ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com
TED Fellows Retreat 2015

Will Potter: The secret US prisons you've never heard of before

Filmed:
4,502,663 views

Investigative journalist Will Potter is the only reporter who has been inside a Communications Management Unit, or CMU, within a US prison. These units were opened secretly, and radically alter how prisoners are treated -- even preventing them from hugging their children. Potter, a TED Fellow, shows us who is imprisoned here, and how the government is trying to keep them hidden. "The message was clear," he says. "Don't talk about this place." Find sources for this talk at willpotter.com/cmu
- Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
Father Daniel Berrigan once said
that "writing about prisoners
0
1733
3164
00:16
is a little like writing about the dead."
1
4921
2113
00:19
I think what he meant is that
we treat prisoners as ghosts.
2
7720
3190
00:22
They're unseen and unheard.
3
10934
2067
00:25
It's easy to simply ignore them
4
13681
1636
00:27
and it's even easier when the government
goes to great lengths to keep them hidden.
5
15341
4389
00:31
As a journalist, I think these stories
6
19754
2215
00:33
of what people in power do
when no one is watching,
7
21993
3048
00:37
are precisely the stories
that we need to tell.
8
25065
2427
00:40
That's why I began investigating
9
28058
1539
00:41
the most secretive and experimental
prison units in the United States,
10
29621
3787
00:45
for so-called "second-tier" terrorists.
11
33432
2766
00:49
The government calls these units
Communications Management Units or CMUs.
12
37322
5185
00:54
Prisoners and guards call them
"Little Guantanamo."
13
42858
3109
00:58
They are islands unto themselves.
14
46886
2293
01:01
But unlike Gitmo they exist
right here, at home,
15
49203
4347
01:05
floating within larger federal prisons.
16
53574
2846
01:09
There are 2 CMUs.
17
57305
1624
01:10
One was opened inside the prison
in Terre Haute, Indiana,
18
58953
3120
01:14
and the other is inside this prison,
in Marion, Illinois.
19
62097
3684
01:18
Neither of them underwent
the formal review process
20
66669
2425
01:21
that is required by law
when they were opened.
21
69118
3176
01:25
CMU prisoners have all
been convicted of crimes.
22
73232
2465
01:28
Some of their cases are questionable
and some involve threats and violence.
23
76053
4136
01:33
I'm not here to argue the guilt
or innocence of any prisoner.
24
81110
2937
01:36
I'm here because as Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall said,
25
84388
3535
01:39
"When the prisons and gates slam shut,
26
87947
2457
01:42
prisoners do not lose
their human quality."
27
90428
2602
01:46
Every prisoner I've interviewed
has said there are three flecks of light
28
94515
4667
01:51
in the darkness of prison:
29
99206
2434
01:53
phone calls,
30
101664
1198
01:54
letters
31
102886
1151
01:56
and visits from family.
32
104061
1440
01:58
CMUs aren't solitary confinement,
but they radically restrict all of these
33
106166
3903
02:02
to levels that meet or exceed the most
extreme prisons in the United States.
34
110093
3899
02:06
Their phone calls can be limited
to 45 minutes a month,
35
114496
3281
02:09
compared to the 300 minutes
other prisoners receive.
36
117801
3668
02:14
Their letters can be limited
to six pieces of paper.
37
122345
2738
02:17
Their visits can be limited
to four hours per month,
38
125516
2431
02:19
compared to the 35 hours that people
like Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph
39
127971
5706
02:25
receive in the supermax.
40
133701
1620
02:28
On top of that, CMU visits are non-contact
which means prisoners are not allowed
41
136215
4988
02:33
to even hug their family.
42
141227
1914
02:36
As one CMU prisoner said,
43
144093
1926
02:38
"We're not being tortured here,
except psychologically."
44
146043
3429
02:42
The government won't say
who is imprisoned here.
45
150893
2442
02:45
