LA IMC makes very poor decisions in deciding what to show and what to hide.
Making Sense of "Anna's" Posts
Stephen DeVoy
"Anna", the successful FBI infiltrator of at least a dozen anarchist events/movements, left a trail of posts on various IndyMedia outlets. Interestingly, search engines do not turn up any posts by "Anna" outside of IndyMedia. Evidently, the FBI considers IndyMedia to be the communications lifeblood of the anarchist movement.
In this article, I will examine the four posts we have uncovered. The posts contain information that is useful from several standpoints. There is content that will aid in improving security against future FBI infiltration, content that reveals FBI assumptions about the mindset of anarchists, and content that reveals the FBI's strategy for creating a "credible" activist out of thin air. This article is a follow up to my previous article on Anna and, as in the previous case, it represents my best guesses and best inferences. It does not represent a definitive and complete analysis of "Anna." To the best of my knowledge I have never met Anna and I did not attend any of the events to which she refers in her posts.
I think it is of value to place Anna's posts into two categories: (1) credibility posts and (2) mission posts. It appears to me that the primary reason for the credibility posts is to create references intended to support the notion that "Anna" is a credible activist. Mission posts, on the other hand, have been made to forward operational goals. Each mission post is a shot into the dark seeking contacts to use as stepping stones to a mission.
The credibility posts reveal information about Anna's access to information, inform us on what the FBI believes to be the mindset of activists, and instructs us on the airs that an FBI infiltrator are likely to assume as cover. The mission posts reveal goals of the infiltrator, modus operandi of the infiltrator, and cover mechanisms of the infiltrator. For me, the last category (i.e. the mission post category) is more interesting and so I will save it for last.
Credibility PostsChronologically, the first credibility post uncovered is a post on Miami IndyMedia entitled Philly BIO Protest Write-UP!. (I am intrigued that only Miami IMC's posts by Anna were still online. I am especially intrigued given this very recent post by the two most active members of Miami IMC, which, interestingly, was posted today.) The lead-in to the article reads: "I spent a week in Philly with my collective in preparations for the annual BIOTECH meetings, held this year in Philly. The Streets rose up! WHAT an Event!"
Reading "her" article, it occurred to me that there is very little reason to believe that "Anna" actually wrote the article. The article seems far more detailed than the average IMC article. It is chock full of information. Indeed, so much information I am inclined to believe that it was written by a team.
What strikes me is the frequent use of emotional outburst with the intent of attributing to the author a passion for the cause. For example, we have the following "WHAT an Event!", "which was an amazing experience", "How empowering!", "Yeah for Hugs!!", "We love you, FNB!", and so on. These exclamations of emotion do not flow well with the piece and I have a strong impression that they were inserted after review by whatever FBI committee wrote the piece. The intent appears to be to cast Anna as a true believer filled with passion for the cause. However, as a real anarchist, this frequent and gratuitous sprinkling of emotionalisms rings hollow. They set the bells of intuition ringing an alarm.
Anna refers to her fellow protesters as "kids." In fact, she refers to them as kids no fewer than seven times in one article. When I was her age, I did not refer to my peers as "kids." However, I can imagine a committee of FBI agents using the term "kids" to describe protesters. The same diminutive and general glossing is not applied to police in the article. In fact, she names more kinds of police than I could have come up with in the time it takes me to write an article. Here are all of the different kinds of police she mentions in this one article: "security escorts"," undercovers", "bike cops", "plainclothes", "feds", "civil affairs officers", "Riot Police", and "Philadelphia’s Strike Force". "Anna" has about as many words for cops as the Inuit have for snow but her terminology for protesters seems to be constrained to kids, kids, and kids. The intent of the article seems only as a means to establish "Anna" as an activist. She makes one noteworthy comment at the very end of the article: "Hopefully, pictures will be added soon - I need to get my act together and develop the film!" Most activists intending to post images in the Internet use digital cameras for that purpose. Since we know she was working for the FBI, we should assume that her film was being processed when the article was published. It was being processed by the FBI.
