SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) — The Urban League of Portland and several other groups are calling for immediate action in response to the Oregon Department of Justice’s alleged use of digital surveillance on Oregonians who used the hashtag Black Lives Matter on social media.
In a letter to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Urban League of Portland President Nkenge Harmon Johnson recounted a recent meeting where it was revealed the ODJ’s Criminal Justice Division used software to conduct threat assessments through Twitter feed searches.
“We do not know how many Oregonians were investigated by the Department of Justice,” the letter states. “We do know, however, that [Director of Civil Rights for Oregon Department of Justice, Erious Johnson,] was one of them.”
Several civil rights leaders in Oregon signed the letter which called for an immediate end to the surveillance and an independent audit of those who authorized the threat assessment practice.
“It is improper, and potentially unlawful, for the Oregon Department of Justice to conduct surveillance and investigations on an Oregonian merely for expressing a viewpoint, or for being a part of a social movement,” the letter states.
It goes on to say, “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 the issues of our time.”
ACLU leaders are speaking out in response to the letter, calling for a full disclosure of the “racially-based surveillance”.
Attorney General Rosenblum says she has seen how devastating profiling can be, and welcomes future discussions on how to resolve the issue. She provided 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.”
Filed under: Multnomah County, Oregon, Politics
