The Constitution Cannot Protect Itself: The Rutherford Institute Releases 2026 Mid-Year Report
Two hundred and fifty years after America declared its independence from tyranny, the constitutional principles on which the nation was founded are being tested on multiple fronts.
Artificial intelligence and mass surveillance are giving government unprecedented powers to monitor the American people. Emergency powers and executive authority continue to expand. Dissent is increasingly treated as a threat. Militarized policing, warrantless searches, government censorship and attacks on due process are steadily shifting the balance of power away from the individual and toward the state.
These challenges transcend politics and political parties.
For more than four decades, The Rutherford Institute has maintained a simple position: the Constitution must restrain government regardless of who is in power or whose rights are at stake.
Our newly released 2026 Mid-Year Report, On the Front Lines of Liberty: The State of Constitutional Freedom—and the Fight to Defend It, provides a snapshot of the battles we have been fighting this year—from government censorship, AI-powered policing and mass surveillance to religious liberty, free speech, police accountability, due process, government overreach and the criminalization of poverty.
2026 Mid-Year Report: The State of Constitutional Freedom—and the Fight to Defend It
The cases and issues highlighted in this report represent only a portion of our work on behalf of constitutional freedom. New threats continue to emerge, new legal battles continue to begin, and The Rutherford Institute remains committed to meeting those challenges wherever they arise.
The Constitution cannot protect itself. It depends on citizens willing to defend it.
Help Defend Constitutional Freedom
The Rutherford Institute provides its legal services at no charge and relies on the support of individuals committed to defending constitutional freedom and holding government accountable.
Article posted with permission from John Whitehead
