Activist Exposed as FBI Informant

Brandon Darby -- Don't trust this man

A Texas man who gained the trust of fellow activists was actually spying on them, and has been outed as an FBI informant. Worse, the people he ’snitched’ on were RNC protesters who are now accused of very serious terrorism crimes, based on this information. Darby has been described as a provocateur, and there was no shortage of those during the protests at the RNC last September. There are reports he encouraged some Texas protesters to discuss doing illegal things and then into telling him information the FBI specifically wanted to hear, imaginary or not. That’s entrapment. You can hear this discussed on Democracy Now on January 6th, with some of the activists who knew him. (Full Transcript here). Darby admitted his actions (more or less) in an open letter last week:

“The simple truth is that I have chosen to work with the Federal Bureau of investigation [sic],” Brandon Darby said in an open letter he sent this week to friends he has worked with since 2002.”

Before the RNC took place I was aware of some self-described “anarchist” groups who were being harassed by the police, the DHS and the FBI in St. Paul and Minneapolis. The RNC protesters were of no real threat to anyone, even with their fantasies about waging violence with homemade “molotov cocktails”. I heard one protester tell his story of being approached by the FBI before the RNC. He was offered payment if he would be an informant, so we knew the FBI was actively recruiting and paying informants. Darby was one of the main informants snitching on these these protestors. After gaining peoples’ trust after years of activism work, he infiltrated the groups and willingly contributed information to the FBI. This was information he could have made up or manufacturing during the process of conversations with these people. (The whole story is here at the Texas Observer.)

This is especially troubling because our government has a long history of entrapment, most recently sending some supposed “Muslim terrorists” to jail for life. The Fort Dix Five had a ‘jihad fantasy’ but no real way to carry out their ideas, yet they were convicted of terrorist crimes because of informants who may have encouraged their actions, even offering to sell them weapons. (See: Entrapment? Five Convicted in Fort Dix Plot). Darby gained the trust of fellow activists because he was the well-known founder of Comon Ground Relief, a relief organization formed after Hurricane Katrina. My guess is that the purpose of planting people who are FBI informants into the activist community have a double purpose. The first purpose is to give the FBI/DHS information about the activities of the group. The second purpose is to make everyone in activist groups distrust each other. This fractures activist communities into distrust and wariness, so they end up being less effective. I have encountered this distrust a lot myself in the last few years, and people can be mistrustful of who you might really be.  This happened the most when I was trying to get audio or video for my podcast, but even people who “knew” me have asked if I was an informant.   (I’m not!)  People really don’t like being recorded if they suspect even for a moment that you might be working for the government, even if their activities are completely legal! This level of paranoia was very high last year, and I hope it ends with a new President.

Much of this distrust had to do with the whole “shadowy” government created by Bush and Cheney, and their layer of surveillance that was accepted by everyone in the federal government. The government should not have that type of power over us. Even so, people have to be willing to take a stand against war and war crimes, illegal surveillance, and propaganda, etc., whether or not they are being watched and listened to, because virtually every conversation in the U.S. is now potentially listened to and recorded. We can’t let that stop us when it comes to organizing and discussing things. Thanks to George W. Bush for this climate of suspicion, and in part also thanks to Barack Obama who voted for the FISA “compromise” last year. Yeah, remember that? Obama wants to spy on you too. (Hillary Clinton voted against the compromise.)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) voted in favor of the amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to the dismay of many of his own supporters. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) were among those who broke with their party’s standard-bearer to vote against the bill.

So don’t be paranoid of your fellow activists. Continue to be suspicious of your government, though, even the guys you like such as President elect Obama. Everyone in government thinks they have a right to your personal conversations. We have to “CHANGE” that.

This morning in federal court, one of the suspects, Bradley Crowder of Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty to possession of a destructive device during the Republican National Convention last fall. He faces up to 46 months in prison, but a judge could give him even more time.

The following is more on Brandon Darby:

Katrina Recovery Activist Outs Himself as FBI Mole