{"id":127626,"date":"2019-02-11T12:01:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-11T12:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=127626"},"modified":"2019-02-07T10:43:17","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T10:43:17","slug":"revealed-fbi-investigated-civil-rights-group-as-terrorism-threat-and-viewed-kkk-as-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/02\/revealed-fbi-investigated-civil-rights-group-as-terrorism-threat-and-viewed-kkk-as-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: FBI Investigated Civil Rights Group as &#8216;Terrorism&#8217; Threat and Viewed KKK as Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><em>Bureau spied on California activists, citing potential \u2018conspiracy\u2019 against the \u2018rights\u2019 of neo-Nazis.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>1 Feb 2019 &#8211; <\/em>The FBI opened a \u201cdomestic terrorism\u201d investigation into a civil rights group in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/california\" >California<\/a>, labeling the activists \u201cextremists\u201d after they protested against neo-Nazis in 2016, new documents reveal.<\/p>\n<p>Federal authorities ran a surveillance operation on By Any Means Necessary (Bamn), spying on the leftist group\u2019s movements in an inquiry that came after one of Bamn\u2019s members was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/jul\/25\/yvette-felarca-trump-protest-charges-activism\" >stabbed<\/a> at the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2016\/jun\/26\/white-nationalist-rally-stabbings-california\" >white supremacist rally<\/a>, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. The FBI\u2019s Bamn files reveal:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/fbi\" >FBI<\/a> investigated Bamn for potential \u201cconspiracy\u201d against the \u201crights\u201d of the \u201cKu Klux Klan\u201d and white supremacists.<\/li>\n<li>The FBI considered the KKK as victims and the leftist protesters as potential terror threats, and downplayed the threats of the Klan, writing: \u201cThe KKK consisted of members that some perceived to be supportive of a white supremacist agenda.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The FBI\u2019s monitoring included in-person surveillance, and the agency cited Bamn\u2019s advocacy against \u201crape and sexual assault\u201d and \u201cpolice brutality\u201d as evidence in the terrorism inquiry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s 46-page report on Bamn, obtained by the government transparency non-profit <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/propertyofthepeople.org\/\" >Property of the People<\/a> through a records request, presented an \u201castonishing\u201d description of the KKK, said Mike German, a former FBI agent and far-right expert who reviewed the documents for the Guardian.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-97461 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149-768x771.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149-1020x1024.jpg 1020w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/United-States-KKK-Nazis-Uncle-Sam-MintPressNews-1145x1149.jpg 1145w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The report ignored \u201c100 years of Klan terrorism that has killed thousands of Americans and continues using violence right up to the present day\u201d, German said. \u201cThis description of the KKK should be an embarrassment to FBI leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shanta Driver, Bamn\u2019s national chair, criticized the investigation in a statement to the Guardian, saying, \u201cThe FBI\u2019s interest in BAMN is part of a long-standing policy \u2026 Starting with their campaign to persecute and slander Dr. Martin Luther King, they have a racist history of targeting peaceful civil rights and anti-racist organizations, while doing nothing to prosecute the racists and fascists who attacked Dr. King and the movement he built.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FBI launched its terrorism investigation and surveillance of Bamn after white supremacists armed with knives faced off with hundreds of counter-protesters, including Bamn activists, at a June 2016 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2016\/jun\/26\/white-nationalist-rally-stabbings-california\" >neo-Nazi rally in Sacramento<\/a>. Although numerous neo-Nazis were suspected of stabbing at least seven anti-fascists in the melee, leaving some with <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/may\/25\/neo-nazi-rally-california-stabbing-police-target-black-activist\" >life-threatening injuries<\/a>, the FBI chose to launch a inquiry into the activities of the leftwing protesters.<\/p>\n<p>The documents, though heavily redacted, did not include any conclusions from the FBI that Bamn violated laws or posed a continuing threat. Its members have not faced federal prosecution. The FBI declined to comment on Bamn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s clear the FBI dropped the investigation having no evidence of wrongdoing. It never should have been opened in the first place,\u201d Driver said.