No One Is Above the Law: Toolkit to Make Federal Agents Accountable in D.C.
How to Use This Toolkit
Use this toolkit however it works best for you. Share the posts as written, update the copy to fit your voice, or turn these points into a video.
The format and words can change, but the message should stay clear:
The D.C. Council must pass legislation allowing people to sue any officer who violates our rights.
This toolkit contains key messages, a call to action, and sample content for social media, email, and video—including ready-to-use captions, a graphic, email copy, and talking points you can adapt.
Copying and pasting the text: Highlight the text you want to use, then press Ctrl+C on Windows or Command+C on Mac. Open your social platform's composer, click where you'd type your caption, and press Ctrl+V on Windows or Command+V on Mac to paste.
Downloading the image: Click the image (or the button beneath it) to open the full-size file. To save it on a desktop or laptop, right-click the image and choose "Save Image As." On a phone or tablet, long-press the image and choose "Save Image." You'll find it in your Downloads folder (desktop/laptop) or camera roll/photos (mobile).
Key Messages
No one should be above the law — including ICE and other federal agents.
Right now, it is easier to sue a store owner for slipping while shopping than it is to sue ICE and other federal agents for violating our most basic civil rights. This is wrong.
D.C. leaders can and must act. The D.C. Council needs to pass legislation allowing people to sue any officer — local or federal — who violates our rights.
Call to Action
Sign the petition. Tell the D.C. Council to pass legislation to make federal agents accountable when they violate our rights in D.C.
Facebook and Instagram
No one should be above the law. But today, it's easier to hold a restaurant owner accountable for slipping on their floor than to sue an ICE agent for violating our constitutional rights.
Suing federal agents under federal law is often extremely difficult.
But D.C. leaders can fill this gap. Tell the D.C. Council to make federal agents accountable for violating our rights.
Image Alt Text: A dark green graphic with white text that reads: “Tell the D.C. Council: Make federal agents accountable.” Above the text is a collage of a navy blue and white dual-tone image of a protest sign that reads: “Stop this lawlessness run amok!” and a deep green and white dual-tone image of federal agents overlayed a navy blue abstract shape.
Bluesky, Threads, and Twitter
No one should be above the law. But today, it's easier to hold a restaurant owner accountable for slipping on their floor than it is to sue an ICE agent for violating our rights.
Tell the D.C. Council: Make federal agents accountable in D.C. https://action.aclu.org/petition/no-one-is-above-the-law
Video Script
“D.C. Leaders Must Act”
Today, it is easier to hold a restaurant owner accountable for slipping on their floor than it is to sue an ICE agent for violating our constitutional rights. Why? Well, because court doctrines and congressional inaction have made suing federal agents under federal law extremely difficult.
Left unchecked, federal agents’ impunity invites further wrongdoing, turns our constitutional protections into empty promises, and makes us all less safe. And as federal officers commit more constitutional violations, D.C. leaders must act.
Join us in telling the D.C. Council: Make federal agents accountable when they violate our rights in D.C.
Dear –,
Across the country, we have watched in horror as federal agents have arrested U.S. citizens, dragged children from their beds, smashed car windows, and shot people they encounter.
If federal agents are acting like they are above accountability, it's because, all too often, they are. Court doctrines and congressional inaction have made suing federal agents under federal law extremely difficult.
But D.C. leaders can fill this gap. Join us in telling the D.C. Council to pass legislation that makes all officers accountable when they violate our rights in D.C.
We cannot wait for Congress to do what is right. People in D.C. need to be able to hold any law enforcement agent accountable when our constitutional rights are violated, no matter who that officer is or which badge they wear.
Sincerely,
<NAME>