SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of UC students and groups whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.

“Students should be able to freely express themselves on campus without fear of ending up in a military database,” said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU-NC. “The Department of Defense should act quickly and disclose all information it has collected on these student organizations and their members.”

The ACLU of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Guardian filed its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of UC Santa Cruz Students Against War (“SAW”) and UC Berkeley students with Berkeley Stop the War Coalition (“BSTW”). The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of all documents maintained by the Department of Defense on the individuals and groups, as well as information on whether the records have been shared with other government agencies.

The national ACLU filed a similar FOIA request on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice and Greenpeace. In Georgia, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania ACLU affiliates are also seeking Pentagon files on local groups. Read more...

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