American Civil Liberties Union Foundation

The American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration that claimed a man was wrongly detained the St. Louis airport because he was carrying about $4,700 in cash. The ACLU dropped its suit Tuesday, saying the TSA has now made it clear agents can conduct searches related to flight safety, not engage in general law enforcement. The ACLU had filed the suit on behalf of Steven Bierfeldt, director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, an organization that grew out of Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. Part of Bierfeldt's job involved carrying funds related to the group's activities. TSA ... Read Full Story

The American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration that claimed a man was wrongly detained the St. Louis airport because he was carrying about $4,700 in cash. The ACLU dropped its suit Tuesday, saying the TSA has now made it clear agents can conduct searches related to flight safety, not engage in general law enforcement. The ACLU had filed the suit on behalf of Steven Bierfeldt, director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, an organization that grew out of Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. Part of Bierfeldt's job involved carrying funds related to the group's activities. TSA ... Read Full Story

The American Civil Liberties Union in New York has sued the federal government, seeking to make public the records related to prisoners held at an air base in Afghanistan. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, asks the court to order the Defense Department, the CIA and other agencies to reveal vital information about the detainees at Bagram Air Base. ACLU staff attorney Melissa Goodman said there is growing concern that Bagram has become the new Guantanamo. The Obama administration says Bagram differs from the base in Cuba because the roughly 600 prisoners at Bagram are in an active war zone in ... Read Full Story

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a federal judge to release "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch, arguing that he was put back in jail in retaliation for criticizing the government. A federal prosecutor countered Monday at a hearing in Boston that Hatch violated prison rules and should serve the rest of his sentence behind bars. Hatch was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million "Survivor" winnings and sentenced to home confinement. He was taken into custody Aug. 18 after giving TV interviews that the federal Bureau of Prisons said it had not approved. During the interviews, Hatch said the ... Read Full Story

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Pittsburgh because it says the city is violating the civil rights of people who want to protest the Group of 20 summit. The ACLU sued Friday in federal court on behalf of six groups who say the city has failed to issue them protest permits. World leaders and representatives of the European Union will meet in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24-25 to discuss the global economic crisis. Thousands of protesters follow such summits to oppose policies they say harm everything from the environment to the poor. City officials didn't immediately return calls seeking comment Friday. The city had ... Read Full Story