[From article]
Conservative journalist James O’Keefe, known for targeting liberal groups and Democratic politicians, says he is now the one being targeted — by the Department of Homeland Security.
It all started in August 2014 when O’Keefe donned green fatigues and an Osama bin Laden costume and sneaked across the U.S. border to Mexico and then back into Texas, a stunt cited by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during congressional hearings. His point, O’Keefe said in an interview Wednesday, was to “show that our elected officials were lying to the American people” by saying the border is secure.
[. . .]
Ever since, O’Keefe says, he has been stopped and questioned at length by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers each of the five times he has tried to reenter the United States. The questions, he says have been overly intrusive, covering everything from his business operations and what his next investigative project will be to his political views.
“It is our contention that this is retaliation for our journalism along the Mexican border,” O’Keefe said. “It’s troubling that they are doing this to a citizen reporter. … These questions have nothing to do with national security or border issues or smuggling narcotics into the country. They are questions that they would never ask a Washington Post reporter, that they would never ask NBC News.”
[. . .]
The officer firmly denies it. “No, we’re not retaliating against you? Why would you say that?” he says.
At another point, however, a different Customs and Border Protection officer tells O’Keefe that agency officials had put a “hit on you” to avoid getting “egg on their face, basically.”
The video does show, however, officers asking O’Keefe a series of detailed questions about his business model, how his company makes money and his political views.
“What’s your next project?” one officer asks.
“I was so flabbergasted by the question, I couldn’t even form a coherent response,” O’Keefe says in the video.
[. . .]
The reason, O’Keefe said in the interview, is that he could only record audio because the agents searched his phone. Even to do that, he said he had to “manufacture a special type of device that was recording, where they would have no idea.” He declined to describe the device or where it was hidden.
[. . .]
Asked why he is now taking on a powerful federal agency, O’Keefe said he felt compelled to go public by what he views as the drastic nature of the harassment, combined with the political timing.
“My entire purpose is to shock the conscience of the American people by exposing reality,” he said, adding: “I think immigration is a very timely topic right now.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/08/13/conservative-video-maker-james-okeefe-homeland-security-targeted-me-asked-intrusive-questions/
Conservative video-maker James O’Keefe: Homeland Security targeted me, asked intrusive questions
By Jerry Markon
August 13, 2015 at 6:00 AM
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