[pjw] INFO: 16 groups ask Gov Kotek to End State Cooperation with FBI's Terrorism Task Force

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters

The below letter was sent to Gov. Kotek earlier this afternoon.

I have also posted the letter online here:
https://www.portlandcopwatch.org/jttf_stateletter2023.html

Feel free to share widely, this is now a public document.
dan handelman
peace and justice works/portland copwatch

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 14:10:57
From: Peace and Justice Works <pjw at pjw.info>
To: Governor Tina Kotek <Governor.Kotek at oregon.gov>
Cc: News Media <newsmedia at pjw.info>
Subject: End State Cooperation with th FBI's Terrorism Task Force

To: Governor Tina Kotek
Date: April 20, 2023

END STATE COOPERATION WITH THE FBI'S TERRORISM TASK FORCE

We, the undersigned, call on the State of Oregon to end cooperation of
any of its officers and employees with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task
Force (JTTF) and cancel the existing JTTF Memorandum of Agreement.

BACKGROUND

Many of the organizations signing this letter have been active in
encouraging withdrawal of local government participation in federal
Joint Terrorism Task Forces for many years. Some have been doing so
since the year 2000 shortly after the Task Forces were first introduced.
Joint Terrorism Task Forces conduct clandestine operations targeting
individuals and groups without probable cause of any criminal activity.
In doing so they are prone to violate state law, particularly ORS
181A.250 prohibiting law enforcement from collecting or maintaining
information on people's "political, religious or social" affiliations
without reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. The FBI invites local
and state law enforcement officers to join in these activities, putting
the local authorities at risk of violating the law. Documents obtained
by the ACLU in the 2000s showed that JTTF "disruption" actions focused
on inappropriate targeting of peaceful political activity having nothing
to do with terrorism.

A 2013 report from the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of
Law pointed out "there is no mechanism geared towards ensuring
compliance with state and local laws." JTTFs historically have profiled
minority religious and ethnic groups even when they pose little or no
threat. After 9/11, the FBI officially deemphasized white supremacist
terrorism investigations and "disruptions," even though Countering
Violent Extremism Task Force research evidences more people are killed
annually by white supremacist terror groups than by any other U.S.
group. But even a recent shift in attention by the federal government
recognizing the threat by such groups does not ensure adherence to state
law.

OUR REQUEST

Portland was the first major city in the U.S. to withdraw, followed by
San Francisco and Oakland. Now it is time for Oregon to be the first
state to withdraw participation. The reasons to withdraw are for
accountability, separation of federal and local policing, costs, and,
most importantly, respect of civil rights and privacy.

Portland first withdrew its cooperation from the JTTF in 2005 due in
part to JTTF involvement in the wrongful arrest of a local Muslim
attorney in connection with the Madrid Spain bombing, and in part
because the Police Chief and Police Commissioner are not allowed to have
the same "Top Secret" clearance as the officers they oversee. After
Portland re-joined the JTTF in 2011, four years later the public stopped
receiving annual reports, so there was no way to know if PPB officers
participated in observed violations of ORS 181A.250.

San Francisco pulled out of its Joint Terrorism Task Force in February
2017 acknowledging that working with the FBI would lead to violations of
state and local laws and policies. As in Portland and San Francisco, the
state withdrawing participation in the JTTF would not restrict Oregon
state police from working with the FBI on legitimate law enforcement
investigations on a case-by-case basis.

Historical FBI activity would indicate a disregard for the restrictions
in ORS 181A.250 as well as Oregon's HB 2002, that prohibits police from
targeting people based on race, national origin or a host of other
characteristics. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a member
of the JTTF, meaning Oregon's status as the first sanctuary state is
threatened by Oregon state officers continuing participation in these
federal Task Forces.

Assaults by federal officers against Portland political protestors and
members of the media on the streets of downtown Portland in 2020 show
that federal law enforcement officers are not to be trusted, nor are
they authorized or trained to do the kind of local policing they are
trying to engage in. We further ask that the State not look to the FBI
in the future for investigations about civil rights protests, as was
done in 2020.

The time is ripe for Oregon to be part of a national movement to protect
residents and citizens from further potential civil liberties abuses.
Therefore, we request that Oregon immediately withdraw the Oregon State
Police participation from all federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces.

Signed,

Peace and Justice Works/ Portland Copwatch

Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon

Brandon Mayfield (survivor of illegal FBI spying)

Islamic Society of Greater Portland

Portland JACL (Japanese American Citizens League)

Veterans For Peace Chapter 72 (Portland)

Veterans For Peace Linus Pauling Chapter 132 of Corvallis-Albany

Albany Peace Seekers

Congregation Shir Tikvah

Ainsworth United Church of Christ (Portland)

Jewish Voice for Peace-Portland

Some Members of the Jewish Community of Portland, OR

Pacific Green Party

Pdx Greens

Project Homeless

PNW Justice Group