This article in the news, reminiscent of the good ole mccarthy days.
Apparently, the MD police placed 53 NON-violent activists against the death penalty and the iraq war into federal and state "terrorist databases", subsequently subjecting these individuals to 14 months of surveillance. Quoted from the article, "[The former police superintendent] Hutchins said the program was a bulwark against potential violence and called the activists fringe people." Also from the article, he said, "I don't believe the First Amendment is any guarantee to those who wish to disrupt the government." I guess they consider non-violent protest and activism as disrupting? And to get the names, the police went undercover to "infiltrate organizational meetings, rallies and group e-mail lists."
Last I checked freedom of speech and assembly was a constitutional right, but then again so is 4th amendment...
Oh, and here's an interesting read on data-mining for terrorists...
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