A local 2010 Games activist called security tactics “shocking” after a six hour interrogation at the U.S. border yesterday.

“We must be doing something right if we are facing these increasing levels of reaction,” Olympics Resistance Network member Marla Renn told the Tyee.

The Vancouver-based activist was en route to Portland to give a speech critical of the Games. By Renn's own account, U.S. guards refused to let her cross the border. They cited her lack of employment. She finished school three months ago, and doesn’t have a job.

Renn claimed she was photographed, fingerprinted and searched. Guards went through her cell phone. She was grilled by Canadian and American officials about her anti-Olympics activism and contacts in the U.S. The interrogation lasted hours, Renn said.

“It suggests to me that there’s an effort that’s being put in to create obstacles for anti-Olympic activists to coordinate with each other across the border,” she said.

This is second time in the past few months Renn was denied access to the U.S. In October, she and activist Gord Hill were barred on their way to an Olympics talk in Seattle. They were carrying merchandise without the proper documents.

At the time, a spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection said Canada and the U.S. share security intelligence all the time.

“We do that on an ongoing basis,” Mike Milne said. “It certainly would be applicable during the Games as well.”

American border officials ultimately decide who gets into the country. But Canadian authorities could warn them about potential security threats.

“There are a number of people on any daily basis that are flagged,” Milne said.

Renn’s refusal at the border yesterday is the latest in a recent outburst of Olympics controversy.

News of U.S. journalist Amy Goodman’s grilling by Canadian border guards was greeted by outrage within activist communities. And Victoria police chief Jamie Graham recently admitted an undercover officer drove protesters to the torch-relay kick-off in October.

“It’s shocking,” Renn said. “Even speaking about the Olympics is seen as threatening. That’s a dangerous place for a society to be.”

Geoff Dembicki reports for the Tyee.