American private investigator David Lawson spent approximately 12 years
investigating stalking groups in the United States and Canada, mainly in the
1990s. He wrote about his experiences “riding with” these networked community
harassment groups in two books.

The first, released in 2001, was:

Terrorist Stalking in America
ISBN: 0-9703092-0-1

That book is now out of print. Lawson then produced an updated book
on the same subject in March 2007:

Cause Stalking
ISBN-13: 978-0-9703092-3-5

While group harassment in the workplace is fairly common, and well
documented in this book:

Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace
By Dr. Noa
Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz, Gail Pursell Elliott
Copyright 1999
ISBN
0-9671803-0-9

… the community-based counterpart, organized stalking, is not well
known to the average member of the public. This paper is to share some of David
Lawson’s findings so the reader can begin to grasp what appears to be a
relatively new type of crime. So new, in fact, that targets of organized
stalking have great difficulty getting law enforcement officials to take it
seriously.

Before sharing David Lawson’s findings, it should be pointed out that
Lawson’s books contain two types of information: his observations, and
his conclusions.

David Lawson’s observations of the activities of the community organized
stalking groups are a perfect match for the types of harassment reported by
organized stalking targets. However, Lawson’s conclusions as to who is mainly
responsible are puzzling to targets who have read his books.

David Lawson claims that foreign terrorists and “anti-government” groups are
responsible for the growing organized stalking crimes. Very few targets of
organized stalking see evidence that Lawson’s conclusions match the targets’
experience. Lawson may have discovered those groups operating when he rode with
the harassment groups, but anyone interested in finding the backers of local
harassment groups would do well to suspend judgement on Lawson’s conclusions.

Right up front, targets of organized stalking report that LIES circulated
about the targets are what fuel local hatred for the targets. One of the
favourite lies being circulated is that the target is a child molester. This is
routinely used against female targets as well as targeted men.

Other lies are that the target has a serious criminal record, or is into the
drug trade, or is a prostitute. So for those reading this paper who aren’t
familiar with organized stalking, keep in mind that the obvious answer to “Why
would people harass targets who are nobodies?” … is that once lies are
circulated that the target is a major criminal, that target is no longer a
“nobody.”

As to why certain people are chosen as targets, targets’ reports show that
whistleblowers and activists are sometimes subjected to organized stalking as
“punishment” for their activities. Other cases occur when a target is in line
for a large inheritance, or has turned in a well-connected spouse for criminal
activity such as pedophilia, or sometimes the target just “ticked off” someone
who is well-connected to groups willing to do organized stalking.

According to David Lawson, some targets are simply chosen for ‘practice.’

Here below are selected quotes from both of David Lawson’s books, starting
with a “Concepts Table” for quick-click access to relevant sections:

Police
awareness of organized stalkers
How David
Lawson got involved
Characteristics of
stalker recruits
Quotes from the
stalkers
Stalker
motivation statistics
Involvement
of firemen and police
Stalkers’ attitude
towards their cause
Stalking group
leaders
Stalking group
finances
Distinction,
initial reasons vs. ongoing reasons
Lawson’s
targeted group list
Sampling of
stalking operations
Perps use
adjacent apartments
Synchronized
sounds
Stalkers entry
into targets’ homes
Failure to
recognize organized stalking
Vehicular
harassment
Harassment on
foot
Destruction
of relationships
Noise
campaigns
Synchronized
movements (apartments)
Synchronized
leaving home
Conclusion

SELECTED QUOTES:

Quotes are from David Lawson’s currently available book “Cause Stalking”
except where noted from his original book, “Terrorist Stalking in America.”

Author David Lawson did interview perpetrators, (“perps”), targetted people
(“targets”), and the police. Here is what the author heard from the police he
interviewed:

[pg 79] “I also spoke with a few police officers from across the
country. They confirmed the existence of stalking groups across the country.
In general, they said that ‘cause stalking’ is primarily a civil problem where
the plaintiff has to prove financial loss. They also said that there are free
speech and grass roots issues involved. In fact, the police themselves are
targets of these groups. In small towns, the number of members in these groups
can easily exceed the number of police officers. In general, the police will
not talk about stalking groups. One officer did say there is a storm brewing
as groups become larger and more numerous.”

