Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, members of the Islamic Center of Irvine and other local mosques have complained about FBI agents questioning them about imams' sermons and how often they attend services. In 2006, J. Stephen Tidwell, then-FBI assistant director in Los Angeles, met at the Irvine mosque with about 200 people who questioned him about government monitoring.
The meeting was prompted by media reports that the FBI was monitoring Muslim students at UC Irvine and USC. Tidwell denied that monitoring was taking place, telling the audience that "we still play by the rules."
Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the congressional hearings would compel the government "to say why they're amassing this information." "There's a lot of suspicion of the Muslim community," she said.
ACLU lawyers regularly go to mosques to advise worshipers that they do not have to answer questions from FBI agents about how long they have been in the United States, how often they attend services and what they get out of the sermons, Ripston said.
The newspaper said some missing files were made available to Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. Larry Richards, a deputy and Marine reservist, is one of several people under investigation by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in the thefts.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Wednesday that Richards used to work with the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning Group but is currently on administrative leave. He declined to comment further because of the ongoing federal investigation.
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hgreza@latimes.com
