The Maryland State Police revealed to dozens of activists, including two University of Maryland students, that they had been improperly labeled terrorists in 2005, the Associated Press reports. Included on the list are environmentalists, peace activists, animal rights activists, and some people who never participated in protests in Maryland.
The two Maryland students held various positions in the school's International Socialist Organization, which had held an anti-death-penalty event in March 2005. According to files handed over by the police, that event was attended by an undercover police officer to see if participants were planning violent protests, the student paper, the Diamondback, reports.
The state police turned over files to 53 people the agency says were spied on over a 14-month period in 2005 and 2006. The ACLU says the files the police provided are too heavily redacted and is pushing for legislation to ban such spying in the future.
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