The Failed Pacifist

FBI Conducts 'Pretext Interviews'

The Washington Post is reporting that FBI agents may have targeted anti-war protesters for "pretext interviews to gain general information concerning possible criminal activity" at last year's political conventions and presidential election.

Last Summer, then Attorney General Ashcroft claimed that such questioning in Denver was "based on indications that radical protesters may be planning violent disruptions". But FBI memos now indicate that the questioning may have been general information collecting, rather than about any specific threat.

The Post quotes Mark Silverstein of the ACLU Colorado chapter as saying "These documents confirm that the FBI's anti-terrorism force has been collecting information about peaceful protesters and dissenters and targeting people for attention on the basis of constitutionally protected association and advocacy"

posted by Doran @ 6:17 AM