According to Firearm Chronicles
In the wake of a whistleblower’s accusations that the Maine Information and Analysis Center illegally collected and maintained information on several groups of people, including gun owners in the state, there’s been a growing bipartisan group of public officials and organizations that are calling for a complete investigation into the allegations.
George Loder, who worked for the Maine State Police for decades, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court recently, alleging that he was demoted after alerting his superiors to the illegal practices.
The complaint does not say with which agencies the center may have shared the information other than the state police. It also does not say when the center began collecting it. Loder expressed his concerns to supervisors in November 2017.
Loder alleges that staff at the center illegally gathered and kept information gleaned from social media about people who legally protested in September 2018 against Central Maine Power Co.’s proposed transmission corridor stretching from the Quebec border to Lewiston.
State police maintain a database that can be searched to determine if a person is prohibited from purchasing a gun. Applications to purchase firearms are supposed to be destroyed after the sale is approved but the center stored that information in the database, the suit claims.
The Bangor Daily News reports that former Gov. Paul LePage has denied any knowledge of the alleged surveillance, while current Gov. Janet Mills, who was previously the state’s Attorney General, has to date made no comment. On Thursday of this week, a pair of senior Republican lawmakers did speak out and demanded answers.