To be sure,
nothing in the memo authorizes the federal government to take any coercive action against protestors in Portland—or anywhere else, for that matter. But the animating premise of the memo is that
the threat to monuments and statues is a homeland security threat warranting intelligence analysis and collection by federal officials. To us, that premise is in equal parts unpersuasive and alarming. It is unpersuasive because
it should be obvious that vandalism and other damage to monuments, even federal monuments, does not threaten the security of the homeland to any greater extent than most property crimes. We are unaware of prior memoranda that treat offenses against property as the basis for a homeland security investigation—even when the property at issue is federal property.
The premise is alarming because
it uses the cover of minor property damage, whether to federal property or otherwise, to justify intelligence gathering against ordinary Americans—most of whom have nothing to do with the underlying property damage, and many of whom are engaged in the most American of activities: peacefully protesting their government.
Of course, if there are groups plotting more serious violence, we wouldn’t dispute for a second that such plotting is appropriately within the purview of I&A and other federal intelligence components—or that existing authorities allow the federal government to act aggressively to preempt and deter such criminal conduct.
But we do not accept that graffiti and vandalism are remotely comparable threats to the homeland—or that they justify this kind of federal response even if, in the right circumstances, such activity would technically constitute a federal crime. A memo like this leaves the unfortunate impression that, once again, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security are using disagreements over monuments as an opportunity to send a much larger message—in this case, that the current administration sees dissent itself as a threat to homeland security.