COINTELPRO Comes to My Town: My First-Hand Experience With Government Spies

Finally, at long last, I have something in common with Muhammad Ali.
No, I'm not the heavyweight champion of the world, and haven't been named spokesperson for Raid bug spray. Like "the Greatest" - not to mention far too many others -- I have been a target of state police surveillance for activities -- in my case against the death penalty -- that were legal, non-violent, and, so we assumed, constitutionally protected. In classified reports compiled by the Maryland State Police and the Department of Homeland Security, I am "Dave Z." This nickname was given by an undercover agent known to us as "Lucy." She sat in our meetings of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, smiling and engaged, taking copious notes about actions deemed threatening by the Governor of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich. Our seditious crimes, as Lucy reported, involved such acts as planning to set up a table at the local farmer's market and writing up a petition. Adding a dash of farce to this outrage, she was monitoring us in the liberal enclave of Takoma Park, Maryland, a place known more for vegans than violence, more for tie-dying than terrorism.

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act and the ACLU, we now know that "Lucy" was only one part of a vast, insidious project. The Maryland State Police's Department of Homeland Security devoted near 300 hours and thousands of taxpayer dollars from 2005 and 2006 to harassing people whose only crime was dissenting on the question of the war in Iraq and Maryland's use of death row.

My dear friend Mike Stark, a board member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty is at times referred to in "Lucy's" report as a "socialist" and an "anarchist." One can only assume this is the pathetic time honored tradition of reducing people to simple caricatures, all the better to garner Homeland Security grant money.

Veteran peace activist in Baltimore, Max Obuszewski, who initiated the suit, was as well consistently shadowed as he walked down the streets. His "primary crime" (their lingo) was entered into the homeland security database as "terrorism - anti govern(ment)." His "secondary crime" was listed as "terrorism -- anti-war protesters." The database is known as the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or
HIDTA. Yes, a respected peace organizer of many decades standing is checked as a terrorist, his actions listed as criminal, for doing nothing more than exercising his rights. It boggles the mind.

Former police superintendent Tim Hutchins defended these totalitarian practices by saying, "You do what you think is best to protect the general populace of the state." (The article mentioned that Hutchins is now a federal defense contractor. I guess The Global War on Terror is just the gift that keeps on giving for the Hutchins family.)

But "protect the general populace" from what? The surveillance continued even after it was determined that we were planning nothing more dangerous that carrying clipboards in a public place. Hutchins and the Ehrlich administration have undertaken an ugly violation of our civil rights, manipulating fears of terrorism to stamp out dissent.

This is COINTELPRO pure and simple. Like the infamous counter-intelligence program whose heyday many assume was a relic the 1950s and 1960s, it's an effort to harass the innocent and breed paranoia, all for daring to question power.

Governor Ehrlich and Tim Hutchins stand in the legacy of those who hounded Martin Luther King, and facilitated the death of Malcolm X. They stand in the tradition of those who drove the great actor, college football superstar, and activist Paul Robeson toward The mental breakdown that claimed his life. When Robeson's files were opened under the Freedom of Information Act, the results were terrifying.

As his son, Paul Robeson Jr. has written, "From the files I received, it was obvious that there were agents who did nothing but follow every public event of my father, or even of me.... It took on a life of its own.... Over time, even for someone as powerful and with as many resources as my
dad had...the attrition got to him."

Now Robeson is on a postage stamp. The moral midgets who destroyed him went unpunished. That's what has to change. The ACLU, to their credit, is going on the offensive.
As ACLU lawyer David Rocah said at a news conference in Baltimore on Thursday, "To invest this many hours investigating the most all-American of activities without any scintilla of evidence there is anything criminal going on is shocking. It's Kafkaesque."

Unfortunately for people like Gov. Ehrlich, it is also "the most All
American of activities" to take the constitution and use it as their personal hand wipe.

As the great political philosopher Ice T wrote, "Freedom of Speech.... just watch what you say." Well, now is exactly the time not to watch what we say. I'm angry. I'm angry for my friends, who trusted "Lucy" and others. I'm angry that my tax dollars went to paying the salaries of people who spy and intimidate those exercising their rights. I'm angry that Barack Obama just voted to increase the power of the Federal government to disrupt people's lives. And I'm angry enough that I'm joining a lawsuit initiated by the ACLU. "Homeland Security" picked on the wrong sports writer. They also picked on the wrong group of activists. We will not be silenced.

