April 17, 2020 The Honorable William P. Barr Attorney General of the United States 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530 Dear Attorney General Barr, During these troubled times, we want to thank you for your consistent stance to protect constitutional freedoms of the American people. Thank you, in particular, for focusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) on protecting religious freedom and First Amendment rights, as well as for your public statement against abuses of religious freedom through state and local coronavirus orders and the Statement of Interest filed by the DOJ in federal court in Mississippi just this week. Because of the rampant abuses of constitutional rights and civil liberties through the myriad orders issued by the governors and local officials nationwide, as part of the response to COVID-19, we urge you to undertake immediate review of all the orders that have been issued by the states and local governments across the nation. Although the orders are for the purpose of slowing the spread of the coronavirus, the nature and enforcement of the orders have increasingly raised serious concerns about violating the basic protections and rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution. A few examples include        Arresting pro-life counselors for peacefully standing outside an abortion clinic while maintaining social distance Government officials arresting and handcuffing a father in front of his child for playing catch outdoors. Arresting a man for surfing Ticketing citizens for attending a drive-in church service on church property, in their own cars. Police officers telling an African American pastor that his rights are suspended because of coronavirus orders Prohibitions on citizens’ rights to purchase firearms. Claiming the right to assemble in protests against state shelter-in-place orders is not an “essential activity” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Conservative Action Project (CAP) was founded in 2008 by many conservative leaders with former Attorney General Edwin Meese III serving as the Founding Chairman. CAP is currently chaired by Mr. Alfred S. Regnery and is designed to facilitate conservative leaders working together on behalf of common goals. Participants include the CEOs of over 100 organizations representing all major elements of the conservative movement-economic, social and national security. While government has the authority to act to protect public health during a time of pandemic, the United States Constitution requires that any government actions must be narrowly tailored to ensure that rights enshrined in the Constitution are not abrogated. Protecting the lives of its people is one of the important purposes of the very existence of our government, but there is no constitutional authority for any level of government to use the emergency as a justification for abusing its power and violating the most cherished Constitutional freedoms of the people of this country. Petty, would-be, dictators are attempting use the crisis as an opportunity to flex their perceived new muscles at the expense of the Constitution, and even telling citizens their right to protest such excess has been “suspended”. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, we call on you to halt the spread of these unconstitutional orders and enforcement tactics against the American people. We urge you to immediately assemble a task force at DOJ to do the following:      Review all local and state orders Ensure that every order is narrowly tailored to address specific, identified and identifiable risks, and are not wholesale restrictions on the rights of citizens Issue national guidelines for enforcement that reflect the Constitutional rights of the American people Notify those state and local officials of the Constitutional deficiencies in their orders and request voluntary revision or cessation of enforcement of provisions that are identified by your review as violating the Constitution Initiate litigation to enjoin the enforcement of orders that are not narrowly tailored and which infringe upon the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution. Many see this crisis as an opportunity to reduce liberty and enlarge government power in permanent ways. We will do all in our power to make sure this does not happen. We urge the DOJ to take numerous, specific actions, right now, to focus and act against this disturbing new danger to our country’s future.   We know well that you share our devotion to America's Constitutional liberties, and we are grateful that you are in a unique position to act decisively in their defense. Sincerely, The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund William L. Walton President Council for National Policy Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Partner Foley & Lardner LLP Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq. Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. President and CEO, First Liberty Institute The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Former Counselor to the US Attorney General The Honorable Matt Schlapp Chairman American Conservative Union (ACU) Tom McClusky President March for Life Action Thomas Fitton President Judicial Watch, Inc. The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project President, Conservative Partnership Institute Rachel Bovard Senior Director of Policy Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc. Mary Vought Executive Director Senate Conservatives Fund Lisa B. Nelson Chief Executive Officer American Legislative Exchange Council Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund Christopher Malagisi Executive Director of Outreach Hillsdale College The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc. Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985) U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989) David Bozell President ForAmerica Noah Wall Vice President of Advocacy FreedomWorks The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio Marjorie Dannenfelser President Susan B. Anthony List The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell President The Leadership Institute The Honorable David McIntosh U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Indiana   (All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only)