In this day and age, you would think law enforcement officials would have the wherewithal to know that those that wish to do us harm are not advocates of peace. Terrorists believe in violence to achieve their ends (kinda like George Bush). So even after embarrassing stories in the past documenting police officials infiltrating peace groups to obtain information, they continue to do so. Oddly, the Washington Times has the story here.
From The Washington Times:
Undercover Maryland state troopers infiltrated three groups advocating peace and protesting the death penalty — attending meetings and sending reports on their activities to U.S. intelligence and military agencies, according to documents released Thursday.
The documents show the activities occurred from at least March 2005 to May 2006 and that officers used false names, which the documents referred to as "covert identities" - to open e-mail accounts to receive messages from the groups.
Also included in the 46 pages of documents, obtained by the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, is an account of an activist's name being entered into a federally funded database designed to share information among state, local and federal law-enforcement agencies on terrorist and drug trafficking suspects.
ACLU attorney David Rocah said state police violated federal laws prohibiting departments that receive federal funds from maintaining databases with information about political activities and affiliations.
The activist was identified as Max Obuszewski. His "primary crime" was entered into the database as "terrorism - anti govern(ment)." His "secondary crime" was listed as "terrorism - anti-war protestors." The database is known as the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA.
Americans that believe in peace group together to air grievances amongst each other and debate on how to have a more peaceful society, both here and with our foreign policy. On the flip side, we have cops that are breaking the law to try and exert more control over these citizens. As Rocah states, this is a symbol of "Kafka-esque insanity." There is no excuse for this behavior and it must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Peace activists have no intention on breaking the law, authorities such as the Maryland State Troopers should be held to the same laws as those they wish to illegally infiltrate
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