Privacy Advocates Ambush Himes Over Clean FISA Push
Privacy Advocates Ambush Himes Over Clean FISA Push
https://prospect.org/2026/04/02/privacy-advocates-ambush-himes-over-clean-fisa-push/
Publish Date: 2026-04-02 05:10:00
Source Domain: prospect.org
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT – Shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday, a steel gray Volkswagen Atlas pulled up to the entrance of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCACT) in the suburban woodlands of southwestern Connecticut. When the man in the passenger seat stepped out, he smiled before greeting two high school students who were handing out flyers. That man was Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and those leafletters were among dozens of protesters who had gathered outside MoCACT ahead of a town hall he would be speaking at.
Himes, who is once again at the forefront of the fight to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), appeared to have walked straight into an ambush. Activists with Connecticut High School Democrats, CT 50501, and QuitGPT called on him to change course on FISA and align himself with members of Congress seeking to reform the warrantless spying program, which has allowed U.S. intelligence agencies to surveil foreign nationals abroad and amass troves of communications data, including from American citizens.
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Many of the protesters arrived earlier to set up for the planned action, and by 4 p.m., at least 20 soon-to-be demonstrators had mustered in the parking lot. Less than ten minutes later, police informed them they were “not welcome” and needed to vacate the premises because “this is private property.” They obliged without contest, snapping a quick group photo before making their exit and regrouping across the street.
The protest kicked off around 4:30, and Himes met with his critics in the time he had before the town hall at 5:30. One protester who requested anonymity told the Prospect: “I believe Himes thinks he’s doing the right thing.” Despite this, they said “it was something else seeing him try to explain away the anger [people have toward FISA].”
A particular flashpoint came…
