Max Obuszewski doesn’t take drugs — not even aspirin.
As a former Peace Corps member, he’s a lifelong activist against violence.
But Maryland State Police tarnished Obuszewski’s good name — he fears irrevocably — by labeling him a suspected drug trafficker and terrorist in a law enforcement database.
Obuszewski, who civilly protests the war in Iraq, is one of 53 law-abiding activists whom the state police spied on for 14 months and wrongfully listed in an intelligence database of security threats.
State police are allowing those victims to view their files before agents delete them from the database, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland was alarmed to learn Thursday that the victims can’t make copies of their files or bring a lawyer with them.
“To say that I’m shocked would put it mildly,” ACLU lawyer David Rocah said.
“It’s completely unacceptable, and it’s not the actions of a police force that is truly seeking to put this behind them.”
Rocah, who represents the victims, is calling on Gov. Martin O’Malley “to reverse this wrong-headed and unlawful policy,” saying citizens are legally and morally entitled to government files wrongfully being kept on them, and police can’t dictate who can have a lawyer.
“After wrongfully spying on them, infiltrating their organizations and listing them as terrorists, it would be foolhardy for the activists to be expected to take it on faith that the state police will forever and everywhere purge their records,” Rocah said.
Obuszewski said preventing the victims from copying their files is a further infringement on their civil rights.
“It’s ignoring due process. Anyone has a right to an attorney, and I want [Rocah] there with me and I want a copy,” he said.
“The only suspicion I can have is that they still have things to hide, and they’re going to continue hiding it.”
Obuszewski said he wants a copy of his file to ensure state police are held accountable for any negative effects on his future.
He said he worries the information will never fully disappear and could affect his ability to obtain a loan, rent an apartment or get a job.
“It’s very possible that employers would have that information and say I’m not qualified,” he said. “If I had a copy of my file, then I could prove I’m not a drug trafficker and I’m not a terrorist.”
State police Superintendent Col. Terrence Sheridan said the files weren’t shared with agencies beyond the Washington Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, but Rocah said the victims no longer trust the state police.
A state police spokesman was unavailable Thursday for comment.
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