SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Bradley Stroot found himself on a watchlist after a failed FBI investigation into him and other activists.
(Photo: Courtesy of Bradley Stroot)
Anti-Keystone Activists Allege 'Continued Crackdown' by Feds
One protester found that he was on a watchlist and was subjected to more invasive airport security measures
Jun 08, 2015
Environmental activists claim they are still being monitored by law enforcement, more than six months after an FBI investigation into anti-Keystone XL protests--itself revealed to be in violation of internal rules--was allegedly closed.
The Guardian on Monday published accounts from several such activists, who say they've faced "a continued crackdown"--including being placed on government watchlists--despite a lack of evidence against them.
"From an hours-long detention at the U.S. border to a home visit by a terrorism task force and an encounter with police searching for bombs, the activists say law enforcement has tracked them from a peaceful Texas protest of the highly contentious oil project in 2012 and 2013 to the tony suburbs of Indianapolis as recently as the end of last year," the Guardian reports.
The new allegations come on the heels of reporting last month by the Guardian and Earth Island Journal that showed the FBI broke its own internal rules when it spied on Keystone XL opponents in Texas, violating guidelines designed to prevent the agency from becoming overly involved in complex political issues.
Read the full story here.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Environmental activists claim they are still being monitored by law enforcement, more than six months after an FBI investigation into anti-Keystone XL protests--itself revealed to be in violation of internal rules--was allegedly closed.
The Guardian on Monday published accounts from several such activists, who say they've faced "a continued crackdown"--including being placed on government watchlists--despite a lack of evidence against them.
"From an hours-long detention at the U.S. border to a home visit by a terrorism task force and an encounter with police searching for bombs, the activists say law enforcement has tracked them from a peaceful Texas protest of the highly contentious oil project in 2012 and 2013 to the tony suburbs of Indianapolis as recently as the end of last year," the Guardian reports.
The new allegations come on the heels of reporting last month by the Guardian and Earth Island Journal that showed the FBI broke its own internal rules when it spied on Keystone XL opponents in Texas, violating guidelines designed to prevent the agency from becoming overly involved in complex political issues.
Read the full story here.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
Environmental activists claim they are still being monitored by law enforcement, more than six months after an FBI investigation into anti-Keystone XL protests--itself revealed to be in violation of internal rules--was allegedly closed.
The Guardian on Monday published accounts from several such activists, who say they've faced "a continued crackdown"--including being placed on government watchlists--despite a lack of evidence against them.
"From an hours-long detention at the U.S. border to a home visit by a terrorism task force and an encounter with police searching for bombs, the activists say law enforcement has tracked them from a peaceful Texas protest of the highly contentious oil project in 2012 and 2013 to the tony suburbs of Indianapolis as recently as the end of last year," the Guardian reports.
The new allegations come on the heels of reporting last month by the Guardian and Earth Island Journal that showed the FBI broke its own internal rules when it spied on Keystone XL opponents in Texas, violating guidelines designed to prevent the agency from becoming overly involved in complex political issues.
Read the full story here.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.