FBI allegedly used no-fly list to pressure Muslims into becoming informants
SARA D. DAVIS/Getty Images
The FBI allegedly placed a handful of Muslim men on the government's no-fly list in an attempt to pressure them into becoming confidential informants, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court.
According to the suit, the FBI approached at least four Muslim men and asked them to spy on their local communities. In exchange, the agency offered financial compensation and assistance in obtaining citizenship, while also dropping a not-so-subtle reminder that it controlled who went on the no-fly list. When one of the men, Awais Sajjad, refused to cooperate, the FBI "kept him on the list in order to pressure and coerce [him] to sacrifice his constitutionally-protected rights," the suit alleges.
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