22nd September 2010
FBI Monitored Innocent Groups Under "Terrorism" Charge
Mark Hanson
Numerous groups and individuals were monitored by the FBI in the United States under the reasoning of anti-terrorism powers, yet there was scant evidence that there should have been an investigation in those cases, a review has concluded.
The review by the Justice Department's Inspector General looked at FBI activities between 2001 and 2006, and found that groups that often used civil disobedience, yet never violence, were put under surveillance for "Acts of Terrorism". The groups included Greenpeace USA, The Catholic Worker and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The review concluded that a number of individuals were put on the “watched” list on the basis of “weak” evidence, and it was found that the FBI kept open investigations past the time limit under FBI rules.
The cases highlight how the post-9/11 world sees terrorism-related activities in peaceable political demonstrations, and that the authorities are living in an unwarranted climate of fear that oppresses political activists who use peaceful direct action. Tolerance of non-violent dissent has suffered enormously, and there is a growing trend towards a narrowing of what types of political activism are permissible.
In one case, Greenpeace USA activists were put under surveillance for planning to protest at Exxon and Kimberly-Clark, and the investigation was kept open for over three years, long after the planned event had passed. The report found that there was no basis to suspect they were planning a federal crime.
Such flagrant abuse of the rules is not consistent with the US claim to be the home of liberty.
