(Online Editor’s Note: The following is a letter from three congressmen on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee calling for a probe of the FBI following that agency’s investigation of anti-war activists. Two Lawrence anarchists were among those questioned in the nationwide sweep.)

August 17, 2004

The Honorable Glenn Fine
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Mr. Fine:

We hereby request that your office initiate an investigation into possible violations of First Amendment free speech and assembly rights by the Justice Department in connection with their investigations of possible protests at the Democratic and Republican political conventions in Boston and New York and other venues.

We recognize the obvious importance of protecting the conventions from violence and threats of violence. However, based upon our review of recent media accounts, the FBI appears to be engaged in systematic political harassment and intimidation of legitimate anti-war protestors. If true, these allegations would compare with the notorious days of political enemies list and COINTELPRO associated with the Nixon Administration. As such, this conduct warrants your immediate attention and investigation.

Today’s New York Times reveals the following:

• Numerous anti-war protestors who have shown no inclination towards violence were visited by the FBI in a possible effort to prevent them from engaging in protest activity.

  Three young men were trailed by FBI agents and forced to cancel their trip to the Boston convention so that they could comply with a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury.

  Many of these activities have been engaged in pursuant to undisclosed Department of Justice Legal opinions and FBI bulletins.

  An FBI employee charged that the FBI bulletins improperly violated First Amendment rights.

• The pattern of intimidating activity comes on the heels of the Justice Department subpoenaing Drake University for records concerning the sponsors of a campus anti-war forum (since withdrawn).

  Eric Lichtblau, FBI Goes Knocking for Political Troublemakers, N.Y. Times, Aug. 16, 2004, at A1.

  In addition to using your judgment and discretion to investigate these actions, we would ask that your investigation include the following:

  obtaining a copy of all OLC and FBI legal opinions and bulletins concerning political and antiwar protests, and an analysis of the legal validity of those materials.

  examining the means, techniques and extent of FBI interrogation and investigations of political and antiwar protestors.

  examining whether such investigations focused on actual threats of violence or merely involved legitimate political and anti-war activity.

  Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
  Please reply to our request through Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kalo of our Judiciary Committee staff, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 (tel: 202-225-6504; fax: 202-225-4423).

  Sincerely,

  ___________________________________ ___________________________________
  The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. The Honorable Jerrold Nadler

  ___________________________________
  The Honorable Robert C. Scott

  cc: The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
  Chairman
  U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary