Rush, Eshoo Lead House Colleagues in Demanding FBI, CBP Answer Questions About Surveillance of Protests
WASHINGTON — Today, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif), and 21 of their House colleagues sent letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding answers to several questions about the surveillance of protesters.
On June 9, 2020, Reps. Rush and Eshoo led letters to the FBI, CBP, the National Guard Bureau, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) demanding that the agencies immediately stop surveillance of peaceful protesters around the country. On June 18, 2020, the Air Force Inspector General announced that the agency was investigating whether the military improperly used reconnaissance planes to monitor protests in Washington and Minneapolis this month.
After receiving responses from the FBI and CBP that raised more questions, 23 Representatives sent follow up letters with a long list of questions for the agencies.
“While we appreciate your response, the lack of any information in your letter is worrying. For that reason, we write this letter including specific questions about the recent actions of the FBI,” said the lawmakers to the FBI. The lawmakers similarly told CBP, “your letter raises several questions which are listed in this letter.”
“As we stated in our letter, the First and Fourth Amendments protect protesters from government surveillance. The reason our Constitution has such critical protections is that government surveillance has a chilling effect on peaceful protests, and Americans should not have to take proactive measures to protect themselves from government surveillance before engaging in peaceful demonstration,” the lawmakers stated in both letters.