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Nkenge Harmon Johnson, the head of the Urban League in Portland, today leveled an explosive accusation at the Oregon Department of Justice.
She says the DOJ was racially profiling Oregonians who expressed interest on social media in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Even more extraordinary: Harmon Johnson says one of the people identified by DOJ profilers was Erious Johnson, a lawyer who is the DOJ's head of civil rights enforcement and Harmon Johnson's husband.
In a Nov. 10 letter to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Harmon Johnson and seven civil rights and labor leaders demanded an investigation into DOJ's use of software to conduct "threat assessments." (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to WW co-owner Richard Meeker.)
Here's an excerpt from the letter to Rosenblum that Harmon Johnson and the others signed:
As recounted by our colleague, Urban League of Portland President Nkenge Harmon Johnson, and other sources, two weeks ago, her husband, the Director of Civil Rights for Oregon Department of Justice, Erious Johnson, was called to your office. At that meeting, it was revealed that the Oregon Department of Justice Criminal Justice Division has been using software to conduct "threat assessments." The division searched the Twitter feeds of Oregonians who have used the hashtag "Black Lives Matter." We do not know how many Oregonians were investigated by the Department of Justice. We do know, however, that Director Johnson was one of them. Because he had posted tweets using that hashtag, he was identified under the Oregon Department of Justice's threat assessment process.
It is improper and potentially unlawful, for the Oregon Department of Justice to conduct surveillance and investigations to an Oregonian merely for expressing a viewpoint or for being a part of a social movement. We are concerned that such unwarranted investigations are racially motivated, and create a chilling effect on social justice advocates, political activists and others who wish to engage in discourse about he issues of our time. Furthermore, during a time when you, as attorney general are chairing the Law Enforcement Profiling Task force mandated by House Bill 2002, we are particularly concerned that the Oregon Department of Justice is conducting investigations such as this.
Update, 4:45 pm:
David Rogers, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, issued the following statement:
"The revelation that the Criminal Justice Division of the Oregon Department of Justice has surveilled Oregonians who use the Black Lives Matter hashtag—including the state's own Director of Civil Rights, Erious Johnson—is deeply disturbing and offensive. Under Oregon law, it is illegal for state law enforcement to gather information about people's political, religious and social views, associations or activities. Not only is such profiling illegal, but it seriously threatens our democracy by chilling First Amendment speech and activities. We encourage the Attorney General to take immediate action and support a full and transparent investigation."
Update, 5:10 pm:
Rosenblum has issued the following statement:
"I recently became aware that an employee of the Oregon DOJ Criminal Division was conducting a digital search of Twitter hashtags including #blacklivesmatter, that led him to the Twitter account of a close and trusted member of my inner circle staff, Erious Johnson Jr. I informed Mr. Johnson of this, told him that I was outraged by it, and that I had immediately ordered a stop to it. I am working to engage a Special Assistant Attorney General to conduct a complete HR investigation and audit to get to the bottom of this deeply troubling situation."
Update, 8:40 pm: The Oregon Department of Justice has released a letter from AG Ellen Rosenblum replying to Nkenge Harmon Johnson and seven other civil rights and labor leaders.
Rosenblum confirms many of the charges Harmon Johnson leveled, but says an employee was profiling on a "trial basis" when he searched who in Oregon uses the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.
Rosenblum says she has placed one employee on the Criminal Justice Division on leave while the law firm Stoel Rives LLP conducts an investigation of how the division monitors "digital information, including Twitter feeds."
Rosenblum's full letter can be found here.
Willamette Week