Author Lawson explains here how he got involved and
began to interact with the ‘cause stalking’ perpetrators:

“One day, several years ago, I was sitting in my house, and
checking out the activity on my scanner. I heard a woman say that she was
following a certain vehicle. She gave the location, the make and model of the
car and the license plate number. A few days later, I heard the same woman on
the same frequency (84) request backup at a certain location. A few days after
that I again heard her broadcasting the position and details about another
vehicle she was following. I listened to other people talking on that
frequency and they didn’t give any indication that they were with any
government agency but they were talking about arresting people.
On another occasion, on the same business band frequency, I heard someone
complain that an African American man was crossing the street. “All we could
get him for is jaywalking” responded the leader. “Leave him for the police.”

People in the group would discuss where they would go for supper, after
their shift was over, so I [the author] went too. I listened to a group of
people openly discussing various activities as if they were the police.

Real police officers were also sitting in the restaurant, listening to
them. I later learned that their presence was not a coincidence.

One man who had supper with the group drove a van marked with the call
letters of a local AM radio station. I started listening to it. Most of the
guests were people who said they had new revelations about Waco or Ruby Ridge,
or had some inside story about government corruption. It is called hate radio.
I also heard advertisements for the meetings of a local political group and I
attended some.

“At the first meeting I attended, one young man flashed a phony police
badge at me. No one paid any attention. Some of those in attendance were the
people I had seen in the local restaurant. This was my introduction to the
creepy world of anti-government extremists.”

David Lawson goes
on to explain that he has observed “extremist groups” for several years while
living in New York State, Florida, and Canada. He monitored the stalking groups’
public communications, attended meetings, and rode with them.

The author defines the basic reason for being for these citizen stalking
groups as CAUSE STALKING. Cause stalking means the group is assembled, under a
leader with a “shadowy past”, for some specific cause.
“Cause stalking has been used by extremist groups since the early
1990s. The basic system is alleged to have been developed by the Ku Klux Klan
and refined through years of use.”

Some details about the typical cause stalking recruit:

“Recruits tend to be blue collar workers who are at the bottom end
of the job scale. They are janitors in apartments, hotels, etc., who have keys
to get in any locked doors. They are security guards, who can let fellow
members into places where they would not normally be allowed to go. They are
city workers, who can, in many cities, follow a target around all day in their
vehicles or have a noisy project underway near his [target’s] residence. They
are taxi drivers, who are a network that is always on the road. They are
cable, telephone and electric company employees who can interfere with a
target’s service and spend time on patrol with the group, while they are on
the job.” Those are the author’s words. Here are
a few quotes from the perpetrators themselves, from the original book:
[From Terrorist Stalking in America] “We are like the police
except we are ABOVE the police.”
[From Terrorist Stalking in America] “We are a citizen’s group that helps
the police. We are trying to alert people in the area about this person [the
target] before he gets to do what he did in the last place he lived.” [Eleanor
White talking: All the cause stalking targets I know well did not commit ANY
offenses. The stalkers are filled with LIES by their leaders.]

[From Terrorist Stalking in America] “When I get the call, I go to whatever
the address is. It doesn’t matter what they [targets] do, they can never get
away from us.”

[From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Who are we? We drive the ambulances
that take you to the emergency room. When your house is burning, we put out
the fire. We are security guards. We protect you at night. You only have
electricity, phone and cable service because of us. We are janitors. We have
the keys. We fix your cars. You don’t want to mess with us.”

In “Cause Stalking”, David Lawson provides some details
about the motivations of stalking group members not in the first book:

– 25% follow the nominal “cause” they were recruited under
–
25% actually participate in the harassment
– 75% harass occasionally or not
at all
– 10% join out of fear of being harassed
themselves

That 10% joining out of fear of harassment is quite
interesting, as one of the most difficult barriers to educating the general
public about organized stalking is why anyone would volunteer to harass others.

Lawson describes recruits to these groups as “… those who feel powerless,
inferior and angry.” Common sense is that naturally, such people would be easy
to recruit for street and adjacent to the target’s home harassment, but I would
comment that lots of professionals put us (targets) down at every opportunity,
declaring us mentally ill for even suggesting organized stalking is possible.
These professionals don’t “feel powerless, inferior, and angry.”

