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Leaked 'Standing Rock' Documents Reveal Invasive Counterterrorism Measures (theintercept.com)

An anonymous reader writes: "A shadowy international mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan targeted the movement opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline with military-style counterterrorism measures," reports The Intercept, decrying "the fusion of public and private intelligence operations." Saying the private firm started as a war-on-terror contractor for the U.S. military and State Department, the site details "sweeping and invasive" surveillance of protesters, citing over 100 documents leaked by one of the firm's contractors.

The documents show TigerSwan even havested information about the protesters from social media, and "provide extensive evidence of aerial surveillance and radio eavesdropping, as well as infiltration of camps and activist circles... The leaked materials not only highlight TigerSwan's militaristic approach to protecting its client's interests but also the company's profit-driven imperative to portray the nonviolent water protector movement as unpredictable and menacing enough to justify the continued need for extraordinary security measures... Internal TigerSwan communications describe the movement as 'an ideologically driven insurgency with a strong religious component' and compare the anti-pipeline water protectors to jihadist fighters."

The Intercept reports that recently "the company's role has expanded to include the surveillance of activist networks marginally related to the pipeline, with TigerSwan agents monitoring 'anti-Trump' protests from Chicago to Washington, D.C., as well as warning its client of growing dissent around other pipelines across the country." They also report that TigerSwan "has operated without a license in North Dakota for the entirety of the pipeline security operation."

2 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Priorities by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Citation needed, because my roommate says no they weren't paid. He also says your roommate was paid to do a cheap smear job on people who legitimately were upset about climate change and polluting the water of an Indian reservation. He is currently fighting your roommate and your roommate is crying and pissing his pants and is sincerely sorry he was such a douchebag. However both our roommates know your roommate is still a douchebag and will probably go right back to spreading misinformation for the right wing.

    Source: my other roommate says so.

  2. And Are They Hiring? by tmjva · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just by posting this, I don't even have to look them up or send my resume!

    I'm on their radar now.

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