Police Spied on Activists Through '07

[babylonsister]

Police Spied on Activists Through '07
Protest groups say they haven't gotten the full story from state

by Liz F. Kay


Documents released yesterday show that state police spying of nonviolent protest groups took place in 2007, more than a year after law enforcement officials said much-criticized surveillance of death-penalty activists had ended.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the spying to light this year, also determined that some political activists who appear never to have set foot in Maryland were included in databases that list them as potential terrorists.

Activists say they still aren't getting complete information from state police about 53 people identified as possible terrorists during a covert operation in 2005 and 2006, despite pledges of cooperation from the O'Malley administration. They say they'll keep demanding documents and are considering legal action.

"We are nowhere near full disclosure of what they did, why they did it and who they did it to," ACLU attorney David Rocah said.

The spying was first disclosed this summer, after the civil liberties group obtained documents revealing surveillance of anti-death-penalty activists and peace protesters.

Police had no evidence of potential illegal acts by the protesters, which is the legal standard for launching such an investigation. Names of protesters were entered into a terrorist database that was shared with other agencies.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/11/20-1

[readmoreoften]

1. Yup.

[midnight]

2. Does anyone know how to check to see if one might be on the list?

[MrScorpio]

3. Thought crime

The sign that governments fear their citizens