Last week it was revealed that an undercover officer from the Intelligence Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department had been posing as a demonstrator at several protests organized by United Students Against Sweatshops. A lawsuit filed on behalf of USAS against the District of Columbia and the undercover officer, Nicole Rizzi, alleges that she had infiltrated their lawful and peaceful protests without reason to believe that USAS had engaged in or planned criminal activity. Now photos and video show that Rizzi also infiltrated IMF/World Bank protests in 2012 and 2013.
DC activists have long suspected that various law enforcement agencies infiltrated their activities and even planning meetings but they rarely have been able to confirm their suspicions with positive identification. Blowing Officer Rizzi’s cover was a combination of observation, intuition, detective work–and the officer’s apparent addiction to social media.
Lacy MacAuley, the activist who ultimately put two and two together, remembered seeing her at a protest against the Keystone XL pipeline at the Canadian Embassy in March, which video confirms. When MacAuley was put on the scent of a Twitter account under the user i.d. @snufftastic, she saw a photo of Rizzi, whom she and others had known as “Missy.” She may have participated in protests as far back as 2009.
More photos and video are surfacing showing Rizzi at various protests and marches. According to District law, the least intrusive means must be used in an investigation into First Amendment activities, and the Chief of Police herself must authorize an undercover. Unlike plainclothes officers, who are often easy to spot at protests and marches, undercover officers give a false identity in order to obtain information on their targets. Rizzi gave her name as “Missy Thompson” and claimed she was a member of an obscure anarcha-feminist collective.
As an undercover officer, “Missy” was not a passive observer. The complaint in the USAS lawsuit alleges that she has been an active participant in USAS protests by doing things such as handing out fliers, carrying banners, and chanting with other protestors. New photos and video are confirming this allegation, and they are not confined to the anti-sweatshop protests.
United Students Against Sweatshops Protests
Officer Rizzi was an active participant in the demonstrations she infiltrated. In this photo from June 29, 2013, Rizzi, in flowered shorts and white t-shirt, walks the picket line at a USAS protest in front of a GAP retail store.
At the same protest, demonstrators re-enact a scene from a Bangladeshi factory collapse where workers were killed. Rizzi (bottom right) plays along.
International Monetary Fund/World Bank Protests
But the four USAS protests that Rizzi participated in may be just the tip of the iceberg. Photos and video confirm the presence of Rizzi, an officer on MPD’s payroll, posing as a protestor at five separate IMF/World Bank protests–three of them in 2012 and two in 2013.
In this photo from April 21, 2012, Rizzi (second from right), holds a banner at the front of the protest march and interacts with a protestor.
In this photo from the same day, Rizzi helps out with a central prop.
Rizzi (next to lamp post) chats with a protestor while marching down K Street. (April 21, 2012)
At an evening protest on April 21, 2012, Rizzi holds a signs saying, “Shut Down the IMF.”
Rizzi (far right with umbrella) holds the end of the banner leading the IMF protest march on April 22, 2012.
Rizzi (left) participates in IMF/World Bank protest march on April 20, 2013.
In this video from April 19, 2013 taken at the Capital Hilton, Rizzi wraps a scarf around her face and chants along with IMF protestors.
The MPD has a troubled history with protests during IMF/World Bank meetings. In 2000, it raided the “Convergence Center,” or headquarters, of the protest organizers on the pretense of a safety inspection. In 2002, the round-up and mass arrest of hundreds of protestors at Pershing Park led to an investigation and cover-up by top MPD officials. The District paid out millions to settle lawsuits filed after the incidents, and is still wrestling with litigation to this day.
Considering the context of World Bank/IMF protests in the District, the presence of an undercover officer at such demonstrations, if confirmed, would be of concern. It’s also unknown whether Rizzi’s assignment was part of a properly authorized investigation. A 2012 Audit of MPD investigations using undercover officers between 2005 and 2011 found that out of 20 investigations, only four were properly authorized. The files of seven additional investigations had been purged altogether.
In a statement responding to the allegations of an undercover officer infiltrating USAS, Police Chief Lanier said, “I feel confident that we have adhered to all laws pertaining to the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act.”