But through court documents,
open records requests
46
153750
3627
02:49
and interviews with current
and former prisoners,
47
157401
2558
02:51
some small windows
into the CMUs have opened.
48
159983
3173
02:56
There's an estimated
60 to 70 prisoners here,
49
164005
3082
02:59
and they're overwhelmingly Muslim.
50
167111
2273
03:01
They include people like Dr. Rafil Dhafir,
51
169825
3168
03:05
who violated the economic sanctions
on Iraq by sending medical supplies
52
173017
4024
03:09
for the children there.
53
177065
1534
03:11
They've included people like Yassin Aref.
54
179967
2429
03:14
Aref and his family fled to New York
from Saddam Hussein's Iraq as refugees.
55
182892
5178
03:20
He was arrested in 2004
as part of an FBI sting.
56
188094
3793
03:24
Aref is an imam and he was asked
to bear witness to a loan,
57
192784
3474
03:28
which is a tradition in Islamic culture.
58
196282
2397
03:30
It turned out that one of the people
involved in the loan was trying to enlist
59
198703
3816
03:34
someone else in a fake attack.
60
202543
2364
03:37
Aref didn't know.
61
205452
1370
03:39
For that, he was convicted
62
207561
1270
03:40
of conspiracy to provide material support
to a terrorist group.
63
208855
4033
03:46
The CMUs also include
some non-Muslim prisoners.
64
214309
3230
03:49
The guards call them "balancers,"
65
217563
2803
03:52
meaning they help balance out
the racial numbers,
66
220390
2864
03:55
in hopes of deflecting law suits.
67
223278
2059
03:58
These balancers include animal rights
and environmental activists
68
226223
3642
04:01
like Daniel McGowan.
69
229889
1310
04:03
McGowan was convicted
of participating in two arsons
70
231643
2786
04:06
in the name of defending the environment
71
234453
2112
04:08
as part of the Earth Liberation Front.
72
236589
2333
04:11
During his sentencing, he was afraid
that he would be sent
73
239690
2748
04:14
to a rumored secret prison for terrorists.
74
242462
2369
04:17
The judge dismissed all those fears,
75
245560
1864
04:19
saying that they
weren't supported by any facts.
76
247448
2601
04:22
But that might be because the government
hasn't fully explained
77
250606
3255
04:25
why some prisoners end up in a CMU,
78
253885
2402
04:28
and who is responsible
for these decisions.
79
256311
3021
04:32
When McGowan was transferred, he was told
80
260142
2035
04:34
it's because he is a "domestic terrorist,"
81
262201
3402
04:37
a term the FBI uses repeatedly when
talking about environmental activists.
82
265627
4571
04:42
Now, keep in mind there are about 400
prisoners in US prisons
83
270978
3771
04:46
who are classified as terrorists,
84
274773
1763
04:48
and only a handful of them
are in the CMUs.
85
276560
2094
04:51
In McGowan's case, he was previously
at a low-security prison
86
279169
3623
04:54
and he had no communications violations.
87
282816
3123
04:59
So, why was he moved?
88
287354
1636
05:02
Like other CMU prisoners,
89
290173
1337
05:03
McGowan repeatedly asked
for an answer, a hearing,
90
291534
3890
05:07
or some opportunity for an appeal.
91
295448
2318
05:10
This example from another prisoner
shows how those requests are viewed.
92
298434
4254
05:15
"Wants a transfer." "Told him no."
93
303241
2977
05:19
At one point, the prison warden himself
recommended McGowan's transfer
94
307366
3727
05:23
out of the CMU citing his good behavior,
95
311117
3273
05:26
but the warden was overruled
96
314414
2041
05:28
by the Bureau of Prison's
Counterterrorism Unit,
97
316479
3214
05:31
working with the Joint Terrorism
Task Force of the FBI.
98
319717
2954
05:35
Later I found out that McGowan
was really sent to a CMU
99
323571
2616
05:38
not because of what he did,
100
326211
1919
05:40
but what he has said.
101
328154
1537
05:42
A memo from the Counterterrorism Unit
cited McGowan's "anti-government beliefs."
102
330149
5318
05:48
While imprisoned, he continued writing
about environmental issues,
103
336333
3511
05:51
