This is illustrated well in the following example of pacifist activist groups in the Baltimore MD area. Recent classified documents were released to the ACLU revealing that the the state police’s Homeland Security and Intelligence Division had been spying on a number of different organizations such as a peace group called Baltimore Pledge of Resistance, the Baltimore Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the NAACP, and the International Socialist Organization. From 2005-2006, the Maryland state police sent infiltrators into these different organizations to spy on their activities and keep a log of what was happening and who was attending. They spent a total of 288 hours spying on these organizations over a 14 month period to see if any of these groups posed a threat to American security. Of course they found no illegal or threatening activity yet some of the members of these groups are now on a domestic terrorist watch list. Max Obuszewski, a middle-aged non-violent peace activist, is one such person. In their classified documents, the Maryland state police wrote he is suspected of committing the “primary crime of terrorism—anti-war protestors, and the secondary crime of terrorism—anti-govern.”

The state government of Maryland has been caught in the act and their deeds have been made public. But these activities are not limited to Maryland. Infiltration and spying on activist organizations is and has been happening all over the country for many decades. David Rocah is a staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland. He had this to say about the recent findings. “ This is downright terrifying and ought to send chills down the spine of every American who cherishes freedom and who believes that we have freedom to voice our opinions in this country..” (Actually, I’m sure some homeland security agent reads every issue of P.E. and is probably reading this article. Hey you criminal. Put down your stars and stripes and come over to our side......)

None of this could have been possible without the passing of a number of previous bills and acts that are like bricks in the building of a total dictatorship. The USA Patriot Act of 2001 was the first major blow to civil liberties in this country by giving the government easier access to the private lives of American citizens. It also was the first bill to coin the term, “domestic terrorism”. The Military Commissions Act (MCA) and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) are also forerunners to HR 1955. In the MCA, the president was given the power to say who is and who isn’t an enemy combatant and to detain them for an indefinite amount of time. It did away with Habeas Corpus, the bedrock of America’s judicial system that grants everyone who has been apprehended a fair trial. It also gave the president the right to decide what is and what is not torture, to make his own definitions, even though these definitions are clearly laid out in the Geneva Conventions. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act boldly stepped on the necks of activists by labeling as terrorists all those who “engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of Animal Rights..” It was also passed as a “suspension bill”.

A section of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act gives permission to the president to use the military against US citizens if there’s a natural disaster, disease outbreak, a terrorist attack, or any other domestic problem beyond the control of local officials. This and the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007, totally obliterated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. This act was established as an agreement between federal, state, and local governments that the US would not deploy its troops to any state without their permission. Then there was the recent passing of the FISA Amendment Act of 2008 which grants immunity in US Courts to anyone who spies on someone else at the government’s request. This includes communication companies, landlords, service workers, bosses, and your neighbor.

It goes back even farther, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The War and Emergency Powers Act that gave the president full power to use any and all government forces at his discretion during wartime was passed by Congress in 1933. A few decades later, the Internal Security Act of 1950 was passed which authorized an emergency detention plan, suspending Habeas Corpus and the Constitution if there were mass uprisings and protests here at home. April of 1984 is the first time on record the government actually did a digital simulation exercise coordinated by FEMA to test their abilities to round up large amounts of US citizens and put them in civilian detainment camps “in case of an emergency”. The initial test was called Rex-84 and similar ones have been conducted since.