[People who want to express their outrage can contact the office of the current Governor Martin O'Malley. We should demand a full investigation of the MSP, public release of all documents obtained through this illegal activity, and a specific commitment that the
anti-death penalty and anti-war movement will not be targeted. Call the office of the governor at 1-800-811-8336, or submit a comment online at http://www.governor.maryland.gov/mail/]

Comments

[lthuedk 1]

This is why HS should be dissolved and Michael Chertoff relieved of duty. Mossad/Likud security systems only work in Israel-not in a Constitutionally protected democracy. Stop the growth of this egregious industry before it strips our freedoms clean. Wasn't the FBI enough of an assault on privacy and rights?

The Security Industry should go the way of the faux war on terror. Acute fascism must be legislated against and permanently threat-neutralized by law.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/chertoffs_lament.html

Dismantle HS.

[Durango]

Anyone who is surprised by this is s FOOL.

Secret powers of the government will ALWAYS be abused. Which is why sunshine in government is so important. It is our tax dollars that fund them. And we should always demand an accounting of our money. There is very little in government that should be secret.

If the government is not kept on a short leash they will use their powers for political purposes. Which is why they needed FISA immunity. The people they were secretly and illegally wiretapping were named Clinton and Kerry and Gore.

But a further point. All government resourses are limited. Spending on intelligence is a zero sum game. So every dime wasted on this nonsense means that is a dime wasted on the very real threat of terrorist attacks.

By operating these kinds of programs they not only hate our freedom.

But they are putting our lives at risk.

God I hope President Obama will have the nerve to put these people where they belong.

In PRISON.

[antworks]

You make a very good point, Durango, about the potential domestic spying was directed at Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry and Al Gore. I also believe that the illegal use of information gained from spying on high profile individuals have resulted in criminal charges being brought against them. Especially if the individual is viewed as a threat to further consolidation of Republican power (whether on the local, state or federal level). If these people were bold enough to lie their way into an illegal war in Iraq (WMD's et al), what's to make one think they would not seek to subvert Americans, here at home, with the same type of dirty tricks? Immunity for the telecoms and a rewrite to the FISA law (which just pasted and was signed into law) was essential to the coverup. Now the crimes this administration has committed against innocent Americans can be swept under the "color of law" carpet, forever. Twenty five years from now, maybe, America will learn the full extent of the high crimes and misdemeanors these men (Bush and Cheny) have committed. Maybe?

[RRK70]

Obama, if elected, should have a "truth" commission a la South Africa after Apartheid. It's sad to say, but the amount of criminal activity during this administration is practically unfathomable. I think they should offer whistleblower protections, perhaps a period where amnesty is offered, after which the kid gloves come off. I think there are probably numerous cases where a case for Treason could be made.
An Obama administration will have it's work cut out for themselves, there have been so many partisan political appointments that they either face a massive dismissal of entrenched partisan hacks in government, or slowly being undermined and attacked from within government.

[Durango]

A "truth Commission" is only needed when TWO OR MORE sides have committed atrocities.

In our case only the Bush Administration has violated the law.

It is a situation ripe for good old Prosecution. Like building a case against Al Capone.

certainly the low level operatives should be offered lighter sentences to rat out their superiors. That is the way you investigate conspiracies and gang activity.

But NO ONE should be offered immunity. Lesser sentences, of course. But NO IMMUNITY!

P.S. Those party hacks are right where you begin. See if their loyalty is too the Republican Party, King Bush or 10-20 years in a Federal Penitentiary.

[clyde44]

It'll be very interesting to see what finally comes out after this admin is out of power. I don't think any of us have even a small clue as to what this gov'nt has done in the name of "security". Dissent is very American, not unpatriotic, as bush and cheney would have you believe. OUR country was born out of dissent and revolution due to taxation w/o representation. We are now in a "taxation w/o representation" situation again. Our President doesn't listen to his constituents, only his UNelected advisors. This is what we as taxpayers are paying for: Spin to keep one party in power, while making away with the constitution. You never regain liberties that you voluntarily surrender. If they were taken, then you could make the case for fighting for rights that were taken against your will. We didn't vote for homeland security, warrentless wiretapping(which we would never have known about if not for a curious network tech discovering a hidden server room) or pre-emptive war. Thanks for nothing

[DouginCT]

Dave, this was the most worthwhile post I've read on this site in a long time. A cold slap in the face. I am proud to see people who love their Constitution and have common sense stand up and say 'no more'. And then do something about it.

