White House helps pay for NYPD Muslim surveillance (Associated Press)
The NYPD used grants from the White House High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA) to fund its secretive surveillance operations targeting Muslim communities throughout the northeastern United States. The NYPD Intelligence Unit used HIDTA funds to purchase cars that undercover police officers used to conduct surveillance of American Muslim neighborhoods, mosques and businesses, and utilized HIDTA office space, supplies and equipment in conducting these clandestine operations. The NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim communities was not mentioned in annual HIDTA reporting to Congress. The ACLU has called for a federal investigation.
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