May, 18 2020, 12:00am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Donte Donald (Color Of Change PAC), Marisol Bello (Community Change Action), Monica Robinson (Planned Parenthood Votes), Eunic Ortiz (SEIU)
Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, Service Employees International Union Launch $30 Million "Win Justice" Campaign to Expand the Electorate in Key Battleground States
Partnership marks massive collaboration among leading progressive groups with a strong track record of turning out infrequent voters of color.
WASHINGTON
Today, a group of leading progressive organizations, including Color Of Change PAC, Community Change Action, Planned Parenthood Votes, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), launched a $30 million campaign, Win Justice, to expand the electorate by mobilizing at least three million voters of color, young people, women, and union supporters in four key battleground states: Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, and Wisconsin. As many states shift election dates, modify polling places, and move to mail-in ballots, Win Justice will make an investment that is large enough to directly impact election results in each state and work to make voting accessible while combating systemic voter suppression. Win Justice will be particularly focused on the impact of vote-by-mail on historically marginalized Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and will engage these voters so they exercise their right to vote.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country and many face rising unemployment and lost wages, voters of color are at greatest risk of being disenfranchised, especially by Republican voter suppression efforts. The Win Justice campaign will adjust to this reality by combining digital tools with traditional methods to connect with these voters. In addition to in-person field organizing if health officials deem it safe, the campaign will engage more deeply with voters by mail and phone, sending personalized postcards, and holding one-on-one conversations. The campaign will also focus on innovative digital organizing tools and a robust paid media campaign to Get Out The Vote.
"By prioritizing people of color, women, and young people through sustained, thoughtful engagement, Win Justice has the potential to expand the realms of possibility in our politics. When these groups of people vote, they consistently vote for more progressive candidates and policies, such as climate justice, immigration, social justice, women's rights," said Rashad Robinson, Spokesperson for Color Of Change PAC. "We are excited to continue building on the success of Win Justice in 2018. Real and consistent efforts to incorporate these voters and their specific voices into policymaking and politics would not only make our communities more just and equitable, but also shift power to the people that are too often overlooked."
"The Win Justice program is groundbreaking because it upends business-as-usual politics that deprioritizes low propensity voters of color or takes our vote for granted," said Lorella Praeli, President of Community Change Action. "It's never been more important than now during the coronavirus pandemic when we have to ensure voters of color remain civically engaged and exercise their right to vote. We see time and again that when you organize black, brown and immigrant voters in our communities, whether it is online or in-person, when you reach out to us about the issues we care about and when we hear from the people we know and trust, black, brown and immigrant voters will engage and vote. This program is not just about individual elections, but about reshaping the electorate to fundamentally shift the balance of power in this country and to engage -- and turn out -- voters that campaigns or parties may not otherwise reach."
"There can be no justice until we elect champions who will fight for reproductive freedom," said Jenny Lawson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Votes. "The stakes for abortion access and reproductive health care have never been so high, and sitting on the sidelines is simply not an option. Planned Parenthood Votes is proud to fight shoulder to shoulder with our allies in this movement. We need to reach the communities who have been targeted and silenced by this administration and the people in power -- from voters of color, to immigrants, to young people, to women. Enough is enough: While our country's health care needs continue to rise in the face of a global pandemic, it's time for the politicians who attack our health care and our reproductive rights to lose their jobs."
"Working people, whether on the frontlines of this public health crisis or struggling in this economic crisis, are more engaged in politics now than in any election in our lifetimes," said Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union. "Working people are making their voices heard loud and clear in this election that we must protect all workers - especially after being asked to risk their lives by going to work without protective equipment or hazard pay. Win Justice is about prioritizing deep engagement with Black, brown and Asian Pacific Islander voters. Workers and communities of color can't afford to return to normal - we need to reject the inequality and economic pain that defines COVID but was present long before COVID. That's what this election is about. Win Justice is the first step toward a better future where we rewrite the rules, rebuild the economy based on workers' power and reinvest in communities."
