Question 4:
In your opinion, is there anything we could have done better?
I thank you for your time and the Federal Protective Service looks forward to working with you again.
Ed Ryan
Special Agent
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Protective Service
(215) 521-2146 Office
(215) 521-2169 Fax
Email address removed Email address removed >
The event in question was held, as planned and publicly announced, on a street corner in front of a federal court house. The same location has been used for a peace rally every Thursday afternoon for many years without incident or interference. During the event, four uniformed "officers" of some sort were visible inside the glass front of the building, watching us. To my knowledge, they never emerged, and we never entered. Whether they had any colleagues there without uniforms I couldn't say for sure.
Erin has expressed her concern thus:
"If the stated mission of ICE is to 'uphold public safety by enforcing immigration and customs laws,' what does ICE have to do with us, a group of legal American citizens peacefully assembling in our home town? Doesn't that seem weird? I mean, I realize ICE is under the umbrella of Homeland Security -- although I think even the overlap between these two is strange. However, if these two departments have something in common, it is that they were both set up to deal with foreign and covert threats. Homeland Security was ostensibly set up to counteract terrorism. Terrorists do not announce their protests by posting flyers all over town. Terrorists do not wave colorful signs to get attention. Just h ow are two government departments, which were supposedly set up to deal with foreign, covert threats, now concerning themselves with we, the people?"
These seemed like reasonable questions, so I phoned up Ed Ryan to ask him. I left a voice message at 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday. I'm still waiting for his helpful call.
The event in Charlottesville was one of dozens all over the country on January 20th organized by MovetoAmend.org, and reports from elsewhere are that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Marshalls were very eager to "facilitate" rallies planned in front of court houses. Concerns about this that have been communicated to me include that it helps to habituate us to accepting official and authoritarian intrusion, inspection, and approval of our decisions to exercise our First Amendment rights, and that it intimidates some people who then choose not to take part in public events at all. I've seen both of those reactions first-hand.
We're spending $75 billion a year above and beyond the wars and above and beyond the "Defense Department" in order to establish a department focused on "the Homeland," since the "Defense Department" is obviously defending something else entirely. The result has not just been grotesque profiteering, guarding cows, arming police for war, harassing minorities, and so forth. It has also been employing people like Ed Ryan to make sure that my friends know Big Brother is watching them when they dare to hold up a poster proclaiming the rights of people over those of corporations.
Does this seem like good money spent to you? What if the Homeland really was insecure? I'm still waiting for the relevant bureaucracy to return my call.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
