A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book."
The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request [...] He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security.
The professors said the student was told by the agents that the book is on a "watch list," and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further.
"I tell my students to go to the direct source, and so he asked for the official Peking version of the book," Professor Pontbriand said. "Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring inter-library loans, because that's what triggered the visit, as I understand it."
Although there are abridged versions available, the student asked for a version translated directly from the original book.
The Homeland Security agents [...] brought the book with them, but did not leave it with the student.
Remember when this was a plot element in Se7en and you thought, "oh, that's bullshit?"
Update: Ok, so turns out it was bullshit.
