Jul 20, 2008 8:13 am US/Eastern
Md. ACLU Releases State Police Docs In Spying Case
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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The ACLU of Maryland says state police documents it received after filing suit show the agency spied on war and death penalty protesters.
State police may be keeping files on the innocent. The American Civil Liberties Union accuses the Maryland State Police of infiltrating anti-death penalty and anti-war groups to compile information for a database on terrorism.
Pat Warren talked to one of the people whose name is in that file.
A high-profile death penalty opponent and peace activist says he's watched by law enforcement and that his group was labeled a security threat. Max Obuszewski says he feels he has been compromised by this.
Obuszewski has apparently been in the cross-hairs of surveillance by the Homeland Security Intelligence Division of Maryland State Police, and he's not alone.
His name and others appear in documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union through the Public Information Act. The ACLU sounded an alarm Thursday.
"Why are government agencies targeting pacifist non-violent dissidence," said Obuszewski.
"And if we do not stop this at the start, things can always get out of hand, and it can happen here," said Dr. Terry Fitzgerald.
The information gathered by state police, according to the documents, is entered in a database of high intensity drug trafficking and terrorism.
"What about the real terrorists? Who's going after them? Why would you spend 288 hours on peace and justice activists, anti-death penalty people," said Obuszewski.
When the family of death row inmate Vernon Evans planned a protest, undercover state police were in the meeting secretly writing it all down.
It's just one secret meeting of anti-death penalty supporters infiltrated by undercover cops.
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg and others want to know why it's being allowed.
"Maybe you shouldn't be that surprised with 9/11 that there would be abuses, but once you find out that people were being investigated, there was infiltration of lawful activity, [it] should stop. And it's now up to us to put a stop to it," said Rosenberg.
The surveillance information released to the ACLU occurred during the Ehrlich administration. The former governor says intelligence made the call.
"We pay state police to make decisions, and obviously they bring discretion with them to their jobs everyday, so their job on a daily basis obviously is to weigh the relative value of the intelligence they receive and then make decisions accordingly," said Ehrlich.
Police issued this statement, "No illegal actions have ever been taken against any citizens or groups exercising their free speech and assembly in a lawful manner. Only when criminal activity is alleged will police investigate leads to ensure public safety."
The ACLU has written to Governor O'Malley asking him to halt the practice. He released this statement Friday.
"While these events happened in 2005 and 2006 under the previous administration, the Maryland State Police, under the O'Malley-Brown Administration, does not and will not use public resources to target or monitor peaceful activities where Maryland citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights.
"The State Police and other law enforcement agencies have an obligation to take seriously and investigate all potential threats to public safety consistent with state and federal law, including the Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies contained at 28 Code of Federal Regulations Part 23. But where there is no evidence of a potential public threat, illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing, all investigatory or intelligence gathering activities shall cease."
Meanwhile, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin is calling for a "full accounting" of surveillance activities by federal, state and local officials.
The ACLU is demanding a full account of the scope and nature of records relating to the surveillance of protest activity.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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