NAACP files lawsuit against Minneapolis for alleged discriminatory social media surveillance
MINNEAPOLIS – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has filed a lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis, accusing the city police department of discriminatory use of undercover social media accounts.
The organization was named as a target of Minneapolis Police Department surveillance, unrelated to criminal activity, in a recent Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) report. The department said in its 2022 findings that MPD "targeted" and "surveilled" Black people and Black organizations online, "gaining access" to their social media profiles, unrelated to any criminal activity.
"We assumed that our work with MPD on public safety and community matters was being done in good faith. Instead, MPD simultaneously tried to bring us harm. To know MPD surveilled our members is deeply unnerving and upsetting," Cynthia Wilson, President of the Minneapolis NAACP, said. "Their actions violated our trust. MPD needs to be held accountable to prevent this from happening to anyone else."
NAACP v. City of Minneapolis by WCCO - CBS Minnesota on Scribd
The MDHR report cites an example of an undercover officer RSVPing online to a Black activist's event. Nekima Levy Armstrong says that was her.
"They showed up at my birthday party unannounced, in uniform, multiple officers," Levy Armstrong said. "They were attempting to intimidate and harass us."
Levy Armstrong was running for mayor at the time on a platform of police accountability.
"It was very upsetting, and it was traumatizing," she said. "We need officers to act with integrity and transparency."
The NAACP is looking for a declaratory judgment that MPD's social media use was unconstitutional and compensation for injuries.
MDHR found officers weren't similarly surveilling white people, and says there was no hacking or wiretapping.
"We don't have to use the word 'surveil' if there's confusion about that," said MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, speaking about a court-enforced settlement agreement the state reached with the city of Minneapolis.
MDHR says officers "followed" and "engaged with" people, which is "common practice...to establish a credible undercover profile." It stands by its findings that the actions were discriminatory in nature.
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Going forward, the settlement agreement will require MPD to get authorization for its undercover accounts, save the information collected, and have the accounts regularly reviewed to make sure they're being used in a lawful and non-discriminatory way.
"The policy change in here covers every single piece from top to bottom," Lucero said.
A spokesperson with the city of Minneapolis released a statement in response to the lawsuit:
The City has not yet been served but is reviewing a copy of the lawsuit. It appears that Plaintiff's Complaint relies on MDHR's April 2022 findings report. It is important to note that MDHR's settlement agreement FAQ page, updated on March 31, 2023, clarifies "What was meant by 'surveillance' in the MDHR findings report was that MPD officers used covert social media accounts to 'follow' and 'engage with' individuals and groups through their social media accounts." The FAQ also acknowledges that "It is common practice for law enforcement agencies to 'follow' and 'engage with' individuals and groups through their social media accounts to establish a credible undercover social media profile." In response to MDHR's findings, the City has previously stated it does not agree that MPD was using covert social media accounts (or "undercover social media accounts") to spy on Black people, Black organizations or elected officials.