Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is calling for an investigation into the NYPD’s monitoring of Muslim neighborhoods in New York and New Jersey. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and CIA Director David Petraeus, Menendez wrote:
“I am deeply concerned by reports that the NYPD’s law enforcement efforts focused on individuals who were not suspected of any criminal activity. While I strongly support credible efforts to prevent terrorism, I have grave concerns about any program that targets communities with no credible law enforcement intelligence and with no oversight of the operation. Reports that NYPD plain clothes police officers monitored student websites, programs and associations at Rutgers University and other Northeastern universities – and even followed students on a rafting trip – raise concerns about First Amendment rights of association and the potential chilling effect that such surveillance could have on religious and ethnic minority groups in New Jersey. Monitoring student groups and participating in rafting trips do not seem like credible strategies to combat terrorism.”
“We are reviewing requests to investigate the NYPD,” Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa told TPM.
Read the Senator’s full letter here.
Via Associated Press.