And I doubt the many utility and city employees who participate feel
“powerless, inferior, and angry” either. So while David Lawson has done a great
job, some aspects of organized stalking have apparently escaped him.

One comment Lawson makes is that “Firemen across the
country, and even some police officers, support these groups.”

I have heard a number of reports that vehicular harassment has involved an
above average number of vehicles that bear stickers of firefighters, or, a few
targets have traced perpetrator identities to firemen. One target discovered
that a number of vehicular harassment cars, identified by licence number, were
parked in a police station parking lot.

My personal take on why some firemen and police might back these groups is
that many have a heightened sense of community service. If they can be persuaded
that the target has a criminal record, the worst case being that of a pedophile,
it would be natural for firefighters and police to “help keep the target in
line”.

The author concludes, as explained at a number of places in the
book, that the “cause” the typical group is “working toward” is mainly an excuse
to get the groups together. The main motivation of members who stay with these
groups is the sense of power and belonging the group members derive. Having a
“cause” enhances the feelings of power and righteousness, but group members,
according to the author, are most concerned with how their fellow group stalkers
feel about their “work” and accept them.

Lawson explains the attitude of the typical stalking group member towards the
“cause” this way:

“Most active group members have only a general idea of the
ideology of the group but they don’t particularly care.”

These groups come into being and are run by leaders. Here is what
the author says about them in this book, a bit different and more clearly, when
compared with the original book:

“Group leaders do have political goals and the belief that the end
justifies the means.”

Lawson describes leaders as considering their members “disposable.”

Lawson states that some leaders work for corporations and politicians
(original book didn’t mention politicians.)

Lawson states that leaders identify targets but don’t directly supervise
the harassment group members.

Lawson describes leaders as having an “air of mystery”, “having worked for
the CIA, NSA, or some other intelligence agency that doesn’t reveal
information about their employees.” Lawson states that this “background” is
likely mythology.

How about financing these groups?

Although the author states that the pay is low, there are
still very large expenses to harass people as thoroughly as targets report. Here
is an example of what I mean by “large expenses”:

“Groups are well financed. They can afford to rent property
wherever the target lives. If he drives across the country, he will be
followed by supporters of similar groups in that area. If he travels by plane,
group members will meet him wherever he lands in the U.S. They may even
accompany him on a plane if they know his travel plan, and there is a good
chance that they do.”

Here is what the author learned about their financing:

[From Terrorist Stalking in America] “The operations of many
extremist groups are actually financed by corporations which use them to stalk
their enemies or potential enemies. The groups are used as the private armies
of those corporations. Some countries kill dissidents and in others they are
jailed. In the United States, someone who is threatening to corporations or
industries, like a whistleblower or activist, is likely to become the target
of an extremist group.”

The author makes several statements that
these criminal stalking groups not only harass targets specified by their
leaders, but also are FOR HIRE – a kind of “revenge service” for those wealthy
enough to hire them.

There are two distinct reasons why targets are harassed:

– The initial reason targets are placed on the stalking groups’ “list”
–
The reason the stalkers keep it up (always involves lies)

Those two reasons should always be kept separate in your mind, reader. David
Lawson’s focus is mainly on the reason the stalkers continue to harass targets.

David Lawson’s chapter on Selection of Targets may well
be true, but it certainly doesn’t describe the thousands of people who don’t fit
his list of targeted categories. Here are some of the categories of targets
Lawson records in “Cause Stalking”:

– Abortion clinic workers
– People guilty of mistreatment of
animals
– County clerks and local politicians
– Police officers
–
Judges
– IRS and Treasury agents
– Civil rights activists
–
Government or corporate whistleblowers

One thing David Lawson makes clear in describing the targets is that “The
ultimate goal of the groups is to destroy the targets.” Those who have been
stalked by organized citizen groups which are fed lies report that these groups
do destroy targets with great efficiency.

Next, let’s look at some of the typical OPERATIONS these
groups carry out. Here, I have retained a number of quotes from the original
book because I feel they state the situation as well or better than the new
book:

• The first step, after a target has been selected, is to
  establish a personality profile “… which will involve an assessment of IQ,
  personality type, and history.”

• “A target may also notice being photographed.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “The primary characteristic
  of cause stalking is that it is done by large groups of people. A target will
  always be followed, but he is unlikely to see the same stalkers very often.”
  …

  [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Many of these groups include hundreds
  of people.”

