Nixon blames 'overzealousness' for highway patrol's militia report

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday blamed the "overzealousness" of a Missouri State Highway Patrol unit for a report slammed by conservatives because it links various right-wing organizations with the modern militia movement.

The Democratic governor faced numerous questions about the report and how the state's police agencies gather intelligence during a news conference.

"I'm confident that some of the overzealousness of this previously formed unit will be appropriately managed," Nixon said.

The report, which no longer is being distributed because of the controversy, says many militia members subscribe to fundamentalist Christian, anti-abortion or anti-immigration movements. It also notes that members usually support third-party presidential candidates and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who ran for president last year.

The document was created by the Missouri Information Analysis Center, which collects intelligence from state and federal agencies to combat terrorism and criminal activity. It was designed to be read only by police and not the public.

Anger over the report's conclusions has bubbled among conservatives for weeks. The controversy intensified Wednesday after Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder held a news conference in the Capitol and called for Nixon's director of public safety to be disciplined.

Several hours after Kinder's news conference, highway patrol superintendent Col. James Keathley said he had halted distribution of the report and said he and public safety director John Britt approve future reports issued from the state's fusion center.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Nixon called that an important oversight step that was neglected when the information center was created under Republican Gov. Matt Blunt.

When asked from where the ideas behind the report's conclusions originated, Nixon said he did not know.

"I have no idea, I was not governor when MIAC was formed," Nixon said. "I was not the governor, I did not hire any of the people who are there, and nobody from my administration -- the director of public safety or the colonel [Keathley] -- saw the stuff before it went out."

'Threat assessments'

Even while criticizing that the document was allowed to be distributed, Nixon defended the use of intelligence-gathering by Missouri's police departments.

"Threat assessments are important to do in all law enforcement," he said. "When a cop walks a beat -- whether it's in a school or down a neighborhood -- they look at a lot of houses of a lot of law-abiding people. And basic police work takes in intelligence and deals with that and develops threat bases, threat assessments."

But Nixon's explanation was not sufficient to some angered by the report.

Kinder spokesman Gary McElyea said reviewing future reports is good but that the lieutenant governor's questions have not been answered about why the report was even drafted and if there are other reports that politically profile people.

Later Thursday, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., released a letter to Nixon asking that the state determine if any federal funds were used to help create the report.

And state Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, pledged to file legislation to create a special oversight committee to examine the fusion center's activities and procedures, including whether it engaged in racial, religious, political or social profiling.

Fusion centers such as the one in Jefferson City have faced controversy elsewhere. In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued over state police undercover surveillance of anti-death penalty protesters and peace activists.

Earlier this month, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano visited the Jefferson City fusion center and called it part of the front line in the country's efforts to battle terrorism. Napolitano said the information centers are not designed to be domestic spy agencies that infringe on Americans' civil liberties.