FBI criticized for post-9-11 probes of anti-war groups, PETA

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WASHINGTONFBI agents improperly opened investigations into Greenpeace and several other domestic advocacy groups following the Sept. 11
terror attacks in 2001, and put names of some of their members on
terror watch lists with evidence that turned out to be “factually
weak,” the Department of Justice said Monday.

However, the internal review by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine did not conclude that the FBI purposely targeted the groups or its members, as many civil liberties advocates had charged after anti-Iraq war rallies and other protests were held during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Rather, Fine said, the FBI tactics
appeared “troubling” in singling out some of the domestic groups for
investigations that ran for up to five years, and were extended
“without adequate basis.” He also questioned why the FBI continued to maintain investigative files against the groups.

“In several cases there was little indication of any possible federal crimes,” Fine said. “In some cases, the FBI classified some investigations relating to nonviolent civil disobedience under its ‘Acts of Terrorism’ classification.”

In addition to the environmental group Greenpeace, others who were investigated by the FBI included PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the anti-war groups the Catholic Worker and the Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh.

Timothy P. Murphy, the FBI’s deputy director, defended the FBI
investigations, saying they were launched after tips suggested
potential criminal activities. “We are pleased the report concludes the
FBI did not target any groups for investigation on the basis of their First Amendment activities,” Murphy said.

He conceded that some “inaccurate information” gleaned from the investigations was passed up to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, who used it in congressional testimony when he said the FBI
had gathered information that “certain persons of interest” were
believed connected to terrorism and expected to attend a 2002 anti-war
rally by the Thomas Merton Center.

Michael Drohan, president of the board of directors of
the Thomas Merton Center, first founded in 1972 to oppose the Vietnam
War, said they believe the FBI targeted them to scare others from joining their cause.

“It is somewhat troubling that in the name of
combating terrorism, they would choose an organization that they know
is bent on the principle of non-violence,” Drohan said. “That they
would use taxpayer money to surveil us, that’s a bit outrageous.

The Department of Justice investigation determined that a probationary FBI agent was sent to a Merton Center rally in November 2002 on what the FBI field office in Pittsburgh called a “slow work day” — the day after Thanksgiving.
He could not find any obvious terrorism subjects, but did photograph a
Middle Eastern woman “in order to have something to show his
supervisor.”

The FBI conducted a “full investigation” into Greenpeace’s planned protests at shareholder meetings for two companies in Texas,
and kept the investigation open “for over three years, long past the
shareholder meetings that the subjects were supposedly planning to
disrupt.” In addition, the bureau classified their investigation as an
“Act of Terrorism case” and placed several Greenpeace members on their federal watch list.

“We’ve had the attention of law enforcement for years,” said Greenpeace senior researcher Mark Floegel. “We’re always aware there’s some kind of buzz around us, and that’s fine. We operate out in the open. But at the same time Greenpeace cannot protect the environment without democracy, and we can’t have democracy if the government doesn’t respect our rights.”

Asked about the surveillance, Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of PETA, said, “The FBI’s ham-handed attempt to catch us with our pants down ended up backfiring. As a result, the FBI was caught with its pants down.”

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