All right, the Manhattan Libertarian Party made the big time! We were officially one of the suspicious groups that the NYPD was keeping an eye on prior to the 2004 Republican Convention, thanks to our subversive Unauthorized Protest. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered the police department to declassify its secret surveillance reports. The obvious lefty groups were in there, of course. But the New York Times is surprised at who else Big Brother was looking at:
And the concern was not just over left-wing groups. In a June 30, 2004 digest, the police noted plans by a group calling itself the Manhattan Libertarian Party to protest the convention without a permit. “The group contends that the First Amendment guarantees the right to peaceful assembly,” an officer wrote, noting the obvious.
I wonder what the NYPD would contend the First Amendment says. On second thought, maybe I don’t want to know.
But at least we made it easy for the cops to watch us:
UPDATE: Here’s a snapshot of the actual surveillance report: