Judge finds FBI agents legally immune but denounces “improper behavior.”
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that three Muslim men could not sue FBI agents for putting the men on the U.S. “No Fly List” when they refused to act as government informants.
The three men, who are U.S. citizens, were approached in 2013 by 16 FBI agents who asked them to spy on their local Muslim communities. When they declined, the FBI agents put the men on the No Fly List, even though the men had never threatened airline or passenger safety. The men were eventually removed from the list, but sought damages from the FBI, saying the false designation cost them jobs, damaged their reputations, and kept them from visiting family members abroad.
The three-judge panel ruled that the FBI agents were protected from such lawsuits by qualified immunity. However, in the Opinion of the Court, Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch condemned the actions of the FBI agents, saying that their decision was reprehensible for “falsely and in bad faith accusing [the men] of terrorism to deny them significant liberties under a program designed to protect lives from genuine terrorists.”
“That,” Judge Lynch wrote, “is improper behavior regardless of whether the agents knew of the [men’s] particular religious beliefs.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For federal judges to be prudent in their rulings and conclusions regarding civil liberties.
- For FBI officials to limit their designations of individuals for the “No Fly” list to names who actually pose a threat.
Sources: U.S. News, JustTheNews
