Some lawmakers are expressing concern that FBI committees meant to prevent Americans from joining radical extremist groups may be exploited by law enforcement officials to conduct domestic spying.
Under the “Shared Responsibility Committees” organized by the FBI, law enforcement officials, community leaders and mental health experts, work to prevent youth considered susceptible to extremist messages from being recruited by those groups.
Germany has a long history of working with disaffected citizens who become enamored by extremist messages. For years, the government has operated a program for neo-Nazis that has since been modified for Muslims who seek to join groups like ISIS.
The German government operates a hotline and often family members call in. They are then directed to the authorities. As in the U.S., admission of participation with terrorist groups can result in criminal charges.
“We’ve found that calling the authorities early can be quite an advantage in the court later on,” says Julia Berczyk, a counselor for one of the programs. She told NPR, “Because the authorities see, OK, this guy was really trying to get out of there, and the family was willing to cooperate with us and they were open about it. That can actually have a very positive effect on sentencing later on.”
That is not the case for American citizens and that worries Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss).
In a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) that has since been removed from the website, Thompson expressed his concern.
“Referrals to the committee do not end or preclude FBI from conducting concurrent criminal investigations,” he said. “Moreover, intervention leaders are not protected from becoming a part of ongoing investigations and future criminal and judicial proceedings.”
The PCLOB is an independent agency within the executive branch. The Board’s mission is to review counterterrorism programs to ensure they appropriately balance national security concerns with protecting privacy and civil liberties.
Thompson has reached out to the PCLOB before about FBI programs designed to thwart terrorism. Last year, Thompson expressed concern that a classroom program called “Don’t Be A Puppet,” unfairly targeted Muslims and Arabs.
He is asking the PCLOB to investigate the committees to ensure that they operate in a way that doesn’t violate the civil liberties of anyone involved.
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