Report: NYPD Infiltrated College Campuses

Investigators with the New York Police Department have been infiltrating Muslim groups at Brooklyn College and other city colleges as part of a broader intelligence-gathering effort to place the Muslim community under greater scrutiny, reports the Associated Press.

Here's an excerpt from the report:

In their surveillance, undercover officers from the department's Special Services Unit attended events organized by Muslim students, the official said, as did members of the NYPD's Demographics Unit, a secret squad that used plainclothes officers of Arab descent to monitor neighborhoods and events.

The NYPD's Cyber Intelligence Unit used speakers of Arabic, Persian and other languages to monitor the websites of Muslim student organizations. They trolled chat rooms and talked to students online, the official said.

In addition, police were interested in guest speakers and any signs of Salafism, a strain of fundamentalist Islam. Groups Brooklyn College hosted "regular Salafi speakers" and the one at City College had a "Salafi website," according to documents obtained by the AP.

The documents show police also were worried about "militant paintball trips" organized by Muslim students at Brooklyn College.

Source: Associated Press via NPR