"Win Justice is committed to empowering voters, building power for our communities, and standing against the incompetent leadership that is putting the lives of so many at risk - especially now during the coronavirus pandemic," said Melissa Morales, Florida State Director for Win Justice. "We built a successful campaign in the 2018 cycle that mobilized and engaged our communities and increased Democratic turnout. Our 2020 campaign will build on that success by expanding the electorate; engaging voters of color, working people, and women; and mobilizing enough voters to make a winning difference in these crucial battleground states."
This groundbreaking coalition of leading progressive organizations, each of which have a track record of running large scale voter turnout in these communities, will have a particular focus on infrequent voters of color, including young people and women. The $30 million Win Justice campaign will be multilingual and lean on trusted community messengers to mobilize voters, including a robust virtual organizing effort that includes phone, text, mail, and digital as well as paid advertising on TV, radio, and digital platforms.
Thanks to the collaboration of the partner organizations and their unique expertise, Win Justice can connect and educate voters on immigrant, worker and reproductive rights, health care, economic, and racial justice issues. Utilizing powerful messengers with lived experiences, Win Justice will have an unmatched ability to organize communities, mobilize voters, and hold elected officials accountable. Win Justice can also hold elected officials accountable for incompetent leadership that puts the lives of millions of Americans at risk, including front line workers in Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Unlike many other organizations that focus on persuading high frequency voters, Win Justice is focused on expanding the electorate to drive infrequent and new voters to the polls to fundamentally change the voices at the table and the outcome of the election. Rather than only doing a last minute "Get Out the Vote" push days before the election, Win Justice partner organizations are on the ground for the long haul, earning the trust of these communities, engaging partners on the ground, and driving toward grassroots victories -- not just in November, but for years to come.
The Win Justice partnership builds on a successful collaboration in the 2018 cycle when Win Justice organizers and partners knocked on more than 3.4 million doors, achieved 80 million digital impressions, sent more than 2.1 million texts, and made more than 800,000 phone calls in Florida, Michigan, and Nevada combined, increasing Democratic turnout by one full percentage point.
Community Change Action is a national organization that builds power from the ground up. We believe that effective and enduring social movements must be led by those most impacted by injustice and voting is one essential lever of change.
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"To end this catastrophe, supplies must be let in at scale and humanitarians allowed to do their job," said the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
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While the global initiative that tracks hunger crises concluded Friday that the Gaza Strip is no longer facing "famine," the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report echoed warnings from United Nations leaders and humanitarian groups that "the situation remains critical" for Palestinians who have endured over two years of an Israeli assault and blockade.
Famine was declared in August, sparking a worldwide outrage over what one research group called "genocidal starvation." The new IPC report—released after an October ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel—says that "following a significant reduction in conflict, a proposed peace plan, and improved access for both humanitarian and commercial food deliveries, food security conditions have improved in the Gaza Strip."
However, the report also notes that between mid-October and the end of November, "around 1.6 million people (77% of the population analyzed) faced high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above)," including "more than half a million people in emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 100,000 people in catastrophe (IPC Phase 5)."
Those conditions—over three-quarters of Gaza's population at risk of famine—are expected to continue through April. In other words, as Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), put it, "Gaza remains in a man-made hunger crisis."
The latest IPC report "underscores how fragile the gains have been since the ceasefire began in October," he said on social media. "To end this catastrophe, supplies must be let in at scale and humanitarians allowed to do their job. UNRWA has food parcels for 1.1 million people and flour for the entire population waiting to enter the Gaza Strip."
As the Associated Press reported Friday, while Israeli government agencies rejected the IPC findings, humanitarian leaders and Palestinians have highlighted all that the people of Gaza continue to endure because of Israel's war on the strip:
"This is not a debate about truck numbers or calories on paper. It's about whether people can actually access food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare safely and consistently. Right now, they cannot," said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's policy lead for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
People must be able to rebuild their homes, grow food, and recover, and the conditions for that are still being denied, she said.
Even with more products in the markets, Palestinians say they can't afford it. "There is food and meat, but no one has money," said Hany al-Shamali, who was displaced from Gaza City. "How can we live?"
Earlier this week, the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which brings together heads of UN entities and over 200 nongovernmental organizations, urged the international community to "take immediate and concrete actions to press the Israeli authorities to lift all impediments," including a new registration process for NGOs, that continue to undermine lifesaving operations, "or risk the collapse of the humanitarian response, particularly in the Gaza Strip."
