Remember the collective side-eye the internet gave the FBI when it declared "black identity extremists" a domestic terrorism threat?

Well, according to department emails reviewed by Al Jazeera, it looks like the FBI thinks there's another group we all need to watch out for: black supremacist extremists. 

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's records were reviewed by Al Jazeera after news of the black identity extremist document broke.

The emails detail the monitoring of the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing of five Dallas police officers by veteran Micah Xavier Johnson in 2016. Using his military training, Johnson used a sniper rifle to kill the officers during a peaceful protest demanding justice for black men killed by police officers.

Following that incident, the fear level rose at the agencies as officials began to worry that a similar attack would occur at two major upcoming events: the respective Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which were scheduled for July.

“Due to sensitivities surrounding recent police shootings, the threat of copycat attacks against law enforcement exists," read one of the emails. “There is a threat of black supremacist extremists attempting to violently co-opt the upcoming DNC/RNC.”

Exactly what made the FBI feel "there is a threat" is unclear.

Michael German, a former FBI agent and current fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that he felt the alarm could have been caused by a "blending of activities" of the peaceful protesters and "someone they [the FBI] acknowledge is a lone actor."

Activist Brandi Collins, campaign director at Color of Change, said that this is nothing new, and that the FBI has "been building this narrative over time."

She also alleged that the FBI has been "trying to infiltrate organisations, and going to protests, to bolster this claim that black folks, in The Movement for Black Lives, are terrorist threats to this community."

Activist DeRay McKesson told Newsweek that he has first hand knowledge of this. 

At first he said, “we knew that there were likely people watching.” He got confirmation of this when agents visited his home in July; only after reading Al Jazeera's report did he realize that they believed he might be tied to a convention threat.

Even after the visit, McKesson said he was undeterred. “We knew that we were on the right side of justice. We were not afraid.”

FBI spokesman Andrew Ames defended the agency, claiming that despite the word "black" being in the emails, that this has nothing to do with race.

"The FBI investigates activity which may constitute a federal crime or pose a threat to national security and cannot initiate an investigation based solely on an individual’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or the exercise of First Amendment rights," Ames said.

"The FBI remains committed to protecting those rights for all Americans. Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and other criminal acts," Ames continued.

This last statement was meant to clarify something else written in the FBI emails.

One section of the emails say that while demonstrators are protected by the First Amendment, “based on known intelligence and/or specific, historical observations, it is possible the protected activity could invite a violent reaction towards the subject individuals or groups, or the activity could be used as a means to target law enforcement."

For its part, the Department of Homeland Security explained the emails like this: "Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and other criminal acts. The FBI does not and will not police ideology. When an individual takes violent action based on belief or ideology and breaks the law, the FBI will enforce the rule of law." 

Activists, however, aren't buying that for a second.

"The subtext here is stunning," Collins said. 

And Omar Farah, an attorney at the group that sued to get the emails released, the Center for Constitutional Rights, said that the surveillance itself was dangerous, even if the FBI decided not to take any action.  

"Surveillance is what chills people from mobilizing and organizing," Farah said.