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Last Thursday, the Massachusetts State Police shared the extent of a gas emergency that was spreading across the Merrimack Valley. The seemingly informational post unveiled surveillance targeting Black activists.

Browser tabs displayed the Facebook pages names of notable Black activist groups in the Boston area WBUR reported.

In a released statement by Massachusetts stated, “We, obviously, need to know if large numbers of people, for whatever reason, are going to be on public roadways or public spaces, so that we may ensure the safety and rights of those who have gathered as well as of the members of the public around them.”

Among the Facebook pages bookmarked included Mass. Action Against Police Brutality (MAAPB), Coalition to Organize and Mobilize Boston Against Trump (COMBAT), Resistance Calendar and other activist organizations were also bookmarked.

Kade Crockford director of the Technology for Liberty program at the Massachusetts branch of the ACLU told WBUR “I wasn’t surprised — but I was appalled.” Crockford added, “American law enforcement has, for a very long time, targeted dissidents. A lot of people like to believe those tactics ended. But that’s not true — and actually, after 9/11, they’ve seen a substantial resurgence.”

The state police statement denies any bias stating, “We do not collect information about — nor, frankly, do we care about — any group’s beliefs or opinions.” It called this kind of monitoring “a common – and common-sense – function of any police department.”

The original Tweet by State Police has been deleted.

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