In the early 2000s, the ACLU of Colorado worked on multiple fronts--both inside and outside the courtroom--to challenge and raise public awareness of a sinister practice of multiple law enforcement agencies:  monitoring and keeping files on how Colorado residents were exercising their First Amendment rights.

The campaign began in March, 2002.  The ACLU held a news conference to disclose documents that revealed the existence of what quickly became known as the Denver Police Department’s “Spy Files.” 

The documents showed that Denver police were monitoring the peaceful protest activities of Denver-area residents and keeping files on the expressive activities of law-abiding advocacy organizations.  In many cases, the police files labled these law-abiding groups as “criminal extremist.” 

The ACLU filed a class action lawsuit to uncover the scope of the political spying. The lawsuit revealed that multiple law enforcement agencies in Colorado, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, were also compiling files on peaceful protest activity. 

In these pages, the ACLU of Colorado provides details of the Spy Files controversy as it unfolded, as well as documents uncovered through the Spy Files litigation and the subsequent pursuit of FBI documents under the Freedom of Information Act. 

< OVERVIEW: DENVER POLICE SPY FILES

< OVERVIEW: FBI'S JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE