Faisal Mahmood Gill () is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

-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. Since the founding of the Republican Party until the 1960s, Vermont was almost exclusively a Republican state, with Republicans dominating Verm ...

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 former lawyer. In 1996, Greenwald founded a law firm concentrating on First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment litigation. He began blo ...

through the

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor and whistleblower who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs. Born in 1983 in Elizabeth ...

leaks that Gill was one of five prominent Muslim

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

citizens that were under

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is an 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, collection, and proces ...

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 offenses only. The City Attorney is elected for four years, and the City Charter requires ...

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 United States census, 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in nort ...

. 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 of the City of Los Angeles, in the northwest portion of the San Fernando Valley. History The Porter family acquired part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando in 1874. Porter Ranch community started as a ...

, a neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 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 and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

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 defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1 ...

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 American attorney and politician, who is the incumbent Los Angeles City Attorney, City Attorney of Los Angeles. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Early life and ca ...

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 Asian-American people in Vermont politics United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps Living people Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani Muslim activists Lawyers from Karachi Politicians from Karachi Washington College of Law alumni Virginia Republicans