Now, since the FBI must have been processing the film, this is an interesting matter to consider. If an activist whose presence causes the alarm bells of intuition to sound and if that activist is taking photos with a traditional film based camera, one might want to insist that she develop the film immediately at one of those "hour" film processing places. If she's an FBI agent, she just might resist this suggestion for the FBI may need to be able to certify that they had possession of the film throughout the process should the question of doctoring come up in a trial.
In another post on Miami IMC, Response to first one, Anna comments to defend the intent of the Black Bloc. Her post seems to have one and only one purpose: create the illusion that "Anna" is a real anarchist. I'm an anarchist and I've never been part of a Black Bloc. I have no problem with the idea of a Black Bloc, but I find it interesting that the FBI wishes to create credibility for Anna amongst members of Black Blocs. This implies that infiltrating Black Blocs was a goal that the FBI had set for "Anna." Moreover, I see no reason to believe that this statement by Anna is true: "I will proudly join and fight with the bloc, as I have in the past." Is there any evidence that "Anna" was ever part of a Black Bloc? What the statement hopes to achieve is to get "Anna" into a Black Bloc. Now, since Miami has about ZERO Black Bloc's, what the hell is this post doing on Miami IMC and why isn't it posted in, let's say, Boston, NYC, or some other city where Black Blocks are common? Surely, not many anarchists read Miami IMC.
Mission PostsAs I stated above, I find the mission posts far more interesting. I actually learned a few things by reading them. I think we should all take a very close look at what they reveal. Consequently, I will post them here in their entirety.
| [Imc-uk-video] Looking for Videographers from USA G8, Georgia AnnA annadavies99 at yahoo.com Sun May 8 12:33:20 PDT 2005 * Previous message: [Imc-uk-video] Anti-war Protest Footage * Next message: [Imc-uk-video] video meeting feedback - sat * Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] Greetings! I worked on the American Organization Committee, G8 Planning Committee and G8 Carnival, for the G8 last year in Georgia. There were a variety of problems, but we had something. I met two Videographers last year, from the UK, who were workgin on a documentary/training video/info video/ ?? and shared some drinks with them and partied one night. They were awesome people and I regret not getting their contact info. With the G8 is being held ‘cross the pond, I’m trying to locate those two and maybe set up a reciprocal event. I’d like to try and get over there and do some filming of my own, and hopefully plug into some of the activities. If anyone knows who those two guys were, could you please pass them along this e-mail? I'd love to get in touch with them again. Thanks |
Comments The post to the left was posted by "Anna" onto the IMC-UK-VIDEO piper-mail stream. Anna is attempting to establish or re-establish contact with videographers that she met from the UK. She hopes to connect with them and use them as hosts for a mission to the UK where she will, it seems, be working on behalf of the FBI or an intelligence agency. Now, remember, she may have never met these people. The claim that she did may be a ruse to establish contact even if she has not met them. After all, if they were in the US, they would have met a large number of people and she can easily rely upon this to make these videographers feel comfortable contacting her. The fact that she wishes to hitch up with videographers is telling. In my previous article on Anna, I speculated that Anna may have been using the production of documentary videos as a cover. This lends more evidence to that speculation. Also, Anna seems to have access to a lot of equipment. We see from the previous post that she had access to a camera (probably a good once since the FBI is her employer). Now we see reason to believe that she has access to video equipment. From the affidavit released which uses her as a source, we also know that she was a frequent text messenger. She was able to procure a house for her collective. Put in few words, she had access to all sorts of things the average activist would love to have. Despite this, there is no explanation for her wealth and there is no explanation as to how it is that she has the time and the money to travel so much. The next post by "Anna" attempts to provide a solution to this last point, but it reveals something about the FBI in the process. |
Above we see that Anna wants to go to Europe and videotape demonstrators at the G8. She intends to use a group of legitimate videographers as cover for her crimes against protestors. How does she plan on getting to Europe? Well, the FBI has that figured out.
