Back in 2014, Black activists in Ferguson, Missouri “were called paranoid” when they suspected they were being surveiled by the FBI. But “we know now that they were justified in their fears,” said Alice Speri, who reported for The Interceptthat the Bureau began using the term “Black Identity Extremists” (BIE) in Ferguson. The FBI then started conflating BIE and ISIS, “a merging of the two bogeymen” to instill fear in the public.
