PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Civil Liberties Union says it’s investigating a state center set up after the 9/11 attacks to bring together the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies.
Executive Director Shenna Bellows says she’s worried that the fine line between law enforcement and intelligence gathering is being crossed at Maine’s fusion center, which is called the Maine Information Analysis Center.
Bellows says abuses have been reported in other states because of the agency’s broad mandates. For example, she says a plainclothes detective allegedly took photographs of participants during a peaceful demonstration at Harvard University.