BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A recent controversy involving federal surveillance programs has prompted one group of people in the Birmingham area to do more than celebrate freedom on the Fourth of July. They plan on standing up for it.

The protest is known as Restore the Fourth -- a nod to the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unwarranted searches and seizures -- and is part of a national movement with rallies planned in dozens of cities this week.

The Birmingham group is asking people to gather at Linn Park in Birmingham between 2 and 4 p.m. Thursday to protest National Security Agency surveillance programs that collected data on phone calls and online activity.

"They're essentially doing warrantless surveillance, which is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution," said Christy Johnson, one of the organizers of the Birmingham event.

The public first learned of the surveillance programs in June, when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked information about them to Britain's Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post. The Obama administration has defended the programs, saying the data collected was not very detailed -- for example, that nobody was listening to individual phone conversations -- and that it was done to fight terrorism.

The people interested in the protest on July 4 come from diverse political backgrounds, Johnson said, and include people who support the Tea Party movement, the Occupy movement, and everyone in between.

Johnson, a former radio journalist, said the surveillance programs, coupled with the government's monitoring of Associated Press reporters' phone records, were a threat not only to the Fourth Amendment, but to the First.

"This type of surveillance has a chilling effect not only on our freedom of the press, but on our freedom of speech," she said.

Johnson said she learned about the rallies on the website Reddit, where users were organizing to protest what many saw as

"I had never been a redditor before this, before the leaks started coming out and I realized that this is where that organization was happening," she said.

Reddit is owned by Advance Publications, which also owns AL.com and The Birmingham News.

Johnson said she expects about 30 people to show up Thursday, but is hopeful that the number will be much higher. She said the group has worked with the city to ensure the protest will be a peaceful, smooth exercise of First Amendment rights.

Johnson said she knows July 4 is a day many people plan to spend with friends and family, but said she hopes people will add standing up for their beliefs to the agenda on Independence Day.

"I'm hoping enough people will think this is important enough to make it part of their festivities as well," she said.

For more information, visit Restore the Fourth's website or email rt4bham@gmail.com.