ARROYO SECO, NEW MEXICO - Keith McHenry, co-founder of the Food Not Bombs movement and life long nonviolent advocate sent letters to his Congressman and Senators expressing concern that he could be held for an for an indefinite period as “unlawful enemy combatant” the next time he returns to the United States. The new Military Commission Act of 2006 may give Homeland Security the right to hold human rights activists listed on the “Terrorist Watch List" indefinitely.
Last May Mr. McHenry was taken off a flight from London to Chicago and questioned about his political activities. His bags and wallet were searched and the contents were entered into a computer. Two groups he helped start, Food Not Bombs and Indymedia are on the “Terrorist Watch List."
The American Civil Liberties Union has discovered a number of FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force memos describing investigations into Food Not Bombs. MSNBC reported that a protest Mr. McHenry helped organize was listed on the Pentagon’s 2004 TALON report as a “serious, ongoing threat.” Mr. McHenry has never advocated or participated in any acts of violence and the movement he started, Food Not Bombs has published a statement of nonviolence as one of its principles.
After the act was passed Mr. McHenry called a number of Senators and Congress people to find out if he was in any danger and they could not say for certainty that he would be safe returning from his next trip to Africa this November. He has written 12 lawmakers who either represent his district in New Mexico or who sat on committees that wrote the Military Commission Act of 2006 to get clarification about his safety. He also called and wrote to the ACLU, Amnesty International, the United Nations and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The fact that a man who has dedicated his life to peace and Gandhian nonviolence must worry that his own government could jail him for an indefinite period of time without charges indicates to extent to which Americans have lost their civil liberties and freedom during the faux War on Terrorism.
October 9, 2006
Senator Pete V. Domenici
328 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Pete V. Domenici,
I need your assistance on two related matters regarding the new Military Commissions Act and domestic surveillance. I give your office permission to make any inquiries of all Federal agencies you believe necessary.
I am the co-founder of the Food Not Bombs movement, which feeds the hungry in communities all over the world. I am the Great, Great Grandson of James McHenry who signed the U.S. Constitution and a citizen of the United States. I have been dedicated to Gandhian nonviolent social change for over 30 years. Last year I was the keynote speaker at the Celebration of Gandhi’s Birthday in Lagos, Nigeria. The American Civil Liberties Union, the media and employees of Federal agencies have made me aware that Food Not Bombs and myself are listed on U.S. government “Terrorist Watch Lists.” This May when I returned to the United States from Turkey I was taken off a plane in Chicago and questioned by Homeland Security for over an hour. All my bags and my wallet were searched and I was asked about my relationship with as Homeland Security called it “the violent group Food Not Bombs”. They typed in the information they collected into a computer. They also asked me about my connection to C.T. Lawrence Butler. He and I co-wrote a book on nonviolent social change and we plan to play an important role in the 2006 African Conference on Formal Consensus and Nonviolent Social Change in Lagos, Nigeria at the end of November.
Do you believe it would be safe for me to return to the United States under the new Military Commissions Act of 2006? Would it be possible for your office give me a letter that I could show to Homeland Security when I reenter the United States? My friends and family are worried that I may be held without charges for an indefinite period as “unlawful enemy combatant” the next time I return to the United States. This is making it difficult for me to meet my commitments abroad. I have been planning to participate at the conference and continue my work to end hunger in Africa but with the passage of this new law my loved ones are worried and asking me to cancel my trip causing our organization to loose substantial money and slow our progress towards helping the people of Africa.
The second item is a request that I be considered to testify at any future Congressional hearings on domestic spying. I believe I could be of great help in any hearing as I have been dedicated to nonviolent social change for the past 35 years and during that time I have been under investigation by the FBI, military and other U.S. government agencies and have a wealth of knowledge to share. The ACLU has filed a number of FOIA request and I should be obtaining more information about the extent of U.S. government surveillance on Food Not Bombs, Indymedia and myself. I already have a large file of documents I could email your office. Please consider referring me to any and all hearings on domestic surveillance.
Thank you so much for your help.
Sincerely,
Keith McHenry
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