The DEA Has Been Given Permission To Investigate People Protesting George Floyd’s Death

[steven36]

The Justice Department gave the agency the temporary power “to enforce any federal crime committed as a result of the protests over the death of George Floyd.”

 

Demonstrators raise their fists as they gather on June 2 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to “conduct covert surveillance” and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News.

 

Floyd’s death “has spawned widespread protests across the nation, which, in some instances, have included violence and looting,” the DEA memo says. “Police agencies in certain areas of the country have struggled to maintain and/or restore order.” The memo requests the extraordinary powers on a temporary basis, and on Sunday afternoon a senior Justice Department official signed off.

 

Attorney General William Barr issued a statement Saturday following a night of widespread and at times violent protests in which he blamed, without providing evidence, “anarchistic and far left extremists, using Antifa-like tactics,” for the unrest. He said the FBI, DEA, US Marshals, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be “deployed to support local efforts to enforce federal law.”

Barr did not say what those agencies would do, however.

 

The DEA is limited by statute to enforcing drug-related federal crimes. But on Sunday, Timothy Shea, a former US attorney and close confidant of Barr's who was named acting administrator of the DEA last month, received approval from Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer to go beyond the agency’s mandate “to perform other law enforcement duties” that Barr may “deem appropriate.”

 

Citing the protests, Shea laid out an argument for why the agency should be granted extraordinary latitude.

 

“In order for DEA to assist to the maximum extent possible in the federal law enforcement response to protests which devolve into violations of federal law, DEA requests that it be designated to enforce any federal crime committed as a result of protests over the death of George Floyd,” Shea wrote in the memo. “DEA requests this authority on a nationwide basis for a period of fourteen days.”

 

A spokesperson for the DEA declined to comment.

 

“Drug enforcement agents should not be conducting covert surveillance of protests and First Amendment protected speech,” said Hugh Handeyside, a senior attorney for the ACLU. “That kind of monitoring and information sharing may well constitute unwarranted investigation of people exercising their constitutional rights to seek justice. The executive branch continues to run headlong in the wrong direction.”

 

Three DEA sources told BuzzFeed News they are troubled by the memo and see it as an example of the Justice Department potentially abusing its power in an attempt to smear the protests and crack down on protected First Amendment activity.

 

The sources requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media.

 

In addition to “covert surveillance,” the memo indicates that DEA agents would be authorized to share intelligence with local and state law enforcement authorities, to “intervene” to “protect both participants and spectators in the protests,” and to conduct interviews and searches, and arrest protesters who are alleged to have violated federal law.

 

A day after Shea’s memo was approved, President Trump said he is “mobilizing all available federal resources — civilian and military — to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights.”

 

Under the Insurrection Act, the president has the authority to deploy the US military for domestic purposes. It has not been employed since 1992, when troops were sent in during the Los Angeles riots.

 

There is a long history of federal agencies infiltrating and surveilling protest groups. During the protests in Baltimore in 2015 over the death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, the Department of Homeland Security monitored Twitter and other social media platforms for "intelligence" on the protesters. In Ferguson, Missouri, during the 2014 protests over Michael’s Brown’s killing by a white police officer, DHS planned to "plug" federal officers into protests to conduct surveillance and collect intelligence. And the FBI conducted extensive monitoring and surveillance of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement that began in 2011.

 

It’s unknown if the ATF, FBI, or other federal law enforcement agencies have been granted the same authority as the DEA.

 

Source

 

[ghost]

DEA? Then maybe deploy the Meter Maids to investigate murders. We can call it "CSI meter maid - time's up!!!" 🤣

[steven36]

27 minutes ago, ghost said:

DEA? Then maybe deploy the Meter Maids to investigate murders. We can call it "CSI meter maid - time's up!!!" 🤣

DEA  are no joke  they put a whole  lot of people in jail all  the time in every state they deal with crazy people on drugs also with Mafia and cartels   . The drug wars have been going on  forever  while protest only happen every so often . If they don't stop  the  US Army  will make  them stop and they will kill you they have before .

 

Back during the Civil War a bunch of  Irish immigrants  living  in New York  try to doge the draft  they didn't  want to fight and started a riot.  so Abraham Lincoln called  the Army in on them  and killed  them  all he imposed marshal law on them  and he imposed it on the  Southern USA  and it stay in place tell Grant went  out of office . They why they killed him and hes the one that freed the  black people.  

[ghost]

1 minute ago, steven36 said:

DEA  are no joke  they put a whole  lot of people in jail all  the time in every state they deal with crazy people on drugs also with Mafia and cartels   . The drug wars have been going on  forever  while protest only happen every so often . If they don't stop  the  US Army  will make  them stop and they will kill you they have before . Back during the Civil War a bunch of  Irish immigrants  living  in New York  try to doge the draft  they didn't  want to fight  so Abraham Lincoln called  the Army in on them  and killed  them  all he imposed marshal law on them  and he imposed  on the the Southern USA  and it stay in place tell Grant went  out of office . They why they killed him and hes one that freed the  black people.  

Yes I agree completely. They are part of the law enforcement family, however the point i am making is they are more specialized in dealing with organized crime that deals mainly in drugs. Hence the name drug enforcement agency. I was poking fun of the rationale in utilizing them (DEA) in this manner. I wasn't making fun of the DEA itself.

 

Now if they had deployed the MP (Military Police) which are basically the police but for military then I can see the relevance. 

 

The best way to combat these menace is to work with the protesters and let them understand that the Anarchist, looters, criminals, etc. are using them as camouflage to cause chaos.  

 

 

[steven36]

7 minutes ago, ghost said:

Now if they had deployed the MP (Military Police) which are basically the police but for military then I can see the relevance. 

Well the DEA work with the local police all the time anyway they much rather have them  helping them than the FBI   or the US Marshals , DEA are highly trained in surveillance and helping out the local police.  The local police dont like the FBI no wayI.