Illegal spying and detention of citizens by federal government.

Attorney and former U.S. Senate candidate Marc Scaringi to address illegal spying and detention of citizens by federal government during rally Saturday in Sunbury

HARRISBURG, PA (October 2, 2013) - Saying the National Security Agency (NSA) is leading "one of the largest and most comprehensive attacks on 4th Amendment rights,'' in the country's history, Harrisburg Attorney Marc A. Scaringi will speak out against the domestic spying operation of the NSA and explain how the agency is violating the Constitutional rights of the American people.

Scaringi, a Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012, will also warn of the threat to freedom posed by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the 1 p.m. rally in Merle Phillips Park at Market and Front streets. The event is organized by Restore the Fourth Susquehanna Valley, a group dedicated to preserving our constitutional rights.

In addition to the privacy violations being committed by the NSA as it collects the electronic communications of Americans, Scaringi warns NDAA is even more insidious. Broadened last year, the NDAA allows authorities to indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil without charge or trial if they are merely suspected of supporting al-Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces.

"This newly created statutory power for the U.S. government to detain a U.S. citizen indefinitely and deny that citizen his due process rights, such as the right to an attorney, the right to bail or the right to be informed of the charges against him,'' Scaringi said. "It is patently unconstitutional and violates the very principles upon which our country was founded."

Scaringi called for the repeal of the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA during his primary campaign for the U.S. Senate last year. Now, back in private practice, Scaringi is working with state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County, in drafting a law to address indefinite detentions in Pennsylvania. Known as the Liberty Preservation Act, the measure would prohibit Pennsylvania law enforcement officers from assisting the federal government in carrying out indefinite detentions anywhere in the state.

"This is the first time in our history that we have a law saying the president has the power to detain a U.S. citizen in this country and detain that person for an unlimited amount of time without due process,'' Scaringi said. "We're facing today one of the greatest threats to our freedom under the guise of fighting terrorism. Taking freedoms away from Americans is not the way to make the country safe.''

Virginia and California have passed similar legislation and measures are close to being passed in Michigan, Montana, Indiana and South Carolina. Lawmakers in at least 10 other states are also looking at the issue.

"Now is the time for defenders of liberty to stand up and fight back, said Scaringi, who at the rally will ask attendees to contact their local lawmakers in support of the Liberty Preservation Act, also known as state Senate Bill 999. The bill is co-sponsored by state senators John Eichelberger, R-Blair County; David G. Argall, R-Schuylkill County; and Richard Alloway, II, R-Franklin County. The bill has been referred to the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, chaired by Sen. Scott E. Hutchinson, R-Venango County.

"Each and every one of us should look down deep and gather our strength and steel ourselves with the courage of our convictions and the knowledge that we fight for what is right,'' Scaringi said. "We are fighting to restore what our own Founding Fathers fought for, won and then bestowed upon us - a limited government that is constrained by the Constitution and that protects the freedom and personal liberty of every American.

Scaringi Law is a full-service law firm with offices in Harrisburg, Newport and Carlisle.