As Nevada LEO hack exposes "pretty" Eric Garner killing; Chattah text calls for Ford hanging. More
For background, and an overview, of the massive June, 2020 "Blue Leaks" Law Enforcement hack please read our previous articles here and here.
Upon close inspection of documents and databases belonging to multiple Nevada based law enforcement agencies taken during the "Blue Leaks" episode , it appears as though not only did the Battle Born State's role in the security breach go widely unreported until now but that significant exposure of sensitive information was the result of the event. This has led to concern over the safety of individual officers, civil liberties questions as to the mechanisms and avenues utilized in information gathering, training tools which are tinged with racist sentiment, and the general fear that takes place when documents such as social security and driver's license numbers are left floating in the ether of the dark web.
Unmasking of LEOs
Among the areas of damage to local and state law enforcement efforts was the revelation, or unmasking, of undercover agents and those working on gang and cartel infiltration. Below are redacted copies showing actual examples of different types of classes that were offered, along with the names of attendees, sponsoring agencies, and department supervisors.
Civil Liberties Questions
The Department of Homeland Security website offers a 'Fusion Centers Fact Sheet.' Included in that is an explainer regarding the role of "private sector security," in working in partnership with government agencies to combat terrorism. This non governmental security apparatus is part of what DHS labels "Critical Infrastructure ." However Political.tips has found that term has been applied very liberally in Nevada. Among those that have or had access to the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center network were individuals using log-in emails from a Firearms PAC, a Pre-School, Catholic Charities, and Calvary Chapel Green Valley Church among many others. Below is a photo from the database showing just how pervasive, and closely connected to the LVMPD and other agencies, non law enforcement surveillance is in Clark County. A more comprehensive list of businesses involved in this program can be downloaded from SCRIBD. Political.tips also segmented the entities by industry here.
In addition to the use of private partnerships by the SNCTC, Nevada HIDTA also provides training to seemingly non LEO accredited groups, as seen below where a bevy of northern California community organizations are found mixed in with a variety of police forces. This despite NVHIDTA own home page indicating it is only for LEO use.
The next two files shows just how vast the collaboration is. A significant amount of calls were routed into the counter terrorism center for the alleged crime of "Photography." On the left is a sample of real reports that used the activity of taking pictures as the impetus for the call, the classification of the person reporting it is attached. On the right is a zoomed out view of a few of the 10's of Thousands of SARS and Incident Reports that the fusion centers handle, many mundane, and some of which contained the exposed raw personal data of suspects, informants, and others.
Breached manual and Text message raise questions over racial justice in Nevada.
In 2019, a training class was offered through NVHIDTA. Titled "C2: Control and Compliance" and taught by Tactics and Trials , the course is 75 pages long and full of photos. Page four of the class syllabus shows eight photos and asks the question, "When Does Force Look Pretty?" It is then answered with examples of severe police brutality, including a start to finish montage of the Eric Garner killing. Under the stand alone image of page four is a gallery showing the course's cover page, along with pages three and five which have been added for continuity and context.
Whereas the Garner photo is just one of many PDF's in the NVHDITA file, the following story came about due to a message sent directly from Sigal Chattah to the author.* (See below for explainer.) The contents of the text are straight forward. Chattah, who is running in the Nevada Republican primary for Attorney General, was upset over a stance by the current state AG, Aaron Ford. She stated that Ford, a Black American Christian, "should be hanging from a fucking crane," then proceeded to compare him to the leader of a fundamentalist Muslim terrorist organization adding that he is, "like the leader of Hamas." Chattah has a history of inflammatory behavior.
In speaking with senior Nevada based law enforcement about "Blue Leaks," I was unable to receive an on-record response to any of my inquiries, including whether the hack took place at all. Questions by email went unanswered as well. However, those that are aware of the Eric Garner photos and the AG race text were stunned by both. One prominent figure who knows Chattah and Ford personally and also saw the manual could describe it as a, "heart dropping and absolutely deflating."
*Between December of 2020 and June of 2021, Sigal Chattah and I engaged in significant exchanges of information, including my acting in the role of opposition researcher for Chattah and another major Nevada Republican. This oppo research was undertaken against multiple members of the Clark County and Nevada GOP. The exchanges continued even after stories about me appeared in the Washington Post, Daily Beast, and Las Vegas Review-Journal. Democratic party leaders were made aware of the text in April of 2021, while media were informed about its existence in August of 2021. At no point during my time associating with Sigal Chattah, or with any other political campaign or politician or political consulting firms, have I received financial compensation, nor have I ever signed an NDA. Since launching Political.tips in September I have followed all common rules of journalism when speaking to sources and public figures. My decision to publish the Chattah information now is due, in part, to the discovery of leaked files 10 days ago.
We have made the decision not to include any individual names in the leaks or use any personally identifiable attributes unless there is an overwhelming public interest in doing so.
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