Some might feign bravery in the face of a group as fierce and cutthroat as the Quakers, but not the U.S. Department of Defense. Instead, according to documents obtained by the ACLU, Homeland Security kept a close watch on not only the activities but also the e-mails sent and received by the Quakers and other peace and anti-war groups working to ruin America’s healthy bloodlust.

Procured through a suit filed by the ACLU under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, the documents show that Homeland Security has logged Quaker and other peace group e-mails as part of their ongoing struggles against protest. Information was then disseminated to local law agencies, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and the Threat and Local Observation Notice program as an alert to “potential terrorist activity.” One such notice warned of a Quaker-run “Stop the war NOW!” rally, at which the civilly disobedient planned to “have a reading of names of the U.S. and Iraqi war dead.”

» Scott Saxon