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Israel has killed at least 70,669 Palestinians in the strip and wounded 171,165 others since launching its retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. Experts have warned that the true death toll is likely far higher.
Winter storms are exacerbating already dire conditions in Gaza, including by damaging and destroying shelters of displaced people. Oxfam's humanitarian director, Marta Valdes García, said Friday that "with 1.6 million people found to be facing acute food insecurity... we are incredibly concerned that winter is already bringing flooding and more misery to thousands of hungry people with little or no money, who are now exposed in terrible living conditions."
Multiple infants have died of hypothermia in recent days, including a 14-day-old named Mohammed, whose family is living in a tent after being displaced from their home in the east of Khan Younis. His mother, Eman Abu al-Khair, told Al Jazeera that "I can still hear his tiny cries in my ears... I sleep and drift off, unable to believe that his crying and waking me at night will never happen again."
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Another 29-day-old baby, Saeed Eseid Abdeen, was declared dead at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, according to Drop Site News and Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
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— Drop Site (@dropsitenews.com) December 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
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As DOJ Blows Deadline to Release Epstein Files, Khanna Vows to Prosecute Any Obstruction
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As the US Department of Justice announced it would miss Friday's legal deadline to hand Congress all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna vowed to prosecute any officials who obstruct the documents' disclosure.
Khanna (D-Calif.)—who along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act—told CBS News Friday that the DOJ "had months to prepare for this" and "must today offer a clear timeline for the full release."
"The key is they release the names of all the powerful men in question who abused underage girls or covered it up," he stressed. "They must provide a clear framework to the survivors and the nation by when we will have everything public."
In a video published Thursday, Khanna warned that "anyone who tampers with these documents or conceals documents or engages in excessive redactions will be prosecuted because of obstruction of justice."
"We will prosecute individuals regardless of whether they're the attorney general or a career or a political appointee," he said.
Khanna's remarks Friday followed Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche's admission during a Fox News interview that the DOJ would not hand over all the Epstein files by the December 19 deadline.
“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said. “There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim.”
Last month, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of all relevant documents within 30 days. The legislation also empowered Attorney General Pam Bondi to redact large amounts of information that critics fear could include material that incriminates the president, who was once a close friend of the disgraced financier.
“So today is the 30 days," Blanche acknowledged, adding that the documents released Friday "will come in in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with... all of the investigations" into Epstein—who faced a federal sex trafficking case at the time of his death.
This, after House Oversight Committee Democrats on Thursday released a cache of about 70 photos from the Epstein estate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was among the lawmakers pressing Friday for the administration to meet the deadline for fully disclosing the Epstein files.
"The law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be—the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some," Schumer said after Blanche's remarks. "Failing to do so is breaking the law. This just shows the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, and Pam Bondi are hell-bent on hiding the truth."
"We will not stop until the whole truth comes out," he added. "People want the truth and continue to demand the immediate release of all the Epstein files. This is nothing more than a cover up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past."
Today, the Trump administration must release the FULL Epstein Files.No missing pages. No documents blurred out. No redactions to protect rich and powerful men.Survivors and the American people deserve answers and transparency. By law, Trump must provide them TODAY.
— Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (@jayapal.house.gov) December 19, 2025 at 7:29 AM
In a joint statement Friday, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said that "Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are now violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein's decadeslong, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring."
"For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena," the lawmakers continued. "The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said Friday on X: "Congress mandated that Trump's DOJ release all the Epstein files by TODAY. They must comply. Survivors have waited far too long for the accountability they deserve."
Massie said Thursday that "victims' lawyers have been in contact with me, and collectively, they know there are at least 20 names of men who are accused of sex crimes in the possession of the FBI."
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"Time's up," Massie said Friday on X. "Release the files."
Echoing the lawmakers' calls, Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser at the advocacy group Demand Progress, said Friday: “Failing to release all of the Epstein files today is a violation of the law. We’re talking about a legal mandate for the Department of Justice, not a student submitting a late assignment."
"They have had 30 days to prepare for today, and many months more if you include all the time the DOJ claimed it was working towards the same goal," he continued. "Promises to release more files ‘over the next couple of weeks’ are unacceptable, and alarmingly suggest the public will only see a fraction of them today."
