Thread: PA- Lawsuit planned after protesters put on terror list

Lawsuit planned after protesters put on terror list

By Andrew Conte, Mike Wereschagin and Brad Bumsted
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

An activist who believes he was improperly included on a state terror threat list said this morning he is preparing a federal lawsuit.

"When people's civil rights are trampled it's a federal issue," said Gene Stilp of Harrisburg, who holds a Virginia law license but does not practice as an attorney.

Gov. Ed Rendell, speaking Downtown this morning, said he does not believe activists' Constitutional rights were violated.

The statement was a reversal from what he said yesterday. Asked in Harrisburg on Tuesday whether monitoring activists was "tantamount to trampling" on their Constitutional rights, he said: "I would say so."

Rendell said he is "deeply embarrassed" by the disclosure that state Homeland Security officials included information about protesters on what was supposed to be a list of possible terrorist threats.

"Being embarrassed doesn't cut it," Stilp said.

The list, which included information on public hearings that opponents of Marcellus gas drilling might attend, was sent to drilling companies.

Stilp said he believes he was among those monitored, based on Rendell's comment that a 25-foot inflatable "pink pig" Stilp takes to rallies was included in the monitoring.

"The pig! They were after the pig," Rendell said Tuesday. "That pig is what makes Harrisburg a very special place."

Stilp owns the pig and frequently displays it at the Capitol at protests over what he sees as government excesses.

Stilp said an outside investigation is warranted, by the attorney general or federal authorities.

The state paid a Philadelphia-based nonprofit $125,000 to compile the list as part of the state Homeland Security's federally mandated mission to protect public infrastructure.

The list included a Washington County meeting that Rendell attended to discuss Marcellus shale gas drilling, a screening of a documentary on the industry, a rally supporting Rendell's education budget and anti-tax protesters who took an inflatable pig to Harrisburg.

Homeland Security officials distributed the list in a security bulletin to government and law enforcement officials — including Pittsburgh City Council members — as well as universities and gas drilling companies.

City Councilman Doug Shields said he was "flabbergasted" about the bulletin he received by e-mail last week.

"The governor was outraged. I'm outraged. I'm glad this was put an end to, but we will be seeking answers. ... There will be requests of information from the state government for an explanation of who these people are, who made the decision to essentially engage in espionage and who is behind it."

Shields said he wants to see the financial statements of York-based Institute Of Terrorism Research And Response, a registered nonprofit, according to state records.

"Am I on a list somwehere? Am I on someone's dossier?" Shields said.

"If there's a list I hope we're all on it," said Councilwoman Theresa Smith.

Rendell said he "should have been notified" about the contract, but that it didn't warrant firing Homeland Security director James Powers. It was a "cumulative responsibility" and it would do no good to "make him a scapegoat," Rendell said.

The state will not renew its one-year contract with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response when it expires in October, Rendell said.

The nonprofit, which has offices in Washington and Jerusalem, provides "actionable intelligence briefings" and "threat and hazard monitoring," among other services, according to its website.

"We maintain confidentiality with our clients, and we respect that confidentiality," said Mike Perelman, co-director of the institute.

The gas industry has to know of physical threats to its workers and equipment, but it supports people's right to discuss the issues, said Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry trade group in Cecil.

"Where we have to be vigilant, I believe, is ... if infrastructure is being targeted and the safety of employees and the communities we operate in are at risk," Klaber said.

Drilling industry opponents said they pose no danger. Barbara Pribila, 45, a founder of the anti-drilling Lincoln Place Action Group, said she never considered herself a rebel — and certainly not a threat to homeland security.

"I thought this was a free country and I was allowed to have my own opinion," Pribila said. "Now what, you're going to watch me and every move I make? That's not right."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 99551.html

MORE:

Ex-police devised 'terror list' in Pennsylvania
By Brad Bumsted and Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 16, 2010

An obscure York nonprofit with ties to Philadelphia University and Jerusalem is behind the state Homeland Security agency's monitoring of protesters, environmentalists and gays, documents show.

The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response is headed by Michael Perelman, who formerly worked for the York City Police Department, and Aaron Richman, a former police captain in the Israeli capital, according to filings with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Gov. Ed Rendell apologized Tuesday after the disclosure that the state Office of Homeland Security paid the institute $125,000 for weekly reports the agency used to put Marcellus shale hearings and a gay and lesbian festival on terror watch lists for law enforcement.

"We are appalled at what we have learned so far about these reports," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "It all smacks of J. Edgar Hoover. Saying that no harm was done is simplistic. Just raising questions about a group or a person can cause harm. Dissent does not equal danger."

Perelman declined to comment but provided a statement that explained in general terms what his organization does:

"The mission of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response is to identify and analyze information that can be leveraged to prevent injury, loss of life and destruction of property. At times, that means providing guidance on the potential for deadly actions."

Richman could not be reached for comment.

Rendell said Wednesday he does not plan to fire anyone in his administration because what happened was the "collective responsibility" of state Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. He has appointed a task force headed by Steven Crawford, his chief of staff, to investigate the state's contract with the institute and how to distribute security alerts in the future.

