the so-called political and cultural "mainstream" are considered to be criminal, socially deviant, dangerous in some capacity and likely foils for foreign spies, if not tools of the same. If that sounds like stereotyping of the FBI I should point out that their own records support this observation. It is at least a regrettable legacy of Hoover's long tenure.

Members of these groups are seen as criminals of one kind or another due to the presumed illegal activities they are believed to be planning and participating in. Constitutional rights are not terms used in this class of law enforcement. It is considered to be a legalistic dodge by many at the bureau and in street level law enforcement, based again on the assumption that anyone participating in "those" groups is likely to be a criminal if not a pawn of one.

Not that any of this is probably news to most of DU. The various Intel organs that have evolved have long based their views on evidence derived from FBI files, among other similarly biased sources.

That we still today have COINTELPRO style operations points to the longevity of those views and attitudes, along with the pernicious attitude of many in "law enforcement" that those in power are blessed by god and have all the requisite authority to define what is right and legal without reference to Congress, the Constitution, or the citizens and taxpayers on whom their activities prey.

. . . that the Church Committee was nothing more than an elaborate piece of political theater, intended to soothe the public's ruffled feathers, while behind the scenes, the FBI continued to get a wink and a nod from presidential administrations and Congress both.

Because they criticized the Wall Street fraudsters.

So long as a group is seen as a threat, it would be negligent to not try to monitor and disrupt them. And an intelligence agency (which is what the FBI is, in this context: counter-intellegence) is supposed to be paranoid. It is the job of the representatives of the people to reel them in. Not to encourage them.

-- Mal

inadvertently become a place where asinine conspiracy theories come to thrive
not die.

The abuse of power is ripe..when you see the list that includes the KKK and
civil rights activists..a clear sign they identify "threats" to US security very differently
than you or I.