The FBI and Department of Justice produced a series of 25 flyers under the “Communities Against Terrorism” initiative, designed to be distributed to businesses across a wide range of industries. These documents instructed employees and business owners on how to identify and report suspicious activity that might indicate potential terrorist threats. The flyers were not intended for public release, though several surfaced through news media reports and law enforcement agencies over time.
What the Flyers Contained
Each flyer was tailored to a specific industry or business type and outlined behaviors that employees should report to law enforcement. The categories covered an unusually broad cross-section of American commercial life, spanning 25 distinct sectors including airports, financial institutions, electronics stores, farm supply stores, hotels, internet cafes, shopping malls, rental car agencies, storage facilities, and even hobby shops, tattoo parlors, and paintball facilities.
The flyers typically listed specific customer behaviors deemed potentially suspicious, such as paying with cash, purchasing items that could theoretically be used in explosive devices, asking unusual questions about building layouts, or demonstrating an interest in security procedures.
Scope and Concerns About Overreach
Critics argued that the breadth of industries covered and the vagueness of the suspicious behavior indicators effectively turned ordinary commercial transactions into potential intelligence-gathering opportunities. Activities that would be entirely unremarkable in normal circumstances, such as a customer paying cash at a hardware store or renting a truck, were framed as potential warning signs.
The program reflected a post-September 11 approach to domestic security that emphasized enlisting private citizens and businesses as extensions of the surveillance apparatus. The “see something, say something” philosophy embedded in these flyers raised concerns among civil liberties advocates about the potential for racial profiling, religious discrimination, and the chilling effect on lawful behavior when routine activities are recast as suspicious.
The Broader Suspicious Activity Reporting Framework
The flyers were part of a larger Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) framework developed after the September 11 attacks. This system established standardized processes for local law enforcement, private businesses, and ordinary citizens to report observations to FBI field offices and Joint Terrorism Task Forces.
The SAR framework fed into fusion centers, information-sharing hubs operated jointly by federal, state, and local agencies. Reports submitted through these channels were entered into databases accessible to multiple law enforcement agencies, raising questions about data retention, accuracy, and the potential consequences of being flagged based on subjective assessments of normal behavior.
Legacy and Ongoing Debate
The “Communities Against Terrorism” flyers became a focal point in the ongoing debate about the balance between public safety and civil liberties. Proponents maintained that community vigilance was essential for preventing attacks, while opponents argued that the program encouraged a culture of suspicion that disproportionately affected certain communities and normalized the surveillance of everyday activities.
The initiative illustrated a fundamental challenge in domestic counterterrorism policy: how to encourage genuine public awareness without creating systems that treat millions of ordinary citizens as potential suspects based on routine commercial behavior.
