FBI's investigation of anti-war activists sparks protests

FBI allegedly caught using GPS to spy on student By Kim Zetter, Wired
October 8, 2010 12:09 p.m. EDT | Filed under: Gaming & Gadgets


An FBI spokesman wouldn't acknowledge that the GPS tracking device belonged to the agency.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A California student found a GPS tracker on his car, which he says belongs to the FBI

A friend of the student posted pictures of the device to the social news website Reddit

The student says he was confronted by FBI agents, who asked him to return the gizmo

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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Police
Reddit.com
(Wired) -- A California student got a visit from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online.

The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism investigation and what the authorities would do.

It took just 48 hours to find out: The device was real, the student was being secretly tracked and the FBI wanted their expensive device back, the student told Wired.com in an interview Wednesday.

The answer came when half-a-dozen FBI agents and police officers appeared at Yasir Afifi's apartment complex in Santa Clara, California, on Tuesday demanding he return the device.

Afifi, a 20-year-old U.S.-born citizen, cooperated willingly and said he'd done nothing to merit attention from authorities. Comments the agents made during their visit suggested he'd been under FBI surveillance for three to six months.

An FBI spokesman wouldn't acknowledge that the device belonged to the agency or that agents appeared at Afifi's house.

"I can't really tell you much about it, because it's still an ongoing investigation," said spokesman Pete Lee, who works in the agency's San Francisco headquarters.

Afifi, the son of an Islamic-American community leader who died a year ago in Egypt, is one of only a few people known to have found a government-tracking device on their vehicle.

His discovery comes in the wake of a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying it's legal for law enforcement to secretly place a tracking device on a suspect's car without getting a warrant, even if the car is parked in a private driveway.

Brian Alseth from the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state contacted Afifi after seeing pictures of the tracking device posted online and told him the ACLU had been waiting for a case like this to challenge the ruling.

"This is the kind of thing we like to throw lawyers at," Afifi said Alseth told him.

"It seems very frightening that the FBI have placed a surveillance-tracking device on the car of a 20-year-old American citizen who has done nothing more than being half-Egyptian," Alseth told Wired.com

Afifi, a business marketing student at Mission College in Santa Clara, discovered the device last Sunday when he took his car to a local garage for an oil change. When a mechanic at Ali's Auto Care raised his Ford Lincoln LS on hydraulic lifts, Afifi saw a wire sticking out near the right rear wheel and exhaust.

Garage owner Mazher Khan confirmed for Wired.com that he also saw it. A closer inspection showed it connected to a battery pack and transmitter, which were attached to the car with a magnet. Khan asked Afifi if he wanted the device removed and when Afifi said yes, Khan pulled it easily from the car's chassis.

"I wouldn't have noticed it if there wasn't a wire sticking out," Afifi said.

Later that day, a friend of Afifi's named Khaled posted pictures of the device at Reddit asking if anyone knew what it was and if it mean the FBI "is after us." (Reddit is owned by CondeNast Digital, which also owns Wired.com).

"My plan was to just put the device on another car or in a lake," Khaled wrote, "but when you come home to 2 stoned off their asses people who are hearing things in the device and convinced its a bomb you just gotta be sure."

A reader quickly identified it as an Orion Guardian ST820 tracking device made by an electronics company called Cobham, which sells the device only to law enforcement.

No one was available at Cobham to answer Wired.com's questions, but a former FBI agent who looked at the pictures confirmed it was a tracking device.

The former agent, who asked not to be named, said the device was an older model of tracking equipment that had long ago been replaced by devices that don't require batteries. Batteries die and need to be replaced if surveillance is ongoing so newer devices are placed in the engine compartment and hardwired to the car's battery so they don't run out of juice. He was surprised this one was so easily found.

"It has to be able to be removed but also stay in place and not be seen," he said. "There's always the possibility that the car will end up at a body shop or auto mechanic, so it has to be hidden well. It's very rare when the guys find them."

He said he was certain that agents who installed it would have obtained a 30-day warrant for its use.

Afifi considered selling the device on Craigslist before the FBI showed up. He was in his apartment Tuesday afternoon when a roommate told him "two sneaky-looking people" were near his car.

Afifi, already heading out for an appointment, encountered a man and woman looking his vehicle outside. The man asked if Afifi knew his registration tag was expired. When Afifi asked if it bothered him, the man just smiled.

Afifi got into his car and headed for the parking lot exit when two SUVs pulled up with flashing lights carrying four police officers in bullet-proof vests.

