Fusion centers are meant to serve as hubs of intelligence to flow between federal government, private sector, state, local, tribal and territorial partners. However, in a recent investigation, the Brennan Center for Justice uncovered not only flawed analyses from the centers but also abuses of their authority and instances of the surveillance of people engaged in First Amendment-protected activities. Under the guise of counterterrorism, they have historically targeted American Muslims and claimed that activists are threats.