ICE Redefines Detainment For Wikileaks Helper: You're Not Being Detained, You Just Can't Leave

from the our-government-at-work dept

Tue, Apr 12th 2011 8:49am — Mike Masnick

Earlier this year, we wrote about computer security expert, Tor developer and Wikileaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum, who was regularly being detained and intimidated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials each time he (a US citizen) traveled into the country. If you follow Jacob's Twitter feed, you get detailed descriptions each time he flies back into the country of the hassles he has to go through. Every time he's detained and never once given an explanation for why or what is being searched for. He's often lied to and frequently told that it's a "random" search. He certainly knows enough that he wipes all of his electronic equipment before traveling across the border.

In the latest case, upon returning from a conference in Europe by flying into Houston, Appelbaum again asked his detainers why he was being detained, and was once again not given a straight answer. He knows that there's something on the screen that they pull up on their computers, but they refuse to provide him with any info. This time, they even went so far as to redefine detainment, telling him that he wasn't being detained, but that he just couldn't go until they were done with him. Perhaps he should send Homeland Security a copy of a dictionary with the definition of "detained" highlighted.

Of course, this is also the same Jacob Appelbaum whom the US government has been secretly requesting information on from various online service providers, as the US government seeks to make its case against Wikileaks. Is it really so difficult for the US government to be upfront with Appelbaum about why he's being detained? Is it really a matter of national security that they can't say "hey, look, the Justice Department is frantically trying to find something -- anything -- that can be used in a case against Wikileaks, and we're coming up blank, so we're going to search your computer equipment based on nothing, just in case you might have something in there that we can use to prosecute Julian Assange."

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Filed Under: airport, detention, homeland security, ice, jacob appelbaum

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Chris Rhodes (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 8:53am

Police Officers Everywhere Rejoice
I'm not illegally assaulting you, I'm just putting my fist into your face at high velocities.

No need to get all dramatic about it.
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PaulT (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 8:57am

"Is it really a matter of national security that they can't say..."

Maybe they're still under the delusion that people believe the American government's "free country" propaganda and can't admit that rights are violated as much there (if not more) as any other developed nation? I'm sure they can't actually admit to having violated numerous rights of one of its own citizens without some comeback, even if said violations are nakedly obvious.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:00am

BUT...BUT...
BUT...BUT...PIRACY!

Wait - wrong story. Let's try that again.

BUT...BUT...TERRORISM!

There we go.
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lavi d (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:02am

Redefining
DHS - Department of Homeland Stasi
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Chris Rhodes (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:04am

Re: Police Officers Everywhere Rejoice
I asked why I was detained this time and one of the CBP agents said: "You remember 9/11? That's why!"

This it what my country has become. So very sad.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:07am

Papers, please.
Welcome to the Fourth Reich.
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Ima Fish (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:23am

Obligatory Eagles reference: You can checkout any time you like... but you can never leave!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:23am

Re:
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission" - Grace Hopper.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:25am

The terrorists don't need to do anything to destroy our country. We're doing a fine job of it ourselves.
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased) (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:35am

Falling Down quote
"Freedom! I'll give you freedom..."
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coldbrew, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:44am

how did it happen?
How did we let out country get so ff track? How did we let these pretenders get into power positions? How are we going to escape the clutches of these assholes moving forward?

"If you're not outraged, you are not paying attention!"

I'm extra pissy today. These people just put me in a bad mood.
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Nicedoggy, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:44am

Re:
I think Bush put it best.

George W. Bush:

Our enemies are resourceful and innovative, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

Maybe this one video of his bloopers shows it I'm not sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEbZqvMu2cQ
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:50am

Re: Papers, please.
Honestly, this could not be farther from the truth. The more you learn about our dealings with the 3rd world, the nations we are at war with, the foreign slave labor done for our corporations, the domestic slave labor done in our private prisons (in which we cage more people, mostly nonviolent drug offenders, than any other nation), the crazy amount of religious indoctrination at every corner, the privacy violations of innocents, the human rights violations of prisoners, the amount of ignorant nationalism pushed through airwaves, speaking of which, the amount of propaganda pushed through by corporate media is nowhere close to that of state-owned/public channels elsewhere...

What freedom does anyone speak of? Don't tell me I'm free to say what I've just said, I've met locals who've said far less than this and have gotten a hold of over-100 page fbi files detailing surveillance of their homes and guests. Big, Fascist, Corporatist, Militarist Brother is watching you.
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weneedhelp (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:50am

Re: Re:
LOL, but not really:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3B-WI5yJOw
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MrWilson, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:53am

"Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again...You are free to do as we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!"

- Bill Hicks
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 9:54am

Re: Redefining
First time I read the "DHS" acronym, I thought it was "DHL", the shipping company...

I guess at least of them is efficient at what they do...
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:08am

American imperialism, still going till the empire collapses. USA is pretty much the definition of hubris.
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Liz, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:14am

Re: how did it happen?
You start by boiling a frog. The water is nice and cool. Then you slowly turn up the heat. The frog never notices that it's being cooked until it's too late.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:15am

Re: Re: Papers, please.
I can tell, you're a good German.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:16am

First, ICE is dead wrong, but this is about typical for this administration.

Second, if this guy had assisted Manning, he would already be in the klink awaiting trial.

If they thought he helped him but didn't have hard evidence, then this is not the way to develop it if it exists. I'll let those 250 expert lawyers explain how the rules of evidence and investigations work. I have a feeling that any evidence generated would be tainted now.