saying that activists must
reflect on their mistakes
104
339868
2818
05:54
and listen to each other.
105
342710
1547
05:56
Now, in fairness, if you've spent
any time at all in Washington, DC,
106
344760
3261
06:00
you know this is really a radical
concept for the government.
107
348045
4339
06:04
(Laughter)
108
352408
1244
06:06
I actually asked to visit
McGowan in the CMU.
109
354809
2938
06:10
And I was approved.
110
358328
1404
06:12
That came as quite a shock.
111
360460
2094
06:14
First, because as I've discussed
on this stage before,
112
362578
5001
06:19
I learned that the FBI has been
monitoring my work.
113
367603
3297
06:23
Second, because it would make me the first
and only journalist to visit a CMU.
114
371430
5029
06:29
I had even learned
115
377189
1158
06:30
through the Bureau of Prisons
Counterterrorism Unit,
116
378371
3206
06:33
that they had been monitoring my speeches
about CMUs, like this one.
117
381601
4655
06:39
So how could I possibly
be approved to visit?
118
387128
3462
06:43
A few days before I went
out to the prison, I got an answer.
119
391222
4209
06:48
I was allowed to visit McGowan
as a friend, not a journalist.
120
396471
4365
06:52
Journalists are not allowed here.
121
400860
1741
06:54
McGowan was told by CMU officials
that if I asked any questions
122
402972
3545
06:58
or published any story,
123
406541
1919
07:00
that he would be punished
for my reporting.
124
408484
2835
07:04
When I arrived for our visit,
the guards reminded me
125
412308
2464
07:06
that they knew who I was
and knew about my work.
126
414796
2274
07:09
And they said that if I attempted
to interview McGowan,
127
417094
2580
07:11
the visit would be terminated.
128
419698
1677
07:14
The Bureau of Prisons describes CMUs
as "self-contained housing units."
129
422671
5497
07:20
But I think that's an Orwellian way
of describing black holes.
130
428515
3761
07:24
When you visit a CMU,
131
432805
1152
07:25
you go through all the security
checkpoints that you would expect.
132
433981
3126
07:29
But then the walk
to the visitation room is silent.
133
437131
3115
07:33
When a CMU prisoner has a visit,
the rest of the prison is on lockdown.
134
441756
4471
07:39
I was ushered into a small room,
135
447112
1826
07:40
so small my outstretched arms
could touch each wall.
136
448962
3488
07:44
There was a grapefruit-sized
orb in the ceiling
137
452761
2795
07:47
for the visit to be live-monitored
by the Counterterrorism Unit
138
455580
3175
07:50
in West Virginia.
139
458779
1449
07:52
The unit insists that all the visits
have to be in English for CMU prisoners,
140
460640
4359
07:57
which is an additional hardship
for many of the Muslim families.
141
465023
3198
08:00
There is a thick sheet of foggy,
bulletproof glass
142
468634
3382
08:04
and on the other side was Daniel McGowan.
143
472040
3258
08:08
We spoke through these handsets
attached to the wall
144
476104
2858
08:10
and talked about books and movies.
145
478986
2324
08:13
We did our best to find reasons to laugh.
146
481334
2624
08:16
To fight boredom and amuse himself
while in the CMU,
147
484554
3167
08:19
McGowan had been spreading a rumor
that I was secretly the president
148
487745
4080
08:23
of a Twilight fan club in Washington, DC
149
491849
3971
08:27
(Laughter)
150
495844
1555
08:29
For the record, I'm not.
151
497836
2349
08:32
(Laughter)
152
500209
1240
08:33
But I kind of the hope the FBI
now thinks that Bella and Edward
153
501754
3598
08:37
are terrorist code names.
154
505376
2146
08:39
(Laughter)
155
507546
1510
08:42
During our visit, McGowan spoke most
and at length about his niece Lily,
156
510073
6442
08:48
his wife Jenny and how torturous
it feels to never be able to hug them,
157
516539
6124
08:54
to never be able to hold their hands.
158
522687
2230
08:58
Three months after our visit, McGowan
was transferred out of the CMU
159
526227
3523
09:01
and then, without warning,
he was sent back again.
160
529774
3016
