Black activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillance

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: May 11, 2018 at 11:47:55 AM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Black activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillance
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> [Note:  This item comes from friend David Reed.  David’s comments:’Yes, it's Cointelpro again. Those of us who 
> experienced the 1960s and 1970s firsthand know where this leads. It's one of those times when we need to recognize 
> that police powers need to be policed. I may be a little more inclined to reduce gun ownership than the subject here, 
> but I view his right to own and responsibly use a licensed firearm as equal to us all. And that wasn't the point 
> here, anyway.’  DLH]
>
> Black activist jailed for his Facebook posts speaks out about secret FBI surveillance
> Rakem Balogun spoke out against police brutality. Now he is believed to be the first prosecuted under a secretive US 
> effort to track so-called ‘black identity extremists’
> By Sam Levin
> May 11 2018
> <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/11/rakem-balogun-interview-black-identity-extremists-fbi-surveillance>
>
> Rakem Balogun thought he was dreaming when armed agents in tactical gear stormed his apartment. Startled awake by a 
> large crash and officers screaming commands, he soon realized his nightmare was real, and he and his 15-year-old son 
> were forced outside of their Dallas home, wearing only underwear.
>
> Handcuffed and shaking in the cold wind, Balogun thought a misunderstanding must have led the FBI to his door on 12 
> December 2017. The father of three said he was shocked to later learn that agents investigating “domestic terrorism” 
> had been monitoring him for years and were arresting him that day in part because of his Facebook posts criticizing 
> police.
>
> “It’s tyranny at its finest,” said Balogun, 34. “I have not been doing anything illegal for them to have surveillance 
> on me. I have not hurt anyone or threatened anyone.” 
>
> Balogun spoke to the Guardian this week in his first interview since he was released from prison after five months 
> locked up and denied bail while US attorneys tried and failed to prosecute him, accusing him of being a threat to law 
> enforcement and an illegal gun owner. 
>
> Balogun, who lost his home and more while incarcerated, is believed to be the firstperson targeted and prosecuted 
> under a secretive US surveillance effort to track so-called “black identity extremists”. In a leaked August 2017 
> report from the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit, officials claimed that there had been a “resurgence in 
> ideologically motivated, violent criminal activity” stemming from African Americans’ “perceptions of police 
> brutality”.
>
> The counter-terrorism assessment provided minimal data or evidence of threats against police, but discussed a few 
> isolated incidents, notably the case of Micah Johnson who killed five officers in Texas. The report sparked backlash 
> from civil rights groups and some Democrats, who feared the government would use the broad designation to prosecute 
> activists and groups like Black Lives Matter.
>
> Balogun, who was working full-time for an IT company when he was arrested, has long been an activist, co-founding 
> Guerrilla Mainframe and the Huey P Newton Gun Club, two groups fighting police brutality and advocating for the 
> rights of black gun owners. Some of the work included coordinating meals for the homeless, youth picnics and 
> self-defense classes – but that’s not what interested the FBI.
>
> Investigators began monitoring Balogun, whose legal name is Christopher Daniels, after he participated in an Austin, 
> Texas, rally in March 2015 protesting against law enforcement, special agent Aaron Keighley testified in court.
>
> The FBI, Keighley said, learned of the protest from a video on Infowars, a far-right site run by the commentator Alex 
> Jones, known for spreading false news and conspiracy theories.
>
> The reference to Infowars stunned Balogun: “They’re using a conspiracy theorist video as a reason to justify their 
> tyranny? That is a big insult.” 
>
> Keighley made no mention of Balogun’s specific actions at the rally, but noted the marchers’ anti-police statements, 
> such as “oink oink bang bang” and “the only good pig is a pig that’s dead”. The agent also mentioned Balogun’s 
> Facebook posts calling a murder suspect in a police officer’s death a “hero” and expressing “solidarity” with the man 
> who killed officers in Texas when he posted: “They deserve what they got.”
>
> Keighley, however, later admitted the FBI had no evidence of Balogun making any specific threats about harming 
> police. 
>
> At the time of his Facebook posts, Balogun said he was angry and “venting” about the high-profile cases of police 
> killing innocent black men and women in America, including Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. He was particularly 
> disgusted with the way the media and law enforcement officials portrayed the killings as justified and said that when 
> he wrote those posts “I just mimicked their reactions to our killings.”
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp



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