PORTLAND, Ore. — The ACLU of Oregon, in partnership with Don’t Shoot PDX, an arts and education organization that promotes social justice and civic participation, have submitted three public records requests to the City of Portland, the Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These requests seek to identify how state and local law enforcement agencies collaborate with federal law enforcement to monitor and surveil Oregonians engaged in racial justice and other forms of lawful advocacy and protest.
“As an arts and education organization we believe in the importance of free speech and the right to protest. We believe that when movements are censored or infiltrated by the state, it’s not only costly for taxpayers but it’s counterproductive. Every good thing about America has been brought about by the people who demand we live up to our principles. Protect the People, Protect Freedom,” said Teressa Raiford, Founder of Don’t Shoot PDX.
Background Information About Federal and Local Surveillance of Oregonians Engaged in Justice-Related Advocacy
The ACLU of Oregon’s requests for public information are modeled after ACLU National’s recent FOIA lawsuit seeking the release of records on the use of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) and fusion centers, like the Oregon TITAN Fusion Center, to target protesters and communities of color on a national level.
JTTFs are FBI-operated partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement and intelligence agencies that conduct so-called “terrorism” investigations. Fusion centers are a network of 80 state-run, multi-agency entities under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as hubs to collect and disseminate so-called “counterterrorism” and other information. The FBI and DHS are both federal law enforcement agencies. The FBI is largely tasked with enforcing federal criminal laws. DHS is largely tasked with combating terrorism, but federal immigration agencies are also structured within DHS.
The Oregon Department of Justice states that its Criminal Division staff operate the Oregon Titan Fusion Center in cooperation with federal and local law enforcement agencies. JTTFs and fusion centers, as well as the agencies that participate in them, have a history of wrongly targeting and monitoring activists and communities of color and associating protest and advocacy with “terrorism” — without evidence of wrongdoing.
Intelligence reports from the first Trump Administration indicate how the second Trump Administration might treat constitutionally-protected protest activities. For example, a report from a North Carolina fusion center and the Department of Homeland Security pointed to protests in Portland — which Portland police indiscriminately, inappropriately, and too-frequently labeled as “riots” — as evidence of the rise in “domestic terrorism.” The report pointed to viewpoints about the 2016 election as the driver of this so-called terrorism. These types of efforts to criminalize constitutionally-protected First Amendment rights and pro-democracy viewpoints is part of a historical and harmful pattern by federal and local law enforcement agencies tasked with surveillance.
In Oregon, the sweeping nature of surveillance activities by fusion centers has targeted activists and public officials alike. For example, the Oregon TITAN Fusion Center has been sued for monitoring of several environmental and indigenous justice groups and activists in Southern Oregon who were engaged in political advocacy opposing the building of a pipeline terminal in Coos Bay. In another example, it was revealed that the Oregon Department of Justice used social media monitoring software to gather all uses of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter — which resulted in the surveillance of Erious Johnson, the Director of the Oregon Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
The range of groups and individuals being targeted by this surveillance shows how overzealous JTTFs, fusion centers, and law enforcement agencies have become.
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About the ACLU of Oregon: The ACLU of Oregon is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization with more than 38,000 members statewide. The organization works in the courts, legislature, and communities to defend and advance our democracy, civil liberties, and civil rights.
About Don’t Shoot PDX: Don’t Shoot Portland is an arts and education organization that promotes social justice and civic participation. The organization’s year-round programming allows them to advocate for community members facing racism and discrimination by providing legal representation and direct advocacy.
