Exploring natural spy habitat: German activist grilled over satirical NSA-agent-spotting walk
A Blockupy activist who posted plans for a light-hearted public walk around a US spy center in Germany to “observe intelligence agents in their natural habitat” received a visit from the secret service questioning him if he was a terrorist.
Twenty-eight-year-old Daniel Bangert created a tongue-in-cheek
Facebook group called the "NSA spy protection league,” as if the
spies were an endangered animal species.
For the organization’s first event, Bangert planned a stroll
around the nearby Dagger Complex in Darmstadt, on the outskirts
of Frankfurt, to take part in some spy spotting.
The US army intelligence facility collects European data for
American intelligence agencies, and Bangert believes it could
have been used by the National Security Agency to covertly gather
data of German citizens – a practice revealed by whistleblower
Edward Snowden last month.
Ahead of the walk, Bangert joked that the NSA was spying on the
group on Facebook, Germany’s The Local newspaper reported.
A few days before the event, the joke became reality.
"I was still very sleepy when the phone rang - it was 7:17 in
the morning - and a police officer started asking questions about
what I was planning," said Bangert.
"Then the doorbell rang and I saw out the window that a police
van was parked outside. The officer on the phone said I should
open the door to the others."
Bangert says he was interviewed at length by a uniformed police
officer, who was aware of the event which was scheduled online.
At the end of the questioning, the officer told the activist that
the walk would have to be registered with the police, as a public
event.
"I asked them why, but they could not really explain it to me.
They couldn't help me understand what the difference was between
going for a walk and meeting up to play football - which you
don't have to register for," said Bangert.
Certain that this would be the end of his troubles, Bangert was
surprised when the policemen returned several hours later - this
time with a secret service agent.
The activist was subjected to questioning once again. Bangert
says the agent inquired about his political views and asked him
if his co-walkers planned acts of violence to be directed at the
heavily guarded base.
Bangert says he was then advised to take the event off the
internet, to prevent it from escalating. The Blockupy activist
was baffled.
“All there is, is a fence, with nothing behind it - everything
is underground. No one is interested," he said.
Despite the advice, Bangert and around 80 other participants went
ahead with the walk on Saturday. Although Bangert enjoyed the
nice weather, he said the group did not manage to lay their eyes
on any actual spies - despite trying to lure them with bird calls
and other naturalist tricks.
"Taking part in the walk was not enough, just to know that NSA
spies are there - everyone agreed they wanted to see NSA spies
with their own eyes. We will see what we can do," said
Bangert, who plans to organize another event in the coming weeks.
