Reminder: ACLU is suing the Justice Dept. re "Patriot" Act, needs support

[0rganism]

If you're not a member of the ACLU yet, consider joining and donating whatever you can afford. It's one of the remaining true "noble causes" available to you.

----

“Ordinary Americans should not have to worry that the FBI is rifling through their medical records, seizing their personal papers, or forcing charities and advocacy groups to divulge membership lists,” said Ann Beeson, Associate Legal Director of the ACLU and the lead attorney in the lawsuit.

“We know from our clients that the FBI is once again targeting ethnic, religious, and political minority communities disproportionately,” she added. “Investing the FBI with unchecked authority to monitor the activities of innocent people is an invitation to abuse, a waste of resources, and is certainly not making any of us any safer.”

As the ACLU described in a report released today, Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures as well as the rights to freedom of speech and association. The report, Unpatriotic Acts: The FBI’s Power to Rifle Through Your Records and Personal Belongings Without Telling You, describes how the law:

* Violates the Fourth Amendment by allowing the FBI to search and seize records or personal belongings without a warrant, without showing probable cause -- and without ever notifying even innocent people of the searches;
* Violates the First Amendment because it allows the FBI to easily obtain information about a person’s reading habits, religious affiliations, Internet surfing and other expressive activities that would be “chilled” by the threat of investigation;
* Violates the First Amendment by imposing a “gag order” that prohibits those served with Section 215 orders from telling anyone -- ever -- that the FBI demanded information, even if the information is not tied to a particular suspect and poses no risk to national security.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in federal court here today on behalf of six advocacy and community groups from across the country whose members and clients believe they are currently the targets of investigations because of their ethnicity, religion and political associations. The lawsuit names Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller as the defendants.

http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=13249&c=206