Their is no question that the war against our civil rights is a prosperous one for some people, like Tim Hutchins. It is also an intellectual battle of ideas, because it might be the people in power like Hutchins have no real understanding of history, how our Constitution came to be, or what it really means. He sounds like he has a meatball's grasp of it, and like so many in his position, enjoys the power too much, and any angle to game the system for more funding, and promotions. Obviously, he's making it pay off for himself.

Not only will I make another donation to the excellent, excellent ACLU, but I will also call O'Malley's office, and look for other ways to get your back on this.

I wonder when it will dawn on enough people that our government is a bigger threat to our way of life, and our civil liberties, than any terrorists could ever be, as national security thugs taking over for educated, literate office-holders. Tom Paine, wake up.

[Caddisfly]

Just like the "war on drugs"...a­nother cottage industry for law and order freaks. "1984" knocking on your door.

[DouginCT]

Dave,

This was the most worthwhile blog I've read on the Huffpost in a long long time. A cold slap in the face. Thank you for your brash stance in fighting for our Constitution. I'll join you on this, and contact Martin O'Malley, as well as make another donation to the ACLU, which seems to be doing more to stand up for us while our Congress remains docile, if not hostile, to our dying civil rights. Amazing.

[CaseyBabes]

Made a quick telephone to my friend "who should know" before typing this to confirm what I already knew. Those infiltrating groups to determine the group's raison d'etre are careful not to use terms with "crime" attached. But they are less careful when judging who is serious and who's the nutcase.

[PATina]

On behalf of African American activists.­.. welcome to the club !!!!

[tommybones]

Here's a quiz on the new FISA law that was just passed.

Which is more likely:

a) the new powers included in the new FISA bill will be abused and used for political purposes
b) these new powers will make the job much harder for the press to get information from foreign sources, who will worry about reprisals
c) these powers will make whistle-blowers, essential to prevent abuses, think twice about coming forward for fear of being wire-tapped
d) a, b, and c
e) the new powers will actually catch a "terrorist" who is dumb enough to talk openly about his nefarious plans on an unsecured telephone or internet line

In case you may be having trouble with this quiz, I'll give you another one, on a much related topic:

Which choice best describes the results of the "terror watch list":

a) Has led to the harassment of numerous peace activists
b) Has led to the harassment of numerous completely innocent American citizens
c) Has led to foreigners being denied entrance to the country for political reasons, which have nothing to do with terrorism
d) Now contains an estimated one million+ names, rendering it meaningless for its stated purpose
e) a, b, c and d
f) Has led to the arrest and conviction of even a SINGLE terrorist

We are living in a police state...

[Liberal2]

Oh-oh, attacking FISA AND! the terrorist list. You're gonna have Michale all over yer case.

[desthmoneses]

Looks like the USA is doing everything it can to become a fascist nation, pretty soon the government will be spouting American traditions and superiority, oops they already are, I guess all that's next is to begin killing non-Americans and embark on a war of conquest, oops were already doing that too.

[elbzee]

You noticed that too, eh desthmoneses?

[GiggidyGeshmoygen]

FREEDOM IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE...
k. kristoffersen

thanx dave for proclaiming your freedom and mine ---

[arttex]

Really, to all the people that think this crap is new. I will say you have to READ the USA HISTORY, look up Jean Seaberg, Paul Robeson, MLK, Pete Seeger, John Lennon, Howard Zinn the list goes on and on. This is not new. This is a free country so long as you follow the status quo. READ HISTORY.Ne­ar the turn of the last century Douglass MacArthur and a squad of regular army ran rough-shod over homeless vets who protested against their lack of benefits promised. I could go on and on but again I am reminded at the overall lack of knowledge of what history has shown us, Crap like Rocky Flats, Hanover Washington, Ruby Ridge, Jessica Lynch, the damn war in Iraq, etc etc. The government does not care about you, it is just there first and foremost to perpetuate itself at your expense. FBI Cointell Pro did not all start in the 60's it was just renamed. Jack Johnson, Paul Robeson, Pete Seeger, Emma Goldman, Fred Huggins, Bunchy Carter, the Move People in Philly, Black Panthers, La Raza, The American Indian Movement, Wounded Knee, the black listing of the 50's. Man and you really think this is new...Pull your head out of the ground. I promise you if you protest actively for what is right., then do this, ask through Freedom of Information Act for your government file if that does not change your mind, then you are dead from the neck up.

