Environmental advocates, tribal members, and community organizers filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Justice on Tuesday, alleging an illegal domestic spying operation.
Four plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that Oregon’s TITAN Fusion Center is an unauthorized, pervasive domestic intelligence program. The court documents, filed in Marion County Circuit Court, requested the court to find TITAN unlawful and to prevent the Oregon DOJ from operating it in addition to destroying collected intelligence.
Oregon’s TITAN (Terrorist Information Threat Assessment Network) Fusion Center is one of about 80 fusion centers across the United States that were created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack.
According to the lawsuit, these agencies have begun to expand their searches past potential terrorist threats and have instead started looking at any and all activity they deem suspicious. This includes constitutionally protected activity, like peaceful protests.
“TITAN describes itself as pursuing not only all crimes, but all threats — and TITAN is the one who decides who and what is a threat,” said one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Farhang Heydari.
Citing articles published by the Guardian in 2019, the lawsuit says that TITAN facilitated the surveillance of peaceful protesters opposing the $10 billion fossil fuel pipeline and export terminal, a project called Jordan Cove LNG.
As part of these surveillance efforts, TITAN created and closely worked with a task force within the Coos County Sheriff’s office that was funded by Pembina–the private company that proposed to build Jordan Cove LNG.
Member of the Klamath Tribes and plaintiff in the lawsuit, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith was one of many who strongly opposed the Jordan Cove LNG project. Although Ferrel-Smith knew they were being surveilled, she didn’t realize the depth of TITAN’s investigations until recently.
“I’m terrified for everyone,” said Ferrel-Smith. “Who else do they deem as a threat?”
A spokesperson for the Oregon DOJ, Kristina Edmunson, said the agency’s attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit, but said the plaintiffs are citing old examples which have already been addressed.
Heydari claims that TITAN is operating past their legal authority since there isn’t a law that allows for the surveillance.
“There’s certainly no statute that permits this operation to occur in secret, with no transparency and no accountability,” said Heydari.
By Momoko Baker
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