FBI bugs Anti-War Activists, link them to Terrorism

FBI uses new powers to bug anti-war groups

Update: FBI denies spying on Protesters (11/25)

Guardian -Monday November 24, 2003

Julian Borger in Washington

American civil liberties groups yesterday denounced the FBI for using new counter-terrorist powers to spy on anti-war demonstrations.

FBI officials said the surveillance of the anti-war movement was necessary to prevent protests being used as a cover by "extremist elements" or by terrorist organisations to mount an attack.

But the critics have pointed to an FBI memorandum on anti-war demonstrations distributed last month to local police forces which suggests that federal agents have also been monitoring legal organising techniques used by opponents of the war in Iraq.

"It is troubling that the FBI is advocating spying on peaceful protesters. Even protesters who engage in civil disobedience or other disruptive acts should not be treated like potential terrorists," Anthony Romero, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said yesterday.

The memorandum, quoted in yesterday's New York Times, explained how protest organisers used "training camps" to "rehearse tactics and counter-strategies for dealing with the police" and used the internet "to recruit, raise funds and coordinate their activities prior to demonstrations." The memorandum says this intelligence was gathered by first-hand observation (a possible reference to FBI agents), informants and monitoring the internet.

The FBI's scrutiny of the protest movement is reminiscent for some Americans of the era of J Edgar Hoover, who as FBI director used the bureau to spy on a list of political enemies, including Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders. After Hoover's excesses came to light, the FBI's powers were radically pruned but have grown back since September 11 2001, particularly as a result of the USA Patriot Act, passed 45 days after the terrorist attacks.

The law allows the FBI to conduct extensive secret surveillance of Americans suspected of links to terrorism.

FBI Publicly Denies Spying on Protesters

AP -November 25

(AP) - Senior FBI officials took the unusual step Tuesday of publicly declaring that agents are not using the war against terrorism as a cover to collect information on people who demonstrate against the government. John Pistole, assistant FBI director for counterterrorism, told The Associated Press in an interview that recent allegations by civil liberties groups and some members of Congress about such an intelligence effort are "flat-out wrong."

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printed from FBI bugs Anti-War Activists, link them to Terrorism on 2004-05-25 22:35:15