DENVER — The FBI opened domestic terrorism investigations of peaceful demonstrators after reading Web sites announcing protests, according to FBI documents released yesterday by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU filed an open-records request in December seeking documents on 10 individuals and 16 organizations, including the Colorado American Indian Movement, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and the Quaker-affiliated American Friends Service Committee.
The FBI gave the ACLU documents on its investigations into the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center and the Colorado American Indian Movement, said Mark Silverstein, legal director for Colorado ACLU.
"Many people in this country want law enforcement agencies to investigate terrorism," he said. "That's obviously a high priority. I don't think people support investigating people who pose no threat. And that's what these documents prove."
Silverstein said the documents showed agents opened their investigations after reading Web sites announcing anti-war protests in Colorado Springs in 2003 and a 2002 Columbus Day protest in Denver.
Monique Kelso, spokeswoman for the FBI's Denver office, said the FBI only investigates groups or people when it receives information about ongoing or potential criminal activity.
"Again, the FBI doesn't monitor groups or interview individuals unless the FBI receives intelligence or information that such individuals or these groups are planning a violent or disruptive activity," she said.
In 2003, the ACLU settled a lawsuit against Denver for keeping "spy files" on peaceful groups since at least the 1950s. The lawsuit contended that collecting tracking information on groups without a clear law enforcement reason has a chilling effect on people wishing to exercise their First Amendment rights.
After that lawsuit, Denver police changed their policy to collect information only when there was a clear connection to criminal activity.
Silverstein has said the FBI won more latitude to monitor groups when guidelines were relaxed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.