State police surveillance and illegal gun owner database in Maine

[LittleLebowski]

https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/05/21/cmp-corridor-opponents-seek-info-gathered-during-alleged-police-spying/




Opponents of the Central Maine Power corridor project, who were among those allegedly targeted for surveillance by a secretive state police intelligence unit, are asking for the release of any information gathered about their group.

In a letter sent Thursday to Gov. Janet Mills and CMP Board Chairman David Flanagan, the leader of Say No to the New England Clean Energy Corridor requested a “clearing of the air” over the allegations, which were contained in a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed by state trooper George Loder.

Loder has also accused the intelligence center of collecting and keeping information on legal gun owners, creating a de-facto gun registry, and of spying on camp counselors at Seeds of Peace, a nonprofit group that runs a summer camp in Maine for young activists that promotes peace around the world.

Loder also alleged that the center formed agreements with neighboring states to collect license plate reader information on Maine-registered vehicles that made frequent or quick trip out of state, looking for couriers carrying shipments of illegal drugs.

[LittleLebowski]

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/05/14/news/state/state-agency-illegally-collecting-data-on-mainers-claims-trooper-in-whistleblower-suit/



A division of the Maine State Police illegally gathered and handled personal data about Mainers, according to an employment discrimination lawsuit filed in federal court by a state trooper.

George Loder, 50, of Scarborough is suing the Maine Intelligence Analysis Center, and its supervisors, claiming he was demoted after he told his bosses that the center was collecting and maintaining data illegally, including information about people who had applied to buy guns from firearms dealers, those who legally protested and those who worked at a Maine international camp for Israeli and Arab teens. The center is responsible for sharing information with other law enforcement agencies.

[LittleLebowski]

State trooper/whistleblower lawsuit.

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/05/14/news/state/read-troopers-full-lawsuit-against-the-maine-state-police/

[blues]

Your government at work...:rolleyes:


Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

(I'd still like to think that "most" of us who are or have been charged with the public trust still take that oath seriously.)

[LittleLebowski]

Your government at work...:rolleyes:


Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

(I'd still like to think that "most" of us who are or have been charged with the public trust still take that oath seriously.)

Clearly that trooper that brought the lawsuit takes his oath seriously. Mucho respect.

[Tackleberry40sw]

Clearly that trooper that brought the lawsuit takes his oath seriously. Mucho respect.

Yes, Mucho respect. But, I am afraid he'll end up being a sacrificial lamb for his efforts.

[JDD]

Clearly that trooper that brought the lawsuit takes his oath seriously. Mucho respect.

I have been following this one for a little while, but I had not read the whole complaint. There is a lot to unpack there if true. I am particularly horrified by the gun owners registry, but the material they put together about Seeds of Peace sounds like the tip of another horrifying iceberg.