Lost in all the Shutdown/debt ceiling furor of the past few days is a Washington Times report about a chilling training manual photo that has gotten the Justice Department into hot water. The photo, that was embedded in their annual Introduction to National Security Information online course for the ATF, suggests federal agents could face a firing squad for leaking government secrets.

The Photo was obtained by the Washington Times from a concerned law enforcement official, and “immediately drew protests from watchdogs who said it showed a lack of sensitivity to gun violence and the continuing hostile environment toward whistleblowers.”

A photo in the online manual for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — complete with a photo of a turn-of-the-century firing squad — was obtained by The Washington Times from a concerned federal law enforcement official, and it immediately drew protests from watchdogs who said it showed a lack of sensitivity to gun violence and the continuing hostile environment toward whistleblowers.

Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblower Center, said the DOJ has forgotten about the protections of the First Amendment, which covers leaks to the media, and that the photo could scare its employees into self-censorship.

The photo “would have a chilling affect on legitimate speech. And some of the rhetoric used against whistleblowers could be construed as inciting to violence because they’ve turned up the rhetoric,” Mr. Kohn said.

Justice Department officials said the photo was included as a joke and that they were unaware it was viewed as offensive by agents. They plan to remove the entry, but not until the government shutdown is ended and federal officials return to work, said Richard Marianos, the special agent in charge of the Washington division of ATF.

In light of this Regime’s ongoing war against whistleblowers, the firing squad pic could hardly have been seen as a “joke”. It looks more like an a ham-fisted attempt at sending a message.

LINK