FBI Does Not Spy on Mosques says Grant by Kiran Ansari
To answer questions from the Muslim community, the Council of Islamic Organizations of  Greater Chicago invited Robert Grant, Special Agent in charge of the Chicago office to the House of Representatives meeting at the Mosque Foundation on May 16.
"The FBI unequivocally does not plant informants in mosques or any other houses of worship," said Grant. "But we follow bad people wherever they go if they are breaking the law of the United States, and we are not prohibited from following them to a house of worship."
Grant illustrated how in order to get information on violent gangs, they need to tap into its members or they would have no way to root out the illegal activity.
He said he could not comment on the California trial where an alleged informant testified that he was sent to a mosque to spy but he assured the audience that in his four years in Chicago, the FBI has never spied on a mosque.
On the issue of disengagement with CAIR-National, Grant said they were still waiting for CAIR to explain some evidence presented in court. He said he mantains a relationship with CAIR-Chicago office and will work with them on civil rights issues.
Dr. Talal Sunbulli and Dr. Seema Imam both questioned whether the FBI respects civil rights when it knocks on people's doors in the middle of the night or arrives at a physician's office unannounced. Grant said that if an FBI agent has acted in an inappropriate manner, the public should not hesitate in reporting this to him. |