June 16, 2006

11000 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, Ca 90024 310-996-3804,3343,4402 Fax: 310-996-3345

JOINT STATEMENT OF FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF THE LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE, J. STEPHEN TIDWELL, THE FBI’s YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND IT’S MULTI-CULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, IN RESPONSE TO RECENT CONCERNS OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY THAT THE FBI IS MONITORING MUSLIM STUDENT GROUPS AT CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS The FBI supports, and is committed to protecting, the right of individuals to lawfully express their freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. The FBI conducts all its investigations within the bounds of the Constitution and pursuant to strict legal guidelines, which prohibit investigations based solely on activities protected by the First Amendment. An individual or groups’ faith or ethnic background is not a basis for suspicion. The FBI does not monitor student groups at educational institutions, including Muslim student groups at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) or the University of Southern California (USC). In fact, Muslim student groups and the FBI are currently working together in building a sound and trusting relationship. The Los Angeles Field Office of the FBI and Muslim student leaders have recently formed the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). YAC and the FBI have been meeting since March 2006 to address the issues/concerns of young Muslim leaders and to demystify the FBI. In addition to the YAC meetings, the FBI will meet with campus administrators and begin attending campus forums to address students’ issues and concerns. YAC was formed out of the success of the well established Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee (MCAC). MCAC was formed in May of 2004 by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office in response to the concerns that arose in the Muslim, Arab, Sikh, Coptic, and Middle Eastern Christian communities after 9/11. Since its inception, leaders from these communities and representatives from the FBI have met on a monthly basis and built a partnership based on mutual respect and trust. Community leaders and the FBI have maintained an open dialogue, to address concerns of the community and educated FBI personnel as to the Muslim religion. It is important that the community leaders know that they have direct access to their Los Angeles FBI Office and are able to contact us with their concerns. The FBI also puts a premium on thoroughly training its Special Agents about their responsibility to respect the rights and dignity of individuals. They receive extensive instruction on Constitutional law, criminal procedure, and sensitivity to other cultures. All new FBI Special Agents receive cultural sensitivity education, including that of the Muslim religion, during their new agent training at Quantico. As part of the ongoing training of our employees here in Los Angeles, arrangements were already being made to hold our next regularly scheduled Supervisory Special Agents training session in September 2006 at a Mosque in the Los Angeles area. During this training session, our Supervisory Staff will receive training on the Muslim religion and culture. The FBI is committed to ensuring that our personnel become more culturally fluent so that our investigations are more effective and respectful. Muslim Americans comprise a relatively small part of the FBI’s workforce, but the impact they have is tremendous. We are committed to increasing the number of Muslim Americans who serve in the FBI. We also praise and thank the Muslim community for its support in the FBI’s mission. Through continued open dialogue, the Los Angeles Field Office of the FBI looks forward to working together with the Muslim community to ensure the safety of all communities.