Soon Appearing on the O'Reilly Factor . . .

The President of the lovely little liberal arts college where I work (not where I teach) sent this email to everyone:

To the Pomona College community:

On Tuesday, March 7, Miguel Tinker Salas, Arango Professor of Latin American History and Chicano Studies, was visited in his Pearsons Hall office by two men from the Los Angeles County Sheriff/FBI Joint Task Force on Terrorism. To avoid rumors, I wanted the Pomona College community to be aware of the facts.

The agents asked Professor Tinker Salas a number of personal questions as well as questions about the Venezuelan government and the Venezuelan community in the U.S. During the meeting, they told him that he was not a subject of investigation. The tone and content of the questioning, however, troubled him deeply. He was also troubled by the fact that the agents reportedly questioned some of the students outside his office while waiting to see him.

Miguel, as all of you know, is a superb Wig Award winning teacher and a fine scholar on Latin American history, politics, and culture who is sometimes asked by the news media to comment on topics related to his research, including Venezuelan politics. The College supports him and his scholarly work without reservation.

I am extremely concerned about the chilling effect this kind of intrusive government interest could have on free scholarly and political discourse. I am also concerned about the negative message it sends to students who are considering the pursuit of important areas of international study, in which they may now feel exposed to unwarranted official scrutiny.

The College is currently consulting with legal advisors about the most effective way to register a strong official protest about this intrusion into our scholarly and educational activities, and we will take appropriate action as soon as their advice is received.  We are also asking for their help in assuring that all members of the College community are fully informed about their rights and their options in such situations.

David Oxtoby

The story I got from this professor's grad student is: Miguel Tinker-Salas gives a talk last weekend in DC on US policy toward Venezuela (I'm guessing he's not pleased with it. . . ). By the following Tuesday afternoon two LA County Deputy Dawgs from West Covina masquerading [i.e. assuming the cachet of the FBI when in fact they are LAC officers] as Feds show up during his office hours, quizzing his students about him, browbeating him under the color of the authority of the "LAC Sheriff/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force" about his knowledge of and connections to the "Venezeulan community" (he is a naturalized US citizen), whether he spends spring break with Hugo Chavez and Fidel, etc.  Interesting timing? Perhaps.
I'm leaving in names and identifying details because this will be in the Chronicle and LA Weekly soon enough. It's a far cry from the Sami Al-Arian situation, so far. Just don't answer Bill O'Reilly's phone calls.