Monday February 8, 2010
Police Refuse to Release Federal “Threat Assessment” on Wis. Pro-Lifers
by James Tillman
MIDDLETON, Wisconsin, February 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted and shared with local police a “threat assessment” last year against pro-lifers for a peaceful demonstration in Wisconsin before abandoning the project, it has been revealed. The Middleton Police Department refused to release the assessment in response to an open records request in January, several months after the DHS ruled that the investigation was an improper use of resources directed against legitimate First Amendment activity.
“The majority of Americans identify themselves as pro-life, and the Middleton Police Department has shown they are out of touch with this peaceful majority,” said Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin.
“Pro-lifers are not a minority of the population, nor are they second-class citizens. We refuse to let our First Amendment rights be silenced.”
The assessment concerned a non-violent pro-life demonstration at a February 2009 University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics meeting, in which late term-abortions were approved to begin at the Madison Surgery Center. It was shared with the Middleton Police Department (MPD) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the same month.
A few months later, the Office for Civil Rights of the DHS concluded that this activity required the “collection, retention, and dissemination of U.S. person information regarding protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security” and was therefore “outside of [the Office of Intelligence and Analysis’] authorized mission” and violated its own guidelines.
The DHS destroyed its copy of the report; the MPD, however, reportedly kept its copy.
Last month the Alliance Defense Fund, acting on behalf of Wisconsin pro-life advocates, requested a copy of the report through Wisconsin’s open records laws. The MPD denied the request, stating that “granting requests such as yours could result in the identification … of groups or individuals who may constitute a security threat. … Disclosure of this information could compromise individual sources and jeopardize law enforcement’s ability to effectively protect its citizens in the future.”
“This move by DHS illustrates the Obama administration’s goal of silencing pro-lifers,” Hamill said. “It is disturbing that a local police department has apparently tapped into the security apparatus of the federal government to potentially obstruct free speech.”
“Last year, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano unjustly included pro-lifers in a report on domestic terrorism,” Hamill concluded, “and here we see her words in action.”
See related stories on LifeSiteNews.com:
Homeland Security Targets Abortion Opposition as Warning Sign of “Rightwing Extremism”
University of Wisconsin Clinic to Begin 2nd-Trimester Abortions