A project of Global GAIN
Defending the defenders.
The Justice Department is being used as a political weapon against the people and organizations who stood up for democracy. This fund makes sure they are not standing in a courtroom alone.
Four ways to act
Request help
A confidential intake for democracy workers and organizations facing targeting, investigations, or retaliation.
Refer a lawyer
Attorneys willing to take a case pro bono or at a reduced fee can join the defense network.
Donate
Every dollar moves directly into legal representation and emergency support for targeted workers.
Get updates
Case developments, fund milestones, and ways to show up. No noise, no fundraising spam.
The threat
The Justice Department is being used as a political weapon.
This administration has turned the machinery of federal law enforcement against the people who worked against it. Investigations, subpoenas, audits, and prosecutions are being pointed at individuals and organizations for their politics, their reporting, and their advocacy, not for any crime.
The goal is not a conviction. The goal is exhaustion: to bankrupt people with legal fees, to freeze organizations with subpoenas, and to make the next person think twice before speaking.
A defense fund does not undo that. It does mean the target has counsel, a filing, and a chance to fight back on the same field.
Our programs
It is all global to us.
Global GAIN was built around work in Central Africa. We came home to realize the same pressure was being applied to our own neighbors. So we run one fund with two programs, and the same standard: nobody fights alone.
U.S. Programs
Here at home
Democracy workers inside the United States, including organizers, election officials, journalists, and civil servants facing federal targeting or political retaliation.
- Confidential intake
- Emergency legal fees
- Rapid counsel placement
Global Programs
Everywhere else
Our work began in Congo and Rwanda, supporting people who put themselves at risk to defend democratic space. That work continues, and it is the same fight.
- Legal accompaniment
- Emergency support
- Cross-border referrals
The fund
Money becomes lawyers.
The fund is restricted. Gifts are used for legal representation and emergency support for democracy workers who are targeted because of their work, and for nothing else.
Counsel, immediately
Retainers and hourly fees so a targeted worker has an attorney before the first deadline, not after.
The cost of defending
Filings, expert witnesses, records requests, and the long, unglamorous work that consumes a case.
Emergency stability
Short-term support when legal pressure takes a paycheck, a job, or a home while the case is still open.
The network itself
Matching pro bono and reduced-fee attorneys to the cases that need them, and keeping that pipeline moving.
One-time or recurring · cancel any time
For attorneys
Take one case. Change what happens next.
We are building a national network of attorneys who will take a democracy worker's case pro bono or at a reduced fee. Tell us your bar, your jurisdictions, and how much capacity you can offer.
Stay close
The work is quiet. The updates are not.
We send case developments, fund milestones, and concrete ways to help. Your address is never sold, shared, or used to target you.