, we will recognize and honor amazing legal professionals for their outstanding contributions to the legal field: Mahsa Khanbabai and Elliot Oberholtzer will receive 2026 Lawyer Awards, Robert Warren - 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, community coalition LUCE - 2026 Legal Worker Award, and Jon Brasley (Suffolk Law School) and Marjorie Piani (Northeastern School of Law) - 2026 Student Awards.

We hope you will be with us on this special day and join us in celebrating this year's honorees and the Guild! 

Please see the official invitation, linked here.

If you would like to purchase dinner tickets, please see the following link:

• Order your Dinner Ticket 

Register now for the 2026 NLG Northwest Regional Conference June 6/7 in Seattle! We've got one and a half days of programming, trainings, and community building planned. PLEASE REGISTER ASAP, but no later than May 10.

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is in solidarity with Renea Gamble, a 62-year old protester who was assaulted by police officers at a “No Kings” protest in Fairhope, Alabama. Former NLG president, David Gespass is representing her, along with his partner, NLG member Kathy Johnson.

After being arrested and handcuffed, Ms. Gamble was asked her name and replied “Aunt Tifa”, for which she received a municipal ordinance citation for giving false information to an officer. She is also charged with misdemeanors of disorderly conduct, breach of the peace and resisting arrest. Why was she charged? For wearing an inflatable penis costume. “While the story seems amusing for an outsider, the charges and ramifications of this case are very serious.” says David Gespass. “It is an assault on free speech and the freedom to protest. Renea has said from the beginning that it is not she who is on trial, but the Constitution.” Recently, several protesters in eggplant costumes were seen at the latest “No Kings” rally. 

Four months after the Cop City RICO was dismissed in Fulton County, Georgia, on Thursday, April 23, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced that a Cobb County grand jury indicted three of the 61 Cop City defendants on new charges. 

Hannah Kass, Katie Kloth, and Tyler Norman are charged with two counts of felony destruction of property and one count of felony arson to lands just outside of Atlanta. These stale charges are related to a protest that occurred outside of Brassfield & Gorrie, the contractor that built Cop City, in May of 2022. The timing of the indictment came just three weeks before the statute of limitations would block Georgia’s ability to begin a prosecution. It is also just one month before the primary election in which Carr is running for Governor of Georgia, in a race he is losing. 

The NLG National Office and Mass Defense Committee is excited to share with all current NLG members a recording of the Federal Repression Member Meeting we recently held!

In the meeting, we covered: 

• Techniques and tactics being used by ICE and other law enforcement
• Best practices for responding to these attacks
• Role of legal support organizations like NLG

To access the recording, you'll need to log into your nlg.org website account. If you need help doing so, email membership@nlg.org

Here are some relevant resources that were shared:

• Muslims For Just Futures: The Criminalization of Solidarity
• Legal Observer Video Guidelines 
• Federal Assault by Sandwich, Whistle & Protest: An Explainer on 18 U.S.C. 111(a)(1)
• ICE on University Campuses: Know Your Risks & Fight Back!
• Assessing Risks in Supporting Immigrants at Points of Intervention: Understanding the “Harboring” Non-U.S. Citizens Federal Crime, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)

For even more mass defense resources please visit: https://www.nlg.org/members-only/members_mass_defense/

NLG is receiving more and more verified reports of federal agent door-knocks and contacts. If you are approached by federal law enforcement, don’t be afraid to alert your community, and remember:

You do not have to let them into your house without a warrant.

You have no obligation to speak to law enforcement or answer their questions, and it can be dangerous to do so.

It is a crime to lie to federal agents.

Instead, you can invoke your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, and your Sixth Amendment right to counsel, by saying “I cannot answer any questions without my lawyer. Please leave your name and number, and a lawyer will call you.”

You can also call the National Lawyers Guild federal repression hotline at 212-679-2811, for a free, privileged consultation about your rights, risks, and responsibilities, and to be connected with appropriate legal resources in your jurisdiction.

We keep us safe!

The Mass Defense Steering Committee (MDSC), with the support of the Director of Mass Defense and in collaboration with on-the-ground partners, has created a Hotline Manual to support organizers running legal hotlines for protests and broader social movements.

This document is written with the worst case scenario in mind: starting a hotline from scratch in an area with little legal support infrastructure, during a sudden upswing in demonstrations, such as we saw following the police murder of George Floyd in 2020. However, many of the recommendations within should be relevant to more established hotlines. The system described in this manual is not necessarily the only one possible, but it is based on existing hotlines with strong track records.

Check out our NLG Member Orientation! This is for new, and newer members, so that y'all can learn about how the NLG is structured, how to reach out to other members, and ways that you can become involved with the NLG on a national level!