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For Immediate Release
February, 18 2014, 08:15am EDT
Contact:
Sarah Sloan
202-904-7949, ss@justiceonline.org
Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern Sues State Dept. For Putting Him on Watch List
Lawsuit Challenges Brutal Arrest at Clinton speech
WASHINGTON
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of U.S. military veteran and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern against John Kerry, in his capacity as the Secretary of State, and against officers at George Washington University.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia three years to the date of Mr. McGovern's brutal and false arrest at GWU during a speech of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. After the arrest, the PCJF uncovered that then 71-year-old McGovern was put on a "Be On the Look-Out" list, and agents were instructed to stop and question him on sight. The reasons cited included his "political activism, primarily anti-war" -- a clearly unconstitutional order.
Circumstances of arrest
The circumstances of McGovern's 2011 arrest were marked by stinging irony. McGovern was brutalized and arrested after peacefully and silently standing with his back to Hillary Clinton as she gave a policy speech condemning authoritarian governments who repress dissenters and internet freedom.
As described in the Civil Complaint: "As Secretary Clinton was reading from her prepared remarks regarding Egypt's dictatorship saying, 'Then the government pulled the plug,' the then-71-year-old McGovern was forcibly and falsely arrested by GWU police officers, grabbed by the head, assaulted, and as Secretary Clinton continued undisturbed stating, 'the government ... did not want the world to watch,' Mr. McGovern was removed from public view with excessive and brutal force, taken to jail, and left bleeding with bruises and contusions."
Political targeting
The complaint continues: "The Department of State then opened an investigation into Plaintiff McGovern, including specifically his lawful, protected political beliefs, activities, statements and associations which it kept open for nearly seven months, despite all charges having been dropped against Mr. McGovern and despite having determined that Mr. McGovern was engaged in no criminal activity."
As the complaint states: "The Department of State issued a Be On The Lookout Alert ('BOLO Alert') for the then- 71-year-old McGOVERN which described his 'considerable amount of political activism, primarily anti-war,' displayed his picture and directed law enforcement that if Mr. McGOVERN was encountered, 'USE CAUTION, stop' and question him and contact the Department of State Diplomatic Security Command Center."
PCJF Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard stated: "Mr. McGovern's brutal arrest and his subsequent political targeting by the State Department stands in sharp contrast to the policy announcement that Secretary Clinton was delivering, which insisted that governments respect dissent and dissenters and their freedom of speech."
Carl Messineo, Legal Director of the PCJF, explained, "Mr. McGovern is a veteran who committed no crime. Yet the State Department carried out a purely political investigation of him and put him on the BOLO list in clear violation of his Fourth and First Amendment protections."
Mr. McGovern, 74, is a veteran Army officer who also served as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years. Mr. McGovern wrote for the President's daily brief under Presidents Nixon and Ford. From 1981 to 1985, he personally briefed this publication in the morning one-on-one to Vice President George H. W. Bush, the Secretaries of State and Defense, and other senior officials of the administration of Ronald Reagan.
Upon retirement in early 1990, Mr. McGovern was awarded the Intelligence Commendation Award for his particularly commendable service and received a laudatory farewell letter from then-President George H. W. Bush.
Thirteen years later, Mr. McGovern co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity to expose that intelligence was being falsified by the U.S. government to justify war on Iraq.
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is a public interest legal organization that brings a unique and cutting edge approach dedicated to the defense of human and civil rights secured by law, the protection of free speech and dissent, and the elimination of prejudice and discrimination. Among the PCJF cases are constitutional law, civil rights, women's rights, economic justice matters and Freedom of Information Act cases.
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Israel Kills 22 Children in Gaza Bombing as Trump Visits Region
Strikes by the Israel Defense Forces hit European Hospital in Khan Younis and a refugee camp in Jabalia.
May 14, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East this week had sparked hope that a new cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas could be imminent, but the Israel Defense Forces' bombardment of northern and southern Gaza on Wednesday—with targets including a hospital and a refugee camp—was seen as a signal from Israel that it has no intention of reversing its plan to escalate the attacks that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
At least 22 children were among those killed in airstrikes, and Gaza's Health Ministry said more than 70 people in total had been killed since dawn.
At least 50 of those people were victims of strikes near Jabalia in the northern part of the enclave, where rescue workers were using hand tools Wednesday to smash through concrete slabs to recover the bodies of children.
The latest round of attacks come as Israel's total blockade on humanitarian aid into Gaza is in its third month, having pushed nearly half a million Palestinians toward possible starvation according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
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Wednesday morning also marked the third Israeli bombing of a hospital in Gaza in three days, with the IDF striking European Hospital in Khan Younis.
CCTV footage showed patients heading to the hospital when the facility was struck. One bombing hit a bulldozer that had been deployed to clear the area of rubble from previous attacks in order to allow ambulances to enter the area.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that there was "no way" a cease-fire would be reached until Israel destroys Hamas.
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Israel and the U.S., its top international provider of military aid, have recently discussed setting up a potential U.S.-led government in Gaza after the war and a plan to deliver aid to the enclave via a private foundation and U.S. military contractors—a plan that has been rejected by United Nations aid officials.
In addition to displacing the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, Israel's 19-month military campaign has left people in the enclave without the ability to produce their own food, and markets are largely empty, with prices for food that is available skyrocketing.
The United Nations warned this week that charity kitchens, which provided more than 1 million meals per day in late April, now are able to serve just 260,000 per day, and kitchens are rapidly shutting down due to a lack of supplies.
Thousands of children have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition since Israel's latest total blockade began in March.
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In February, State Farm sought a rate increase of 22% for homeowners and 15% for renters after the Los Angeles-area fires, citing the need to protect the "fragile California insurance market."
After conducting a hearing in April, an administrative law judge issued a proposed order on Monday, approving an emergency rate increase of 17% for homeowners line, down from the 22% the company had requested, and a 15% increase for renters. The emergency rate increase will go into effect June 1, according to the commissioner's office.
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Consumer Watchdog argued before the administrative law judge that State Farm had failed to put forward adequate justification for the rate increases, and that the issue should go before a full rate hearing.
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"State Farm policyholders, many of whom are struggling to get their claims paid by the company after the Los Angeles fires, are now facing double-digit rate hikes," Balber also said.
Lara gave sign off on the rate hikes despite calls for his office to probe complaints around the insurance giant's handling of claims made by survivors of the Los Angeles area fires, according to CalMatters. Fire victims have accused State Farm of denying or delaying claims, and had advocated for Lara to reject the rate hike request.
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Republicans—many of whom stand to reap significant personal benefits from another round of tax cuts—rejected the Democratic amendments.
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Shortly after the hearing kicked off on Tuesday, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation released a distributional analysis showing that the Republican tax bill—part of the GOP's sprawling reconciliation package—would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans while doing little for low- to middle-income families.
Beyer noted on social media that "a dirty little secret" of the Republican tax legislation is that it would actually raise taxes on the bottom 20% of Americans in 2029—the year President Donald Trump leaves office.
The bill is even more regressive when you look at 2029 when tax cuts for families expire & tax increases resulting from cuts to ACA premium tax credits grow larger. pic.twitter.com/3BDz1bFina
— Brendan Duke (@Brendan_Duke) May 14, 2025
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