| Friend,
BREAKING: The FBI has lied about the extent of its tracking of Black activists — and has covered up a program that uses undercover agents to target these activists. This program is codenamed “IRON FIST.”1
While Iron Fist may be new, racist policing is not. This program is just the newest iteration of the FBI’s long history of spying on and interfering with the fight for racial justice. From MLK and the Black Panthers in the 60s to the creation of the “Black Identity Extremist” label today, the FBI has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted. Now we need Congress to act quickly and decisively to hold the bureau accountable. Sign the petition pressuring key members of Congress to #ProtectBlackDissent and hold the FBI accountable.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress earlier this year that his agency no longer uses the dangerous and fictitious “Black Identity Extremist” (BIE) label. Wray claimed that the Bureau focuses on violence and not ideology in determining what to investigate.2Yet documents obtained by commentators The Young Turks demonstrate that the Bureau has continued programs using the groundless BIE label. It’s even prioritized these investigations over the targeting of white supremacists. According to these documents, the infiltration program “Iron Fist” was created to “mitigate the threat posed by the BIE movement at a national level”. But the documents don't cite any actual criminal behavior from members of racial justice groups.
The FBI must be held accountable. We’re calling on Congressional leaders to end “Iron Fist” and all FBI programs based on the made-up “Black Identity Extremist” label, to stop the bureau from grouping white supremacist incidents with Black protests against police violence, and to be transparent about the funding it uses to investigate domestic terrorist groups.
Join us today. Urge Reps. Elijah Cummings (Chairman of the House Oversight & Reform Committee), Jerry Nadler (Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee), and Bennie G. Thompson (Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee) to use their oversight powers to force the FBI to meet our demands and #ProtectBlackDissent.
Thanks for all you do,
Lucia, Sandy, Collette and the rest of the Free Press Action Team
freepress.net
P.S. White supremacists are violently attacking communities of color, yet the FBI is directing its resources toward surveilling and criminalizing Black activists for their organizing and dissent. Sign the petition calling on key members of Congress to hold the bureau accountable.
1. “Leaked FBI Documents Reveal Bureau’s Priorities Under Trump”, The Young Turks, Aug. 8, 2019: https://act.freepress.net/go/32277?t=8&akid=13233%2E10296224%2EWpnrsI 2. “FBI Abandons Use of Term ‘Black Identity Extremism’”, The Wall Street Journal, Jul. 23, 2019: https://act.freepress.net/go/32278?t=10&akid=13233%2E10296224%2EWpnrsI  |
