Will Potter's Blog, page 40

Undercover Cop Who Spied on Greens Offers to Testify on Their Behalf (Video)

There was some surprising news in the UK this week when undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, who spied on environmental groups and even organized national protests and direct action campaigns as "Mark Stone," offered to cooperate with activists against the police.

The Guardian has had some excellent reporting on this story, and notes that Kennedy visited at least 22 countries over 7 years to gather information on political activists, and in some cases urge them to take illegal action. Kennedy's spying was undertaken as part of a national police operation against so-called "domestic extremists," including animal rights activists, environmentalists, and anarchists.

Kennedy has told his (former) friends he had a change of heart, and realized the importance of environmental work (and how he has betrayed people who he says became his friends). He was not alone in his work, though: Kennedy acknowledged the existence of at least one other undercover cop in the UK environmental movement.

I was on The Alyona Show last night talking about how this fits into the bigger picture of labeling activists as "eco-terrorists," and the history of law enforcement informants and provocateurs sabotaging progressive social movements.

For instance, I recently wrote about an animal rights informant and FBI agent who discussed spreading rumors to discredit activists.

Let me know what you think of the video!

Undercover Cop Who Spied on Greens Offers to Testify on Their Behalf (Video) from GreenIsTheNewRed.com

In the Wake of the Giffords Shooting, FBI Agents Investigate… Spraypaint on Fishing Boats

In the aftermath of the Arizona shooting, FBI agents are investigating what they say may be another act of domestic terrorism: spraypaint on fishing boats.

The Boston Herald reports that slogans including "Commercial fishing first class rape" and "sea life kidnapped, murdered, maliciously" were spraypainted on fishing boats in North Plymouth, Massachusetts this week.

The FBI is investigating whether it was the work of the Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, which FBI officials have called the "number one domestic terrorism threat."

As the FBI and local press rush to label this vandalism "terrorism," though, there's reason to doubt whether it was a crime by environmentalists at all. Local fisherman are upset about government regulations restricting overfishing. And two of the spraypainted slogans were signed "Greenpeace" (a national group which condemns property destruction).

It reminds me of another incident in Massachusetts, where a pet store owner burned down his shop after spraypainting ALF at the scene. It was an insurance scheme.

As I wrote recently, the FBI has already been warned by the Justice Department that its obsessive focus on environmentalists ignores more violent threats.

I think it's safe to say that this is not the "targeting" that most of the country is concerned about right now.

In the Wake of the Giffords Shooting, FBI Agents Investigate… Spraypaint on Fishing Boats from GreenIsTheNewRed.com

Justice Department Warned the FBI that Focusing on Environmentalists Ignores More Violent Threats

The Justice Department warned as early as 2003 that the FBI's obsessive focus on animal rights and environmental activists, the "number one domestic terrorism threat," would leave more dangerous threats unchecked.

The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General audited the FBI and provided recommendations for improving its terrorism investigations. [You can read Audit Report 04-10 here.] The audit raised multiple concerns with the bureau's treatment of animal rights and environmental activists as terrorists, concerns that take on a new urgency in light of the recent shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others.

Are there institutional, systemic flaws within law enforcement that allowed this to occur?

The inspector general's report focused on communications problems within the FBI, and the quality of terrorism intelligence sent by the bureau to state and local law enforcement. The audit revealed the FBI's weekly Intelligence Bulletins and Quarterly Terrorist Threat Assessments often focused on political activists. The inspector general recommended that the FBI's intelligence updates focus on "domestic terrorist activities aimed at creating mass casualties or destroying critical infrastructure, rather than information on social protests and domestic radicals' criminal activities."

More importantly, the audit warned that the FBI's focus on animal rights and environmental activists placed public safety at risk. In one of its six recommendations, the inspector general's office advised the FBI to stop investigating animal rights and environmental activists as terrorists and to shift these cases to the FBI's criminal division.

The FBI's definition of domestic terrorism has become too broad, the report said: ". . . a more focused definition may allow the FBI to more effectively target its counterterrorism resources."

The FBI refused.

Steven C. McGraw of the FBI's inspection division responded in a letter to the inspector general that these groups have "caused considerable damage to the U.S. economy," and that the Joint Terrorism Task Forces are the best way to investigate them.

Although the inspector general's office does not have the power to override such refusals, the office wrote back and reiterated its concerns:

"We believe that the FBI's priority mission to prevent high-consequence terrorist acts would be enhanced if the Counterterrorism Division did not have to spend time and resources on lower-threat activities by social protestors."

Justice Department Warned the FBI that Focusing on Environmentalists Ignores More Violent Threats from GreenIsTheNewRed.com

If Sarah Palin Were an Animal Rights Activist, She'd Have Already Been Convicted of "Terrorism"

Spokespersons for Sarah Palin and Tea Party groups have bristled at the suggestion that their violent rhetoric may have contributed to the recent shooting in Arizona that left six people dead and Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition. The topic is, for the most part, being treated with kid gloves in the press, and the "terrorist" label is conspicuously absent from the discussion.

However, animal rights and environmental activists have been labeled as "terrorists," and sent to prison, for much, much less.

The murder attempt of Gabrielle Giffords needs to be put in a political context: Sarah Palin's PAC used this map with gun targets on lawmakers, including Giffords; Palin has repeatedly used the rallying cry "Don't Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!"; Tea Partiers have carried assault rifles to political rallies; and militia members have urged followers to vandalize the offices of politicians (including Giffords), which they have done.

As I have reported here many times previously, none of this is being labeled terrorism by the government. Meanwhile, the animal rights and environmental movements are labeled the "number one domestic terrorism threat."

