WASHINGTON – Five California men who say they came under police scrutiny for innocent behavior are suing the Obama administration.
At issue is an information-sharing program designed to help flag potential terrorist activity.
The men say local law enforcement produced "suspicious activity reports" on them even though they had done nothing wrong. The men allege the reports were shared in national counterterrorism databases and prompted the FBI in some cases to take follow-up action.
The ACLU and other civil rights groups announced the lawsuit Thursday in San Francisco.
The lawsuit challenges the legality of the federally designed National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. That's a joint effort between local and federal law enforcement launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
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