JBLM Calls Pro-Palestinian Protestors in Seattle "Homegrown Violent Extremists"

On Saturday, January 6th, 2024, Pro-Palestinian protestors calling for a cease-fire and an end to the genocide in Gaza blocked traffic on northbound I-5 between I-90 and SR-520.

Susie Lepow, a spokesperson for the groups protesting said, “we’re here supporting Palestinians as they refuse to die, as they stay resilient facing this genocide which has been ongoing for these 3 months, but has been ongoing for 75 years as well.”

Hossam Nasr, another spokesperson said, "the message is that there shall be no ‘business as usual’ while there's a genocide happening. The genocide in Gaza is now entering its fourth month and we are funding it with our tax money. We’re not just bystanders. We are not just watching it happen. We are funding it with our money. So, we’re here to send a message that we’re not going to let this happen in our name and our tax dollars."

On Monday, January 8th, 2024, Dan Vessels, the Chief of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Protection Division briefed that the protesters opposing US support of Israel and the genocide in Gaza are homegrown violent extremists and pose a "domestic terrorist threat". Vessels stated that the Protection Division at JBLM would work with its "law enforcemnt partners" to identify and monitor pro-Palestinian protestors in Washington, Oregon, and California, and that more information about this threat would be included in his daily anti-terrorism protection bulletin. Protester identification and information about their "activities, families, and associates" will be entered into the JARVISS database, as well as being reported in eGuardian for follow-up by the FBI's JTTF.

The JBLM DES Protection Division has a long history of labeling anti-war activists as domestic terrorists, infilitrating these groups, and targeting anyone who speaks out against military actions or government policies. In her book, "Spying on Democracy: Government Surveillance, Corporate Power and Public Resistance" (2013), Heidi Boghosian, the former director of the National Lawyers’ Guild, wrote about the Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Protection Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA saying: "In the words of the government agencies involved, they aimed to neutralize PMR [Port Militarization Resistance, an activist group that opposed the war in Iraq] through a pattern of false arrests and detentions, attacks on homes and friendships, and attempting to impede members from peacefully assembling and demonstrating anywhere, at any time. Harassment was systematic and pervasive…"

*** Pro-Palestinian protestors calling for a cease-fire and an end to the genocide in Gaza can expect this same type of surveillance, monitoring, and harassment from the JBLM DES Protection Division.***

Contact information for the JBLM DES Protection Division Chief is:

Dan Vessels
Protection Division Chief
Directorate of Emergency Services (DES)
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
Building 2007 Room A108
Office: 253-966-7319 [DSN 347-7319]
Cell: 253-278-3121

Contact the JBLM Commander, COL Kent Park, through the installation's ICE Comment system https://ice.disa.mil/index.cfm?fa=card&sp=121425&s=957&dep=*DoD&sc=1 and demand an end to the illegal surveillance activities of the JBLM DES Protection Division and that JBLM stops monitoring and harassing people who exercise their First Amendment Rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has previously commented on the military’s abuse of power and illegal spying on American citizens, saying: “There is simply no reason why the United States military should be monitoring the peaceful activities of American citizens who oppose U.S. war policies... When information about non-violent protest activity is included in a military anti-terrorism database, all Americans should be concerned about the unchecked authority this administration has seized in the name of fighting terrorism... Spying on citizens for merely executing their constitutional rights of free speech and peaceful assembly is chilling and marks a troubling trend... It is an abuse of power and an abuse of trust for the military to play any role in monitoring critics of administration policies.”