If you attended the Burning Man festival, then the FBI probably knows everything about you.
According to a report by Daily Mail, the FBI has admitted to gathering secret intelligence about the annual Burning Man festival for the past last year.
According to a request under the 2012 Freedom of Information Act, the FBI said its Special Events Management unit has kept files on festival-goers, known as “burners” – to “aid in the prevention of terrorist activities and intelligence collection”.
But, the FBI’s response is heavily redacted including information about how they secretly gather the information and the technology they used.
The revelation comes as the 29th Burning Man is currently taking place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
The FBI said its involvement was ‘even more critical in the light of the ongoing war on terrorism and the potential for additional acts of terrorism being committed in the United States.’
But later the FBI warns: ‘The greatest known threat in this event is crowd control issues and use of illegal drugs by participants.’Â Â
The heavily-redacted document said that the Las Vegas FBI will work with all appropriate law enforcement agencies on the material it gathers.
Burning Man, begins on the last Monday of August and ends on the first Monday of September, for a week of parties centering around art and alternative living.
Since money is outlawed at the site, guests are urged to barter for commodities and many fans have already taken to social media to swap items such as crystals for festival tickets.
The entire campsite is temporary, and participants are required to bring everything with them including food, furniture, and clothing.
Every year several campsites and “temples” are built according to a theme, and on the last day, they are burned down.
Source: Daily Mail/Image Credit: Flickr