[egal]

Don't act like we're unaware of the history--we're not.

But we've gone through those times, we've learned the lessons. And even though our president was egregiously too stupid and partisan to comprehend how much of an illegal dictatorial regime he had going on, not to mention his own version of the Red Scare and Big Brother, we believed that our Constitution was still the central pillar of our government, with some sort of moral and legal obligation to follow IT instead of the fraudulent yes-men.

That, and--on a less optimistic level--there are laws, regulations, and accountability and oversight that are designed to keep our Intelligence communities lawful, respectful of the American citizenry, and beholden to the nation and its constitution. Not to mention that most of the Intelligence community had no part in any of this, vehemently opposed this sort of thing, refused to do these acts so flagrantly illegal and without security value, and were utterly ignored and not promoted by those who preferred malleable flunkies without the intellect and grasp of history to comprehend their own complicity insome truly disgusting malfeasance.

[Nooneyouknow]

But we haven't been able to stop Bush's illegal war (even though "we" control Congress) and Bushco has been flagrantly breaking laws and tearing down the Consititution to the point where we don't even have Habeus Corpus. Our government has proved that it doesn't care what its citizens think. So what's your point?

[DickTater]

You make very good points, EGAL, unfortunately they serve to prove our system is totally corrupted and our corporations are running everything DESPITE the checks and balances. We as citizens have no direct control. Try running a company or some other endeavor, where YOU are the boss (in name) but you only show up ONCE EVERY FOUR YEARS. And when you do show up you get to utter ONE SYLLABLE..­...yes or no. One ONE issue.

Our "governement" is doing whatever the hell they please, because they know the boss is only going to make a brief appearance once in 4 years.

All those checks and balances you mention, EGAL, are simply avoided. These people are working with unlimited budgets. They have teams of evil lawyers (as opposed to the good ones) working 3 shifts 6 days a week, invested in ALL AREAS of governement. They Basically WRITE our laws, and get rid of any they didn't write.

[KyotoProto]

And there's that other big myth about exporting freedom and democracy. We've exported a lot of the freedom for our corporations to go into foreign lands and strip them clean, economically. But when a local democratic movement arises with the aim to righten things, and become more autocratic, more democratic like us, then we send in the black ops and take that new govt out and put in our own guy, someone who won't nationalize those economic interests that we've so carefully exploited, and then we call THAT, a brand-spanking new democracy.­.........s­ee, Nicaragua.

And not that many years after that, bingo, "commie" takeover. Our bullheaded exploitation has fomented nearly every single revolution in this hemisphere. Yeah, we're good at exporting our brand of squeaky clean democracy.

I don't believe the founding fathers had it in mind that we would devolve into the United Robber Baronies of the Americas, some day.

But guess what?

[Evelyn]

It's simple: every time you hear Bush or another right-winger say the word Freedom, you mentally translate it into its actual meaning: free markets. Freedom for corporations, not for ordinary people. What we went to Iraq to liberate was the right of private corporations to divvy up their oil. It was nationalized under Saddam, and that's the crime he had to be punished for, not gassing Kurds.

[charon]

Welcome to America. This is not a democracy, that's a fairy tale idea. This is a totalitarian regime and we are its subjects. We let it happen in Vietnam, in Indonesia, in Iran, in Saudi Arabia, Chile, in Brazil, in Argentina, in Guatemala, in El Salvador, and in Mexico, to name a few places. Now we are slipping towards a right-wing police state here. What did you expect? No death squads yet, no hot and cold chambers. But how far away might they be? With masses following Hannity and Savage and Limbaugh, you think it can't happen here?

[tommybones]

Absolutely correct.

The biggest mistake Americans make is arrogantly believing that they can't be fooled by imperialist propaganda, much like the German population in the 1930's as well as countless other "righteous" nations in the past. We must not fall into the same trap that consumed the "good Germans" of the early 1930’s.

