NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups

Looks like Muslims aren't the only ones the NYPD has spied on. The AP has uncovered documents showing that undercover NYPD officers infiltrated liberal political organizations, attending meetings and keeping intelligence files on activists. The effort ranged well outside their jurisdiction; in April 2008, for example, an officer was sent to the People's Summit in New Orleans. He reported back with info on which groups opposed US immigration policy, labor laws, and racial profiling, naming one journalist and one organizer by name.

The NYPD used similar spying tactics ahead of the Republican National Convention in 2004, monitoring church and anti-war groups across the country. At the time, officials said it was necessary to secure the convention. "There was no political surveillance," the NYPD's top intelligence officer said. But the result was a series of police files that listed many activists purely on the basis of their political beliefs, and the new documents indicate that the spying continued for years after the convention. (More NYPD stories.)