Democrats Call for Probe Into Alleged Surveillance of Protesters

House and Senate Democrats are asking for an independent privacy board within the executive branch to investigate allegations that federal agencies surveilled recent Black Lives Matter protests.

Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to investigate allegations that certain federal agencies conducted surveillance of recent protests against police violence as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, according to a letter sent to the board Thursday.

The lawmakers’ request to the independent, five-member board appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate escalates previous, largely unsuccessful...