Posted on 12/07/2008 5:03:29 PM PST by BGHater
An undercover Maryland State Police trooper infiltrated nonviolent groups and labeled dozens of people as terrorists.
Reporting from Takoma Park, Md. -- To friends in the protest movement, Lucy was an eager 20-something who attended their events and sent encouraging e-mails to support their causes.
Only one thing seemed strange.
"At one demonstration, I remember her showing up with a laptop computer and typing away," said Mike Stark, who helped lead the anti-death-penalty march in Baltimore that day. "We all thought that was odd."
Not really. The woman was an undercover Maryland State Police trooper who between 2005 and 2007 infiltrated more than two dozen rallies and meetings of nonviolent groups.
Maryland officials now concede that, based on information gathered by "Lucy" and others, state police wrongly listed at least 53 Americans as terrorists in a criminal intelligence database -- and shared some information about them with half a dozen state and federal agencies, including the National Security Agency.
Among those labeled as terrorists: two Catholic nuns, a former Democratic congressional candidate, a lifelong pacifist and a registered lobbyist. One suspect's file warned that she was "involved in puppet making and allows anarchists to utilize her property for meetings."
"There wasn't a scintilla of illegal activity" going on, said David Rocah, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit and in July obtained the first surveillance files. State police have released other heavily redacted documents.
Investigators, the files show, targeted groups that advocated against abortion, global warming, nuclear arms, military recruiting in high schools and biodefense research, among other issues.
"It was unconscionable conduct," said Democratic state Sen. Brian Frosh, who is backing legislation to ban similar spying in Maryland unless the police superintendent can document a "reasonable, articulable suspicion" of criminal activity.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Com'on...Those peace puppets aren't normal.
Theodore Roosevelt, America at War (1918)
All Americans of other race origin must act toward the countries from which their ancestors severally sprang as Washington and his associates in their day acted. Otherwise they are traitors to America. This applies especially today to all Americans of German blood who directly or indirectly in any manner support Germany as against the United States and the allies of the United States; it applies no less specifically to all American citizens of Irish blood who are led into following the same course, not by their love of Germany but by their hatred of England. One motive is as inexcusable as the other; and in each case the action is treasonable to the United States.
The professional pacifists have, during the last three years, proved themselves the evil enemies of their country. They now advocate an inconclusive peace. In so doing they have shown themselves to be the spiritual heirs of the Tories who in the name of peace opposed Washington, and of the “Copperheads” who in the name of peace opposed Lincoln. We regard these men and women as traitors to the republic; we regard them as traitors to the great cause of justice and humanity. This war is a war for the vital interests of America. When we fight for America abroad we save our children from fighting for America at home beside their own ruined hearthstones.
We believe that the large majority of Americans are proudly ready to fight to the last for the overthrow of the brutal German militarism which threatens America no less than every other civilized nation. We believe that it would be an act of baseness and infamy, an act of unworthy cowardice, and a betrayal of this country and of mankind to accept any peace except the peace of overwhelming victory.
Almost certainly a threat to national security.
Just my opinion of course.
Anybody who knows anything about Takoma Park knows they’re all subversives there!
It was a waste of our time and resources to get mixed up with a bunch of strange people in a battlefield so far from our shores.
It'd been better to invest in better airplanes, development of the proximity fuse, lanching of long range rockets, and the development of an independent nuclear force capable of taking on all comers simultaneously or in sequence.
Ping
Mike, you are so 20th century.
we are "I blog, therefore I am" now
Peace activist or anti-war activist? They are not the same thing.
Btw, the Nuns are felons as are alot of those peace activist.
But I worry about the use of WOT for further big gov’t.
GOA and anti-abortion causes could be targeted next.
they were targeted, mate, read the last couple lines of the post... it’s honestly ridiculous. I don’t know about America anymore, I just don’t. I’m only 20 years old and it’s already not the same country I grew up loving and being immensely proud of. I used to think my dad was just paranoid when he spoke of groups working behind the scenes to throw us as far left as they possibly could, so we would become the next Europe... I wish I still thought that *internet sigh*
It ought to give pause to those on FR who were vying for all of these intrusive anti-freedom measures to combat "terroism" during the Bush administration.
In their defense, I haven't heard them bleating as loudly since Obama got elected. Can't wait to see what creative means leftists with an agenda employ to classify Americans as terroists.
The odd thing is, most of the “Pacifist/Peace” groups are filled with some of the most vicious, violent and cowardly bastards you’ve ever met.
Irrelevant. "Lucy," the leo trollop, had to justify being there.
Sounds pretty dull to me... wasn't there anything on cable?
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
let’s not pretend the Quakers have never acted against the interests of the United States. Although personally speaking often wonderful folks... I know a few who bragged at sending ships with supplies to aid the Viet Cong... They’re are beyond naieve in terms of security policies...and equate everyone as no more or less evil. After all, God is in everyone.
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