To draw an even more specific comparison: the SHAC 7 were convicted of "animal enterprise terrorism" for running a website which posted the names and addresses of individuals tied to the animal testing lab Huntingdon Life Sciences. They were not charged with any act of property destruction, they were charged with "conspiracy" on the grounds that they should be held accountable for the actions of others in the same movement.

To be clear, I am not arguing that Sarah Palin should be accused of terrorism. However, such a stark hypocrisy needs to be addressed.

Simply put:

If Sarah Palin cannot be held responsible for the actions of those who visit her website, neither can animal rights activists.

And if animal rights activists are terrorists for running a website listing "targets," then Tea Partiers and Sarah Palin, who have gone much further, must be labeled terrorists as well.

UPDATE: Well, it was only a matter of time. At least one person is proposing prosecuting Palin as a terrorist and using the SHAC 7 case as justification. It's this type of sweeping application that SHAC 7 attorneys have been warning about for years.

If Sarah Palin Were an Animal Rights Activist, She'd Have Already Been Convicted of "Terrorism" from GreenIsTheNewRed.com

Richmond Cops Mistakenly Hand Over Anti-Protest Guides to Anarchist

After filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the Richmond Police Department for police training documents, Mo Karn received much more than expected in return: homeland security and crowd control guides that show how the police target protests.

The police filed for an emergency court order yesterday to prohibit Karn from publicizing any of the documents, which should never have been released. The cops' reasoning? "Defendant Mo Karn is a known and admitted anarchist."

The documents, however, have already been published online. And buried in the training guides are insights into three trends in law enforcement that have been occurring not just in Virginia, but nationally: the demonization of protest, the militarization of police, and turning local cops into "terrorism" officials.

The Demonization of Protest



The Richmond Police Department's Emergency Operations Plan

includes a section on "civil disturbances." While this sounds innocuous, "civil disturbances" are defined so broadly as to include what the police call "dissident gatherings."

"The City of Richmond is a target rich environment" for antiwar protesters, the document says. And it warns that police and homeland security have reason to be increasingly concerned:

"Current training and intelligence reveals that protestors are becoming more proficient in the methods of assembly."

Militarization of Local Police



Such a depiction of "assembly" (a First Amendment right) as a "disturbance" and a threat is all the more troubling when put in the context of the other police department guides. Richmond's Crowd Management Operating Manual is for the police unit assigned to large protests (no experience required). Among the tools that the crowd management team are issued include riot shields, chemical agents, cut tools, helmets, body armor, cameras, video cameras, batons, gas masks, and a "mass arrest kit."

Deputizing Local Cops as Counter-terrorism Officials



This militarization of local police is accompanied by another trend in law enforcement since September 11th: deputizing local cops to becoming "homeland security" and counter-terrorism officials. According to the Homeland Security Criminal Intelligence Unit Operating Manual, "The Richmond Police Department is under contract with the FBI to provide assistance through staffing, intelligence and equipment." And one member of the homeland security unit is assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The result? Documents like the Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment. The 2009 document was created by the Virginia Fusion Center, of which the Richmond Police Department is part. Fusion centers are ostensibly designed to gather terrorism intelligence from multiple police agencies, and make us safer. In practice, they routinely label activists as "terrorists." Among the "terrorist threats" identified in Virginia were animal rights activists, environmental activists, and anarchists.

According to the threat assessment, "The Virginia Federation of Anarchists has held two conferences in Richmond in November 2007 and January 2008″ and "Anarchist protesters at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. spilled over into Prince William County."

Karn, meanwhile, wears her scarlet circle 'A' with pride, and has no problem being labeled an anarchist. The FOIA was submitted by the Wingnut Collective, a Richmond anarchist group, as part of their police accountability project.

In his court motion warning that Karn is an "anarchist," Richmond's Deputy Assistant Attorney Brian Telfair doesn't allege the possibility of any violence or property destruction. Instead, he cites a blog post by Karn about acquiring government information through legal requests. The title? "FOIA Rocks!"

Richmond Cops Mistakenly Hand Over Anti-Protest Guides to Anarchist from GreenIsTheNewRed.com

Wikileaks: Japan Urged U.S. to Crack Down on Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show that the Japanese government viewed the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a serious threat to its illegal whaling, and urged the United States to crack down on the group.

Shuji Yamada, Japan's vice minister in charge of fishing and whaling, urged John Roos, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, to take action. According to a 2009 cable:

Yamada inquired about an investigation into the tax status of the U.S.-based NGO Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and repeated Japan's request for the U.S. to take action against the organization, which he said created a very dangerous situation on the seas…

Another cable reveals that Sea Shepherd had been successfully impeding Japan's whaling operations, and have "kept the fleet from reaching its quota the last few years. Yamashita said the GOJ [government of Japan] would come under pressure domestically if SSCS [Sea Shepherd] harassment continues."

The Sea Shepherd's have long been smeared as "eco-terrorists" by a variety of corporate and political interests. Japan has gone so far as to attack Animal Planet (host of the reality TV show "Whale Wars") as supporting eco-terrorism. Meanwhile, other special interests, such as the Center for Consumer Freedom, have long pressured the U.S. to revoke the nonprofit status of activists groups like PETA.

These diplomatic cables are an example of how this scare-mongering works its way into official government policy.

More importantly, it is an excellent example of the "threat" posed by so-called eco-terrorist groups: in this case, Sea Shepherd was a threat because the group successfully, and non-violently, impeded the Japanese whaling industry's ability to kill whales.

Hat tip to Yoree Koh for digging up the Wikileaks cables.

Wikileaks: Japan Urged U.S. to Crack Down on Sea Shepherd Conservation Society from GreenIsTheNewRed.com