FBI Informant Brandon Darby Infiltrates Protest Groups Before 2008 RNC
FBI informant Brandon Darby infiltrated Austin-based protest groups planning demonstrations at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, leading to the arrest of activists on terrorism-related charges. The case raised serious First Amendment concerns about government surveillance of lawful advocacy organizations.
Ahead of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, the FBI deployed Brandon Darby — a prominent Austin community organizer — as a paid informant inside protest networks. Darby acknowledged his role in a January 2009 open letter after the convictions of activists David McKay and Brad Crowder, both from Austin, on charges of possessing Molotov cocktails. Defense attorneys argued Darby had entrapped the young men. Crowder pleaded guilty and received two years; McKay was convicted at trial and received four years. A subsequent documentary, 'Informant' (2013), and extensive reporting confirmed the FBI's widespread infiltration of RNC protest planning groups starting years before the convention. The DOJ Inspector General's 2010 review of FBI domestic advocacy investigations found a pattern of opening investigations based on protected speech with 'little or no basis' linking groups to criminal activity.