Seven outrageous examples of police spying and harassment toward peaceful activists

According to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), law enforcement agencies around the country have acted as diligent Thought Police, relying on dubious justifications to spy on Americans based on little more than their political beliefs (PDF). The report notes our nation's rich tradition "of spying on American citizens and infiltrating or otherwise obstructing political activist groups." After Cold War initiatives like the FBI's COINTELPRO and the CIA's Operation Chaos came to light, federal agencies enacted new rules against spying on people for their politics. But in 2002, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, leaning heavily on the attacks of 9/11, suspended those restrictions, saying, "We in the leadership of the FBI and the Department of Justice began a concerted effort to free the field agents"the brave men and women on the front lines"from the bureaucratic, organizational and operational restrictions and structures that hindered them from doing their jobs effectively."