Federal, State And Local Law Enforcement Collecting Information On Innocent Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312 or media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The Washington Post reported today how, nine years after 9/11, U.S. state and local law enforcement are collecting, storing and sharing with federal agencies vast amounts of information about American citizens’ First Amendment protected activities, often when there is no accusation, evidence or even suspicion of unlawful activity. The report is part of the paper’s “Top Secret America” series.

The following can be attributed to Michael German, American Civil Liberties Union Policy Counsel and former FBI Agent:

“Treating innocent citizens as suspects flies in the face of our most fundamental American values and does not make anyone safer. Americans must to be able to meet and debate without fear that their associations and dissent will end up in a law enforcement database. Law enforcement already has the authority it needs to fight crime and terrorism without sacrificing the rights of those it seeks to protect.”

To learn more about the ACLU’s work on domestic intelligence gathering, go to: www.aclu.org/spy-files