Commentary

• Leaked document reveals details of federal law enforcement patrolling Washington amid protests

  A leaked Trump administration document details the federal law enforcement and military personnel squaring off against protesters in Washington, D.C., including a 1,300-strong force currently deployed to the south side of the White House.

  Go to article on news.yahoo.com

• Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn’t Have Proper Training, D.H.S. Memo Said

  The federal agents facing a growing backlash for their militarized approach to weeks of unrest in Portland were not specifically trained in riot control or mass demonstrations, an internal Department of Homeland Security memo warned this week. The message was prepared by the agency for Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, as he arrived in Portland to view the scene in person, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The New York Times.

  Go to article on nytimes.com

• DHS Authorizes Domestic Surveillance to Protect Statues and Monuments

  A document provided to Lawfare on July 19 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) describes personnel as “collecting and reporting on various activities in the context of elevated threats targeting monuments, memorials, and statues”—and it gives legal guidance concerning the “expanded intelligence activities necessary to mitigate the significant threat to homeland security” posed by such activities.

  Go to article on lawfareblog.com

• DHS compiled ‘intelligence reports’ on journalists who published leaked documents

  The Department of Homeland Security has compiled “intelligence reports” about the work of American journalists covering protests in Portland, Ore., in what current and former officials called an alarming use of a government system meant to share information about suspected terrorists and violent actors.

  Go to article on washingtonpost.com