Homeland Security did not put the one-year contract with the institute up for bid because the state Department of General Services determined no other company could provide a similar service, said Maria Finn, a Homeland Security spokeswoman.

The institute's website provides few details about Perelman and Richman.

They formed the company six years ago in York to provide "on-site educational seminars on institutional security against terrorism and other threats," a state filing shows. Three years later, in 2007, they formed a nonprofit foundation for "enhancing anti-terror training."

Richman works as an assistant professor at Philadelphia University, which identifies him as a former police captain in Jerusalem, a paramedic and a doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Homeland Security.

Rendell insisted at a Downtown news conference that while Homeland Security disseminated information about groups to law enforcement, the agency did not monitor protests. No video or photo surveillance was conducted, either, he said.

"If this wasn't so wrong, it would be laughable," said state Rep. Doug Reichley, R-Allentown.

A spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Punxsutawney, asked how the contract was awarded. "I'm wondering, who are these people, who vetted them, and who chose them in the first place?" Stephen Miskin said. "Instead of spending $125,000 to spy on protesters, you could look at the governor's budget cuts and look at what else could have been funded."

Several House Republicans, including Reichley, called for the House government committee to investigate the contract and others doled out during the Rendell administration with "no oversight," Miskin said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 99772.html

MORE:

GOP Senate leader wants documents in terror-list flap

By Brad Bumsted
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Last updated: 8:22 am

HARRISBURG — The state's top Republican senator said the Senate will request all documents from the Rendell administration related to a terror watch list compiled by a state contractor that wrongly included anti-tax, environmental and gay groups.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, said GOP leadership will meet next week to determine which committee might conduct an inquiry and how to proceed. He stopped short of saying there will be an investigation in the waning 2009-10 session.

"How did this come about? What were the parameters of the contract? If this were private industry, heads would roll," Scarnati said.

Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday he does not intend to fire anyone because there was "collective responsibility" within the state Department of Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for the $125,000 no-bid contract to the York-based Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

Names of non-violent groups, including supporters of Rendell's education policies, were included on notices sent to law enforcement.

Sen. Jay Costa, of Forest Hills, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he was outraged by what occurred but added he was comfortable with the Rendell administration's efforts to look into the matter. Rendell has appointed a task force headed by his chief of staff Steve Crawford to examine how and why the incident occurred.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 99809.html

The state paid a Philadelphia-based nonprofit $125,000 to compile the list as part of the state Homeland Security's federally mandated mission to protect public infrastructure.

Any connection to the SPLC or ACORN?

[quote]I found this from 2007.

Case Study: Institute of Terrorism Research and ResponseIn 2005, the directors of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR) were asked to set up a network for clients that we work with. By monitoring adversarial websites, chat rooms, blogs, and additional resources, the analysts and researchers were able to notify our clients in advance on potential adversarial threats and attacks against them or interests of the client.

Through its Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center (TAM-C), ITRR has been monitoring and analyzing resources in various languages. This Center is based both in Israel and the United States and is staffed by researchers and intelligence analysts with backgrounds in multiple languages, intelligence, and research and analysis.

Just a small amount of information that was identified and warned in advance dealt with attacks to fuel pipelines in Africa, Jewish and Israeli assets internationally, violence at the opening of the World Cup, and the connection between the India train attacks and Al-Qaeda.

The above information was confirmed with the international network the TAM-C has established and the information is collected and analyzed.
Today's security manager is inundated with information that has happened in the past – too late to react to these events. ITRR's researchers and analysts receive and analyze information from throughout the world, analyze it in the context of the client's needs, and provide information on what will happen in the context of the needs of the specific client.

•Law enforcement and security personnel should increase awareness in assets that have already been targeted internationally.

•Understand tactics employed in other sites by the adversary.

•Review of information collection and analysis.

•Increase of awareness for preoperational surveillance by adversarial cells.

As large American companies move to off shore locations, travel between global points has become a growing characteristic of the American business. With the greater exposure of American companies internationally, there is an increased vulnerability to terrorist and criminal gang attacks.

To deal with those vulnerabilities, the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response provides businesses with the following information:

•Terrorist threat information particularly directed towards the client

•Targeting of hotels used by the client in the various countries

•Targeting of Westerners


•Pre-operational indicators such as surveillance, presence of known terrorists in country, etc.

•Anti-government protest activity – locations, times & dates, etc.

•Crime patterns and trends that serve to put a company’s personnel at risk

•The risk of using certain motor routes for inbound and outbound personnel

•The risk of known terror operatives operating in the area and the subsequent risk of an act of terror occurring there.

We use the following assets to provide security advice for the agreed upon countries:
1. Review of indigenous media in all countries (for which ITRR is contracted) to spot crime trends, anti-western propaganda, etc.
2. Daily review of Arab language bulletin boards, forums, and training web sites to spot terrorist tactics, training, and procedures (TTP) that are currently being distributed to anti-western groups.
3. Daily scans of Arab language websites focusing on word groups indicating threats against our client’s industry.
4. The names of the countries agreed upon and contracted for will be considered “key wordsâ€

More rounds shot across the bow of the American citizens

One day someone will pay..it is coming