Campaign Action
Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has joined Massachusetts U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren in calling for answers over reports that the Department of Homeland Security was taking part in spying on hundreds of peaceful protests that took place last summer against the Trump administration’s family separation policy. “Peaceful demonstrations are protected under the First Amendment,” he wrote to both Homeland Security and the private cybersecurity company that carried out the spying, “and are crucial to a healthy democracy.”
Internal documents obtained by the American Immigration Council under the Freedom of Information Act showed that LookingGlass gathered information on last year’s rallies, including Facebook Event IDs and logistics such as time and location, which was then shared with Homeland Security officials, “who then distributed it within the Department and to outside law enforcement officials,” Warren’s letter stated.
She has called on the Homeland Security inspector general, the department’s watchdog, to open an investigation. Wyden seeks answers from both acting Homeland Security secretary Kevin McAleenan and LookingGlass’s leader, Chris Coleman. “Why did your company looking into activities specifically related to family separation policies?” he asks. “Why was this data shared with DHS?” It’s unclear if LookingGlass had an existing contract with the company, a question that Warren has specifically asked the inspector general to probe.
“Surveillance of protests—whether by the government, defense contractors, or unlawful vigilantes—can significantly chill this lawful, First Amendment-protected activity,” Wyden’s letters continue. “The restrictive effects of surveillance are further amplified for people who belong to communities that have long been over-policed and discriminated against by the state, particularly people of color.”