<\/p>\n<p>The 2016 rally was organized by two white supremacist groups: the Traditionalist Worker party (TWP) and an affiliated California entity, the Golden State Skinheads. California law enforcement subsequently <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/feb\/09\/california-police-white-supremacists-counter-protest\" >worked with the neo-Nazis<\/a> to identify counter-protesters, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/dec\/05\/antifa-charges-california-activists-stabbing\" >pursued charges against stabbing victims<\/a> and other anti-fascists, and decided <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/jan\/25\/california-police-neo-nazis-antifa-protest\" >not to prosecute any men on the far-right<\/a> for the stabbings.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>Read more: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/jan\/25\/california-police-neo-nazis-antifa-protest\" >How a California officer protected neo-Nazis and targeted their victims<\/a> <\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The FBI appeared to have adopted a similar approach. In a redacted October 2016 document, the FBI labeled its Bamn investigation a \u201cDT [domestic terrorism] \u2013 ANARCHIST EXTREMISM\u201d case. The FBI\u2019s San Francisco office wrote that it was investigating allegations that \u201cmembers of Bamn attended a Ku Klux Klan rally and assaulted a Nazi supporter\u201d. It summarized the Sacramento incident this way:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>In 2016, law enforcement learned that the Ku Klux Klan would be holding a rally at the State Capitol Building \u2026 The KKK consisted of members that some perceived to be supportive of a white supremacist agenda. In response, a number of groups mobilized to protest the rally. Flyers were posted asking people to attend in order to shut down the rally.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The KKK and Traditionalist Worker party have similar ideologies but are distinct groups. It\u2019s unclear why the FBI labeled the rally a KKK event.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s report also appeared to obfuscate details about the political affiliations of stabbing perpetrators and victims, saying: \u201cSeveral people were stabbed and hospitalized.\u201d That\u2019s despite the fact that California police investigators reported that neo-Nazis were seen on camera <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/jan\/25\/california-police-neo-nazis-antifa-protest\" >holding knives and fighting with counter-protesters<\/a> (who suffered severe stab wounds).<\/p>\n<p>The FBI file said its research into Bamn found that the group \u201clawfully exercised their First Amendment rights by engaging in peaceful protests\u201d, but added that its \u201cmembers engaged in other activity by refusing to disperse, trespassing in closed buildings, obstructing law enforcement, and shouting during and interrupting public meetings so that the meetings could not continue\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Bamn has long advocated for racial justice and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2017\/06\/14\/chaldean-detainees-deportation\/102850914\/\" >immigrants\u2019 rights<\/a>, frequently protesting at public events and organizing <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.com\/2017\/10\/11\/young-protesters-voice-support-daca-bamn-rally-uc-berkeley-campus\" >rallies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI report said it was \u201cpossible the actions of certain BAMN members may exceed the boundaries of protected activity and could constitute a violation of federal law\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cpotential violations of federal law\u201d, the FBI said, included \u201cconspiracy against rights\u201d and \u201criots\u201d. The FBI cited Bamn\u2019s website, which encouraged supporters to protest against the KKK<strong>,<\/strong> featured slogans like \u201cSMASH FASCISM!\u201d and \u201cNO \u2018FREE SPEECH\u2019 FOR FASCISTS!\u201d, and celebrated the \u201cmass, militant demonstration\u201d that \u201cshut down\u201d the neo-Nazi rally. The FBI also included screenshots of Bamn pages that referenced a number of the group\u2019s other advocacy issues, including campaigns against \u201crape and sexual assault\u201d and \u201cpolice brutality\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI files further included mentions of Yvette Felarca, a Bamn member who was stabbed at the rally, but is now facing state charges of assault and rioting. (Her lawyers have argued in court that the police investigators and prosecutors were <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/dec\/05\/antifa-charges-california-activists-stabbing\" >biased against anti-fascists<\/a> and worked to protect neo-Nazis).