Feds say information from Denver deleted
Intelligence gathered by Denver police officers for their so- called spy
files was routinely distributed to the FBI as well as other law enforcement
agencies in an eight-state region, documents show.
The latest batch of files released by the city after it was forced by the American Civil Liberties Union to divulge its intelligence files shows that names of peaceful protesters and civil rights groups routinely were sent to the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force.
"This is the first time any documents have been released that show the intelligence files were routinely sent to the FBI and other agencies," said attorney Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado.
The material also was distributed to numerous other federal agencies, as well as state law enforcement agencies in eight states. But no records were kept of who got what, according to the city.
"To settle the spy files case, Denver agreed that its police officers would stop collecting information about peaceful protesters, precisely this kind of information. But now what about the officers who are working with the FBI or agencies other than Denver police?" Silverstein said.
Ann Atanacio, spokeswoman for the FBI, acknowledged that the bureau had received some of the spy files but said that the specific information had no value for them so they were deleted.
One file in particular showed Colorado Springs police had recorded license plate numbers of people attending a protest at the Broadmoor Hotel. Those numbers were then distributed to Denver police, with a handwritten note to fax the numbers on to Denver police officer Tom Fisher, who was assigned to the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force.
"Officer Fisher specifically requested those license plate numbers for a legitimate law enforcement interest," Atanacio said. "He is deputized as a federal officer and legally has the authority to do this under the Attorney General's guidelines.
"We determined that information had no investigative relevance to any JTTF cases. We did not save it. The information was not retained in our files in any way."
None of the files contained reports of violence, disruptiveness or lawlessness.
In some cases, names were recorded of people who merely testified in support of legislation, or of African-American citizens who gathered to demand that more black professional athletes, particularly Denver Broncos, get more involved in community issues.
In other cases, police recorded license plate numbers of people outside a mosque during a worship ceremony.
"These people have no connection to terrorism or to any other kind of criminal activity," Silverstein said. "Not only do their names show up in Denver police files, but now it appears that their names might easily appear in the files of the FBI, as well as two dozen Colorado law enforcement agencies that meet regularly to exchange information about how individuals choose to exercise their First Amendment rights."
Documents released this month include e-mails addressed to federal agents and to a Denver police officer who is the department's liaison to the FBI's Joint Terrorist Task Force.
The city did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Also included were files from MAGIC (Multi-Agency Group Intelligence Conferences), attended by representatives of numerous federal and state agencies. These included roughly 20 law enforcement agencies from four states, as well as members of the Federal Protective Agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Energy.
The MAGIC agendas list discussions of "extremist groups," including the American Indian Movement, environmentalists, animal rights groups and others.
Other files were sent to the Rocky Mountain Intelligence Network, a group of law enforcement agencies from eight Western states formed specifically to share intelligence information. Those states are Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Montana and Idaho.