Federal Judge Permanently Dismisses Two Palestinian Rights Orgs from Frivolous Chicago O’Hare Protest SLAPP Suit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Federal Judge Permanently Dismisses Two Palestinian Rights Orgs from Frivolous Chicago O’Hare Protest SLAPP Suit
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WASHINGTON, DC, January 31, 2025—A federal judge has granted the motion to permanently dismiss two defendants, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) and American Muslims for Palestine, from a meritless lawsuit pertaining to one of the U.S.-based protests that occurred outside the O’Hare airport in Chicago, Ill. as part of the April 15, 2024 Global Day of Action in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
The “Manhart v. AJP Educational Foundation, et al.” lawsuit is a classic SLAPP, “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” SLAPP suits typically target activists and nonprofit organizations for First Amendment-protected activity in order to drain their time and resources with costly meritless litigation in an attempt to chill or derail successful public interest campaigns and political movements.
“Millions of Americans have been rising up in the streets for nearly 500 days because our tax dollars are directly funding this genocide,” said Ahmad Abuznaid, Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. “This lawsuit is nothing more than a shameful attempt to harass and intimidate us. It’s an abuse of the legal system and a waste of the federal court’s time. We won’t be silenced, and we demand that the First Amendment rights of all protesters be protected.”
The A15 protest outside Chicago O’Hare airport was one of multiple autonomously organized actions around the world on April 15, 2024, which was Tax Day in the U.S. Demonstrators engaged in acts of civil disobedience to protest the U.S.-funded genocide against the Palestinian people, which has wiped out over 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza by most estimates.
This lawsuit is symptomatic of a broader pattern where far-right and big corporate bullies use their big lawfirms to target participants of social movements—from Atlanta’s Stop Cop City, to Greenpace, and beyond. Public interest groups and civic spaces are facing increased repression. However, civil disobedience has a long history in fights for justice, from the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War to ending apartheid in South Africa.
Due to the legally frivolous nature of the complaint, which has no basis in law or fact, some remaining defendants named in the lawsuit have served Rule 11 motions for sanctions against the plaintiff’s law firm outlining how these claims are in bad faith, along with Motions to Dismiss that will be decided by the federal judge in the near future.
The Civil Liberties Defense Center represented USCPR in this case.
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About the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) is a national network of activists and organizations who are committed to freedom and justice for the Palestinian people and who work to end U.S. complicity in their oppression. USCPR is a political home for all who believe that freedom for the Palestinian people is an integral part of achieving our collective liberation. USCPR provides resources and strategic support to the U.S.-based Palestine solidarity movement, channeling grassroots power into positive change in U.S. policy and public opinion. USCPR works with local organizers and activists, policymakers, movement leaders, media, and advocacy organizations to advance a rights-based, accountability and justice-oriented framework from the U.S. to Palestine.
About the Civil Liberties Defense Center
The Civil Liberties Defense Center supports movements that seek to dismantle the political and economic structures at the root of social inequality and environmental destruction. CLDC provides litigation, education, legal and strategic resources to strengthen and embolden their success. They are national experts in fighting SLAPP suits on behalf of social and environmental justice activists and organizations and proudly stands with USCPR.