Chomsky:

"The democracy of Germany in the early 1930s was the most advanced country in Europe, taking the lead in art, science, technology, literature and philosophy. Then, in no time at all, it suffered a complete reversal of fortune and became the most barbaric, murderous state in human history. All that was achieved by using fear; fear of the Bolsheviks, the Jews, the Americans, the Gypsies... everyone who, according to the Nazis, was threatening the core values of European culture and the direct descendants of Greek civilizati­on."

Sound familiar? Do you think the German people thought they were wrong when they unleashed WWII on the rest of the world? Or were they filled with the same arrogant do-no-wrong, Nationalistic self-righteousness you see from the war-mongerers in this country?

Historically, the biggest reason fascism is able to come about is the mass misconception that "it can't happen here." And then it does...

[KHAAANNN]

Absolutely correct.
The lack of Historical knowledge among Americans is appalling and the single biggest reason for the fix we are in right now.
We still labor under the false assumption that Dictators only rise to the top by "Seizing" power from an unwilling populace.
This is a lie.
Dictators do not "Seize Power", they are GIVEN power by those too frightened or too stupid to realize what they are doing, and once they do realize what they have done, it is too late to do anything about it.
From Julius Caesar onwards it is the same story over and over again.
A charismatic man dazzles the plebeians with his nationalistic, xenophobic oratory, and is ELECTED to a position of power. As he consolidates this power, the public rationalizes the loss of freedoms as an effort to "protect them" from "the outsiders" of their society. Once they realize what they have lost, it is too late to do anything about it.
Mussolini defined Fascism as "The merging of the State with the Corporations" and we are quickly sliding down that slippery slope.
Wake up America, this is your last chance to stop it.

[RRK70]

Amazes me that we are now recruiting felons, known neo-nazis, white supremacists, and gang-bangers into the military, essentially training them in urban combat and guerrilla warfare on our dime. This isn't just me saying this, there are leaders within these groups that have encouraged their members to join up for just this purpose. Meanwhile our government is busy infiltrating the Quakers, and other groups avowed to non-violence.

I think it really goes to show you what the people in power truly fear. I think the government embraces violence, they feed off of it; it reinforces their entire concept of a security state. If violence occurs, they use it as justification to usurp more money and power, if they prevent violence, they use that as well for the same purpose. It is really a no-lose situation for them. What they seem to truly fear is an informed and active citizenry.

[luziannagirl]

RRK70

"What they seem to truly fear is an informed and active citizenry.­"

Truer words were never typed.

Right-wing think tankers long ago came to the conclusion that a smart, educated, and well-informed populace threatens their true agenda. As soon as Ronald Reagan came to power, if not before, right-wing groups began in earnest their attack on the troublemaking "intelligentsia" by ham-stringing public schools via race-baiting , counterproductive policies, intrusion by religion, and by taking over and controlling the textbook industry.

Now we've had 30 years of shrunk and drowned public schools, and public schools set the defacto minimum standards for all schools.

[Durango]

Which is why the Republican Party is strongest in those states where the educational system is the weakest.

[Liberal2]

Longer than thirty years. The god reference in the Pledge of Allegiance was inserted in the '50s, and the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities even earlier. The FBI investigated "commies", but few if any "American Bund" members. Many 1930s rethugs (Charles Linbergh, et al.) thought Hitler was cool, that we needed a leader like him.

Google "General Smedley Butler" for a real eye-opener. He may have singlehandedly prevented the US from ending up a German ally in WWII.

[Rog49Thomas]

"And be it farther enacted, That if any person shall write, print, utter or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered or published, or shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States, or either house of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the United States, with intent to defame the said government, or either house of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them, or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States, or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the constitution of the United States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, or to aid, encourage or abet any hostile designs of any foreign nation against United States, their people or government, then such person, being thereof convicted before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years."

[insanityfollows]

Ah, yes. Exactly right, as written in the Constitution. The trick is, bringing about the charges. Anyone up for the challenge? Unfortunately, I'm not a lawyer.

[Rog49Thomas]

From the Sedition Act of 1798.

[SwampeastMike]

That passage is not from the constitution.

It is from the Sedition Act of 1798 which was repealed in 1802.

[syllepsis]

That's not the Constitution. That's the Sedition Act, better known as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by President John Adams and derided as un-American from its inception; a major reason the more liberterian Thomas Jefferson won the election of 1800...