FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)

FAQ: COINTELPRO Redux

What is a JTTF?

A Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is a law enforcement unit that uses an inter-agency approach to terrorism. In each JTTF, federal and local police cooperate at the direction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

How many are there and where?

Before September 11, 2001, there were about sixteen JTTFs in the U.S. Today, there are 103 (see partial list). At the end of April, 2005, the Portland, Oregon Police Department became the first to withdraw its participation in a JTTF. Portland’s city council voted to withdraw from the partnership over concerns about the lack of local oversight.

What do JTTFs do and why are they controversial?

According to its promoters, JTTFs investigate leads and insure the “timely collection and sharing of intelligence absolutely critical to [terrorism] prevention efforts.” A JTTF may also participate in security at major events like the Super Bowl, NASCAR races, the World Series, and the recent Live 8 concert. They may also hold training exercises for hazardous material teams or emergency drills at nuclear power plants.

Belying that civic image, JTTFs have also violated First Amendment rights by investigating people engaging in free speech and association. For example, JTTFs were instrumental in government monitoring of Muslims and Iraqis in the aftermath of 9/11 and in the run-up to the Iraq war. In February 2003, agents at all 56 FBI field offices were instructed to “count the mosques” in their areas as an investigative tool. Learn more about JTTF activities.

There are myriad federal and local agencies participating in the JTTFs, each with its own guidelines. The FBI guidelines do not limit the activities of agencies like the CIA or military intelligence working within a JTTF, and all JTTF members share their information. A normal police investigation does not continue in perpetuity; the case is prosecuted or not. A JTTF criminal intelligence investigation may last indefinitely. The FBI guidelines state that an “investigation of a criminal enterprise does not necessarily end, even though one or more of the participants may have been prosecuted.” The JTTF members, including the local officers, are authorized to work undercover. The JTTF is also permitted to attend any public event or go to any public place for the purpose of surveillance without being required to articulate suspicion of a crime.

Why are JTTFs included in Bill of Rights Defense work?

A JTTF enables the FBI to exert control over local police officers. Community resolutions often assert local authority to protect the Bill of Rights. Therefore, the mere existence of a JTTF can threaten to undermine the community’s intent to uphold the Constitution. In Portland Oregon, a civil liberties resolution reaffirmed the city’s commitment that the fight against terrorism must not infringe on residents’ civil liberties. The FBI refused to grant either the city attorney or the mayor security clearances equal to those of the JTTF officers. Since the mayor doubles as the police commissioner, this reduced the local government’s ability to guarantee accountability of its own police officers. This led to Portland’s withdrawal from the JTTF. More info

Who are JTTF members?

The JTTF members vary from office to office. Federal members include, but are not limited to, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, military special agents are assigned to each of the 56 main FBI field offices. At state and local levels, JTTFs primarily seek out members of police, sheriff, and fire departments. There is no special counterterrorism experience required to become a member.

What sort of security clearances do members have?

All local JTTF members are supposed to obtain top-secret security clearances from the Department of Justice. Top-secret clearances allow members access to all JTTF information, including sources and methods of gathering information. A person with a lower level secret clearance is only privy to filtered information, not the sources or methods used in gathering it. In many cases, local officials have either a lower level security clearance than their officer on the JTTF or no clearance at all. This results in a serious lack of local oversight and community accountability.

What are the rules for local JTTF members?

When an agency enters a JTTF partnership, it executes a memorandum of agreement with the FBI. A standard agreement provides, among other things:

The FBI Special Agent in Charge is responsible for all local oversight.
The FBI deputizes all local JTTF members as special U.S. Marshals.
The FBI controls all reports and information.
The FBI decides which files to share with non-members at local agencies
The FBI requires partners to submit information from all previous investigations for review.
The FBI requires all JTTF members to report on developments in their home agencies.
The FBI forbids JTTF members from speaking to the press without express permission.

Who finances local members of a JTTF?

Local tax dollars and local law enforcement primarily subsidize these federal activities. The FBI contributes its customary expenses: agents, office space and funds for things like cell phones and extra automobiles. The local agencies, most often police departments, contribute people and their salaries. The FBI, at its discretion, may enter into an overtime agreement with the department. Some local departments use homeland security grants to fund the positions. More often, local departments pay their officers’ entire regular salaries and bear the entire cost of losing full time employees. More info: House Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform, June 24, 2004 (pages 113-115).

I’m not a terrorist. Why should I worry?

The FBI has increasingly used the JTTFs to investigate political, religious, and environmental and animal rights activities. In an echo of the FBI COINTELPRO investigations of the 1950s and 1960s, JTTF members have infiltrated non-violent antiwar groups and Muslim groups. The Department of Education also encourages public universities to assign officers to international student groups and to ally themselves with their local JTTF.

In 2004 Aaron Kilner, a Fresno, California sheriff’s deputy assigned to a JTTF, infiltrated Peace Fresno, a local group peacefully protesting the Iraq war. He posed as a member and called himself Aaron Stokes. Other members were unaware of his identity until the local newspaper printed his picture after he died in a motorcycle accident. Although this type of surveillance is illegal in California, the JTTF used federal law to justify its actions.
In 2004, two Army intelligence agents illegally tried to gather evidence about attendees at an Islamic women’s rights conference at the University of Texas Law School. Two Army lawyers had attended the conference and reported their findings to the JTTF. An Army spokesperson called it a lapse in judgment.

Learn more about JTTF activities here.

Other Resources

Examples of JTTF Activities
JTTF Locations by State
Find out if an officer in your area participates in a JTTF
More JTTF Resources and Links