'I Know They're Watching Us': Black Lawmakers, Activists Alarmed Over FBI Report

[Judi Lynn]

Black activists and lawmakers are concerned a leaked FBI report on 'Black Identity Extremists' targets black communities.
by Chandelis R. Duster and Donna Owens / Nov.09.2017 / 11:56 AM ET


As a new wave of social activism protesting police killings of unarmed black men and women and decrying white supremacy sweeps the country, a leaked FBI report has activists and members of Congress demanding answers.

The 12-page assessment, written in August and titled “Black Identity Extremists Likely Motivated to Target Law Enforcement Officers,” was posted online by Foreign Policy. Citing attacks on police following the 2014 shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown by a white officer, the assessment notes “it is very likely Black Identity Extremist perceptions of police brutality against African-Americans” have caused an increase in violence against law enforcement.

In October, the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray seeking answers related to the assessment given the Bureau’s “troubling history” of utilizing its broad investigatory powers to target black citizens.

“It’s the craziest report because it says that because you identify as black you are threat, which is outlandish and offensive and reminiscent of the FBI’s COINTELPRO operation, which targeted Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders,” said CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond, in an email to NBC News.

More:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/i-know-they-re-watching-us-black-lawmakers-activists-alarmed-n813221

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