Police role in terror task force criticized <http://www.oregonlive.com:80/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/oregonian/00/12/lc_41pact06.frame> Critics fear Portland's agreement with the FBI will blur lines and permit the infiltration of lawful political protests Wednesday, December 6, 2000 By Mark Larabee of The Oregonian staff A new task force on domestic terrorism that includes Portland police officers and FBI agents follows a national trend to combat terrorism on U.S. soil. But some think the wording of an agreement between the city and the FBI is merely window dressing for a newly formed "Red Squad" to infiltrate lawful political protests and their organizers. The FBI's budget and number of counter-terrorism agents have jumped significantly each year since 1993, when a bomb blast rocked New York's World Trade Center and the nation's psyche. The government's resolve to battle such violence hardened two years later when a bomb planted inside a yellow rental truck ripped apart the federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing 168. Portland's task force was formed specifically to investigate crimes by extremist groups. An agreement between the FBI and the city names the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, militant environmental groups that have claimed responsibility for crimes. "It's Big Brother keeping his spying eyes on people," said Spencer Neal, a Portland civil rights lawyer who has filed numerous lawsuits against the city and police. "I think they're going to have a problem." Some activists are calling on the City Council to reconsider its approval of the agreement, or at a minimum, hold a hearing in which their opinions can be fully aired. Several have signed up to be heard at today's City Council meeting. Growing trend It's not just front-page incidents such as the Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center bombs that have the feds concerned. Smaller scale threats, from razor-blade letters to scares of widespread releases of toxic germs, are becoming more common. The official response has been preparedness. More than 30 cities across the country have formed antiterrorism task forces that include federal agents and local police. Seattle formed one in September to thwart such things as white supremacist violence. The FBI also has teamed with police departments to battle cyber terrorists who could hack into computer systems to do such things as shut down the nation's power grid or collide two airliners. The FBI budget was $3 billion last year, up from $2.1 billion in 1994. Much of that increase is attributed to the agency's counter-terrorism efforts. Other federal agencies are also preparing. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a $155 million annual bio-terrorism research program with 100 full-time employees, according to a September report by Newhouse News Service. The CDC is stockpiling drugs in case of large-scale exposures to such things as anthrax and smallpox. Extremist activity on the rise Given that, the local task forces make perfect sense to the FBI. In Portland, the agency and police came together in 1998 to investigate any crimes that might have come out of the Nike World Games. "We've seen all around the country a rise in the level of criminal activity on behalf of these extremist protest groups," said FBI Special Agent Kevin Favreau, who supervises Portland's domestic terrorism program. He said the FBI has the money to supply office space and equipment, such as computers, as well as crime analysis. The 12 federal agents, eight Portland police officers and three other state law enforcement officers on the task force will investigate crimes of intimidation, from arson to vandalism. "If we turn a deaf ear to those things as they start happening, then we leave ourselves open to them getting worse," Favreau said. Apprehension But some say having the police gathering intelligence on extremist groups presents difficult choices for a nation that values civil liberties. They caution that the potential to cross the line is far too easy. "The FBI has a long history of spying on political groups," said Portland attorney Alan Graf of the National Lawyers Guild. "They're identifying people based on political ideology and association with certain groups." Attorney Neal is suing the city in federal court on behalf of Robert E. Challis, a member of the Brother Speed Motorcycle Club, who alleges the police have collected information about him that is unrelated to any crime. Neal cited a state statute that prohibits police from collecting information about political, religious or social groups unless it directly relates to criminal activity. In 1996, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael Marcus upheld the law, ordering the Portland police to purge its files of some criminal intelligence reports. He said a person's or group's mere presence at an event where criminal behavior is planned or conducted is not enough to allow police to start an intelligence file. Graf thinks the task force approach would be too invasive and their written directive is too broad. Under the city's agreement with the FBI, an investigation is triggered by "criminal activity," which Graf said could be interpreted to mean such things as jaywalking. "I'm all for the FBI and the police stopping violent acts," Graf said. But he said the language should be exact, allowing an investigation only in cases where there is "a pattern of violence against people and property." Favreau cited the latest federal Department of Justice guidelines that require special care in sorting out criminal activity from those that are protected. "This is not for the purpose of being anti-civil rights, trying to go out and find out about people who are protesting, and it never will be," Favreau said of the task force. "We don't have time to be investigating thoughts and protests." ---- You can reach Mark Larabee at 503-294-7664 or by e-mail at marklarabee@news.oregonian.com
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