ACLU BLASTS FBI HARASSMENT OF PROTESTERS

The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the FBI's use of the Joint Terrorism Task Force 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 FBI's intimidation and interrogation of peaceful protesters brings back eerie echoes of the days of J. Edgar Hoover," said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director. In Missouri, three young men in their early 20's 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. [more ]

• FBI Memo on Targeting Protestors [more ]