Prominent Activist and Organizer Outed as FBI Informant

[Ichingcarpenter]

Brandon Darby, co-founder of Common Grounds, has publicly admitted to working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and being responsible for the arrest of two activists from Austin, Texas. On Monday he wrote an open letter in explanation of his actions, though the letter does not disclose many details.

In the letter, Darby defends his choice to work for the FBI, admitting that he was not approached by them, but that he actually took the initiative himself when he began disagreeing with his affinity group’s tactics and increased militancy. He wrote that the government is not out to silence dissent or take down activists, but that they merely intend to stop crimes from taking place.

It is not clear exactly how long he has worked for the FBI for or how many people he gave information on, but it appears that he has been an informant for about two to three years. His information led the to the arrests of David McKay and Bradley Crowder, who are charged with making Molotov cocktails which they allegedly intended to use at the Republican National Convention protests in St. Paul this past summer. Activists say that Darby actively encouraged and provoked the two men, who he hadn’t even met yet, to take illegal action.......
>>>>>snip

http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/02/prominent-activist-and-organizer-outed-as-fbi-informant/

Life’s a Snitch: Austin activist admits he infiltrated RNC protest group

A well-known Austin activist fingered as an FBI informant has acknowledged that he provided information leading to the arrest and felony indictment of two Austin men who participated in protests last September at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN.

“The simple truth is that I have chosen to work with the Federal Bureau of investigation ,” Brandon Darby said in an open letter he sent this week to friends he has worked with since 2002.

Darby’s activist network stretches from Austin to New Orleans, where he co-founded Common Ground Relief, a grassroots reconstruction effort that drew thousands of volunteers from around the country. In 2004, he helped organize and was arrested during anti-Halliburton protests in Houston. His letter suggests that he disagreed with tactics some members of the Austin Area Affinity Group planned to use to disrupt the Republican Convention. Darby was a member of the group.>>>>>>snip


http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/index.php/2008/12/31/lifes-a-snitch/

[libodem]

1. Pffft....

Go figure.

[LeftyMom]

2. Snitches are everywhere. Plan accordingly.

Don't do any action that can even be construed as being illegal with somebody you don't know real well. Remember that posing as your favorite new fuckbuddy is the oldest entrapment scheme in the book. In short, don't be stupid.

[FarrenH]

3. Its worth considering his side of the story

Without being particularly active myself, I hung around with activists for most of my youth and they ranged from the reasonable to the deranged. Not everyone who agrees with your cause has the self-restraint and intelligence to stop short of actions that are both illegal and detrimental to your cause.

[Bjorn Against]

5. Sure there are crazies in every community, but I was at the RNC protests...

I can tell you right now that the police tactics there were sickening. I don't know about this Darby guy in particular, but I certainly don't like the idea of FBI agents trying to actively convince people to commit illegal acts. Once one person breaks a law during a protest it often becomes an excuse to clamp down on the entire crowd.

[cascadiance]

11. The problem is where do you draw the line?...

When you consider the downright CRIMINAL actions that our government is using to spy on us (and torture some), it's really hard to judge against those that even lean towards more the extreme measures.

What one person like this guy might call "criminal acts", might in others' books be very valid and non-violent or harmful acts of civil disobedience. And in this age, even though hopefully we'll soon have the Bush administration behind us, I think more than many times in our past, if we want to effect change now, in this very repressive society we live in now, we might have to resort to some forms of civil disobedience to be heard and actually accomplish something.

Even the ELF, as criminal as many might call their actions, has long held to the notion of not hurting anyone in their "terrorist" actions, even if they are damaging property, and in some cases damaging property pretty severely.

The bottom line is that both informants like this person AND those in activist organizations need to be careful and really up front formulate carefully where they draw the line, so that hopefully they won't regret what they get themselves into later.

[Bjorn Against]

4. Thanks for posting, this is interesting but not at all surprising.

I am not familiar with Brandon Darby, but I do know that FBI infiltration of activist groups has been all too common over the years.

Actually one of my friends who is working on the defense of the RNC protesters shares and interesting contrast with this guy so I am really interested to hear what she has to say about this. She was FBI herself, but she was forced to step down when she spoke out against the war in Iraq and really pissed off her superiors as well as the Bush Administration. Now she joined the protesters in the streets, and she actually was one of the major organizers of one of the anti-RNC events. She is one of the most committed peace activists I have ever worked with, everyone knows that she was with the FBI but nobody doubts her commitment to the peace movement. I protest the war with her every week, and she is awesome she is more passionate about the civil rights of protesters than perhaps anyone I have ever met and I have been involved with quite a few protests.

It will be really interesting to see what comes of all this, as I am sure Darby was not the only agent provocateur out there. My former FBI friend is fighting hard to defend the protesters, and it will be interesting to see if she ends up fighting her own former employer. I will definitely ask her about this next time I see her, and I will make sure to let DU know what she has to say on this and other issues in the future as she has already agreed to allow me to interview her.

[Canuckistanian]

6. Hard to know what to make of this

Exposing the use of Molotov cocktails is one thing. Being an agent provocateur for that "planned" act is another matter.

Seems like he was.

Either way, this is a bad move for truly peaceful groups who will be tarred and feathered as a result of this action.

The FBI is NOT your friend, where it concerns anti-government protests.

[IndianaGreen]

7. We had this same problem during our opposition to Vietnam War

but usually the most militant in SDS were undercover cops trying to provoke an incident in order to justify a violent police reaction.

Traitors are shot in all struggles for national liberation.

[rhett o rick]

8. Smells bad to me. Just sayin. nm

[MineralMan]

9. For pete's sake....doesn't everyone realize that

there are law enforcement plants wherever there is activism? My activism dates back to the 60s, and it was normal practice to be very careful about this.

Careful, careful.

[MineralMan]

10. As a corollary,

every other 13-year-old on a teen chat room is a cop. It's not much better in activist circles. There are so many entry points...coercion based on things like drug use or outstanding warrants. Uff da!

[Thickasabrick]

12. What a little freepturd. If someone around you is doing something

dangerously illegal, fine - call the FBI. I truly believe this guy was a planted freeper and deliberately set these people up.

[noamnety]

14. I highly doubt that

but that's because my daughter worked with him in NOLA at common ground. He was a personal role model for her. The work he did down there sort of excludes him from freeper status, imho.

I suspect the truth is closer to him weighing individual circumstances for their own moral implications, rather than having absolute loyalty to any one group.

What's odd here is that last week I was telling my daughter she should list him as a reference on her resume. :D

[douglas9]

13. Informant in RNC arrests says he stopped violence (AP)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — To some of the people who know him back home in Texas, Brandon Darby is a traitor.

In his own mind, he's proud of what he did — feeding the FBI information that led to the arrests of two men accused of trying to disrupt the Republican National Convention.

"I feel like, as an activist, I played a direct role in stopping violence," Darby, 32, said in an interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Darby's role as a confidential informant in the case leaked out in a pretrial hearing. It was a remarkable transformation for a man known to many back in Austin as a fiery, grass-roots activist with a mistrust of government.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6191246.html