I always knew she was dangerous, or at least her message was. On the other hand, she might be pleased by this news:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A handful of Catholic Worker groups across the country were among the anti-war activists, environmentalists and animal-rights groups wrongly investigated by the FBI, according to a lengthy report released Sept. 20 by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General. According to Inspector General Glenn Fine, there was "little or no basis" for the investigations. The groups included the anti-war Thomas Merton Center in Pittsburgh, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Catholic Worker, Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and an individual Quaker peace activist. Fine's office reviewed 8,000 pages of FBI documents from 2001 to 2006 related to these groups in its 191-page document: "A Review of the FBI's Investigations of Certain Domestic Advocacy Groups." The FBI's investigation of nonviolent civil disobedience of some of these groups placed them under an "acts of terrorism" classification, which automatically put them under government watch lists. The report concluded that these advocacy groups were not specifically targeted by the FBI, but that agents used inaccurate or insufficient reasons to open investigations and even after no basis to investigate a group was found, the agency kept the investigation open for several years. In a letter to the inspector general, FBI Deputy Director Timothy Murphy said the bureau had not targeted any groups on the basis of their First Amendment activities but instead on concerns about potential criminal acts.

David Gibson is the director of Fordham’s Center on Religion & Culture.

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