PressEsc - FBI admits to persecuting political activists: "The FBI was forced to disclose documents that showed the bureau and local police engaging in intimidation of political activists today.

The documents were released after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain them.

The FBI is engaged in a well organized campaign of intimidating and improperly investigating law-abiding human rights and advocacy groups, the documents reveal.

‘Since when did feeding the homeless become a terrorist activity?' ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson asked. 'When the FBI and local law enforcement target groups like Food Not Bombs under the guise of fighting terrorism, many Americans who oppose government policies will be discouraged from speaking out and exercising their rights.'

In response to widespread complaints from students and political activists who said they were questioned by FBI agents in the months leading up to last summer’s political conventions, the ACLU filed FOIA requests in six states and the District of Columbia in December 2004 on behalf of more than 100 groups and individuals.

To date, the ACLU has received fewer than 20 pages in response to the FOIAs."

(Via PressEsc.)