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In an effort to clear up “misconceptions” that the Fusion Centers of the Department of Homeland Security spy on Americans, Arkansas State Fusion Center Director Richard Davis denied that they do this, instead saying that they’re only spying on “anti-government” Americans, Russia Today reported on Friday.
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“The misconceptions are that we are conducting spying operations on US citizens, which is of course not a fact. That is absolutely not what we do,” Davis said.
While the centers “absolutely” do not spy on Americans, Davis continued, they do observe “domestic terrorism and certain groups that are anti-government. We want to kind of take a look at that and receive that information.”
The fact that the DHS is spying on people who are “anti-government” reflects what the agency has written in the past about who constitutes threats to the country. As has been reported, the DHS has released documents listing Ron Paul supporters, libertarians, people who support gun rights, who oppose the Federal Reserve, oppose illegal immigration and oppose abortion as “domestic extremists” and terrorists.
Over the last year, the DHS has purchased nearly 2 billion rounds of mostly hollow point ammunition, more than 2,700 MRAP vehicles designed to withstand mine blasts, 7,000 fully automatic assault rifles and $2 million worth of paper targets depicting average Americans with the label “No More Hesitation.” These purchases have led many to believe that the agency is getting ready to fight Americans, as the DHS only operates domestically. If this is true, then the fact that they’re spying on people with anti-government views means they’re preparing to fight those people.
Many have also speculated that the DHS is intended to be what President Obama, while campaigning in 2008, referred to as a “civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded” as the U.S. military.
To further controversy, the DHS has refused to give detailed explanations on the ammunition purchases, even ignoring Congress when questioned.
This begs the question: doesn’t spying on someone for their speech violate the First Amendment? Well, it appears as though these Fusion Centers have a history of violating rights. A two year investigation recently completed by the bipartisan Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that the DHS Fusion Centers have continuously violated constitutional rights. The report stated that “the Subcommittee investigation found that the fusion centers often produced irrelevant, useless or inappropriate intelligence reporting to DHS, and many produced no intelligence reporting whatsoever.”
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