Pre-Emptive "Traitor" Baiters

"Federal agents and city police are keeping tabs on people they say might try to cause trouble at the Republican National Convention, questioning activists, making unannounced visits and monitoring Web sites and meetings. ... The intelligence unit of the New York Police Department ... also has sought to infiltrate protest groups." An ACLU lawyer for three Missouri men subpoenaed by the FBI told the New York Times, "What's so disturbing about this is the pre-emptive nature - stopping them from participating in a protest before anything even happened." Her clients "got the message loud and clear that if you make plans to go to a protest, you could be subject to arrest or a visit from the FBI."