<\/p>\n<p>Driver, who is also Felarca\u2019s attorney, said the FBI should have mentioned that Felarca was \u201cstabbed and bludgeoned by a fascist in Sacramento\u201d. She added: \u201cInstead of finding the person who assaulted anti-racist protesters, the FBI chose to target BAMN, which by their own admission holds demonstrations that are protected by the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bureau\u2019s justifications of the investigation and surveillance were disturbing, said Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. \u201cThe FBI discovered that these protesters once shouted at a meeting and somehow that evidence was mobilized to support a full-fledged terrorism investigation,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2016, the FBI engaged in surveillance of a protest outside the Berkeley school district, according to the Bamn files. Due to the redactions, it\u2019s unclear whom the FBI was watching, though the report noted that the FBI observed \u201cseveral children \u2026 sitting outside \u2026 with signs next to them\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI report said its investigation and surveillance were not \u201cintended to associate the protected activity with criminality or a threat to national security, or to infer that such protected activity itself violates federal law\u201d. The report continued:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>However, based on known intelligence and\/or specific, historical observations, it is possible the protected activity could invite a violent reaction towards the subject individuals or groups, or the activity could be used as a means to target law enforcement. In the event no violent reaction occurs, FBI policy and federal law dictates that no further record be made of the protected activity.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Property of the People\u2019s records requests broadly sought FBI documents on anti-fascists. The FBI did not release additional Bamn records beyond 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s insinuation that Bamn\u2019s actions could provoke violence was odd, said German, the former FBI agent, who is now a Brennan Center fellow. He noted that it was white supremacists \u201cwho have used this tactic for decades\u201d and said the violent provocations of rightwing groups were well known when he worked on domestic terrorism for the FBI in the 1990s. The Bamn report, he said, gave the \u201cappearance of favoritism toward one of the oldest and most active terrorist groups in history\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the report should have made clear that the \u201cKKK consists of members who have a bloody history of racial and antisemitic violence and intimidation and is known for staging public spectacles for the specific purpose of inciting imminent violence\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether the Bamn investigation was ongoing and whether the FBI had opened any equivalent inquiry into the neo-Nazis in California, an FBI spokesperson said the bureau does not confirm or deny the existence of specific investigations. \u201cWe cannot initiate an investigation based solely on an individual\u2019s race, ethnicity, natural origin, religion, or the exercise of First Amendment rights,\u201d the FBI said in a statement. \u201cThe FBI does not and will not police ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bureau \u201cinvestigates activity which may constitute a federal crime or pose a threat to national security\u201d, the statement added.<\/p>\n<p>The Bamn case follows numerous recent controversies surrounding the FBI\u2019s targeting of leftist groups, including a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/feb\/10\/standing-rock-fbi-investigation-dakota-access\" >terrorism investigation into Standing Rock activists<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/may\/11\/rakem-balogun-interview-black-identity-extremists-fbi-surveillance\" >surveillance of black activists<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/dec\/13\/fbi-climate-change-protesters-iowa-files-monitoring-surveillance-\" >spying on peaceful climate change protest<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/dec\/13\/fbi-climate-change-protesters-iowa-files-monitoring-surveillance-\" >ers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The justice department inspector general previously <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/national\/archive\/2010\/09\/oig-fbi-inappropriately-tracked-domestic-advocacy-groups\/63276\/\" >criticized<\/a> the FBI for using non-violent civil disobedience and speculation of future crimes to justify terrorism investigations against domestic advocacy groups, German noted, adding that the Bamn files suggest the FBI \u201cseems to have learned nothing from these previous overreaches\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Even knowing the FBI\u2019s legacy of going after activists, the report was still shocking, said Shapiro.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA bunch of anti-fascists showed up at a Nazi rally and were attacked by Nazis, and the response from the bureau was to launch a domestic terrorism investigation into the anti-fascists,\u201d he said. \u201cAt its core, the FBI is, as it has always been, a political police force that primarily targets the left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>__________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Sam Levin is a reporter for <\/em>Guardian<em> US, based in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2019\/feb\/01\/sacramento-rally-fbi-kkk-domestic-terrorism-california?fbclid=IwAR0H14gO8IkjzSXfrZdmgOZhObDrcXM9WoWYs6kPtUnXNczHscdRwbr1kPA\" >Go to Original \u2013 theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bureau spied on California activists, citing potential \u2018conspiracy\u2019 against the \u2018rights\u2019 of neo-Nazis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":97461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}