A terrorist assessment from the Virginia Fusion Center characterizes the state’s college and universities as “nodes for radicalization” and breeding grounds for extremist groups.
“While the majority of individuals associated with educational institutions do not engage in activities of interest to the [Virginia Fusion Center], it is important to note that university-based students groups are recognized as a radicalization node for almost every type of extremist group,” the Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment released last month said.
Fusion centers are secretive government intelligence-gathering units that were created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said the 215-page internal document made broad conclusions based on scant evidence and encouraged law enforcement officials to focus on certain groups based on their members’ race, religion or school affiliation.
“It’s the very kind of report that chills First Amendment-protected activities to meet and speak,” Willis said.
The government document points out that the Hampton Roads area is home to two historically black colleges. It also cites “Richmond’s history as the capital city of the Confederacy” and a worker who called in a bomb threat at the Martinsville Speedway because he was tired and wanted to go home.
The assessment, which says 50 terrorist or extremist groups exist in the commonwealth, is a compilation of information from federal, state and local sources and general observation. The report was meant for law enforcement to identify potential threats and could be misinterpreted “in a false manner” by outsiders, Virginia State Police said. The document, labeled “law enforcement sensitive,” was leaked on the Web site cryptome.com.
“The Virginia Fusion Center upholds the liberty and constitutional rights of all citizens,” police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said.
The ACLU contends fusion centers are becoming more of a threat to citizens’ liberties and is calling on Congress to oversee them.
Last week, the ACLU and Republicans asked officials in the federal Department of Homeland Security to investigate a report by the Missouri fusion center that described extremist militia members as likely supporting third-party candidates, specifically naming Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman who ran for president as a Libertarian.
In February, a report by a fusion center in north Texas named several far-left groups that it says have accommodating views of Palestinian terror groups and associated public officials with the leftist groups, including former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
There are at least 58 fusion centers in the United States.
