Dear Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Leahy, Chairman Goodlatte, and Ranking Member Conyers;
The undersigned civil society organizations write to express our concern over Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) abuse of counterterrorism resources to
monitor Americans First Amendment protected activity.
The FBI in particular has a well-documented history of abuse of First Amendment rights. In recent years
that abuse has continued, including sending undercover agents and informants to infiltrate peaceful social
justice groups, as well as surveillance of, documenting, and reporting on lawful political activity under
counterterrorism authorities. Among the groups and movements recently targeted are the School of the
Americas Watch (SOAW), Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Keystone XL Pipeline
activists. DHS and local fusion centers monitored the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter
movements as well. We urge the Judiciary Committees to investigate patterns of abuse by the FBI and
DHS, and issue substantive public reports on:
How the FBI and DHS came to monitor SOAW, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and antiKeystone XL Pipeline activists;
Why the surveillance and reporting persisted not withstanding acknowledgements by these agencies
that the political activities were peaceful;
What local law enforcements role and/or involvement was with the monitoring of SOAW, Occupy
Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Keystone XL Pipeline activists, in cooperation with DHS
and FBI and/or to further DHS and FBI monitoring activities;
What other non-violent political movements have been the target of counterterrorism activity; and
See Exposed: FBI Surveillance of School of Americas Watch, Partnership for Civil Justice PARTNERSHIP FOR
CIVIL JUSTICE (November 12, 2015). Available at http://www.justiceonline.org/soaw
2 See The FBI vs. Occupy: Secret Docs Reveal "Counterterrorism" Monitoring of OWS from Its Earliest Days,
DEMOCRACY NOW (December 27, 2012). Available at
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/27/the_fbi_vs_occupy_secret_docs
An FBI email obtained by the news website The Intercept also revealed that the FBI Joint Terrorism Task
Force tracked a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America.3
The FBI and Keystone XL Pipeline Activists
There has been a series of revelations about FBI monitoring of activists opposed to the construction of the
Keystone XL Pipeline. The first indication of this surveillance came when, in early 2015, it was reported
that at least a dozen anti-Keystone XL pipeline activists in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho received visits
from FBI agents. The activists were from a diverse range of groups and organizations, all opposed to the
building of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Activists reported being told by FBI agents, Were not doing
criminal investigations, youre not accused of any crime. But were trying to learn more about the
movement.4 This is disconcerting given the FBIs own claim that it investigates crimes, not political
movements.
Further information about the FBIs monitoring of anti-Keystone XL Pipeline activists emerged one
month later when FBI documents made public through FOIA by the Guardian and Earth Island Journal
showed that the Houston FBI office had engaged in substantial monitoring of anti-Keystone XL Pipeline
activists, including the use of an informant.5 Further concerns have emerged about FBI collusion with
TransCanada Corporation, the corporation building the Keystone XL Pipeline. The FBI held a strategy
session with the company and a document was produced by the FBI that contained both TransCanadas
corporate logo and the FBIs logo.6
The FBI has conceded the investigation conducted by the Houston Office violated its own internal rules,
as the proper approval for the investigation was not first obtained. There are still questions based on the
Lee Fang, Why Was an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Tracking a Black Lives Matter Protest? THE INTERCEPT
(March 2, 2015). Available at https://theintercept.com/2015/03/12/fbi-appeared-use-informant-track-black-livesmatter-protest/
4 See Alexander Pannetta Anti-Oil Sands Activists in the U.S. are Getting Visits from the FBI, THE GLOBE AND
MAIL (February 7, 2015). Available at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/anti-oil-sands-activists-in-theus-are-getting-visits-from-the-fbi/article22851903/
5 See Paul Lewis and Adam Freedman, Revealed: FBI Violated Its Own Rules While Spying on Keystone XL
Opponents, THE GUARDIAN (May 12, 2015). Available at http://www.theguardian.com/usnews/2015/may/12/revealed-fbi-spied-keystone-xl-opponents.
