Court Orders Federal Agencies To Show Whether They Spied On Occupy Protesters
CITY HALL (CBS) -- A federal judge has ordered the CIA, the NSA and the FBI to produce any records that would show whether they spied on Occupy Philadelphia protesters that camped out at City Hall, five years ago.In addition, the protesters' lawyer calls it a victory for the First Amendment.
Attorney Paul Hetznecker filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request two years ago. Though he received nothing from the CIA and NSA, both of which are charged with foreign surveillance, he did get seven pages of documents from the FBI. Though they were almost completely redacted, he said the little information visible did suggest something troubling.
"There may have been a confidential human source activated to infiltrate the Occupy movement," Hetznecker said.
In response to Hetznecker's request for more information, Judge Berle Schiller ordered the agencies to give him documents. Then he'll decide whether to make them public. Hetznecker said he's not sure they even exist, but it's important to know definitively.
"We should all laud and herald the protections under the First Amendment. The First Amendment bars intimidation or the infiltration or surveillance of movements of dissent," he said.
