In Part I, we looked at the early organizing that took place in the fall of 2002, where various groups were organizing resistance to the possible US invasion of Iraq. In Part II, we talked about how some groups went to DC for a national march on MLK Day, but then President Bush came to Grand Rapids in late January 2003, where over 1,000 protestors greeted him.

In Part III, we explored the organizing effort of the Grand Rapids chapter of Women in Black and the local news media’s reaction to the Colin Powell presentation at the UN on WMDs, in early February of 2003. Part IV focused on student anti-war organizing and an action that took place at Congressman Ehlers office, resulting in several arrests. 

Today, we want to look at the GRPD’s efforts to monitor and infiltrate anti-Iraq war efforts and the protest that took place on the first day of the US invasion of Iraq.

The Grand Rapids Press ran an article just prior to the beginning of the war, headlined, “With War looming, GR police prepare for more protests. The Press article conveys that the GRPD was planning on stepping up their activities and training in preparation for demonstrations. What the GR Press article does not discuss is the fact that the GRPD was monitoring the e-mail communications amongst anti-war organizers and sending undercover officers to meetings and protests. We know this because organizers worked with the ACLU to obtain GRPD documents related to the anti-war movement in Grand Rapids. The flyer on the right was a flyer that was created by organizers, but this copy was obtained through an ACLU FOIA request. 

The document below is from the GRPD, acknowledging that they sent undercover officers to anti-war organizing meetings, even though the undercover cops were exposed. The first part of the document discussing coming to a meeting at the IGE office on Wealthy St, then references to a meeting held at the Community Media Center on Bridge St. a few days later, where undercover cops were denied entry to the building.

The first demonstration that took place in Grand Rapids, once the US invasion of Iraq had begun was reported on by the Grand Rapids Press. The story is rather superficial and ignores the fact that the GRPD had undercover cops in the crowd of protestors.

Those involved in organizing the protest were alerted to two guys who were undercover cops, by someone who participated in the demonstration. She was able to ID the cops because she was a translator at the local courthouse and knew lots of the police officers while translating for people who had been in court and seeing the same officers in uniform there to testify against people who had been charged. Below is another document about the woman who had identified the undercover cops and shared that information with organizers. The GRPD states, “any future contact could pose even further problems based on her lack of ethical and moral decision making she has shown thus far.” Here the GRPD demonstrates their arrogance and the belief that they were right to infiltrate the protests.

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For many people, this was the first time they had encountered police as infiltrators. Some were surprised that the GRPD would engage in these kinds of tactics, which was really a reflection on how limited people’s understanding was on the history of police infiltration of social movements. The result of the GRPD intimidation and infiltration meant that some people chose to not participate in any further anti-war actions, while other people chose to distance themselves from those who had been the primary organizing entities in 2002 and 2003.

To view additional documents that were obtain by the ACLU, go to this page on Media Mouse.