On June 26 the San Jose Mercury News published email correspondences between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press office and senior California National Guard officials that detail surveillance of a Mother's Day peace rally sponsored by three organizations. Separate investigations have been launched by a California state legislator and federal officials, and public reaction has been strongly negative, with comparisons to domestic spying targeted at anti-war and civil rights groups during the Vietnam era. The extent of the surveillance remains unclear. A National Guard spokesperson said that none of its personnel attended the rally, but that it simply monitored news reports of the event. However, an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spokesperson said, "We fear that the surveillance of the Mothers' Day Parade rally is just the tip of the iceberg..." The Guard unit involved, dubbed the Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion (ISKMIF ) program, was created in 2004 to coordinate anti-terrorist efforts. Its nine personnel have broad authority, with the focus of their work intended to be centered on monitoring the safety of bridges and other public facilities. According to the Mercury News, however, three days before the Mother's Day rally, an aide in Schwarzenegger's press office sent the Guard a notice of the event. The Guard chief of staff then emailed the Major General in charge and Col. Jeff Davis, the officer overseeing the ISKMIF program, writing here is "information you wanted on Sunday's demonstration at the Capitol." The response from Davis read, "Forwarding same to our Intel folks who continue to monitor." When the story broke a Guard spokesman said the military would be "negligent" not to track anti-war rallies because they could turn into riots, and "who knows who could infiltrate that type of group and try to stir something up?" The groups involved in the rally are well known pacifist organizations- Code Pink, a national peace group; Gold Star Families for Peace, made up of parents of soldiers killed in Iraq; and the Raging Grannies of the Peninsula Area, whose members' average age is 72. Public reaction to the Guard's attempt at justification was understandably negative. Joseph Onek of the Liberty and Security Initiative for the Constitution Project at Georgetown University called it "ludicrous." Two elected officials announced investigations shortly after the surveillance became known. State Sen. Joseph Dunn (D-Garden Grove), who sits on the budget committee that oversees the Guard's budget, has ordered the Guard to turn over all documents about the ISKMIF unit and all information it has gathered about individuals. The Guard claims it has no information on individuals, and if information exists it will be difficult to obtain, because Davis, who oversaw the program, recently retired and all of his computer files have been erased. There is also response at the federal level, with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), member of the House Homeland Security Committee, planning to question Guard officials about the incident in an upcoming hearing. The U.S. Army Inspector General, the federal National Guard Bureau, and the National Guard legal division are also investigating the surveillance allegations. The California chapter of the ACLU called on the governor to "take immediate steps" to stop Guard spying on domestic groups, including disbanding the ISKMIF unit or strictly regulating it to prohibit "monitoring and collection of information on individuals and organizations engaged in First Amendment protected activity." The statement also called for guidelines that make it clear "that protest activity -- including civil disobedience -- is not terrorism." A spokeswoman for the governor said the administration is concerned and is looking into the situation. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, said the incident will not deter the group from its work, but will make them more wary, more likely to look around for unfamiliar faces at meetings, and less free to organize and brainstorm.