Secret FBI Watchlist Leaks Online, and Boy Do the Feds Think a Lot of People Are Terrorists

Undoubtedly, a few of the names in that sea of records are going to belong to innocent people. The no-fly list is notorious for branding innocent individuals as potential threats to national security based on faulty data, and then making it near-impossible for them to get their names off. This past April, a Michigan man partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union to sue FBI Director Christopher Wray after the agency falsely accused him of being a Hezbollah agent and slapped him with the “no-fly” label.

“The terrorist watchlist is made up of people who are suspected of terrorism but who have not necessarily been charged with any crime,” Diachenko wrote. “In the wrong hands, this list could be used to oppress, harass, or persecute people on the list and their families. It could cause any number of personal and professional problems for innocent people whose names are included in the list.”