F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies

From the NY Times via Common Dreams:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads, according to interviews and a confidential bureau memorandum.

The memorandum, which the bureau sent to local law enforcement agencies last month in advance of antiwar demonstrations in Washington and San Francisco, detailed how protesters have sometimes used "training camps" to rehearse for demonstrations, the Internet to raise money and gas masks to defend against tear gas. The memorandum analyzed lawful activities like recruiting demonstrators, as well as illegal activities like using fake documentation to get into a secured site.

F.B.I. officials said in interviews that the intelligence-gathering effort was aimed at identifying anarchists and "extremist elements" plotting violence, not at monitoring the political speech of law-abiding protesters.

This is depressing.

The reality is not that protesters are some sort of threat; rather, our authority driven culture is simply not comfortable with the most basic expression of democracy known to man, the street demonstration. And those most uncomfortable with demonstrations are the authorities themselves. This is bad news, but it's not surprising: we don't really live in a democracy--any sign that we might is met with hostility.

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