09:05
I had published leaked
CMU documents on my website
161
533956
4240
09:10
and the Counterterrorism Unit said
that McGowan had called his wife
162
538220
3221
09:13
and asked her to mail them.
163
541465
2286
09:16
He wanted to see what the government
was saying about him,
164
544307
2733
09:19
and for that he was sent back to the CMU.
165
547064
2608
09:21
When he was finally released
at the end of his sentence,
166
549982
2650
09:24
his story got even more Kafkaesque.
167
552656
2082
09:27
He wrote an article
for the Huffington Post headlined,
168
555434
2540
09:29
"Court Documents Prove I was Sent to
a CMU for my Political Speech."
169
557998
3701
09:34
The next day he was thrown
back in jail for his political speech.
170
562122
5915
09:40
His attorneys quickly secured his release,
171
568923
2033
09:42
but the message was very clear:
172
570980
2598
09:45
Don't talk about this place.
173
573602
1699
09:48
Today, nine years after they were opened
by the Bush administration,
174
576472
4593
09:53
the government is codifying
how and why CMUs were created.
175
581089
4593
09:57
According to the Bureau of Prisons,
176
585706
1672
09:59
they are for prisoners
with "inspirational significance."
177
587402
3974
10:04
I think that is very nice way of saying
these are political prisons
178
592325
4204
10:08
for political prisoners.
179
596553
1584
10:10
Prisoners are sent to a CMU
because of their race,
180
598764
2756
10:13
their religion or their
political beliefs.
181
601544
2647
10:16
Now, if you think that
characterization is too strong,
182
604770
2821
10:19
just look at some
of the government's own documents.
183
607615
2817
10:22
When some of McGowan's mail was rejected
by the CMU, the sender was told
184
610456
4516
10:26
it's because the letters were intended
"for political prisoners."
185
614996
3614
10:31
When another prisoner, animal rights
activist Andy Stepanian,
186
619410
3818
10:35
was sent to a CMU, it was because of his
anti-government and anti-corporate views.
187
623252
5389
10:41
Now, I know all of this
may be hard to believe,
188
629722
2970
10:44
that it's happening right now,
and in the United States.
189
632716
3958
10:49
But the unknown reality
is that the US has a dark history
190
637159
3636
10:52
of disproportionately punishing people
because of their political beliefs.
191
640819
4391
10:57
In the 1960s, before Marion
was home to the CMU,
192
645670
4446
11:02
it was home to the notorious Control Unit.
193
650140
2881
11:05
Prisoners were locked down
in solitary for 22 hours a day.
194
653574
3949
11:10
The warden said the unit
was to "control revolutionary attitudes."
195
658240
5706
11:16
In the 1980s, another experiment called
the Lexington High Security Unit
196
664846
4947
11:21
held women connected
to the Weather Underground,
197
669817
2428
11:24
Black Liberation and Puerto Rican
independent struggles.
198
672269
3266
11:27
The prison radically restricted
communication and used sleep deprivation,
199
675987
4246
11:32
and constant light for so-called
"ideological conversion."
200
680257
4597
11:37
Those prisons were eventually shut down,
but only through the campaigning
201
685976
5092
11:43
of religious groups and human rights
advocates, like Amnesty International.
202
691092
4401
11:48
Today, civil rights lawyers
with the Center for Constitutional Rights
203
696398
3926
11:52
are challenging CMUs in court
204
700348
2379
11:54
for depriving prisoners
of their due process rights
205
702751
2555
11:57
and for retaliating against them
206
705330
2080
11:59
for their protected political
and religious speech.
207
707434
3310
12:03
Many of these documents would have
never come to light without this lawsuit.
208
711296
3668
12:08
The message of these groups
and my message for you today
209
716398
4631
12:13
is that we must bear witness
to what is being done to these prisoners.
210
721053
3756
12:16
Their treatment is a reflection