The agent who initially spoke with Afifi identified himself then as Vincent and told Afifi, "We're here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It's federal property. It's an expensive piece, and we need it right now."

Afifi asked, "Are you the guys that put it there?" and the agent replied, "Yeah, I put it there." He told Afifi, "We're going to make this much more difficult for you if you don't cooperate."

Afifi retrieved the device from his apartment and handed it over, at which point the agents asked a series of questions -- did he know anyone who traveled to Yemen or was affiliated with overseas training? One of the agents produced a printout of a blog post that Afifi's friend Khaled allegedly wrote a couple of months ago. It had "something to do with a mall or a bomb," Afifi said. He hadn't seen it before and doesn't know the details of what it said. He found it hard to believe Khaled meant anything threatening by the post.

"He's a smart kid and is not affiliated with anything extreme and never says anything stupid like that," Afifi said. "I've known that guy my whole life. "

The agents told Afifi they had other agents outside Khaled's house.

"If you want us to call them off and not talk to him we can do that," Afifi said they told him. "That was weird. ... I didn't really believe anything they were saying."

When he later asked Khaled about the post, his friend recalled "writing something stupid," but said he wasn't involved in any wrongdoing. Khaled declined to discuss the issue with Wired.com.

The female agent, who handed Afifi a card, identified herself as Jennifer Kanaan and said she was Lebanese. She spoke some Arabic to Afifi and through the course of her comments indicated she knew what restaurants he and his girlfriend frequented. She also congratulated him on his new job. Afifi got laid off from his job a couple of days ago, but on the same day was hired as an international sales manager of laptops and computers for Cal Micro in San Jose.

The agents also knew he was planning a short business trip to Dubai in a few weeks. Afifi said he often travels for business and has two teenage brothers in Egypt whom he supports financially. They live with an aunt. His U.S.-born mother, who divorced his father five years ago, lives in Arizona.

Afifi's father, Aladdin Afifi, was a U.S. citizen and former president of the Muslim Community Association here, before his family moved to Egypt in 2003. Yasir Afifi returned to the U.S. alone in 2008, while his father and brothers stayed in Egypt, to further his education he said. He knows he's on a federal watchlist and is regularly taken aside at airports for secondary screening.

Six months ago, a former roommate of his was visited by FBI agents who said they wanted to speak with Afifi. Afifi contacted one agent and was told the agency received an anonymous tip from someone saying he might be a threat to national security. Afifi told the agent he was willing to answer questions if his lawyer approved. But after Afifi's lawyer contacted the agency, he never heard from the feds again until he found their tracking device.

"I don't think they were surprised that I found it," he told Threat Level. "I'm sure they knew when I found it. ... One of the first questions they asked me was if I was at a mechanics shop last Sunday. I said yes, that's where I found this stupid device under my car."

Afifi's attorney, who works for the civil liberties-focused Council on American Islamic Relations, said this kind of tracking is more egregious than the kind her office usually sees.

"The idea that it escalates to this level is unusual," said Zahra Billoo. "We take about one new case each week relating to FBI or law enforcement visits [to clients]. Generally they come to the individual's house or workplace, and there are issues that arise from that."

However, she said that after learning about Afifi's experience, other lawyers in her organization told her they knew of two people in Ohio who also recently discovered tracking devices on their vehicles.

Afifi's encounter with the FBI ended with the agents telling him not to worry.

"We have all the information we needed," they told him. "You don't need to call your lawyer. Don't worry, you're boring. "

They shook his hand and left.

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Copyright 2010 Wired.com.



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Cali30
Anyone here have a problem with the FBI following people in a car? They've been doing that since they were founded. Now, the reason for following someone hasn't changed, but because a suspected criminal can't hit the gas and lose the car following him it's a violation of a persons rights? There i... more
Anyone here have a problem with the FBI following people in a car? They've been doing that since they were founded. Now, the reason for following someone hasn't changed, but because a suspected criminal can't hit the gas and lose the car following him it's a violation of a persons rights? There is no law that says you can't follow someone. less
3 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Dannon1111 Chances are.... the FBI doesnt put a very, very expensive device on a person's car for no reason at all.
4 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

Cali30 Nor do they do it illegally. You're one of the few people here with a brain.
1 minute ago | Like | Report abuse

butulukh1 As Cindy Sheehan said Obama is getting away with a lot comparing to Bush because the left who usually cry for the civil liberties are giving him free pass since he is not George W. Bush.
4 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Cali30 @KitizenSane - You are the least intelligent person here.
9 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Orge
The ACLU likes to throw lawyers at issues like this. You know, in case the FBI actually finds a real terrorist and would like to keep track of them. Nope the ACLU is content with cutting off law enforcements balls so that thousands of Americans can be killed again. Thanks alot guys for looking ou... more
The ACLU likes to throw lawyers at issues like this. You know, in case the FBI actually finds a real terrorist and would like to keep track of them. Nope the ACLU is content with cutting off law enforcements balls so that thousands of Americans can be killed again.

