ACLU Denounces FBI Tactics Targeting Political Protesters;
Calls on Individuals to Report FBI Interrogations
August 16, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK-The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the FBIs use of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to monitor, interrogate and suppress anti-war and other political protesters and called on individuals who have been targeted for investigation to come forward.

The ACLU issued the public statement after an article in todays New York Times detailed actions taken by FBI agents in Missouri, Kansas and Colorado to spy on and interrogate activists in advance of the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

"The FBIs intimidation and interrogation of peaceful protesters brings back eerie echoes of the days of J. Edgar Hoover," said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director. "Resources and funds established to fight terrorism should not be misused to target innocent Americans who have done nothing more than engage in lawful protest and dissent."

According to reports from ACLU offices, law enforcement officials throughout the U.S. have been monitoring the daily activities of various activists they believe are planning to protest major national political events, including the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of protesters. In the days leading up to the Democratic National Convention, officials identifying themselves as JTTF agents made "visits" to the homes of several activists as well as their friends and family members.

In Missouri, three young men in their early 20s were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury on July 29, the same day they planned on protesting the Democratic convention. The men, who planned to drive to Boston with an activist group based in St. Louis, first realized they were being targeted by the FBI when agents visited the homes of their parents a week before the subpoenas. In addition to asking about easily accessible information such as current addresses, the agents also asked the parents for information on their sons political activities.

The very next day, agents visited the three men directly and asked them if they had any knowledge of individuals planning "criminally disorderly behavior" at the national conventions, the presidential debates, the election or any other event. According to the men, the surveillance increased after the visits, and conditions did not improve until after they contacted the ACLU.

"These young men are quite terrified by the experience of being targeted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force because of their protest activities," said Denise Lieberman, Legal Director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. "The FBI interrogations have had a chilling effect on free speech."

JTTF officials conducted similar investigations on individuals in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado, including 21-year-old Sarah Bardwell. Bardwell, an intern with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group dedicated to nonviolence, was approached at her home by four FBI agents and two Denver police officers asking questions consistent with those in Missouri: Are you planning to be involved in any criminal acts at the national conventions? Do you know anybody who is? Are you aware that if you assist or know anybody planning any criminal acts and do not report them, its a crime?

According to Bardwell, the officials at first jokingly told her and her housemates that they were there to do "community outreach," but then clarified they were "doing some preventive measures and investigating." Bardwell and her housemates believe they were targeted because of their past participation in protests, including anti-war demonstrations.

Last year, the Denver Police Department agreed to stop its practice of monitoring and recording the peaceful protest activities of local residents in a settlement reached in the ACLUs landmark "Spy Files" lawsuit. Despite the settlement, Denvers intelligence unit contributes two fulltime officers to the JTTF.

"These JTTF visits are an abuse of power, designed to intimidate these kids from exercising their constitutional right to protest government policies and associate with others who want to protest government policies," said Mark Silverstein, Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado.

The ACLU denounced JTTF tactics last November after the publication of a classified FBI intelligence memorandum, which gave police detailed instructions on how to target and monitor lawful political demonstrations under the rubric of fighting terrorism.

As reported in todays Times, a previously undisclosed DOJ legal opinion condoned the controversial tactics outlined in the memorandum. The opinion was issued in response to an internal complaint by an employee who charged that the tactics blurred the line between lawfully protected speech and illegal activity.

"It is troubling that the FBI continues to advocate spying on peaceful protesters," said the ACLUs Romero. "But even protesters who engage in civil disobedience or other disruptive acts should not be treated like potential terrorists."

The ACLU said that there has been a noticeable increase in domestic spying on political protestors in recent years. One of the most famous cases is the infiltration of the anti-war group Peace Fresno by a member of the Fresno County Sheriff Department's Anti-Terrorism unit in 2003. Peace Fresno discovered one of its members had actually been a government agent through an obituary published after his death in a motorcycle accident. The incident is portrayed in Michael Moores Fahrenheit 9/11 as an example of civil liberties violations in the post-September 11th climate.

The ACLU said it is continuing to monitor incidents of FBI intimidation and interrogation.

The FBI memo targeting protestors

DOJ opinion condoning the memorandum

ACLUs work to protect protest rights

Colorados "Spy Files" case

ACLU Criticizes Secret Service Investigation of News Website That Posted RNC Delegates' Names
August 30, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACLU is Defending Web Host and Others Sought Through Grand Jury Subpoena

NEW YORK - In a letter sent today in response to a grand jury subpoena issued by the Secret Service, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union said they are representing a web hosting service and administrators of an independent media website regarding the anonymous posting of publicly available information about delegates to the Republican National Convention.

The groups said the investigation is but the latest example of government agencies using law enforcement powers to chill free speech and intimidate protesters.

"This type of investigation is really a form of intimidation and a message to activists that they will pay a price for speaking out," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson. "The posting of publicly available information about people who are in the news should not trigger an investigation. Indeed, if the mere posting of the delegates' name is cause for alarm, then the Secret Service should be investigating the many Republican websites where the same kind of information is available."

Beeson added that the posting did not include anything remotely threatening, but involved political speech fully protected by the First Amendment. Indymedia.org is the website of the Independent Media Center, a collective of independent media organizations and journalists.

The ACLU and NYCLU are also defending Calyx Internet Access, a web hosting service for the Indymedia website. Last week, Calyxs president, Nicholas Merrill, received a grand jury subpoena to turn over contact information for Indymedia. Merrill said that he contacted the four men he knew of -- and the ACLU -- upon receiving the subpoena, and the men agreed that Calyx could provide their information because they had nothing to hide. In fact, the men are not responsible for posting the delegate names, and it is not clear who is, because Indymedia has an anonymous posting policy.

In its letter to the Secret Service today, the ACLU provided the e-mail addresses of the four Indymedia administrators --- Matt Toups, Brian Szymanski, Micah Anderson and one man who prefers not to be named publicly -- and advised the agency that they are representing them in any formal or informal questioning of them or Merrill.

In a statement issued today, Toups, a 22-year-old undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University, said: The right of an author to choose anonymity is an important part of what Indymedia stands for because we work to create a safe space for dissenting views. Unfortunately, the United States is becoming an increasingly repressive and chilling environment for free speech, thanks to government harassment like the recent attempts to question Indymedia and other activist groups in New York for the Republican National Convention.

Beeson said she found it ironic that the Secret Service subpoena said that the men were sought in connection with an investigation of voter intimidation. "The only intimidation taking place here is the Secret Service intimidating people who speak out against the government," she said. Unfortunately, the Secret Service has a very recent history of preventing Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights.

Last year, the ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against the Secret Service over the agencys practice of forcing activists into remote "protest zones" during Bush administration events, while allowing pro-Bush supporters to remain in close proximity. A judge dismissed the case after the agency insisted that the practice was not a matter of policy and agreed that such a policy would violate important free speech rights protected under the Constitution. The ACLU is still investigating complaints of restrictions against protesters.

In recent weeks, the ACLU and its affiliates around the country have received complaints that law enforcement officials throughout the U.S. have been monitoring activists they believe are planning to protest at major national political events, including the Republican National Convention in New York, which has already drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters.

In Missouri, the ACLU is defending three activists who were subpoenaed as part of an investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The men, who have no history of violent activity, were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury on July 29, which prevented them from traveling to Boston to protest at the Democratic National Convention as they had planned.

In addition to Beeson, the five men in today's case are represented by Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU and Arthur Eisenberg, Legal Director of the NYCLU.