Mary McCord is the Legal Director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) and Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University. At ICAP, McCord leads a team that brings constitutional impact litigation at all levels of the federal and state courts across a wide variety of areas including First Amendment rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, and combating the rise of private paramilitaries.

The events of this past January 6 at the Capitol brought the issue of how to combat domestic terrorism to the forefront once again. It erupted over three years ago when white supremacist groups descended on Charlottesville, VA and usurped the role of law enforcement, intimidating counter-protesters.

Once again, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, demonstrations against racial injustice across the country were met with heavily armed private militias claiming to be "protecting" property against what they broadly and falsely label the "antifa" threat. In April, they brought their guns to statehouses and governors' mansions, emboldened by tweets to "Liberate" the states from shut-down orders issued to reduce the spread of COVID-19, chilling and intimidating those with opposing views. And prior to the attack on the Capitol, they came armed to "Stop the Steal" rallies and agitated online for political violence to prevent a peaceful transition of power.

Mary McCord, former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice and former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, will discuss how unlawful armed para-military organizations are continuing to threaten constitutional rights and what can be done about them.

This event is brought to you by Little Falls Village and the Council of Former Federal Executives & Associates (COFFE)