One of my New Zealand friends, a solar and wind energy engineer, travels to the US frequently to attend alternative energy conferences and check out potential venture capitalists. Every time he goes through US Customs, he is deemed to pose a security threat and taken aside to be questioned about his work, his political views and his plans in the US. I can’t see any possible way that a keen interest in alternative energy poses a threat to US national interests. Thus I have to assume the federal government has some other reason for hassling him.

I myself do everything possible to avoid visits to the US. Owing to 30 years of antiwar and other activism, I have the honor of being in the “physical search” section of the No-Fly list (as I describe in the beginning of my memoir The Most Revolutionary Act). Although the security guards who pat me down are always respectful and polite, I still find the searches humiliating and degrading. At the moment, at least, this indignity outweighs any desire to visit friends and family in the US.

Questioning Activists About Their Political Beliefs

Canadian activists have been complaining since 2002 about US Customs officials questioning them about their political activities and beliefs (after first Googling their political background on the Internet). Increasingly American citizens are reporting the same problem – they are taken aside on returning from overseas and questioned about political views and activities (particularly their views on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan). Internationally known progressive author and lecturer Michael Parenti talks about US Customs questioning him on his political views following a recent trip overseas.

As does Jacob Appelbaum, a US citizen and WikiLeaks volunteer. In July Appelbaum was detained for three hours in a New York airport after returning from the Netherlands. In addition to asking the whereabouts of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, which some may regard as a legitimate question, customs officials questioned him at length regarding his views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the philosophy behind WikiLeaks.

Demand to See a Lawyer

Appelbaum, bless him, refused to answer any of their questions. In my view, it’s blatantly unconstitutional for US Customs to behave like thought police and interrogate US citizens regarding their political beliefs. Moreover it sets an extremely dangerous precedent that will only further erode Americans’ civil liberties unless systematically challenged. With the steady erosion over the last decade of the Bill of Rights, it’s extremely important for all Americans to refuse to cooperate with customs officials who question them about their personal beliefs. Although it may lead to the inconvenience of missed flights and delayed travel plans, there is something far more important at stake.

American travelers also need to challenge statements by US Customs officers about not having a right to an attorney unless the police, FBI or CIA become involved in the questioning. This is untrue. The Constitution guarantees us an absolute right to legal representation in all government interrogations where there is a potential of your answers being used against you in a subsequent legal proceeding. If you are a US citizen returning from overseas and a customs official tries to question you about your political beliefs and/or activities, you should refuse to answer until a lawyer summoned to advise you.

Leave the Laptop at Home

Americans also need to be aware they face the risk of US Customs seizing their laptops, cell phones and Blackberries (Appelbaum had three cellphones confiscated). In fact, I would strongly recommend that you not carry any data through customs – on your laptop, cellphone or Blackberry – that you can’t afford to lose. I think it makes a lot more sense to leave your laptop at home, upload your data electronically to a “cloud” or comparable data storage service and borrow someone else’s computer to download it when you reach your destination.

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The Most Revolutionary Act on radio:

Gorilla Radio – Chris Cook, Victoria British Columbia

(click on link)

Chris and I discuss how I was first targeted, following my decision to support the occupation (of an abandoned school)  that led to the formation of Seattle’s first African American Heritage Museum – as an alternative to the crack cocaine epidemic among the city’s African American teenagers. We also talk about my research into HIV AIDS, my hospitalization and the Veterans Administration psychologist I worked with who also helped GIs illegally stationed in Cambodia in the sixties and seventies (and terrorized into keeping quiet about it).

XZone Interview with Rob McConnell

(click on link  – show is syndicated – fast forward the music to hear interview)

Rob and I discuss the phone harassment, break-ins, attempts to run me down – and my psychiatric hospitalization. We also talk about the political activities that seemed to lead the government to target me – including my research into HIV AIDS – and my inability to get help from the Seattle police. Then we cover the whole area of conspiracies in general, which are more accurately called State Crimes Against Democracy (SCADS)

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