Bill Lee: “I thank Congressman Veasey for yielding, but also for his remarkable leadership here in Congress and for hosting this…”

“I thank Congressman Veasey for yielding, but also for his remarkable leadership here in Congress and for hosting this very important Special Order this evening. Mr. Speaker, I rise, along with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, with a message for the American people: Wake up. COINTELPRO 2.0 is on the rise. Mr. Speaker, now, in a report that was never supposed to see the light of day, the FBI's Counterterrorism Division branded African Americans in the fight for equality and justice as Black identity extremists that pose a domestic threat to police officers. Now, I have witnessed many covert tactics designed to suppress African-American activism in my life, but the revelation of this report is one of the most troubling details I have ever learned about our government. I remember very clearly the days of COINTELPRO under J. Edgar Hoover. As a community worker who worked closely with the Black Panther Party in their Ten-Point Platform, which made programs like Free Breakfast for Children possible and paved the way for our government's free breakfast program for low-income children, I witnessed firsthand how the lives of good people doing good work were destroyed by COINTELPRO. Seeing the emergence of what is effectively COINTELPRO 2.0 is not only alarming, it is frightening. Just listen to how the FBI describes young women who take a stand for justice.…”