2021 United States Capitol attack and other 'protests' (Vermont State Police)

Emma Best filed this request with the Vermont State Police of Vermont.

It is a clone of this request.

Multi Request 2021 United States Capitol attack and other 'protests'
Status
Completed

From: Emma Best

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Vermont Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records regarding the potential for violence, unrest, criminal activities or other disturbances associated with protests or other activities on either January 5 or January 6, 2021 at local, regional or national events. This request includes but is not limited to inter-departmental communications, situational reports, bulletins and other documents.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma North-Best

From: Vermont State Police

October 15, 2021

Via Email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Dear Ms. North-Best,

I am writing regarding your public records request, received September 14, 2021, and addressed to the Vermont State Police PRA Office, requesting the following: "[r]ecords regarding the potential for violence, unrest, criminal activities or other disturbances associated with protests or other activities on either January 5 or January 6, 2021 at local, regional or national events."

Records responsive to this request are attached.

Please note that the records supplied here have been redacted in accordance with the Vermont Public Records Act exemptions. The following exemptions apply to the records provided:

* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(1) relating to information "designated confidential by law,"
* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(2) relating to "disclosure only to specific persons,"
* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(5)(A) and (D) relating to law enforcement records "dealing with the detection and investigation of crime,"
* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(7) relating to "[p]ersonal documents relating to an individual"
* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(25) relating to "security procedures," and
* 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(32) relating to "security of public buildings."

If you believe that a portion of the attached record has been withheld in error, or if you would like to discuss the redactions in the released record, please feel free to contact me at this email address. Please be advised that you may also file an appeal. If you choose to file an appeal, we request that you do so in writing to:

Commissioner Michael Schirling
Department of Public Safety
45 State Drive
Waterbury, VT 05671

Sincerely,

Traci Leibowitz
Public Records Request Specialist
Vermont Department of Public Safety

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From: Vermont State Police

Hello, I received the attached message. I see that you are following up on a request we received from you on September 14, 2021. My records show that we (the Vermont Department of Public Safety) already provided a response to your request back on October 15, 2021. Your message includes the cover letter to the response - it's on page 2 of 4. The response was sent via email back on October 15, 2021.

If you have questions about the response sent on Oct. 15, 2021 just let me know.

Traci Leibowitz
Public Records Act Specialist
Vermont Department of Public Safety