Federal agents log town-hall attendees as 'anti-tech extremists'
WIRED review of 1,000+ pages of DHS/FBI/fusion-center reports documents a novel “anti-tech violent extremism” category used to monitor lawful activity, including town-hall attendance.
What happened
Eighty fusion centers now operate as go-betweens for federal intelligence agencies and state and local police. In California, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, officers have removed or arrested speakers at town halls who criticized data centers—in one case before the speaker was allowed to begin.
Why it matters
When enforcement power is steered toward critics or away from allies, the law stops operating as a neutral public institution. It is tracked here under “Create new extremist classifications”; the classification describes the documented institutional risk, not a claim about motive.