6 See Adam Federman, FBI Held Strategy Meeting with Keystone XL Partners, (March 17, 2014). Available at
http://www.alternet.org/environment/fbi-held-strategy-meetings-keystone-xl-partners/
documents released as to whether this was part of a wider-investigation into anti-Keystone XL Pipeline
activism.7
DHS Monitors Both Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter
Documents obtained through FOIA by Truthout and The Intercept reveal that the Department of
Homeland Security monitored both the Occupy Wall Street and the Black Lives Matter movements.8
DHS surveillance of Black Lives Matter extended beyond the movement to engulf black Americans in
general, including monitoring a Funk Music Parade and a walk to end breast cancer in a historically
African-American neighborhood in Washington, DC. 9
The Need for Oversight
In the late 1980s the FBIs extensive counterterrorism investigation of the Committee in Solidarity with
the People of El Salvador (CISPES) came to light. As a result, the United States Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence10 investigated the matter and in 1989 released a report about the FBIs surveillance of
CISPES.11
We are calling on the Judiciary Committees to, in the tradition of that investigation and report, investigate
and report on FBI and DHS surveillance of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, anti-Keystone XL
Pipeline activists, and the School of Americas Watch.
We also call on the Judiciary Committees to address in their reports what reforms are necessary to prevent
counterterrorism resources from being used to monitor non-violent First Amendment-protected activity.
The surveillance of SOAW, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Keystone XL Pipeline
See Paul Lewis and Adam Freedman, Revealed: FBI Violated Its Own Rules While Spying on Keystone XL
Opponents, THE GUARDIAN (May 12, 2015). Available at http://www.theguardian.com/usnews/2015/may/12/revealed-fbi-spied-keystone-xl-opponents.
8 See Jason Leopold, DHS Turns Over Occupy Wall Street Documents to Truthout, TRUTHOUT (March 20, 2012).
Available at http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/8012-dhs-turns-over-occupy-wall-street-documents-to-truthout.
9 George Joseph, Exclusive: Feds Regularly Monitored Black Lives Matter Movement Since Ferguson, The
INTERCEPT (July 24, 2015). Available at https://theintercept.com/2015/07/24/documents-show-departmenthomeland-security-monitoring-black-lives-matter-since-ferguson/
10 Both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Judiciary Committee had concurrent jurisdiction. The
Intelligence Committee took the lead in the investigation, as the investigation involved extensive classified
information. Members of the Judiciary Committee were invited to attend both open and closed hearings and
receiving a final copy of the report.
11 See The FBI and CISPES Select Committee on Intelligence U.S. Senate (1989). Available at
http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/10146.pdf
activists is not an aberration. In 2010, the DOJ Inspector General reviewed inappropriate FBI monitoring
of six different political groups,12 including Greenpeace, PETA, and the Thomas Merton Center, issuing
recommendations to prevent such actions from recurring, but it appears little has changed. As a result,
Congressional action is needed.
Surveillance of First Amendment-protected activities has a chilling effect on free speech and civil society.
Individuals who may otherwise express their views freely may refrain from participating in
demonstrations or political organizations if they believe they will be monitored by law enforcement or
intelligence agencies. It is also detrimental to free expression for law enforcement and intelligence
agencies to conflate activism with terrorism. Labeling activism as terrorism criminalizes political dissent.
Given the current political climate and draconian laws concerning terrorism, individuals may be deterred
from participating in completely lawful speech, such as a protest march, by this stigma.
For these reasons we urge the Judiciary Committees to fulfill their oversight role and investigate on FBI
and DHS monitoring of Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and School of Americas Watch, antiKeystone Pipeline XL activists, and any other political groups or activities.
If you would like additional information on this issue, please contact Chip Gibbons at the Bill of Rights
Defense Committee and Defending Dissent Foundation. He can be reached at 202.529.4225 or
chip@defendingdissent.org.
National Organizations:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Arab American Institute
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Bill of Rights Defense Committee & Defending Dissent Foundation
Bridges Across Borders
Codepink
Color Of Change
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Center for Constitutional Rights
12 See A Review of the FBIs Investigations of Certain Domestic Advocacy Groups U.S. Department of Justice
Demand Progress
US Uncut
X-Lab
Greenpeace, U.S.A
Guatemala Human Rights Commission
ImaginAction Theater Inc
Internationalism Project
Other98
OUR Walmart
Popular Resistance
Fellowship of Reconciliation DC
Friends of Franz Jaegerstaetter
Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition
Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace
Golden Ponds Farm
Rutherford Institute
of America (UE)
MidEast: JustPeace
Minnesota Anti-War Committee
CC: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Members of the House Judiciary Committee