In the early 2000’s, the New York City Police Department paid civilians and officers to spy and report on the city’s Muslim residents.
So-called “rakers” and “mosque crawlers” infiltrated charity groups and student organizations, took pictures of people entering mosques, monitored sermons, recorded license plate and phone numbers, and chatted with Muslims at hookah bars.
Spies were paid to bait Muslims into making inflammatory comments. In one case, the NYPD even sent a spy on a whitewater rafting trip with students from The City College of New York.
The program was exposed in 2011 and shut down in 2014 after failing to identify a single criminal.
“The harms of suspiciousness surveillance of Muslims really ripped apart a core fabric of life for Muslim New Yorkers and a younger generation that grew up being treated as suspects by the very people who were supposed to protect them,” explains ACLU representative Hina Shamsi.
The surveillance operation was overseen by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who described the program as something he “expected” the police to do.
This is the same person who implemented “stop and frisk,” imposed regulations on trans fats, tried to ban large-size sodas, and prohibited the donation of bagels and other foods to the homeless due to salt and fat content.
Bloomberg conveniently apologized for the “stop and frisk” policy days before announcing his candidacy, but has failed to apologize for the Muslim surveillance program.
Based on his decisions as NYC Mayor, voters fear what sort of policies Bloomberg would push for if elected president.
“By inheriting a national striation of surveillance, someone like Bloomberg, who has a record of targeting minorities with these policies on a local level, would most definitely do so on a national level,” says Asad Dandia, a Muslim American who was spied on in New York City when she was 19 years old.
“I just don’t know how we could have the trust in him,” adds Moiz Mohammed, who was a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey when the surveillance program was exposed. “What is he going to do when he’s president and has much more authority and resources at his disposal?”
Author’s Note:
Not only are these policies a violation of the First and Fourth amendments, but they suggest a disrespect for human freedoms and a narcissistic streak that makes Bloomberg believe he is smarter than everyone else. Do we really want that sort of person leading the country?
Editor’s Note: This is in addition to the un-Constitutional “Stop-and-Frisk” and (holy moly!) the New Yorker’s inability to buy a large soda. Bloomberg believes that his decisions are superior and must be applied to all, even when his decisions fly in the face of our Constitutional freedoms.
I get the feeling that the Democrats will soon realize this man does not suit their narratives.