Third, if this guy did assist Manning, the charges would probably be:

Aiding & abetting espionage.
Aiding enemies in time of war.
Accessory to murder. (The information released has gotten people killed)

Of course, we have the keystone kops running the justice department now and blowing cases is something they're demonstrating true competence in.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:16am

Re: Re: Papers, please.
Americka.
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Michael, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:22am

Search Him!
"He knows that there's something on the screen that they pull up on their computers, but they refuse to provide him with any info"

It brings up a big red X, says "DETAIN AND SEARCH HIM!", and displays a picture of him naked from one of his previous scans. Apparently, he has quite the body.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:28am

Re:
Accessory to murder. (The information released has gotten people killed)

[citation needed]
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:43am

Other DHS helpful redefinitions
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 10:58am

Re: Other DHS helpful redefinitions
I want to click funny, but it would just make me more sad.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 11:29am

Re: Re: Police Officers Everywhere Rejoice
I asked why I was detained this time and one of the CBP agents said: "You remember 9/11? That's why!"

So now they're accusing him of being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That's what exercising freedom of speech will get you these days.
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Beta (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 12:23pm

don't feed the animals
Who can come up with the best thing he could carry through customs but really shouldn't?

A few ideas that have crossed my mind:
- A cheap cell phone with a long contact list of numbers chosen at random from the Washington D.C. telephone book, with code names like "Moose", "Beggar Man", "Pink Oboe"...
- The chemical formula for coffee with sugar, written on mulberry paper, folded up very tightly and hidden in a cigarette case behind the cigarettes. Chinese cigarettes.
- 10,000 repetitions of "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy" on microfiche. Israeli microfiche.
- A floppy disk. A 5-1/4 inch floppy disk. Unformatted. Dusted with iron filings.
- A flash drive containing a compressed file which expands to an exabyte of zeroes.
- A copy of the birth certificate of the senior DHS officer on duty (requires considerable preparation or blind luck).
- An Arabic fortune cookie.
- A small obsolete travel alarm clock, mechanical. Some internal screws painted purple.
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Vincent Clement (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 12:35pm

Re:
What war would that be?
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Killercool (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 12:39pm

Re: don't feed the animals
Just add toothpaste (previously opened) to that list, and you're done.
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Killercool (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 12:43pm

Re:
Cannot charge with wartime specific crimes, since the President is the one who declared a "War on Terror." It's about as meaningful as the "war on drugs." Unless congress declares war on a real entity, there is no real war. EVERYTHING that is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan is a "police action" only sanctioned by the Whitehouse.
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Killercool (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 12:47pm

Re:
Also if any of our agents were killed in their duties, they knew it going in. Spying is illegal everywhere, including the good ol' USA. Meaning, our spies in other countries are breaking our laws, too.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 1:18pm

Re:
Second, if this guy had assisted Manning, he would already be in the klink awaiting a trial that will never, ever come.

FTFY
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The eejit (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 1:45pm

Re: don't feed the animals
A nuclear wessel.
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 3:07pm

Re: don't feed the animals
Photoshopped (or are they?) pictures of the ICE official's wife in lingerie, signed "Thanks for a wonderful night".
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2011 @ 5:29pm

Fourth amendment? What fourth amendment?
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abc gum, 12 Apr 2011 @ 5:31pm

Re: Re:
"I think Bush put it best"

Don't misunderestimate me
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Chargone (profile), 12 Apr 2011 @ 8:33pm

Re: Re: Other DHS helpful redefinitions
we totally need a button for that. it happens too often.
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The eejit (profile), 13 Apr 2011 @ 1:12am

Re:
A dog ate it.
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Any Mouse (profile), 13 Apr 2011 @ 3:50am

Re:
Was this even about Manning? I thought this was about a guy that helps Wikileaks.
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The Declinator, 13 Apr 2011 @ 4:24am

Re: Re: Police Officers Everywhere Rejoice
I received once the same crap answer from an overstressed brittish customs agent: 'remember 9/11' while holding our mobile phone in hand: 'These hare yoused has dhethonethors !'

http://fadingpulse.yellowcouch.org/vagina
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FuzzyDuck, 13 Apr 2011 @ 6:50am

sad
It's sad to see a country that I once admired turn into shit like this. Fascism is just around the corner.

If you ever wondered how German soldiers did what they did, you just need to look at your ICE agent, Quantico guard, or other government goon.

Just like their German colleagues at the time, they have the ability to follow orders without questioning them, and to serve the interests of the state above all else.

The tools to make the fascist state a reality are right there in those uniforms.
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aldestrawk (profile), 13 Apr 2011 @ 11:26am

Re: don't feed the animals
He is a security researcher and so could have a valid reason to possess the following.

A thumb drive and cd containing a virus that infects in multiple ways; Autoplay, Autorun, containing a straightfoward executable, a self-extracting zip file containing a virus, containing a GIFAR etc. The virus could be written to identify and bypass a virtual OS and install a root kit, spread itself only to other ICE devices and erase the hard drive after a couple of days.

He could warn them before hand: "You shouldn't look at that!"
disclaimer: I am not suggesting he or anyone actually do this, I'm jus sayin.
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doughless (profile), 13 Apr 2011 @ 1:57pm

Re: BUT...BUT...
Piracy = Theft = Terrorism
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Beta (profile), 14 Apr 2011 @ 4:02pm

Re: Re: don't feed the animals
"A little souvenir from the old home town. I've spared no expense to make you feel right at home."
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