CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING: Hindu American Foundation’s Lawsuit Dismissal: A Victory for First Amendment and Human Rights

A great victory for the First Amendment and for Human Rights and Religious Freedom has been won. A District Judge in Washington, DC, has dismissed a frivolous lawsuit from Hindu American Foundation (HAF), to intimidate four civil rights activists and a professor who are critical of the Hindu Far Right ideology into silence.

In dismissing the lawsuit before trial, District Judge Amit Mehta said the HAF had failed to prove that it had been defamed by the exercise of free speech by those it had sued.

Join this Congressional Briefing on January 4, 2023 at 12 noon EST to hear the defendants and their attorneys speak on this hard-fought legal win, and what it means for the protection of First Amendment and the ongoing fight against Hindu Extremism.

PANELISTS –

RASHEED AHMED, Executive Director, Indian American Muslim Council

RAJU RAJAGOPAL, Cofounder, Hindus for Human Rights

SUNITA VISWANATH, Executive Director, Hindus for Human Rights

JOHN PRABHUDOSS, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America

AUDREY TRUSCHKE, Associate Professor, Rutgers University-Newark

THOMAS B. SULLIVAN, Attorney, Ballard Spahr

JOSHUA COLANGELO-BRYAN, Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

DANIEL SULLIVAN, Attorney, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP

MODERATOR –

SAFA AHMED, Indian American Muslim Council

CO-SPONSORED BY: Genocide Watch, World Without Genocide, Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, International Christian Concern, Jubilee Campaign, 21Wilberforce, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, International Commission for Dalit Rights, Center for Pluralism, American Muslim Institution, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, International Society for Peace and Justice, The Humanism Project and Association of Indian Muslims of America.

This Briefing is co-hosted by: Genocide Watch, World Without Genocide, Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, International Christian Concern, Jubilee Campaign, 21Wilberforce, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, Center for Pluralism, International Commission for Dalit Rights, American Muslim Institution, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, International Society for Peace and Justice, The Humanism Project and Association of Indian Muslims of America.