• “Some authors refer to cause stalking as terrorist stalking.
  Groups do not just stalk individuals. They employ organized programs of
  harassment which include break-ins, property damage, assault and occasionally,
  even death. The children of a target are a favorite.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Firemen across the
  country, and even some police departments have a long history of supporting
  extremist groups. Fire trucks can sometimes be seen riding in extremist
  convoys, with their flashing lights turned on and their sirens screaming. They
  will also race to greet a convoy which is entering their town. The
  participation of firemen, city workers and utility company workers helps give
  group members an illusion of legitimacy and power.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “City employees can be used
  to harass a target in many ways including tearing up the road in front of a
  target’s home. Employees of pest control businesses who have access to the
  keys for apartments and those who work for alarm and locksmith companies are
  also of interest.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Groups also attack targets
  of convenience. These people are selected because they are convenient targets,
  and not for any other reason. These include loners who tend to be more
  vulnerable to their harassment tactics than those with family and friends
  around them. Targets of convenience are used for practice.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “In order to establish
  bases of operation, they will enlist the assistance of neighbors. In many
  areas, they can do this by intimidation. Those who do not co-operate can be
  targetted, which includes harassment of their families and damage to their
  homes and vehicles.

  “If they are dealing with individuals who do not know them, they can also
  appeal to their sense of patriotism and they can offer drugs, friendship, home
  repair, free taxi rides and what ever else they have to. In some cases they
  may even be able to get a key to the residence from a ‘patriotic’ landlord.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Surveillance is conducted
  24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When a target leaves his residence they will
  alert the group, either by cell phone or by business band radio. Other
  members, who are patrolling the perimeter to watch for police and other
  vehicles driving in the area, will race to the location to begin pursuit. In
  small towns, where business band radio is widely used, these activities are a
  local sport among a small group. Anyone with a scanner can join in. Some
  targets have reported hearing an announcement on their scanners as soon as
  they turn their lights on in the morning.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “In a
  typical apartment setting, they will attempt to lease, sublet, or otherwise
  have access to apartments above, below, and on both sides of the target. They
  will also “guard” the vehicles of a target in the parking lot.”
  

  [From Terrorist Stalking in America] If [the target]
  flushes a toilet, he may hear a car horn honk, the sound of a power tool or
  hammering, for example. There will also be a large number of people coming and
  going, and accompanying rowdiness and noise.”
  

  
  

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “A common ruse used by
  these groups is that they are a ‘citizens group’ which assists the police and
  they are ‘just keeping track of’ a certain individual, for whatever reason.
  The illusion is reinforced by the case files they carry which are complete
  with photos of the target and look like those used by police.”
  

  
  

• “During a search [of the target’s home or apartment] members who
  are on patrol anyway establish a perimeter around the residence to watch for
  police vehicles. In an apartment setting, entry will likely be gained through
  a member of the janitorial staff, pest control or alarm technician, since they
  have a right to enter. They may even be able to approach a landlord and gain
  his co-operation, after convincing him of their ‘higher purpose’. He may also
  co-operate out of fear.”
  

  
  

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Others do not recognize
  that they are being harassed by an organized group. They just think that there
  are a lot of rude people in the world.”

• “Interception of mail is standard practice.” … “Typically,
  targets notice that their mail is arriving late or they do not receive certain
  pieces of mail. They [targets] may overhear people at a nearby table in a
  restaurant talking about certain mail, and realize it is theirs, or someone
  may drive by [the target] waving their mail at them.”

• “Interception of phone calls is also standard practice. This is
  done by telephone company employees who support the [stalking] group for
  ideological reasons or because they obtain some benefit.” Eleanor White
  comment: I’d add to that one of the most likely reasons, because the phone
  technicians are told lies about targets.

• “An objective is to isolate the target from his family and
  friends. He can tell them about all the strange things happening around him,
  but they will not understand and perhaps will think he is crazy. Sometimes
  other members of the family will receive the same treatment.”

• “When a target is driving, standard practice
  is to surround his vehicle and attempt to control his speed. He will not be
  followed in close proximity by the same vehicles for a long distance. They do
  frequent trade-offs. Vehicles line up behind the target to take their turn.”

