[Peace-discuss] FBI, FOIA, and ACLU

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Regarding tonight's discussion of the surveillance that AWARE
almost surely receives from federal state and/or local police
groups, here's some information on the FBI's usual practice. 
We have no warrant to suppose that they behave differently in
C-U. I think we should consider Lisa's suggestion, given that
"ACLU affiliates in 20 states have filed similar requests on
behalf of more than 150 groups and individuals." Perhaps we
should make a specific proposal to the local ACLU. --CGE]

  Additional Documents Indicate
  FBI Scrutiny of Anti-war Gathering
  ACLU Launches Nationwide Effort to Expose Illegal 
  FBI Spying on Political and Religious Groups (12/2/2004)

NEW YORK -- According to new documents released today by the
American Civil Liberties Union, the FBI is using
counterterrorism resources to monitor and infiltrate domestic
political organizations that criticize business interests and
government policies, despite a lack of evidence that the
groups are engaging in or supporting violent action.

The ACLU said that the documents released today on Greenpeace,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) show the FBI
expanding the definition of “domestic terrorism” to include
citizens and groups that participate in lawful protests or
civil disobedience.

“The FBI should use its resources to investigate credible
threats to national security instead of spending time tracking
Americans who criticize government policy, or monitoring
groups that have not broken the law,” said Ann Beeson,
Associate Legal Director of the ACLU. “Labeling law abiding
groups and their members ‘domestic terrorists’ is not only
irresponsible, it has a chilling effect on the vibrant
tradition of political dissent in this country.”

The documents were obtained by the ACLU after the organization
filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to discover
whether the FBI’s partnerships with local law enforcement in
Joint Terrorism Task Forces has resulted in increased
surveillance of political and religious activity.

Among the documents released today were more than 100 pages of
FBI files on PETA. Multiple documents indicate ongoing
surveillance of PETA-related meetings and activities,
including a “Vegan Community Project” event at the University
of Indiana during which the group distributed vegetarian
starter kits to students and faculty, an animal rights
conference in Washington, DC that was open to the public, and
a planned protest of Cindy Crawford’s decision to become a
llama fur spokesperson.

The ACLU said that FBI surveillance of mainstream
organizations involved in public education campaigns has
allowed the bureau to maintain files with names and other
information on law-abiding Americans who support or
participate in events organized by the groups. One file
released by the FBI in response to a request for ADC’s records
included a contact list for students and peace activists who
participated in a 2002 conference at Stanford University,
which focused on ending U.S. sanctions against Iraq.

“The FBI should be investigating real terrorists, not
monitoring controversial ideas,” said Ben Wizner, an ACLU
staff attorney. “Americans shouldn’t have to fear that by
protesting the treatment of animals or participating in
non-violent civil disobedience, they will be branded as
'eco-terrorists' in FBI records.”

The ACLU said that some of the documents suggest infiltration
by undercover “sources” at animal rights meetings and
conferences. One highly redacted “Domestic Terrorism
Operations Unit” document suggests that the FBI is using
PETA’s interns for surveillance, while others describe
attempts to locate and interview “several former disgruntled
PETA employees.” Similarly, one cryptic e-mail kept in a
Greenpeace file describes a source who “offers a unique
opportunity to gain intelligence on activists who show a clear
predisposition to violate the law.”

At times, the documents show aggressive attempts by the FBI to
link PETA, Greenpeace and other mainstream organizations to
activists associated with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) or
Earth Liberation Front (ELF), said the ACLU. PETA, in
particular, is repeatedly and falsely singled out as a “front”
for militant organizations although in at least one document
released today the FBI appears to acknowledge that it has no
evidence to back up such assertions.

“These documents show the erosion of freedom of association
and speech that Americans have taken for granted and which set
us apart from oppressive countries,” said Jeff Kerr, General
Counsel for PETA. “McCarthyist tactics used against PETA and
other groups that speak out against cruelty to animals and
exploitive corporate and government practices are un-American,
unconstitutional and against the interests of a healthy
democracy.”

The documents released by the ACLU also include FBI
observances on supposed Communist leanings of the Catholic
Workers Group (CWG). In an e-mail to the counterterrorism
unit, an unidentified official wrote, “the Catholic Workers
advocated peace with a Christian and semi-communistic
ideology.” In another document, an agent writes, “Based on the
author’s interpretation of comments made by various CWG
protestors, CWG also advocates a communist distribution of
resources.”

ACLU affiliates in 20 states have filed similar requests on
behalf of more than 150 groups and individuals. Earlier this
month, the ACLU of Colorado revealed that the FBI had tracked
the names, license plate numbers and vehicle registration
information of participants at a peaceful protest of the North
American Wholesale Lumber Association in Colorado Springs in
June 2002.    

To view the FBI documents released by the ACLU, go to:
www.aclu.org/spyfiles.