Thanks alot guys for looking out for our rights. Maybe the Terrorist can target some of your family, you know because you want to protect their rights so much. less
9 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
Cali30
The FBI would watch and follow suspected Mobsters (and still does). All Mobsters are Italian so the FBI suspects Italians over other races. So where has the outcry of injustice been since the Mob's existence? People are blowing this out of proportion. Whether you track someones movements by GPS, ... more
The FBI would watch and follow suspected Mobsters (and still does). All Mobsters are Italian so the FBI suspects Italians over other races. So where has the outcry of injustice been since the Mob's existence? People are blowing this out of proportion. Whether you track someones movements by GPS, Helicopter, or Car it's the same thing for the same reason. The fact is the FBI watches people suspected of committing crimes. They do it under the rules of the law to protect the innocent. Calm down. less
12 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
hungrypirate I would have done what I would do with anything I didn't want in or on my car: put it in my trash can. And when the garbage truck picks up my trash, the FBI could then follow it right to the landfill (oh, is that what I smell?).
12 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
neoneocon The device had wires sticking out from it? Come on, FBI, get it together. Harold and Kumar just outwitted you.
13 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
Admonition Maybe the FBI wanted the guy to think the FBI is just uh bunch of primates or sumthin!. DUH
19 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
J1982
Big Brother is watching. Ah yes, Don't we all feel much safer with the Patriot Act, NSA Wiretapping, Illegal Searches, Snooping in on our lives, and now Obama's Attempt to outlaw Encryption. Because 3000 people died in 9/11 but 90,000 Have been Murdered by Guns since then. Gee, Fear Mongering Much... more
Big Brother is watching. Ah yes, Don't we all feel much safer with the Patriot Act, NSA Wiretapping, Illegal Searches, Snooping in on our lives, and now Obama's Attempt to outlaw Encryption. Because 3000 people died in 9/11 but 90,000 Have been Murdered by Guns since then. Gee, Fear Mongering Much? Don't hear the right tout that one. less
23 minutes ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
confungry
The US is supposed to be a free country. Compared to others it seems to be a lot more free. But, I don't like comparing to less free areas of the world. This country's level of freedom should only be judged by our founding documents. We have lost much due to political agendas, power hungry people/gr... more
The US is supposed to be a free country. Compared to others it seems to be a lot more free. But, I don't like comparing to less free areas of the world. This country's level of freedom should only be judged by our founding documents. We have lost much due to political agendas, power hungry people/groups, terrorists and citizens who really don't care to be respnosible for their own lives.
The terrorists did win some of what they were after. We are less free and have given that freedom over in the name of security. And, although there are many reasons for our economic situation, terrorism took its toll.
So, with the new powers of HLS what else is being done with info gathered without the knowledge of the targets and with all the secrecy written into the Patriot Act and out of the constitution? less
25 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse
baruchzed Do you feel safe knowing that the gestapo is watching?
29 minutes ago | Like (4) | Report abuse

KitizenSane But they keep us safe! Just like they did the Germans! Who cares if we ignore the basis of our Country's founding?
18 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

dinak The concerned media have a cow when under the Patriot Act terrorists' phone calls are monitored, but put a tracking device on a car - no problem! Where's all the howling over this? Where's the night/day news coverage? Oh yeah, Obama is President so we won't pursue it. That would be racist of us.
29 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse

maybeben If they had some evidence actually linking him to a terror group, that's one thing. But it sounds like all they had was that he was suspected of being an middle-easterner who - gasp - travels to the middle east.
20 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
Vested The media isn't addressing this?? You're responding to a media report on it. Are you that much of an imbecile? Jeez.
21 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
Cali30 It's the issue of monitoring all citizens phone conversations, opposed to following a person suspected of being or associating with terrorists. BIG difference you are ignoring
23 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse

Jimthedo These guys live with stoners.
37 minutes ago | Like | Report abuse

laxtheworld and that has to with what?
36 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse

BethesdaBK
Are all you respondents the same people that were screaming from the mountaintop about warrantless cell phone monitoring of out of country calls when Bush was president but now it's ok to: track US citizens within the US borders, tap emails, shut down the internet? To that I say you can all go fvck ... more
Are all you respondents the same people that were screaming from the mountaintop about warrantless cell phone monitoring of out of country calls when Bush was president but now it's ok to: track US citizens within the US borders, tap emails, shut down the internet? To that I say you can all go fvck yourselves. less
38 minutes ago | Like (3) | Report abuse

Ronno I think the key word here is "warrantless." These agents certainly had a warrant (or they never would have shown their faces afterwards!).

