A small update to the story about activists worried about the proposed LNG pipeline and plant in Coos County Oregon that I wrote about the other day (and was highlighted in a green blog roundup, thanks Meteor Blades!)
Coos County is part of Rep. Peter DeFazio’s congressional district, and thankfully he took noticed of the legally questionable spying on non-violent activists. He wrote a letter to AG William Barr asking about the reasons for this surveillance. Representative Defazio makes some excellent points such as:
I am extremely troubled by recent reports that the Department of Justice has been monitoring Oregon anti-pipeline activists. Monitoring my constituents who peacefully express their constitutionally protected free speech and assembly rights echoes J. Edgar Hoover era and must not be repeated.
He also notes “...some Oregon tribes are also opposed to the project. Why is federal law enforcement tracking the actions of sovereign nations?”