this type of stuff again

Local Peace Group Infiltrated By Government Agent

(SF Bay Area Independent Media Center, Oct. 4) -- Peace Fresno was
infiltrated by an agent working for the Fresno Sheriff's Department.

Aaron Kilner, known by Peace Fresno activists as Aaron Stokes,
attended several Peace Fresno meetings. Peace Fresno activist Nicholas
DeGraff remembers him taking voluminous notes and several members say
they saw him at peace vigils held at Shaw and Blackstone. He was also
on the bus local anti-globalization activists took to attend the WTO
ministerial-level conference on Agricultural Science and Technology
demonstration in Sacramento in June 2003.

Aaron Kilner died in a motorcycle accident on August 30, 2003. In
his obituary in the Fresno Bee he was identified as a member of the
Fresno County Sheriff's department. The obituary went on to say that
he was "assigned to the anti-terrorist team." Local activists believe
that this "anti-terrorist team" is, in fact, the Joint Terrorism Task
Force (JTTF) that has recently been formed in this area. When members
of Peace Fresno saw the picture and read of Kilner's association with
law enforcement they began piecing the story together.

The infiltration by law enforcement of progressive community
groups in Fresno and throughout the country has long been used to
disrupt legitimate political work. This disruption occurs by sowing
seeds of mistrust among members, agents often promote discord within
the group, and sometimes encourage illegal or violent actions. Agent
provocateurs have been know to instigate violence at demonstrations,
giving the police an excuse to attack protestors.

During the 1980s, the Latin American Support Committee in Fresno,
who worked to end U.S. intervention in Central America, was repeatedly
harassed by government agents. Undercover agents attempted to disrupt
meetings by polarizing members about the use of violence and
encouraging the group to raise money for weapons which were needed by
Central American revolutionaries. Agents approached individual members
and asked them to engage in illegal and violent activities. The local
police and the FBI spent years investigating and harassing LASC
without uncovering any illegal activities.

A few years ago, the Fresno Police Department and the CSUF police
conspired to violate anti-sweatshop activists rights by infiltrating
United Students Against Sweatshops. A police agent attended the
group's meetings and monitored email messages of anti-sweatshop
activists. The distorted information that this agent passed on to her
superiors to justify her job greatly exaggerated the extent of a
planned demonstration at a local mall.

This misinformation resulted in the police's use of riot clad
officers, a police helicopter, and over one hundred officers to arrest
19 peaceful protestors at the Fashion Fair mall. The presence of the
informant was discovered during the course of criminal proceedings of
the Gap 19. All charges against the anti-sweatshop activists were
later dismissed. (For more information about this case see
www.fresnoalliance.com/home/GAP.htm.)

Ken Hudson, a long time activist with Peace Fresno, said that
Kilner played a very quite role in the group. Other Peace Fresno
activists also remembered him as being quite and added that he did not
actively engage in political, tactical, or other discussions while
attending the meetings.

According the California Constitution, law enforcement does not
have the right to investigate and infiltrate groups unless they have a
reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. If local law enforcement
and the JTTF was using Kilner to investigate Peace Fresno, one has to
ask -- what else are they up to? Do they have agents imbedded in other
community groups? Are they watching what people say at churches and
mosques? Because of the Patriot Act, does law enforcement now believe
they have the right to monitor what you do and say in your home? In
your bedroom?

There have been several meetings between law enforcement and
groups concerned about civil liberties, in the wake of September 11,
2001. One such meeting was held with Lt. Pat Farmer of the Fresno
Police Department. Lt. Farmer told this group of community activists
that there is nothing to prevent the police or JTTF members from
investigating and interrogating community members. He suggested that
the person being investigated might not even know he was talking to a
police officer. "If the person doesn't want to talk with us, they
don't have to," Farmer said.

At an earlier meeting, immediately after 9-11, an FBI agent told a
group, of mostly immigrant rights activists, that anyone helping a
group identified as a "terrorist group" by the United States
government would be investigated as a potential terrorist. That was
interpreted to mean that if you are working, for example, to support
the Zapatistas in Chiapas, you might be investigated as a supporter of
international terrorism. This FBI agent said that every agent in this
area was now focusing on stopping the terrorist threat.

Another justification on the local war against terrorism comes
from Fresno Police chief Jerry Dyer. He told community members that
Fresno is a hotbed of terrorist activity and that is why the JTTF has
been established in this area. He told this group that Fresno could
have "sleeper cells," that they are connected with illegal
methamphetamine production to fund terrorist activities, and all of
this is somehow related to radical Muslim extremists. While this story
may seem far fetched for those of us who live in this area it was good
enough to bring in millions of dollars in Federal anti-terrorism
funds.

The Fresno Bee printed a story about the infiltration of Peace
Fresno by law enforcement in their Friday, October 3 issue
(www.fresnobee.com/local/story/7537174p-8449347c.html). They printed a
statement from Sherriff Pierce that said:

Detective Aaron Kilner was a member of the FCSD Anti-Terrorism unit.
This unit collects, evaluates, collates, analyzes, and disseminates
information on individuals, groups, and organizations suspected of
criminal or terrorist activities. This information meets the
stringent federal and state guidelines for intelligence gathering
and civil rights protections in order to prevent crime and protect
the health and safety of residents of Fresno County and the State
of California.

For the purpose of detecting or preventing terrorist activities,
the Fresno County Sheriff's Department may visit any place and
attend any event that is open to the public, on the same terms and
conditions as members of the public generally. No information
obtained from such visits shall be retained unless it relates to
potential criminal or terrorist activities.

Peace Fresno was not and is not the subject of any investigation
by the FCSD. The FCSD does not have any reports, files, rosters,
or notes on Peace Fresno or it's (sic) meetings.

The FCSD is dedicated to protecting the citizens of Fresno County.
The department will continue to utilize legal methods for
collecting, evaluating, collating, analyzing, and disseminating
criminal intelligence of terrorist and organized crime
organizations to accomplish its mission, while respecting the
constitutional rights of all persons.

Sincerely,
RP, Sheriff

The revelation that the Sheriff's department placed an agent in
Peace Fresno begs the question of what other groups are being
investigated, what has happened to our civil liberties since 9-11, and
how will the community respond to this attack against our civil
liberties. Some activists and legal experts are claiming that state
attorney general Bill Lockyer's directive to California law
enforcement, telling them not to collect intelligence on religious or
political groups without evidence of criminal activity should be the
law of the land. But, does state law override the Patriot Act?

A united community defending their Constitutional Rights to civil
liberties will be the best defense against future attacks. The goal is
to not only stop these current intrusions against peaceful and
nonviolent groups engaged in civic participation, but return the
rights that were taken away with the passage of the Patriot Act.

-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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