ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri Files Freedom of Information Act Request

ACLU and Local Civil Rights Activists Seek Information on Government Surveillance of Peaceful Anti-War Protesters

Sept. 21, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

• Brett Shirk, Executive Director, ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri  (816) 536-1337
• Ira Harritt, Program Coordinator, Kansas City American Friends Service Committee (816) 931-5256

Kansas City, Mo. – Prompted by national reports and concerns of local anti-war protesters, the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri today filed a Freedom of Information Act Request  (FOIA) seeking records of federal and state law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The ACLU filed the request because it is concerned with the disturbing national trend of government surveillance of political and religious groups.

“These peaceful citizens are not terrorists, and have not given the government any reason to consider them a threat to anybody or anything,” said Brett Shirk, the Executive Director of the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri. “Government spy agencies and law enforcement should be spending their time and resources tracking down real threats to our national security, not spying on critics of the Bush administration.”

Ira Harritt, the Program Coordinator of The American Friends Service Committee, said that his organization, along with many others, is very concerned that the government has over-stepped its authority by spying on peaceful war protesters. “It is ironic that while our government claims to be fighting to spread democracy in Iraq, it is trampling on the very freedoms upon which our democracy depends on here at home,” said Harritt. “Those who blindly trust that unregulated powers given to the government will not be abused do not know history and are not paying attention. Invasive surveillance and intimidation are being used for political ends and stifling free speech and civic involvement.”

The ACLU requests were filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and seek any documents relating to plans and programs to monitor, conduct surveillance, question, interrogate, investigate and collect information about the groups and individuals. Across the country, the ACLU has filed numerous lawsuits based on troubling evidence of unconstitutional government spying revealed as a result of similar information requests.

The American Friends Service Committee, PeaceWorks Kansas City, the Kansas City Iraq Task Force, the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, and several other groups and individuals all believe they have been the targets of federal monitoring by the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, in coordination with local law enforcement. The groups and individuals believe the government is spying on them because of their planning and participation in campaigns of non-violent protest. The groups said they are particularly concerned by the NSA's actions in light of revelations that President Bush secretly authorized the spy agency to engage in warrantless electronic eavesdropping and physical surveillance of Americans.

“The last time I checked, we still have a Bill of Rights that protects peaceful, law-abiding citizens from government spying,” said Kris Cheatum, a local anti-war protester affiliated with PeaceWorks Kansas City. “Just because President Bush considers himself above the law does not mean that he is. We have rights of free speech and assembly, and we're not going to let the government get away with spying on us. We are well within our rights to protest policies we believe are unjust and unfair.”

Nationally, documents obtained by the ACLU through FOIA requests have revealed that the FBI is using its Joint Terrorism Task Force to gather extensive information about peaceful organizations. The targeted groups include advocates for the environment, animal rights, labor, religion, Native American rights, fair trade, grassroots politics, peace, social justice, nuclear disarmament, human rights and civil liberties.

In June, 2006, the national ACLU filed a lawsuit to force the government to turn over records after media reports revealed evidence that the Pentagon was secretly collecting information on protest activities, antiwar organizations and individuals who attended peace rallies. That lawsuit, filed on behalf of ACLU affiliates in Florida, Georgia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Washington, charged that the Defense Department refused to comply with national FOIA requests seeking records on the ACLU, the American Friends Service Committee, Greenpeace, Veterans for Peace and United for Peace and Justice, as well as many local groups and activists. The ACLU won the lawsuit, and government agencies have since been ordered to comply with the FOIA requests.

Doug Bonney, a local Kansas City attorney, filed the request on behalf of the ACLU. Bonney said that the legal panel of the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri will review any documents that are obtained.

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