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US Homeland Security Created Files on Journalists

Leslie Bonilla

   The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday that it has
   ordered agents to stop compiling and circulating "intelligence reports"
   on journalists.

   The move came a day after The Washington Post reported that a DHS
   office had created three reports on two journalists covering
   demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, that were [1]distributed to federal
   law enforcement agencies.

   The reports, compiled by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, noted
   that the journalists had published leaked, unclassified documents about
   the deployment of federal agents to protests in Portland. The office is
   tasked with integrating DHS intelligence and distributing information
   to state and local authorities, as well as private partners.

   In a statement, the Intelligence Office said that Acting DHS Secretary
   Chad Wolf had suspended the collection of information on journalists
   and ordered an investigation.

   "In no way does the acting secretary condone this practice," [2]said
   DHS spokesperson Alexei Woltornist. "The acting secretary is committed
   to ensuring that all DHS personnel uphold the principles of
   professionalism, impartiality and respect for civil rights and civil
   liberties, particularly as it relates to the exercise of First
   Amendment rights."

   Details of the intelligence reports came amid [3]unrest in Portlandand
   [4]New York City, where plainclothes law enforcement officers have been
   spotted pulling protesters into unmarked vans. Portland police have
   livestreamed protests, which the American Civil Liberties Union of
   Oregon alleges violates state law blocking police from collecting
   information on law-abiding citizens.

   The Post reported that the intelligence reports contained images and
   descriptions of tweets by Mike Baker, a journalist at The New York
   Times and Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare, a blog that
   focuses on national security and policy. The reports included the
   number of likes and retweets the social media posts received.

References

   1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-compiled-intelligence-reports-on-journalists-who-published-leaked-documents/2020/07/30/5be5ec9e-d25b-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html
   2. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/07/31/statement-dhs-spokesman-alexei-woltornist-dhs-intelligence-analysis-directorate
   3. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/us/portland-protests.html
   4. https://news.yahoo.com/kidnapping-distressing-video-shows-nypd-150005248.html