Pro-Palestinian speech was treated as terrorism by US agencies

Evidence

The case of the Los Angeles Eight put a spotlight on the government’s association of Arabs with terrorism. Eight political activists, seven of whom were Palestinian, were placed under surveillance for three years, from 1987 to 1990, as part of an antiterrorism investigation. Their fund-raising and activism for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attracted the attention of the US government, which equated pro-Palestinian activism with terrorism. The government sought to deport the Palestinian activists pursuant to the McCarran-Walter Act, which criminalizes association with any organization that “advocated for world Communism.” This was the same law used to deport Jewish leftists during the era of McCarthyism. After two decades of litigation, an immigration judge ruled in 2007 that the US government had violated the defendants’ constitutional rights. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 666 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

According to Ahmed’s testimony, his father’s political views were enough to warrant state surveillance and even a visit by the FBI. Even though Ahmed said his dad never espoused anti-American views, the FBI surveilled him because he is a Palestinian immigrant and is vocal about Palestinian rights. Visits by the FBI are one tactic used by the state to exert power over Muslim men. They instill fear in Muslim men and send the message that they are not allowed to express any political views that may be misinterpreted as anti-American. It is no surprise that Muslim men silence themselves when their political views can be used against them, to cast them as disloyal or un-American. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 435 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The ADL characterized Palestinian-rights advocacy as terrorism for FBI referral; The US government equated pro-Palestinian activism with terrorism and pursued deportation. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 666; Political speech by Palestinian immigrants triggers FBI surveillance regardless of views — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 435 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The US government equated pro-Palestinian activism with terrorism and pursued deportation. #corroborates (1.00) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 666
• Political speech by Palestinian immigrants triggers FBI surveillance regardless of views #corroborates (1.00) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 435
• The FBI treated US anti-war activism as material support for terrorism #complicates (0.90)