Amid clashes between protesters and federal officials in downtown Portland, Oregon, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which deployed officers, created intelligence reports on a pair of journalists who it says reported information filtered and not classified about the tense situation. , according to The Washington Post.
The reports, which were obtained by the Post, included images of journalists’ tweets and detailed information about the posts.
Known as open source intelligence reports, the documents were created by the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
One of the leaked notes offered a damning view of the department’s struggle to understand the reasons behind the protests. The memo says that DHS agents on the ground in Portland have relied on the financial intelligence and “baseball cards” of the arrested protesters to better assess the situation. Historically, the intelligence community of the United States has used “baseball cards” as background information on suspected terrorists.
Along the same lines, officials told the Post that Open Source Intelligence Reports have not traditionally been created to describe American citizens who have no connection to terrorists or other violent actors and are dedicated to exercising their rights protected by the First Amendment. The reports are reportedly generally used to share the department’s analysis with federal law enforcement agencies and others.
“This has no operational value,” John Sandweg, a former acting DHS general counsel, told the newspaper. “This will only damage the reputation of the intelligence office.”
DHS said in a statement that the reports were “produced under pre-established classified intelligence reporting requirements that are developed through a rigorous process to include intelligence oversight and legal guidelines.”
Federal officials have been in Portland since late June, deployed by the Acting DHS Secretary Chad WolfChad Wolf The Oregon governor says some federal officials are leaving Portland. Trump criticizes Oregon officials for the Portland protests. Warren calls on a promise not to deploy federal agents to protesters if Trump refuses to step down. PLUS to protect the city’s federal court, which has been damaged by the protests. Black Lives Matter protests have rocked the area around the courthouse since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police in late May, amounting to more than 60 days of protests.
The Trump administration has repeatedly praised the officers’ performance, although protesters have increasingly criticized their presence in the city. For weeks, protesters and officers have clashed, with officers firing tear gas to disperse crowds, while protesters have fired fireworks and started fires near the court.
“She must clean up, and in some cases arrest, anarchists and agitators in Portland,” Trump tweeted, referring to Brown. “If she can’t do it, the federal government will do it for her. We won’t leave until there is security!
The president’s tweet came after Brown announced Wednesday that he had reached an agreement with the White House for federal agents to leave the city.
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