While FBI officials said their operations were above board and driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in no other setting, human rights groups were concerned they may have been improper.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the FBI's activity and the latest disclosures about domestic surveillance by the National Security Council and military intelligence units reflected a pattern of overreaching by the government.

"It's clear that this administration has engaged every possible agency, from the Pentagon to NSA to the FBI, to engage in spying on Americans," said ACLU associate legal director Ann Beeson.

Heavily-edited FBI documents the ACLU gave to the Times show plans to conduct surveillance of protest groups suspected of having links to violent or disruptive activities.

FBI officials said many of the documents' references to such groups as Greenpeace, Catholic Workers and by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, may be more benign than they seemed to civil rights advocates.

"Just being referenced in an FBI file is not tantamount to being the subject of an investigation," FBI spokesman John Miller told the daily.

"The FBI does not target individuals or organizations for investigation based on their political beliefs," Miller said.

"Everything we do is carefully promulgated by federal law, Justice Department guidelines and the FBI's own rules," he added

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