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Judge Hannah Dugan's case is "not about one judge," said an advocacy group, but rather "the normalization of ICE operating in courthouses."
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The case of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan "is a long way from over" said a lawyer for the judge after a jury found her guilty late Thursday of the felony charge of obstructing immigration agents who showed up at her courtroom in April with the aim of arresting an immigrant who was appearing before Dugan.
The jury deliberated for six hours before finding Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit court judge, guilty of obstructing an official proceeding. The jurors acquitted her of a misdemeanor charge of concealing a person from arrest—a result her lawyer, Steve Biskupic, said he would question when he seeks to have the conviction thrown out by a court.
"While we are disappointed in today's outcome, the failure of the prosecution to secure convictions on both counts demonstrates the opportunity we have to clear Judge Dugan's name and show she did nothing wrong in this matter," said Dugan's legal team.
The Trump administration seized on the case in April after Dugan responded to FBI and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents' presence in the courthouse by telling the defendant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, to go out a back door of her courtroom after she had sent the agents to another part of the building.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo of Dugan in handcuffs on social media in April, and Attorney General Pam Bondi attacked the judge in television appearances, accusing her of “protecting a criminal defendant over victims of crime.”
The case began at Milwaukee County Courthouse in April, when Dugan was hearing a number of misdemeanor cases in one day. Flores-Ruiz, who had been deported in 2013 and had reentered the US without authorization, was facing battery charges.
Emails presented in Dugan's case this week showed she had tried to push Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley to make an official policy regarding how judges should handle the arrival of federal agents at a time when President Donald Trump's rapid escalation of his mass deportation campaign was sending ICE officers to courthouses across the country. Courts had previously been treated as protected areas where immigration enforcement could not take place.
"We reject a system that uses prosecution and brute force to advance a far-right, anti-immigrant agenda and criminalizes those who stand up against this assault on our human and constitutional rights."
Without official guidelines in place, the court clerk who notified Dugan of the ICE agents' presence, Alan Freed, testified that he had been "upset and a little bit outraged" that the officers were there.
Dugan confronted the agents, who were sitting in the hallway and waiting to arrest Flores-Ruiz, and told them to go down the hall to Ashley's office.
An FBI special agent testified that Dugan "seemed to be angry" when she confronted the officers.
Dugan then returned to her courtroom and told Flores-Ruiz's lawyer she would find a new date for his hearing. She spoke privately to a court reporter saying Flores-Ruiz could leave the room through a side door that was not open to the public.
“I’ll get the heat," Dugan said.
The side door led to a stairwell and also to another door that opened into a public hallway where the federal agents were. Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer went through the door and an agent followed and then chased the defendant, arresting him outside the courthouse. Flores-Ruiz was deported last month.
Prosecutors said during the case that Dugan had intended for Flores-Ruiz to escape the agents by going down the stairwell—even though he did the opposite.
An attorney on Dugan's legal team said during closing arguments that she "never acted corruptly in doing her job as a judge in the middle of a stressful, new, and confusing situation."
Dugan could serve up to five years in prison and will likely be barred from serving as a judge, as the Wisconsin Constitution prohibits people convicted of felonies from holding public office.
Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, also emphasized that the case is "far from over."
"Substantial legal and constitutional issues remain unresolved, and they are exactly the kinds of questions appellate courts are meant to address. Higher courts will have the opportunity to determine whether this prosecution crossed the lines that protect the judiciary from executive overreach," said Eisen.
Milwaukee-based advocacy group Voces de la Frontera emphasized that Dugan's case "is not about one judge," but rather "the normalization of ICE operating in courthouses and the expansion of immigration enforcement into spaces meant to guarantee fairness, safety, and access to justice."
"By validating this prosecution, the verdict blurs the line between the courts and executive enforcement power, signaling that the law will be enforced aggressively against immigrants and those who dare to defend their rights, while the privileged and powerful continue to evade accountability," said the group, calling Dugan's case "a political prosecution that criminalized the exercise of judicial independence and the defense of due process."
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Vocesde la Frontera, said the verdict "tells judges, court staff, and our communities that defending due process comes with consequences."
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