>Now whether they were watching your ex-roommates for a good reason is neither here nor there, but the fact remains that the FBI wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't keep tabs on you, someone whom they were living with.
This is patently untrue surveillance state propaganda. The job of law enforcement is not to prevent any crime from ever happening by following around potential criminals or associates of possible criminals. The fact that we're even OK with there being a watchlist at all is a bit disturbing to me.
No, that is actually the job of law enforcement. That is what Bruce Schneier means when he talks about good intelligence work and good law enforcement work as protection against terrorism, as opposed to security theatre.
Or, put another way: planning to commit a crime (criminal conspiracy) is itself a crime. Being a suspect of a crime is a valid reason for law enforcement to watch someone. Associating closely with someone who's part of a conspiracy could very reasonably put you under suspicion for being part of the conspiracy (although it's not evidence against you, of course).
Of course, the lines between when people are reasonably suspected of crimes has been moved far and fast in the wrong direction and needs to be pushed back.
This is patently untrue surveillance state propaganda. The job of law enforcement is not to prevent any crime from ever happening by following around potential criminals or associates of possible criminals. The fact that we're even OK with there being a watchlist at all is a bit disturbing to me.