It turns out the NYPD’s unwarranted surveillance of New York muslims was worse than anyone initially thought. After 9/11, the department began using a police tool known as a “terrorism enterprise investigation” (TEI) to target entire mosques as potential terrorist groups, allowing the surveillance of any person who attends. According to the AP, TEIs were often opened “without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing” and some remained open as recently as 2009.
A confidential department document created in 2009, also obtained by the AP, details the department’s plan to put informants into influential positions at Muslim and Arab-American organizations.
Some highlights from that document, outlining ideal potential informants in various situations:
-“Subject should be comfortable with aggressive views, specifically towards the Jewish religion, to be accepted by the target.”
-“Should be Pakistani, not Bangladeshi or Indian, as REDACTED has displayed prejudice against other South Asian nationalities in the past.”
-“Subject would ideally be an ex-convict with some link to the Lefrak City apartment complex.”
-“Anyone with skills/knowledge of the following industries could be useful: food service (specifically fried chicken stores), car service, electronics, import/export, gas stations and real estate.”
You get the idea. Read the full report and see several other leaked documents here.
