On Nov. 16, 2011, a civil rights group filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice seeking information about an alleged FBI informant who infiltrated their group. Filed by one of the founders of Common Ground Relief, a nonprofit providing relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf  of Mexico region, the suit seeks to uncover the FBI records pertaining to Brandan Darby’s involvement with the group when he served as interim director in the mid 2000s. Darby has publicly admitted to being a federal informant, after it was revealed in 2009 that he helped the FBI spy on anti-war activists during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

According to nola.com, Darby has said that Common Ground was not the focus of any federal investigation.

The spokeswoman for the FBI’s New Orleans office, said she was aware of the lawsuit, but declined to comment because it is pending litigation.