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Court finds FBI improperly used surveillance tool on Jan. 6 suspects, racial justice protests

FBI
FBI
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WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when they searched a vast repository of foreign intelligence for information related to the insurrection at the U..S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and racial justice protests in 2020.

That's according to a heavily blacked-out court order released Friday.

FBI officials said the violations predated a series of corrective measures that started in the summer of 2021 and continued last year.

But the problems could nonetheless complicate FBI and Justice Department efforts to receive congressional reauthorization of a warrantless surveillance program that government officials say is needed to counter terrorism, espionage and international cybercrime.