April 17, 2020
The Honorable William P. Barr
Attorney General of the United States
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Attorney General Barr,
During these troubled times, we want to thank you for your consistent stance to protect constitutional freedoms of the American people. Thank you, in particular, for focusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) on protecting religious freedom and First Amendment rights, as well as for your public statement against abuses of religious freedom through state and local coronavirus orders and the Statement of Interest filed by the DOJ in federal court in Mississippi just this week.
Because of the rampant abuses of constitutional rights and civil liberties through the myriad orders issued by the governors and local officials nationwide, as part of the response to COVID-19, we urge you to undertake immediate review of all the orders that have been issued by the states and local governments across the nation. Although the orders are for the purpose of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, the nature and enforcement of the orders have increasingly raised serious concerns about violating the basic protections and rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution. A few examples include:
- Arresting pro-life counselors for peacefully standing outside an abortion clinic while maintaining social distance
- Government officials arresting and handcuffing a father in front of his child for playing catch outdoors
- Arresting a man for surfing
- Ticketing citizens for attending a drive-in church service on church property, in their own cars.
- Police officers telling an African American pastor that his rights are suspended because of coronavirus orders
- Prohibitions on citizens’ rights to purchase firearms.
- Claiming the right to assemble in protests against state shelter-in-place orders is not an “essential activity”
While government has the authority to act to protect public health during a time of pandemic, the United States Constitution requires that any government actions must be narrowly tailored to ensure that rights enshrined in the Constitution are not abrogated. Protecting the lives of its people is one of the important purposes of the very existence of our government, but there is no constitutional authority for any level of government to use the emergency as a justification for abusing its power and violating the most cherished Constitutional freedoms of the people of this country. Petty, would-be, dictators are attempting use the crisis as an opportunity to flex their perceived new muscles at the expense of the Constitution, and even telling citizens their right to protest such excess has been “suspended”.
As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, we call on you to halt the spread of these unconstitutional orders and enforcement tactics against the American people. We urge you to immediately assemble a task force at DOJ to do the following:
- Review all local and state orders
- Ensure that every order is narrowly tailored to address specific, identified and identifiable risks, and are not wholesale restrictions on the rights of citizens
- Issue national guidelines for enforcement that reflect the Constitutional rights of the American people
- Notify those state and local officials of the Constitutional deficiencies in their orders and request voluntary revision or cessation of enforcement of provisions that are identified by your review as violating the Constitution
- Initiate litigation to enjoin the enforcement of orders that are not narrowly tailored and which infringe upon the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution.
Many see this crisis as an opportunity to reduce liberty and enlarge government power in permanent ways. We will do all in our power to make sure this does not happen. We urge the DOJ to take numerous, specific actions, right now, to focus and act against this disturbing new danger to our country’s future.
We know well that you share our devotion to America’s Constitutional liberties, and we are grateful that you are in a unique position to act decisively in their defense.
Sincerely,
| The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) |
Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund |
| William L. Walton President Council for National Policy |
Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Partner Foley & Lardner LLP |
| Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq. Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. President and CEO, First Liberty Institute |
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Former Counselor to the US Attorney General |
| The Honorable Matt Schlapp Chairman American Conservative Union (ACU) |
Tom McClusky President March for Life Action |
| Thomas Fitton President Judicial Watch, Inc. |
The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) |
| Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project President, Conservative Partnership Institute |
Rachel Bovard Senior Director of Policy Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) |
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc. |
Mary Vought Executive Director Senate Conservatives Fund |
| Lisa B. Nelson Chief Executive Officer American Legislative Exchange Council |
Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund |
| The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc. |
Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute |
| The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) |
The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985) U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989) |
| David Bozell President ForAmerica |
Noah Wall Vice President of Advocacy FreedomWorks |
| The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
Marjorie Dannenfelser President Susan B. Anthony List |
| The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council |
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell President The Leadership Institute |
| The Honorable David McIntosh U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Indiana |
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
| L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center |
Mike Davis Founder and President The Article III Project (A3P) |
| Alan E. Sears Founder Alliance Defending Freedom |
The Honorable Scott Walker President-elect Young America’s Foundation |
| Ron Robinson President Young America’s Foundation |
Craig Dance President / CEO Champion Coach Inc. |
| Eunie Smith President Eagle Forum |
Kathleen A. Patten President & CEO American Target Advertising |
| The Honorable Penny Pullen Former Illinois State House Ass’t Republican Leader Illinois General Assembly |
Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary |
| Richard Norman Founder and President The Richard Norman Company |
Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation |
| Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund |
Steve Berger Pastor Grace Chapel |
| Bob Carlstrom President AMAC Action |
Stephen T. Whelan Chairman Witherspoon Institute |
| Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute |
Paavo Ensio Chairman Universal Minerals Group |
| The Honorable Peter Thomas Chaiman The Conservative Caucus |
The Honorable Mike Hill Representative Florida State House |
| Floyd Brown Publisher The Western Journal |
Sean Noble President American Encore |
| A. Eric Johnston President The Southeast Law Institute |
William H. Shaker CEO Washington Marketing Group |
| Rod D. Martin Founder & CEO The Martin Organization, Inc. |
Sherri R. Martin Executive Vice President The Martin Organization, Inc. |
| Haley E. Martin President The Martin Foundation |
Christina Murphy Lusk Campaign for the American Future |
| Guillermo J. Aragon Chief Financial Officer Martin Imaging, Inc. |
Benjamin Nieuwsma Founder and CEO Navigo |
| Shawn A. Mitchell Former National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) |
Amapola Hansberger President Legal Immigrants for America |
| The Honorable Bill Owens President Coalition of African American Pastors, USA |
Elaine D. Little Vice-President Eagle Forum of Alabama |
| Glenn Preston Story President & Co-Founder Patriot Mobile |
The Honorable Arnold Mooney State Representative Alabama House of Representatives |
| James C. Dobson, Ph.D. Founder & President James Dobson Family Institute |
Mario Navarro da Costa Director, Washington Bureau Tradition, Family, Property |
| Kirk Uhler Executive Director National Tax Limitation Committee |
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle Trustee Media Research Center |
| Allen Roth President Secure America Now |
Rebekah Gantner Executive Director Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund |
| The Honorable James C. Miller III Budget Director for President Reagan, 1985-1988 |
Sal Russo Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Tea Party Express |
| Ed Martin President Phyllis Schlafly Eagles |
Charlie Copeland President Intercollegiate Studies Institute |
| Craig Shirley Reagan Biographer Presidential Historian |
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
| Rebecca Hagelin CEO United in Purpose |
Allen Hebert Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
| Dr. Paige Patterson President Sandy Creek Foundation |
Shirley Fran Lewis President Lewis Jewelers and More |
| C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. |
Randy M. Long Founder Long Business Advisors, LLC |
| Barry Meguiar President Ignite America |
Joan Holt Lindsey President Lindsey Communications |
| Dr. E. Calvin Beisner President Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation |
Willes K. Lee President National Federation of Republican Assemblies |
| Mark Stuhlreyer Owner Contingent Holdings, LLC |
Penna Dexter Co-host Point of View Radio |
| The Honorable Tom DeLay Former Majority Leader U. S. House of Representatives |
Dr. Virginia Armstrong National Chairman Eagle Forum’s Court Watch |
| Robert K. Fischer Meeting Coordinator Conservatives of Faith |
Lori Roman President American Constitutional Rights Union |
| Robert D. Thompson Former Administrator The Weyrich Lunch Meeting (1999-2016) |
The Honorable Diana Denman President The Reagan Legacy Forum |
**Signatures updated: 4/20/20
All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.
