Department of Homeland Security Provided Information To Pentagon on UC Students' Anti-War Activities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

PRESS CONTACT:
Stella Richardson (415) 621-2493

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PROVIDED INFORMATION TO PENTAGON ON UC STUDENTS' ANTI-WAR ACTIVITIES

SAN FRANCISCO – The Federal Department of Homeland Security provided the Pentagon with information on anti-war protests at UC campuses last year, according to the most recent government documents released to the ACLU of Northern California.

The UC Berkeley and Santa Cruz students first learned their activities were being monitored when NBC News reported last December that a secret Pentagon anti-terrorist database contained information on several anti-war protests across the country. On March 7, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit with the San Francisco Bay Guardian seeking expedited processing for their request for information held by the Defense Department on two UC student anti-war groups as well as policy information about the terrorism database.

The most recent disclosure includes two previously redacted reports on student protests at UC Berkeley and Santa Cruz. Following an administrative appeal, that information was released. Both bulletins indicate that the source of the information was “a special agent of the federal protective service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”

“Homeland Security was created to protect the American people from terrorist activities – not monitor political dissent on college campuses,” said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU-NC. “These documents raise significant questions about the extent to which the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring anti-war activities.”

The two Defense Department Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) bulletins released relating to activity on UC Campuses, dated April 4, 2005 and April 20, 2005, indicate that the information was provided “to alert commanders and staff to potential terrorist activity or apprise them of other force protection issues.”

The TALON bulletins also indicate that the Defense Department briefed and coordinated with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Francisco about the campus demonstrations.

On May 26, US District Court Judge William Alsup ordered the Pentagon to expedite the ACLU’s FOIA request. In his decision, Judge Alsup wrote that the information requested was “of significant importance to public policy and public protest.”

To date, the ACLU has received more than 150 pages of documents. Most of the documents relate to procedures surrounding the creation of TALON reports. Based on the documents received by the ACLU-NC to date, it appears that regulations governing the TALON reports are still insufficient.

Amitai Schwartz and Lisa Sitkin from the Law Offices of Amitai Schwartz were cooperating counsel on the case ACLU of Northern California vs. United States Department of Defense.

DOCUMENTS

* 7-3-06 | Department of Defense Response to ACLU-NC Freedom of Information Act/Public Records Act Request
http://www.aclunc.org/privacy/060703-dod_foia.pdf

* 7-11-06 | Department of the Air Force Response to ACLU-NC Freedom of Information Act/Public Records Act Request
http://www.aclunc.org/privacy/060711-air_force.pdf

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