SPIES ‘MATTER’
NYPD texts show infiltration of Black Lives rallies
UNDERCOVER NYPD officers were so effective in infiltrating Black Lives Matter protests in Grand Central Terminal that cops received text messages directly from the group’s leaders, records show.
New documents obtained from the NYPD through a lawsuit over surveillance of the gatherings in November 2014 and January 2015 show text messages circulated among a group of police officers — that were meant for a small group of protest organizers.
The papers were first reported by The Guardian.
“Die In Grand Central 8 p.m.,” one text reads.
“Die in & community convergence at Grand Central. FYI stock up on FREE earplugs — avail every night,” another reads.
One of the protesters, Keegan Stephan, said the surveillance has a chilling effect on law-abiding protests protected by the First Amendment.
“The disclosures show undercover officers blending into groups as small as seven protesters, and having access to detailed information about protest plans that was never shared beyond a small group of organizers,” Stephan said. “It makes me think that some of these undercover officers were deeply embedded in our groups and that they were infiltrating our social networks, not just attending public demonstrations.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez ordered the release of the papers in February. The NYPD had unsuccessfully argued that disclosure of the information would interfere with law enforcement work.
The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment on the documents.
Attorneys on the case say that the NYPD may have been in violation of guidelines restricting surveillance of First Amendment activity.
“Black Lives Matter is a political critic of the NYPD, and undercover infiltration of BLM is political action by the NYPD. The documents uniformly show no crime occurring, but NYPD had undercovers inside the protests for months on end as if they were Al Qaeda,” attorney David Thompson said. “This is not law enforcement, it is NYPD acting politically while wearing guns, and using the authority and secrecy the NYPD is granted as political weapons.”
Last month, the city proposed that a civilian watchdog sit on an NYPD panel that approves surveillance activity. The proposal was part of a settlement stemming from lawsuits accusing the NYPD of violating the rights of law-abiding Muslim communities after 9/11. The plan awaits final approval from Manhattan Federal Judge Charles Haight.