FBI monitored anti-war website in error for six years, documents show (www.theguardian.com)
Highly redacted documents responsive to an ACLU of Northern California Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the FBI improperly investigated a news and commentary website for six years, monitoring its activity and conducting a threat assessment of its managers because of an FBI error. The website received a threatening email and reported it to the FBI, but the FBI mistook it as a threat against the FBI website, an error that later recirculated through additional FBI reporting. In one of the released documents, an FBI analyst requested a more intensive investigation based on an analysis of the content of articles the website published. The ACLU is petitioning the court to expunge the records associated with this investigation, and to release the documents that the FBI withheld.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/fbi-monitored-anti-war-website-in-error-documents
Read the ACLU of Northern California’s press release here: https://www.aclunc.org/blog/aclu-releases-records-freedom-press-lawsuit-sloppy-fbi-work-leads-spying-journalists
Stay Informed
Every month, you'll receive regular roundups of the most important civil rights and civil liberties developments. Remember: a well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU’s privacy policy.
The Latest in National Security
-
ACLU Acknowledges Improvements to DOJ Racial Profiling Policy, But Says Far More is Needed
-
ACLU Applauds Court For Allowing Case Challenging FBI’s Wrongful Prosecution of Chinese American Physics Professor To Move Forward
-
Shen v. Simpson
-
Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional and Discriminatory Law Banning Them From Buying Land
ACLU's Vision
The American Civil Liberties Union is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.
Learn More About National Security
The ACLU’s National Security Project is dedicated to ensuring that U.S. national security policies and practices are consistent with the Constitution, civil liberties, and human rights.