Ashcroft criticized on federal investigations

Christian Century, Jan 30, 2002

While Attorney General John Ashcroft evoked the legacy of the late Martin Luther King Jr. in declaring the need to prevent ethnic and religious discrimination, two human rights organizations released reports questioning federal investigation techniques.

"It's a testimony to Dr. King's legacy that almost immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11, voices were raised cautioning Americans not to turn their anger against Arab-Americans and people of the Muslim faith," Ashcroft said at a Justice Department event on January 17 commemorating King.

But others ignored teachings of tolerance, Ashcroft said. His department has investigated about 300 incidents, including violence and threats against people who were perceived to have Middle Eastern origins, he said. Those actions have included threats or attacks against mosques and businesses.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a case study that reports on FBI surveillance of King in hopes that it would help discourage Ashcroft from relaxing guidelines on spying within this country. "If Attorney General Ashcroft relaxes the restrictions against domestic political spying--restrictions put in place specifically because of the federal abuse of Dr. King--he will run the clear risk of allowing the same inexcusable behavior to happen again and will have failed to do anything to make our nation any safer," said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington national office.

In a separate but related matter, the conservative Rutherford Institute released its analysis of measures taken by the Justice Department to respond to the attacks, including aspects of the USA Patriot Act of 2001. In a statement, John Whitehead, president of the Charlottesville, Virginia--based civil liberties organization, questioned the constitutionality of some of the measures. "If the American people accept a form of police statism in the name of a promise of personal security, that would be the greatest defeat imaginable," Whitehead said.--RNS