This is an example of the almost casual violation of First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by police officials.

This example is from Maryland, but do not assume Maryland is unique.

Md. Police Put Activists' Names On Terror Lists - washingtonpost.com

"Police Superintendent Terrence B. Sheridan revealed at a legislative hearing that the surveillance operation, which targeted opponents of the death penalty and the Iraq war, was far more extensive than was known when its existence was disclosed in July.

"The department started sending letters of notification Saturday to the activists, inviting them to review their files before they are purged from the databases, Sheridan said.

""The names don't belong in there," he told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. "It's as simple as that."

"The surveillance took place over 14 months in 2005 and 2006, under the administration of former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). The former state police superintendent who authorized the operation, Thomas E. Hutchins, defended the program in testimony yesterday. Hutchins said the program was a bulwark against potential violence and called the activists "fringe people.""