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First Amendment religious freedoms were violated. So were Fourth Amendment unreasonable searches and Privacy Act provisions.
Enacted in December 1974, it established a Code of Fair Information Practice. It governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals maintained in federal agency records.
It prohibits disclosure of information without written consent of subject individuals. It gives them a way to access and amend documents about themselves to set the record straight in case of errors.
It offers protections now gone. Bush administration officials began eroding them. War on terror/national security priorities trump constitutional freedoms. They're heading for elimination entirely.
The suit demanded destruction of lawlessly obtained information. Damages were also sought. Victims were denied. Injustice triumphed.
In 2006 and 2007, FBI agents planted informants in Orange County mosques. They spied to collect information and entrap Muslims. Craig Monteilh was specifically named.
The suit seeks injunctive relief on behalf of everyone bogusly targeted. It also requires the FBI to turn over or destroy all information collected through discriminatory investigations. Moreover, it wants damages for emotional stress caused.
Orange County has a vibrant Muslim community. It numbers about 120,000 residents. It's home to America's second largest Muslim population after Dearborn, MI. They and others practicing Islam live in America at the wrong time.
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