Dissent and Surveillance

 

Whether it’s illegal wiretapping on charities, controversial reports issued by fusion centers or covert surveillance of peaceful protesters, threats to First Amendment rights are too commonplace.
 

Photo: Brian Martin

 

Dissent and surveillance

Documents Reveal Rampant Government Surveillance on Washington State Activists

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Date: 
August 13, 2010

Documents released on Aug. 4, 2010 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reveal widespread government surveillance of political activists in Washington State.   Obtained through records requests to several government agencies, the public documents demonstrate anti-war groups have been the target of repeated infiltration by law enforcement officials from 2006-2010. According to the ACLU, the documents "reveal a disturbing abuse and misuse of government resources.”   

Senate Hearing Looks at Problems with FBI Surveillance Guidelines

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Date: 
August 3, 2010

On July 28, 2010, FBI Director Robert Mueller faced questions from Congress about FBI guidelines that allow surveillance on Americans without evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Mueller also told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not know how many FBI agents may have cheated on an exam to demonstrate their understanding of the guidelines, called the Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide (DIOG). Civil liberty advocates, already troubled by the wide discretion DIOG gives FBI agents, said the testing scandal only makes the situation worse. 

ACLU Requests FBI Records on Racial Profiling

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July 28, 2010

On July 27, 2010, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) affiliates in more than two dozen states filed a request to view documents that would show what racial data the FBI collects, and how it is used. Concerns about unconstitutional racial profiling authorized by the FBI’s 2008 Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide (DIOG) prompted the nationally coordinated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by 32 ACLU affiliates. 

Muslim Advocates Lawsuit Seeks FBI Surveillance Guidelines on Charities and Mosques

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September 30, 2009

In the wake of several reports that exposed covert Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance operations in U.S. mosques, Muslim Advocates, a prominent American Muslim civil rights group, has filed a lawsuit seeking disclosure of FBI methods for collecting domestic intelligence. Filed on Sept. 16, 2009, the lawsuit seeks the “full disclosure of the standards and procedures utilized by FBI agents” for conducting surveillance operations on civic or religious organizations in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation. On Sept. 25, possibly in response to this lawsuit and a similar one filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in June 2009, the FBI released a redacted version of the guidelines. Many critics say the release leads to more “troubling” questions than answers.

Students Planning Peaceful Demonstration Target of Police Spying

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Date: 
July 15, 2010

Documents released by the Washington state American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at a press conference on July 8, 2010 substantiate claims that a college campus police officer  infiltrated a student activist group in April. The ACLU says the documents identify alleged incidents of covert surveillance conducted by police without a “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.” The ACLU also called on state lawmakers to curb illegal surveillance of political and religious groups by police officials. 

Al-Haramain Oregon Proposes U.S. Pay Damages for Illegal Surveillance to Another Charity

in
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May 17, 2010

The legal proceedings following a federal court's March 2010 ruling in Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (AHIF) v. Obama that the government illegally wiretapped the charity and two of its lawyers from Feb. 19, 2004 to Sept. 9, 2004 have raised a novel issue: can the government pay a damage award to a listed terrorist organization? Lawyers for AHIF have proposed a novel solution, asking the court to turn over AHIF's share of the damages to one or more other charities.

Activist Turned Informant Leads to Two Arrested

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April 9, 2009

An activist turned informant is responsible for leading the FBI to arrest two Texas men during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul last September. Activists in Austin however contend that the informant manipulated the two men who are each facing one count of possession of firearms not registered to them.

Court Orders Review of FBI Records on California Muslim Organizations as New Complaints Emerge in 2 States

in
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June 15, 2009

Responding to claims that Muslim organizations have been illegally spied upon in southern California, a federal judge said on April 20, 2009 he will conduct a review of the FBI records.  The decision comes after nearly three years of legal efforts by the ACLU and American Muslim groups to obtain information that they say would demonstrate illegal surveillance by the FBI. The FBI will have 30 days to deliver approximately 100 pages of related surveillance memos and the files on the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its leaders to the judge.

Court Orders Author to Return CAIR Documents, Civic Participation Efforts Generate Fearful Response

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November 24, 2009

On Nov. 19, 2009, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the author of a book about American Muslims groups to return all of the materials his son removed from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) office while working there as an intern. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s 3 page order requires the return of over 12,000 pages of documents, lists about employees and donors, and audio and video recordings. The documents revealed details of CAIR's plans for participating in public policy debates and encourage Muslims to pursue careers in government. These materials led some members of Congress to accuse of group of spying, but House Judiciary Chair John Conyers (D-MI) issued a statement support the right "to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in Congressional offices." 

Frustration Toward FBI Boils Over for American Muslim Groups

in
Date: 
May 11, 2009

Months of deteriorating relationships between the FBI and major American Muslim organizations came to a head when revelations of a FBI informant posing as a convert in mosques became public in February 2009. The incident, combined with the FBI's disengagement from communications with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has lead several American Muslim advocacy groups to consider a suspension of ongoing outreach with the FBI. The growing tension was raised during a Senate hearing where FBI Director Robert Mueller was questioned about the Bureau's conduct about investigating Muslim organizations.