Does that mean I have to go "fvck" myself now? I'm really not in the mood.
32 minutes ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
Smoothe
No such Agency has been tracking people for along time......Yes there is a file with your name on it......If you have ever used the phone system and uttered the word bomb or some other word they filter for, they flagged it and have started a file on you.........This has been going on for 30 plus yea... more
No such Agency has been tracking people for along time......Yes there is a file with your name on it......If you have ever used the phone system and uttered the word bomb or some other word they filter for, they flagged it and have started a file on you.........This has been going on for 30 plus years...Where have you been? BTW typing BOMB and hitting post will flag me yet again..........the price I pay to educate you! less
33 minutes ago | Like (1) | Report abuse

nightowl79 The Feds are incompetent and apparently bigots as well.
42 minutes ago | Like (5) | Report abuse
jaxi
boy these agents are arrogant as Heck! Dispicible their 'professional demeanor'. They went way far out of line in questioning him - especially the threat of 'we can make this more difficult for you if you don't cooperate' - when they had absolutely no crime committed or even charges against the guy.... more
boy these agents are arrogant as Heck! Dispicible their 'professional demeanor'.

They went way far out of line in questioning him - especially the threat of 'we can make this more difficult for you if you don't cooperate' - when they had absolutely no crime committed or even charges against the guy.

If I was Affi - I'd sue the butts off the FBI - they clearly think they can do whatever they want and say whatever they want and get away with it.

Telling him they knew everywhere he was or what was going on in his life was them throwing a power threat over this guy. They were trying to impose fear into him.

The only thing 'concerning they had' was the printed out blog post. That wasn't even written by him -it was written by Khaled - so if anything, they should have been GPS'ing or talking with Khaled, not Affi!! They don't even know the right person to follow? How pathetic are they? I'd like to watch the FBI crumble on this one. I am all for the FBI - except when they do powertrip things like these - someone needs to put them in their place every now and again too! Shame on them.

They need to remember, one day they won't be agents and ALL this stuff will come back to bite them and ya know the rule, 10fold - and they won't have the cushy title or gov't as their backing anymore. Would love to be around to watch them squirm then.

My message to Affi: Affi - fight this - and fight this hard! You have all the rights -you are a US Citizen and just because your father was a part of some community - doesn't mean you are about anything extreme. Do NOT let these 'authorities' intimidate you.

The same thing we dont' want our officers doing in AZ with immigration - racial profiling - is the exact same thing that is happening right now with the FBI. I thought they had more intelligence to source from than this pathetically weak and obviously unreliable method of identifying potential terrorists. Or maybe these specific FBI guys/gals aren't smart enough to read that intelligence - they can't even seem to put a GPS tracking device on someone's car correctly. Where did they get their training -Disneyland? less
43 minutes ago | Like (4) | Report abuse Load next 25 | View all comments

BILL, U did not comment on my answer to u:







David

ERRATUM:


THIS SHOUD HAVE SAID:
How about a musical march down Broadway
with swastikas flown high by The German-American Bund on Dec. 12, 1941??
(the day after Hitler declared war on America in 1941, after we declared war on the Japs).

I apologize for the confusion.
(On the date that I wrote in error, the Germans had already surrendered 6 months b4; sorry.)





David

Investigation is being done when you want to know something. It makes me just disappointed hearing one of the news when the authority arrested one of the said criminal without having an investigation . I hope that they must also have an investigation first.

WELCOME TO THE FORUM, Kaitlyn!
It is not a rule of law that there must be an investigation b4 an arrest is made,
tho depending on the circumstances, a judicial arrest warrant may be necessary
(e.g., if the arresting officer has not witnessed a violation of criminal law).

As to CONFINEMENT, the results of an arrest r only confinement until an arraignment,
when the court decides whether to release the prisoner n on what terms.
There r remedies at law (both civil n criminal) for false arrest.

I notice that your screename appears to be feminine,
whereas your avatar is male; which ?





David