Bureau of Prisons

A Brief History of Secret Prisons in the United States

Secret prisons reflect a parallel legal system for prisoners who are denied access to communications, deprived of their due process rights, and hidden from public scrutiny. Investigative journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter explains.

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History Channel Investigates Communications Management Units

The History Channel interviews Will Potter and Andy Stepanian about secretive prisons called CMUs.

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Counter-Terrorism Unit Keeps Files on Journalists, Reports that My Book Is “Compelling and Well Written”

New documents include counter-terrorism reports on articles, lectures, and books critical of the government’s repression of political activists.

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The Lexington High Security Unit

I spoke at the Baltimore Book Festival the other day, on a panel examining tactics the government has used against social movements throughout U.S. history. For my portion of the panel, I argued that we, as a culture, often regard periods of government repression as having an inception and a conclusion. They are finite eras, […]

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In the Wake of the “Guantanamo Papers,” Few People Know about Secretive Prisons on US Soil

Wikileaks recently released what have been called the “Guantanamo Papers,” described by the New York Times as “a chilling reminder of the legal and moral disaster that President George W. Bush created there.” The parallel legal system that Guantanamo represents, though, is not confined to an island, and it is not confined to one administration. […]

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ALF Prisoner Walter Bond Being Held in Solitary, as Part of a “Security Threat Group”

Walter Bond set fire to the Sheepskin Factory in Colorado in the name of the Animal Liberation Front, and was sentenced to five years in prison. He is awaiting trial for two other arsons, in Utah, and is being held in solitary confinement: locked down for 23 hours a day during the week, and 24 […]

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Marie Mason is Being Denied Visitors and Mail in a Special Prison Unit

Marie Mason was arrested three years ago and charged with destroying genetic-engineering research and logging equipment. Her crimes did not cause any physical injury. Leading up to her sentencing, the FBI had warned that “terrorists” might attend the hearing. She was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison. As I wrote at the time, Mason’s […]

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Daniel McGowan Moved to Another Communications Management Unit

Earth Liberation Front prisoner Daniel McGowan has recently been moved to another secretive prison, called a Communications Management Unit, or CMU. He was previously housed in the CMU in Marion, Illinois, and designated as a “domestic terrorist.” Several weeks ago he was transferred out of that experimental facility, and into general population. Now, he has […]

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Government Lists Environmentalist Prisoners Alongside Neo-Nazis and Anti-Abortion Murderers

The Counter-Terrorism Unit tracks environmental and animal rights prisoners as “domestic terrorists,” alongside dangerous criminals.

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Why Is the Counter-Terrorism Unit Briefing Police About My Lectures and Website?

The Counter-Terrorism Unit monitors terrorist prisoners. Why is it concerned about a PR campaign by environmentalists, and this website?

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