FBI admits to spying on Burning Man

Internal documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were provided to investigative journalist Inkoo Kang in February 2013, but were just made public as the 29th annual festival got under way. Some 70,000 people were expected in attendance at Black Rock City, a temporary camp in the remote desert of Nevada.

An August 19, 2010 memo from the FBI to all field offices says the Bureau would work with the local authorities to “aid in the prevention of terrorist activities and intelligence collection.” Another memo, a week later, says the Bureau was contacted by a security company hired by Burning Man to do a threat assessment. The FBI said it had “no intelligence indicating any outside threats, domestic or international,” to the event.

FBI admits to spying on Burning Man

This single report is from 2010 but you can bet your ass there are agents there each ad every year, and not just from the FBI but I would expect to see folks from ATF,ICE, Homeland and even as they go on to say in the story, BLM.
Who in 2010,

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued almost 300 citations and arrested 8 people at the 2010 event, attended by more than 50,000 ‘Burners’.

Obviously a bunch of naked stoners partying out in the desert is the perfect place to look for "Terrorist activities and intelligence collection.”

Hey wait, if these agents are naked too, where do they keep their badges?

originally posted by: DavDave
Hey wait, if these agents are naked too, where do they keep their badges?

You don't wanna know.
Trust me.
You really don't wanna know.

a reply to: DavDave

Never been there, but understand FBI's need to squash any actual remaining freedom, let alone fun…

a reply to: DavDave

You forgot to mention the DEA, though that one should be intuitively obvious to anyone who knows about the Burning Man festival.

Their(ABCs domestic spying campaign) tentacles go far greater than this. I pretty much assume that any activist group or festival has at the very least trained informants who keep tabs on what is going on, who is there, and so on.

With the current reluctance to deport illegal immigrants, I can't imagine how ICE still gets any funding at all.

Illegal immigrants go on TV and say they're illegal immigrants, and still don't get deported.

Illegal immigrants apply to college as illegal immigrants, and don't get deported.

Illegal immigrants go to JAIL as illegal immigrants, and get released on bail, without being deported

Illegal immigrants get driver's licenses in many states, and don't get deported

Illegal immigrants get food stamps, welfare, and social services, and don't get deported.

And the United States wonders why it has an illegal immigrant problem.

a reply to: intrptr

Dude.

If you've never seen an undercover Federal Agent let loose and get jiggy with it, you haven't seen anything yet. It's interesting watching the slow, awkward yet genuine attempts at freewheeling gyrations and "getting down". It's adorable. I would highly recommend the experience. It's an amazingly interesting cultural display....especially when they're trying to impress the ladies.

If they can spy on Burning Man, they should be able to spare a couple of agents for Bohemian Grove.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

I remember 60's Network Television trying to appear "hip". That too, was laughable.

They were trying to infiltrate the mass mind with their "adorable" misrepresentations.

Unless they're hiring informants, the "undercover" people would be painfully obvious to spot by anyone who knows the BM subculture.

a reply to: intrptr

At the end of the day we're all human trying to make things work in this crazy world.

Seriously.
Why keep spreading hate intolerance and mistrust of other people?

It's not a "mass mind" I want to live in thanks.

I know it's all hip and cool and the down thing to point fingers and reduce all these folks to little more than uniformed terminators, but come on man.....for real? You've never ONCE met someone "workin' for the man" who couldn't smile or laugh?

Who's attempting to brainwash who here?

You can keep your "Us vs The Agents" ideology if you want....been there, done that....lucky I'm not in that soup anymore because I'm telling you....that whole "Us versus The Man" campfire singalong has some serious issues.

Too much hate and paranoia for my tastes, thank you kindly.

Too much hate and paranoia for my tastes, thank you kindly.

Thank you kindly, the Fed is way over extended these days, reaching into every corner of people lives, their privacy and the world, for that matter.


Until that changes, you enjoy the adorable distopia, I'll prefer to rage against the machine.

Can it really be called spying at a public outdoor event?

Is aa federal agents testimony Acceptable if hea was trippin balls?

OP says they were there for a threat assessment, hired by BM's own security contractor. They probably enjoyed themselves immensely.

originally posted by: VictorVonDoom
If they can spy on Burning Man, they should be able to spare a couple of agents for Bohemian Grove.

They are the security at Bohemian Grove, well at least for the ex-presidents who are in attendance.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

If it is not us vs the agents, who are we against? Reptilians?

I find your comment unclear, we must be fighting against someone?

Or is it just Us all together, or all of it just "is"? No need to be paranoid, just informed as to who is your "enemy".

a reply to: Bluntone22

Yes it can.

You can spy on someone in central park? Or in a public bathroom?

originally posted by: GENERAL EYES
You've never ONCE met someone "workin' for the man" who couldn't smile or laugh?

Who's attempting to brainwash who here?

What alarms me is said person 'workin for the man' can smile, joke, and laugh with someone then turn around and arrest said person for a plethora of questionable reasons. (however at BM its likely a drug offense)

I understand to need to keep the peace and believe in No H8, however it is not the citizen who makes it an Us vs Them dilemma.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Can it really be called spying at a public outdoor event?

nope...so why all this chatter....look, anytime a gathering is large, open to the public, and a little controversial, you should expect some type of LEO might be there observing.....

originally posted by: CcaptainObvious
a reply to: Bluntone22

Yes it can.

You can spy on someone in central park? Or in a public bathroom?

Standing in central park would be called observing since you have no expectations of privacy in a public park.
Inside a bathroom is obviously a different situation.