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DHS authorizes personnel to collect information on protesters it says threaten monuments [View all]
This is too old for LBN.
InvisibleChinaHat Retweeted
New DHS guidance unleashes its surveillance powers against any threats of vandalism of Confederate (and other historical) monuments and statues, both federal and state. Social media, mail covers, and even electronic surveillance, if coordinated with FBI. https://washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-authorizes-personnel-to-collect-information-on-protesters-it-says-threaten-monuments/2020/07/20/6f58867c-cace-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.html
Link to tweet
National Security
DHS authorizes personnel to collect information on protesters it says threaten monuments
By Shane Harris
July 20, 2020 at 7:27 p.m. EDT
The Department of Homeland Security has authorized its personnel to collect information on protesters who threaten to damage or destroy public memorials and statues, regardless of whether they are on federal property, a significant expansion of authorities that have historically been used to protect landmarks from terrorist attacks.
The new guidance was issued as department personnel have been dispatched to police and detain people protesting police violence, itself an untraditional role for a department set up to secure borders and transportation systems.
The guidance, obtained by The Washington Post, is described as a “job aid” for personnel implementing an executive order that President Trump signed last month, targeting protesters who threatened to remove statutes honoring Confederate officers and other people they consider racist.
{snip}
The guidance, first reported by the blog Lawfare, appears to authorize monitoring of social media posts as well as the use of public information sources to keep tabs on individuals or groups the department says may “damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue.”
{snip}
The document explicitly prohibits any intelligence activities “for the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment” or for deterring free speech. It also spells out guidance for collecting information about threats of violence to law enforcement and other government personnel and facilities.
Any information the department collects on U.S. citizens must be discarded after 180 days if it doesn’t further another appropriate government mission. But the information can be shared with a broad range of other groups, including within the federal government, as well as state and local organizations and private-sector groups engaged in law enforcement, counterterrorism and homeland security operations, the document states.
Shane Harris
Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for The Washington Post. He has been a writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast and Foreign Policy, among other publications. He has written two books, "The Watchers" and "@War," and is a national security analyst for CNN. Follow https://twitter.com/shaneharris
DHS authorizes personnel to collect information on protesters it says threaten monuments
By Shane Harris
July 20, 2020 at 7:27 p.m. EDT
The Department of Homeland Security has authorized its personnel to collect information on protesters who threaten to damage or destroy public memorials and statues, regardless of whether they are on federal property, a significant expansion of authorities that have historically been used to protect landmarks from terrorist attacks.
The new guidance was issued as department personnel have been dispatched to police and detain people protesting police violence, itself an untraditional role for a department set up to secure borders and transportation systems.
The guidance, obtained by The Washington Post, is described as a “job aid” for personnel implementing an executive order that President Trump signed last month, targeting protesters who threatened to remove statutes honoring Confederate officers and other people they consider racist.
{snip}
The guidance, first reported by the blog Lawfare, appears to authorize monitoring of social media posts as well as the use of public information sources to keep tabs on individuals or groups the department says may “damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue.”
{snip}
The document explicitly prohibits any intelligence activities “for the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment” or for deterring free speech. It also spells out guidance for collecting information about threats of violence to law enforcement and other government personnel and facilities.
Any information the department collects on U.S. citizens must be discarded after 180 days if it doesn’t further another appropriate government mission. But the information can be shared with a broad range of other groups, including within the federal government, as well as state and local organizations and private-sector groups engaged in law enforcement, counterterrorism and homeland security operations, the document states.
Shane Harris
Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for The Washington Post. He has been a writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast and Foreign Policy, among other publications. He has written two books, "The Watchers" and "@War," and is a national security analyst for CNN. Follow https://twitter.com/shaneharris
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