FBI admits to spying on Burning Man

The FBI and CIA have been infiltrating and spying on counterculture groups and soirees (and supplying some of them with good drugs, incidentally) since the 60s and probably before then. In the 60s it was for purposes of ferreting out those most evil of evils, the socialists, Marxists, and revolutionaries in our midst (hippies and unionists.)

Who knows what it is today.

Peace

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: DavDave

They are in everything. Its not exactly news. AA meetings, christian prayer groups, sci fi conventions, all of it

We have to learn to function in a martial way. Live with the surveilance and become smarter. As we are, full of BS, we will go crazy over this stuff. Lose your shame and lose your fear. Let them see, just dig deeper and find a deeper you. Another layer for yourself.

Keep going deeper until you are alone.

Worth repeating. That is excellent advice.

I really can't add anything to that.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Exactly, the hippy crowd has all sorts of tricks to get them to these big name hippy festivals. Many work the festivals picking up trash or working the vending (free tickets). Burning Man is full of artsy people, so many are probably self-employed vendors selling art. Heck, if you have friends, sometimes they'll help you out. I had a friend buy my ticket to a different festival and help fund my whole weekend there (including giving me a ride out there). The community is VERY generous.

Anyone who thinks those things are for rich people exclusively is talking out their ass and has just told everyone that they've never even interacted with the crowds that go to those things.

a reply to: DavDave

Who cares?

People don't actually want liberty anymore. They only want what will make them feel good.

a reply to: ketsuko

Psh. Cops and authority figures have been picking on the hippies and counterculture movement since you were a child. We certainly care and want it stopped, but we've also accepted that it is just part of the life there at this point.

Me, I'm so paranoid of things like this that I can't put a Grateful Dead sticker on my car because I'm afraid I'll get pulled over and profiled on my way to one of these things.

Burning man experience nowadays:

San Fran lawyers trancing out with glow sticks.....

Their wearing of white socks gave them away. All FBI agents wear white socks. Didn't you know that? It was a J.Edgar Hoover thing I think? They have to be really white too! Like bleached white.

a reply to: woodwardjnr

exactly what i thought too.
that is a great movie

"long haired hippy freak hoffman abbie a"

great flick

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: DavDave

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

Yea the elite have bohemian grove, the common man has burning man and it's a #en blast! Us American sure do know how to have a good time, don't let no one tell ya differently! Viva burning man!

Freedom leaning festivals are still watched like hawks, what do you know, still towing the old failed war on drugs! And of course they were testing new spy gear. What better way in a city sized area(one source said the size of San Fran).
For one:

Who or what was provided is a matter of conjecture, but personally, I'd be curious to see how the FBI's cell phone tracking technology would fare up against Black Rock City's notoriously bad cellular reception.

Source
How to cell phone spy without active cell towers 101?

a reply to: DavDave

Blah Blah Blah, spying on burnouts and artists
having fun ? C'mon now, there must have been
a person(s) of interest there.

If not, how about a real point of interest or three :

The Island of Comoros

Western Union

Port Chester , New York

Definitely problems there.

Bridgeport.....and here.

I suppose the DEA are simply trying to catch the occasional big fish. I imagine plenty of loose lips there.

a reply to: CcaptainObvious

Sorry it took me so long to respond.

I personally don't really have an "enemy".
Not even the Reptillians.
I'm really just here to enjoy life and try to have some fun.

Back in the day when I was a traveler myself, I met all sorts of counter-culture sub-groupings and for the most part, we got along fine..no issues at all. But there are some folks out there who have no problem bringing in laced herbals and deadly narcotics just for a fast profit and/or vendetta and preying upon innocent folks who just want to party.

I wouldn't want those types of people and/or substances at Burning Man either.

originally posted by: DavDave

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?

Burning Man is the ultimate music, art, and counter-culture festival in the US. Almost all of my friends have been. I've been to "Burner" satellite parties, which were amazing parties out in the desert of Arizona. But I haven't been to the full event. My biggest US-focused regret.

But yea, the government has to be watching such a giant phenomenon. They've been watching the counter-culture since the 60's.

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

That's my thought. I'm from the UK so I don't know much about Burning Man, but I get the impression it's just a music festival? If so how is it surprising that law enforcement are there? I would think that's something everyone would be aware of. In the same way that police attend sporting events to keep the peace.

Undercover agents would be there to catch drug dealers, but surely everyone is aware of that. Am I missing something? Is burning man not a music festival?

I am a ex federal security officer and would be glad to have the government hire me to spy on burning man as long as they paid my way.

I have not been able to afford to go back to burning man since 2001.

I wonder who they were really spying on silicone valley or Microsoft employees.

By the way they Burn the Man tonight and you can spy on this webcast.
burningman.org...

Has anything every happened? I mean, have they ever done anything?

Have they ever arrested anyone for just being there?

Their name is: "Investigate" - - - I'd be shocked if they weren't there.

Because Hoover Dam is within a hundred miles I've seen this obnoxious moving roadblock several times driving to Vegas which is marked at the beginning with a flare and this big mobile billboard saying ALL CARS SUBJECT TO RANDOM SECURITY SEARCH- Hoover Dam possible future terrorist target! Then it says JUST THIS YEAR OUR FINE SECURITY TEAM HAS SUCCESSFULLY MADE _____ ARRESTS and below in programmable lights it reads POSSIBLE TERRORIST ACTIVITY: 2 ARRESTS....HAZARDOUS MATERIALS:11 ARRESTS....ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: 425 ARRESTS...DRUG POSSESSION: 2789 ARRESTS

It's so funny cuz it's like ohhh how reassuring and patriotic! (If you believe in the existence of Muslim terrorism and that 9-11 was a terrorist attack). People are so kind and overly accommodating when if they'd just open their eyes they'd notice no CIA liaison or NSA uniform or any way they could have gotten there if they WERE there. That's enough for me to wanna ask two different guys there about what the 2 terrorist threats were like or ask how many different hazmat materials made up that 11. Methinks it's obvious somebody accidentally hit the 2 and 11 trying to put 0 since as you drive thru the actual checkpoint there are two sherrif cruisers parked and four huge border patrol SUBs and ensuring Hoover Dam is safe all three times I went thru consisted of "Hey are you all American citizens?" You can't nod or they say "Can I hear you say yes or no?" And, "Any drugs in the car?" Then they waive you through or pull you over. My best friend who moved with me here from Greece has the worst accent still and I said say yea not yes it's easier to hide your accent and these guys won't know the difference. We pulled up and as soon as my friend was greeted and said hello back...well CHell-oh CH meaning a nice hack. I just said well heck you already blew it. So this white kid in border patrol comes up to his window with some paper relating to Mexican passengers and says a barely intelligible boo-way-noss DEE-ass senior...I was cracking up and I said dude were both Greek American dual citizens got my Greek and us drivers license right here I knew his goat herder accent would get us considered for stop and sorry I can't stop laughing. So he confirmed we were US citizens just verbally and asked again do you have drugs and of course my best friend pushes it saying no he wouldn't let me but said to pick some up in Vegas. Thank God he laughed and we DIDNT get searched. Nothing to hide but takes forever, they pull everything out then ask u put it all back saying to hurry they need your spot.

Tangent there oops...anyway they wouldn't nab anyone at burning man but if that obvious drug confiscation scam running in the name of keeping Hoover Dam unbombed is still up and running I'd bet the farm on some characters attracting attention being followed to their cars and a friendly call to the terrorist check with some license plates they might decide are the lucky winners of that random search

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

No need. The director is probably attending.