90 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
Subject: Secret Service Role Questioned in "2600 Washington Raid" 11/10/92
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From: newsbytes@clarinet.com
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Date: 10 Nov 92 21:03:23 GMT
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WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1992 NOV 10 (NB) -- In the aftermath of an
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action on Friday, November 6th by members of the Pentagon City Mall
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Police and police from Arlington County, VA in which those attending a
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2600 meeting at the mall were ordered from the premises, conflicting
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stories continue to appear.
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Attendees at the meeting have contended to Newsbytes that members of
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the mall police told them that they were "acting on behalf of the
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Secret Service." They also maintain that the mall police confiscated
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material from knapsacks and took film from someone attempting to
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photograph the action and a list of the names of security officers
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that one attendee was attempting to compile.
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Al Johnson, chief of security for the mall, denied these allegations
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to Newsbytes, saying, "No one said that we were acting on behalf of
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the Secret Service. We were merely enforcing our regulations. While
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the group was not disruptive, it had pulled tables together and was
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having a meeting in our food court area. The food court is for
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people eating and is not for meetings. We therefore asked the
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people to leave."
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Johnson denied that security personnel took away any film or lists
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and further said: "We did not confiscate any material. The group
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refused to own up to who owned material on the tables and in the
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vicinity so we collected it as lost material. If it turns out
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that anything did belong to any of those people, they are welcome
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to come in and, after making proper identification, take the
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material."
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In a conversation early on November 9th, Robert Rasor, Secret Service
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agent-in-charge of computer crime investigations, told Newsbytes that
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having mall security forces represent the Secret Service is not
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something that was done and, that to his knowledge, the Secret
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Service had no involvement with any Pentagon City mall actions
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on the previous Friday.
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A Newsbytes call to the Arlington County police was returned by a
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Detective Nuneville who said that her instructions were to refer all
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questions concerning the matter to agent David Adams of the Secret
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Service. She told Newsbytes that Adams would be providing all
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information concerning the involvement of both the Arlington Police and
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the Secret Service in the incident.
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Adams told Newsbytes: "The mall police were not acting as agents
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for the Secret Service. Beyond that, I can not confirm or deny
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that there is an ongoing investigation."
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Adams also told Newsbytes that: "While I cannot speak for the
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Arlington police, I understand that their involvement was due to
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an incident unrelated to the investigation."
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Marc Rotenberg, director of the Washington office of Computer
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Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), told Newsbytes
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that "CPSR has reason to believe that the detention of people at
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the Pentagon City Mall last Friday was undertaken at the behest
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of the Secret Service, which is a federal agency."
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"If that is the case, then there was an illegal search of people
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at the mall. There was no warrant and no indication of probable
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illegal activity. This raises constitutional issues. We have
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undertaken the filing of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
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request to determine the scope, involvement and purpose of the
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Secret Service in this action," he said.
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2600 meetings are held on the evening of the first Friday of each
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month in public places and malls in New York City, Washington,
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Philadelphia, Cambridge, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles and San
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Francisco. They are promoted by "2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly"
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and are attended by a variety of persons interested in
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telecommunications and so-called "hacker issues."
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The New York meeting, the oldest of its kind, is regularly attended
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by Eric Corley a/k/a Emmanuel Goldstein, editor and publisher of 2600,
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hackers, journalists, corporate communications professionals and other
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interested parties. It is known to have been the subject of
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surveillance at various times by law enforcement agencies conducting
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investigations into allegations of computer crime.
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Corley told Newsbytes: "While I'm sure that meetings have been
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observed by law enforcement agencies, this is the only time that
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we have been harassed. It's definitely a freedom of speech
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issue." Corley also that he plans to be at the December meeting
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in Washington "to insure that it doesn't happen again."
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(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19921110)
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