of the values held beyond prison walls.
211
724833
5043
12:22
This story is not just about prisoners.
212
730339
2616
12:24
It is about us.
213
732979
2024
12:27
It is about our own commitment
to human rights.
214
735027
2747
12:29
It is about whether we will choose to stop
repeating the mistakes of our past.
215
737798
4725
12:35
If we don't listen to what Father Berrigan
described as the stories of the dead,
216
743077
5032
12:40
they will soon become
the stories of ourselves.
217
748133
2463
12:42
Thank you.
218
750900
1150
12:44
(Applause)
219
752074
2698
12:51
(Applause ends)
220
759437
2000
12:53
Tom Rielly: I have a couple questions.
221
761849
1835
12:55
When I was in high school,
I learned about the Bill of Rights,
222
763708
3928
12:59
the Constitution, freedom of speech,
223
767660
2896
13:02
due process and
about 25 other laws and rights
224
770580
4533
13:07
that seem to be violated by this.
225
775137
1784
13:09
How could this possibly be happening?
226
777706
2704
13:12
Will Potter: I think that's
the number one question I get
227
780434
2691
13:15
throughout all of my work,
228
783149
1987
13:17
and the short answer is
that people don't know.
229
785160
3134
13:20
I think the solution to any of these types
of situations, any rights abuses,
230
788809
3891
13:24
are really dependent on two things.
231
792724
1693
13:26
They're dependent on knowledge
that it's actually happening
232
794441
2796
13:29
and then a means and efficacy
to actually make a change.
233
797261
4282
13:33
And unfortunately with these prisoners,
234
801567
2397
13:35
one, people don't know
what's happening at all
235
803988
2575
13:38
and then they're already
disenfranchised populations
236
806587
2588
13:41
who don't have access to attorneys,
not native English speakers.
237
809199
4032
13:45
In some of these cases, they have great
representation that I mentioned,
238
813255
3410
13:48
but there's just not a public awareness
of what's happening.
239
816689
3062
13:51
TR: Isn't it guaranteed in prison
that you have right to council
240
819775
3040
13:54
or access to council?
241
822839
1541
13:56
WP: There's a tendency in our culture
242
824404
1782
13:58
to see when people have been
convicted of a crime,
243
826210
3110
14:01
no matter if that charge
was bogus or legitimate,
244
829344
2358
14:03
that whatever happens to them
after that is warranted.
245
831726
2966
14:06
And I think that's a really damaging
and dangerous narrative that we have,
246
834716
3494
14:10
that allows these types
of things to happen,
247
838234
2460
14:12
as the general public just
kind of turns a blind eye to it.
248
840718
3403
14:16
TR: All those documents on screen
were all real documents, word for word,
249
844145
4936
14:21
unchanged at all, right?
250
849105
2049
14:23
WP: Absolutely. I've actually uploaded
all of them to my website.
251
851178
3336
14:26
It's willpotter.com/CMU and it's
a footnoted version of the talk,
252
854538
4877
14:31
so you can see the documents for yourself
without the little snippets.
253
859439
3318
14:34
You can see the full version.
254
862781
1388
14:36
I relied overwhelmingly
on primary source documents
255
864193
2945
14:39
or on primary interviews
with former and current prisoners,
256
867162
3316
14:42
with people that are dealing
with this situation every day.
257
870502
2786
14:45
And like I said, I've been
there myself, as well.
258
873312
2318
14:47
TR: You're doing courageous work.
259
875654
1706
14:49
WP: Thank you very much. Thank you all.
260
877384
2156
14:51
(Applause)
261
879564
2692

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.

Why you should listen

Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.

The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.

Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.

His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.

More profile about the speaker
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee