ACLU Seeks Data on Spying for 32 Groups

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ACLU Seeks Data on Spying for 32 Groups

by Lisa Rein


BALTIMORE - The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland yesterday demanded that the state police disclose under public information laws whether 32 grass-roots advocacy and political activist groups that have held large public protests in recent years have been targets of spying by undercover agents.

The ACLU of Maryland says an undercover state police agent used an alias to infiltrate Red Emma's, a coffee shop in Mount Vernon, Maryland. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum / September 30, 2008)

Yesterday's request follows revelations in July that state police officers posing as activists conducted surveillance in 2005 and 2006 on war protesters and death penalty opponents.

Information is being sought on behalf of groups ranging from Silver Spring-based Progressive Maryland, which promotes liberal causes, to Defend Life, a Washington area anti-abortion coalition. The organizations include immigrant advocacy group CASA of Maryland, PeaceAction Montgomery, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, the gay rights group Equality Maryland and a coalition formed to fight high electricity rates in the Washington-Baltimore area.

As a result of July's disclosures, Stephen H. Sachs, a former U.S. attorney and former state attorney general, was appointed to head an independent review of state police intelligence-gathering. Sachs and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) are scheduled to release the findings today.

Sachs is expected to explain why officers assigned to the Division of Homeland Security and Intelligence infiltrated organizational meetings, rallies and e-mail group lists when Robert L. Ehrlich (R) was governor and to comment on whether they broke any laws.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the spying for Tuesday.

More than 100 grass-roots groups contacted the ACLU out of concern that their protests have been targets. Two of the groups learned that they were under police surveillance, ACLU officials said.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/01-3