The NYPD confirmed its involvement in an FBI investigation that included surveillance of a private Signal chat of volunteer courtwatchers monitoring ICE activity inside New York City’s immigration courthouses.
An NYPD spokesperson told THE CITY on Friday that surveillance of the Signal chat was part of a “broader counterterrorism investigation” into “a range of possible criminal activities.”
The revelation came in a declassified FBI memo obtained by Property of the People, a nonprofit that seeks national security related documents through Freedom of Information Act requests, and first reported on by The Guardian.
The memo, later obtained by THE CITY, is a “joint situational information report” prepared using intelligence collected as part of a shared effort by the FBI and the NYPD.
The intelligence bulletin, dated Aug. 28, called volunteer courtwatchers “Anarchist violent extremist (AVE) Actors,” and cited “a sensitive source with excellent access” who was part of an encrypted Signal chat where activists were coordinating immigration court observation.
The Guardian’s reports drew swift condemnation from volunteer courtwatchers like New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has observed immigration court proceedings multiple times over the past several months and was twice arrested inside 26 Federal Plaza.
“The FBI — in a throwback to the days of J. Edgar Hoover — is infiltrating and surveilling nonviolent, legal, constitutionally protected political activity, and I have to tell you I am outraged by it,” Lander said at a press conference outside 26 Federal Plaza Friday morning.
“The extremists are the ones who are conducting the abductions. The folks who are engaged in peaceful, lawful, constitutionally protected activity are all of us and the court watchers in that building.”
The document suggests the surveillance started in late May, when ICE first began targeting immigrants for arrest inside New York City’s immigration court houses, where they had gone for routine hearings in their deportation cases.
The memo later says that the person who created the Signal chat “is known to instruct protest participants to use violence against [law enforcement officers].”
The memo describes messages in the chat, including that the “sensitive source” participated in a “debrief session” held over a Signal call within the chat.
“Discussions within the “courtwatch” group chat also included instructions on where to go and what to say in order to gain access to federal courtrooms,” the memo says. Immigration courtrooms are typically open to the public, except in sensitive proceedings, and are located inside of public buildings that are also accessible to members of the public.
Asked about the bulletin, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed their involvement in the counterterrorism effort while noting they did not create the bulletin. The spokesperson said the “possible criminal activities” the police were concerned with included “weapons training, violence against law enforcement, property damage and destruction, and discussions about bomb-making.”
The investigation was “reviewed by an external civilian representative exercising oversight pursuant to court order,” the NYPD spokesperson said.
The civilian review is a reference to the Handschu Committee, created by a 1985 consent decree requiring sign off on investigations into political activity. Members of the panel include representatives from the NYPD and a civilian representative, currently attorney Muhammad Faridi.
Reached for comment Friday afternoon, Faridi confirmed he had reviewed extensive documentation from the NYPD about the target of the surveillance probe referred to in the memo.
“There is significant documentary evidence that the NYPD has given to me that makes it clear to me that the individual at issue warrants an inquiry under the Handschu guidelines,” Faridi told THE CITY.
“The NYPD needs to immediately explain its role in this,” said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which litigated Handschu case. “The NYPD must also reject the unacceptable political basis for this kind of investigation. The NYCLU has won landmark cases against the NYPD for spying on New Yorkers for their religious and political beliefs. New Yorkers have the right to know whose interests the department is serving.”
Hundreds of immigrants have been arrested inside New York City’s immigration courthouses since the spring, with more of this type of arrest in New York City than anywhere else in the country, THE CITY reported in August. The arrest activity has spurred dozens if not hundreds of New Yorkers, through a network of nonprofit, faith organizations and grassroots organizing, to volunteer to observe the immigration court proceedings, document the arrests, and attempt to connect immigrants and their loved ones with legal and other support.
A spokesperson for the FBI said they could not confirm or deny the existence of any intelligence bulletin.
“We routinely share information to our law enforcement and intelligence community partners alerting them of potential threats,” the spokesperson said. “The FBI takes all threats to public safety seriously, including those posed to law enforcement and public safety officials.”
