Faisal Mahmood Gill ( ur, ) is a Pakistani-born (born June, 1972) American lawyer, administrator, and government advisor, who served as the interim chairman of the

Vermont Democratic Party The Vermont Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Vermont. From the time of the American Civil War until the 1960s, Vermont was an almost exclusively Republican state, with Republicans dominating Vermont ...

for several months in 2017. In July 2014, it was revealed by

Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...

through the

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

leaks that Gill was one of five prominent Muslim

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

citizens that were under

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

surveillance. In 2022, Gill was a candidate for

Los Angeles City Attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the city of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor violations. The Los Angeles County District Attorney prosecutes felonies. The city attorne ...

Biography

In 2007, Gill ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican losing to Democratic opponent Paul F. Nichols. In 2012, Gill relocated to

Winooski, Vermont Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in northern New England, an area co ...

. In 2016
he was a candidate
in the Democratic Primary for one of six seats in th
multi-member Chittenden Senate District of Vermont
On March 4, 2017, Gill was elected as interim chairman of the

, becoming the first-ever Muslim to lead a state party. He was not a candidate for a full term in November. In 2018, Gill moved to

Porter Ranch Porter Ranch is a suburban neighborhood in the northwest San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. History New home construction that was completed in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaissan ...

, a neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California.

Homeland Security career and targeting

In 2003, Gill served as a spokesman for the

American Muslim Council The American Muslim Council (AMC) is an Islamic organization and registered charity in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. An earlier organization with the same name was founded in 1990 by Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi ...

, an organization founded by Abdurahman Alamoudi to encourage Muslim political participation. al-Alamoudi was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for bringing over one million dollars in cash provided by the Libyan government into the U.S. After being appointed by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as a policy director for the Department of Homeland Security, Gill was investigated by officials in connection to al-Amoudi but was ultimately cleared by a polygraph test and allowed to resume work. However, pundit

Frank Gaffney Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born April 5, 1953) is an American anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist and the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy. In the 1970s and 1980s, he worked for the federal government in multiple posts, including ...

led a public campaign to discredit Gill, highlighting the brief inquiry into Gill's AMC connections and soliciting letters from Congressional Republicans calling for an investigation. In a 2004 statement defending Gill, a DHS spokesman said: "DHS is confident that our security clearance process is effective. Mr. Gill was thoroughly vetted at several levels. Mr. Gill did not withhold information on government forms required to initiate government security clearance processing and has been cooperative throughout the process." Faisal Gill left the Department of Homeland Security in January, 2005. In 2014, NSA documents leaked by

revealed that the NSA had been spying on Gill and several other prominent Muslim-Americans beginning in 2006.

Asked whether he believes he would have been monitored by the NSA if he were not Muslim, Gill is blunt. "Absolutely not," he says. "Look, I've never made an appearance or been a lawyer for anyone who's been ssociated with terrorism But there are plenty of other lawyers who have made those appearances and actually represented those governments, and their name isn't Faisal Gill and they weren’t born in Pakistan and they aren't on this list."

Anti-LGBT marriage activism

In October 2006, Gill appeared on behalf of The Virginians for marriage and the Family Foundation in a public forum in support of the Virginia Marriage Amendment which barred recognition of gay marriage in the state of Virginia. At the forum, Gill stated, "I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman". Gill also said that without the amendment marriage would be rendered meaningless. The amendment passed with 57% of the vote but was later ruled to be unconstitutional. Gill has since reversed his position and now supports marriage equality.

Campaign for L.A. City Attorney

In March 2021, Faisal Gill announced his campaign for

in 2022. He won the primary alongside

Hydee Feldstein Soto Hydee Feldstein Soto (born 1958) is an attorney and American politician, who is the incumbent City Attorney of Los Angeles. A member of the Democratic Party, her candidacy was endorsed by the Los Angeles Times. Early life and career Feldstein ...

but was beaten by Soto in the runoff election in November 2022.

References

External links

Official campaign websiteFaisal Gill's biography
from Gill & Gallinger Web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Faisal 1972 births American Muslim activists American politicians of Pakistani descent American University alumni United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps Living people Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani Muslim activists People from Karachi Washington College of Law alumni Virginia Republicans