FBI coordination surrounding Occupy Wall Street crackdowns

The Occupy Wall Street protests were largely known for tents, marches and demonstrations, but documents released afterward painted a much more complicated picture of what was happening behind the scenes. The reporting described coordination that allegedly went well beyond local police, involving the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, private banks and even university administrations.

According to the documents, representatives from banks reportedly met with FBI officials and shared information collected by private security firms. At six universities, campus police allegedly passed information about students involved with Occupy to the FBI, reportedly with the knowledge of university administrations. The documents also described operational plans prepared in advance to disrupt or "crush" Occupy demonstrations, with information shared with organizations targeted by the protests.

Then there were the more disturbing references buried in the records. Some material reportedly contained redacted references to threats against Occupy participants, including alleged threats of sniper attacks, while the identities of those supposedly at risk remained undisclosed.

What made the documents especially controversial was the reported contradiction in the FBI's own characterization of the movement. The agency was said to acknowledge that Occupy Wall Street was peaceful while repeatedly describing it as a "terrorist threat." Taken together, the alleged information sharing between federal agencies, police, banks and universities raised much broader questions about how a domestic protest movement was being monitored and whether the response went far beyond ordinary law enforcement.