  “In many parts of the country it is common to see groups of six to 30 or
  more vehicles driving around in convoys with their high beams on during the
  day. This is one of the ways a convoy can be identified.”

• “Standard practice is to watch the target’s vehicles and this
  subjects them to damage including slashed tires, scratched paint, stolen
  license plates, etc. Typically they would not cut the brake lines on vehicles
  or commit other similar acts of sabotage, but they would drain the oil or
  antifreeze over a period of time.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “A target
  will be followed on foot wherever he goes. Anyone can go to the same public
  places he goes, and they will attempt to get into any other restricted places
  he goes, including hospitals, places of employment, etc. It has been said that
  it is possible to go nearly anywhere if you have a clipboard in your hand and
  it is almost true. They also like to wear name badges on a lanyard, and some
  carry phony police badges.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “Common harassment tactics
  used by those on foot include pen clicking, in which they repeatedly click a
  ball point pen, key rattling, and rattling change in their pockets while
  standing behind the target. Many tactics are tried and the result is observed.
  Those which evoke a response from the target are repeated. When a target sits
  anywhere in public, group members will attempt to sit behind him in order to
  create noise, by whatever means, including tapping their feet on the target’s
  chair. The objective is to harass the target constantly.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America]
  “Groups attempt to interfere with any business and personal relationships
  which the target has. Typically, this interference involves character
  assassination from some anonymous individual and is not usually taken
  seriously by those who know the target. It can be effective with people who
  don’t know the target.”

• “At work, the target will also experience character
  assassination. If he works in any position where he has to deal with the
  public, there will be a steady stream of customers who complain about him. If
  he is a real estate agent, he will have a steady stream of prospects who
  occupy his time but never make an offer.”

  Let me, Eleanor White, give you an example of how brutal and serious this
  “character assassination” can be.

  One of our members, who prefers to remain anonymous, moved in with her
  husband and children to a house which, unkown to them, had been a
  methamphetamine lab. The chemicals used to brew meth apparently cause
  distinctive symptoms in the mouth. This family’s dentist felt he was “helping
  law enforcement” by reporting them to local law enforcement as meth users.
  This was absolutely untrue, but the family didn’t even know the report had
  been made and had no way to correct it. (In fact, in some places, dentists are
  REQUIRED to report suspected cases of meth use.)

  Law enforcement in that area was apparently tied in to the citizen groups,
  and the family was harassed for many years. The husband died, apparently from
  exposure to these chemicals.

  The lady, now a grandmother, steadfastly did detective work and eventually
  found out about her family’s reputation, with some help from a policeman who
  was a personal friend, from a different jurisdiction. This policeman admitted
  off the record that “meth mouth” can result in people being submitted to
  citizen harassment groups for harassment.

  Character assassination is complete, and has life-destroying consequences!

• “A common tactic use by groups is noise campaigns.
  Group members will drive by the target’s residence or work place, honking
  their horns, squealing tires, and making whatever other noise they can.”

  “They will also make noise from whatever nearby properties they have access
  to. Typically, they will make noise when the target goes outside. Group
  members will also frequently knock on his door for whatever peculiar reasons
  they can dream up.”

• “In an apartment setting, targets can expect to hear tapping on
  the walls in the middle of the night, hammering etc. from the upper and/or
  lower apartments, and possibly the apartments on both sides. They will
  continue to ‘work’ on these activities for as long as they can get away with
  them.”

• [From Terrorist Stalking in America] “… It is
  not uncommon, in an apartment setting, for a target to hear someone moving
  from room to room as he does, from the upper or lower apartment. [Eleanor
  White talking: This requires commercial through wall radar or more advanced
  technology in many cases.]

• “Often they occupy a nearby apartment, part
  time, when the owner is not there and he receives some benefit. A target may
  notice someone leaving a nearby apartment when he leaves his, and arrive when
  he arrives. In addition, he will often be accompanied in elevators by a steady
  stream of different individuals who go to the apartments being used by the
  group.”

What about the future, then? Let me close this review with
a chilling quote from David Lawson’s first book, Terrorist Stalking in America,
reporting what the author learned from some of the leaders:

“The leaders … are starting to balk at exposing their members to
arrest for activities which amount to little gain for the movement. they say
that anyone who is a target should be killed, and not just harassed for
years.”

Eleanor White