| [Imc-g8-2005] 'Cross the Pond AnnA annadavies99 at yahoo.com Mon May 9 12:06:00 PDT 2005 * Previous message: [Imc-g8-2005] convergence next weekend.... * Next message: [Imc-g8-2005] g8 media invite * Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] Greetings from America! My name is AnnA and I've been quite heavily involved with actions over here. I'm tryign to finance my way to Scotland for the G8. I was a part of the outreach and organizing DA committee last year when America had the G8. I subscribed to the UK INdymedia VIdeo List a few days ago. I would like to participate in the G8 in a variety of ways. I'd like to do some filming specifically on British and European protest tactics and organizing strategies for my Amerikan counterparts, as well as direct participation in DA. One of my collective partners was planning on coming to the protest as well, but is currently undergoing some heavy shit in her personal life. Is there a way I can plug into some events, do some filming and have a good time? ;) What would be the best time to arrive? I fly courier, so I have to try and be as flexible as possible. Also, is there housing set up? Best of Luck to you! If you need anything from us, give a hollar! :) Resist, AnnA |
Comments Anna, once again, tries to reach out to unsuspecting activists in Europe, hoping to use them as cover for her mission to destroy the lives of anarchists. Anna attempts to make herself seem like a normal cash starved activist by stating "I'm trying to finance my way to Scotland for the G8." The "trying" part implies that it is a difficult thing for her to do. However, later she states "I fly courier, so I have to try and be as flexible as possible." The words "I fly courier" as opposed to "I am planning on flying courier" mean that she flies often and does so using courier. It is something she has done, does, and will be doing. This, my friends, is what we call "a cover." Her cover is that "Anna is a courier." Lets think about the brilliance of this cover. First of all, it explains how a woman with no job and lots of time on her hands can get around on a global scale. It also explains why no one can pick her up at the airport or meet her when she deplanes. After all, couriers, like FBI agents, fly on someone else's dime and they need to meet with someone immediately after getting off the plane. That means that you can't just show up, meet them, and go off to your ground transportation. The fake activist flying as a courier has a built on excuse about why she needs to meet with someone just after getting off of the plane (her FBI handlers). Since she must be "flexible", she probably can't tell you ahead of time to meet her at the airport. This conveniently prevents you from seeing her arrive. She'll call you when she get there (and after she's finished being debriefed by her FBI handler). What does she want to videotape in Europe? Well, here's what she says: "I'd like to do some filming specifically on British and European protest tactics and organizing strategies for my Amerikan counterparts, as well as direct participation in DA." This is all very interesting. She intends to videotape Europeans for the US Government. Why? She also wants to videotape her "Amerikan counterparts." That would be nice, wouldn't it? You can't even protest in Europe without the American Stasi following you to Europe to film you. Even worse, this agent provocateur wants to participate in direct action in Europe. Sounds like she's intending to provoke the arrests of her American counterparts. Nice woman! |
From the above, it looks like this blows the FBI's "courier" cover once and for all. It also should give you pause about responding to requests by unknown activists, even foreign activists, for direct support that includes allowing them to blend in with you. You just might be the target of exploitation by an intelligence agency. Of course, you could turn around and google the activist's name, but then you would find their "credibility" posts. In sum, this means you should not rely on information posted online to determine that someone is a real activist. You need real flesh and blood people that you know and trust to vouch for the person before you even consider taking an unknown under you wing.
For me, the most compelling reasons to have suspected that Anna was an infiltrator are, in conjunction (separately, none of these would mean much):
We need to be more careful. The FBI has invested a lot of time and money in setting us up to be used as an excuse for their increasing repression.
Original: Making Sense of "Anna's" Posts - Banned on LA IMC