FBI domestic aerial surveillance program
FBI domestic aerial surveillance program
What we know, and questions we should be asking
With the FBI surveillance footage that entered into the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the FBI’s sizeable aerial surveillance program has come back into the public eye. I have read about the program previously and decided to do some research and ended up with more questions than answers. It turns out it is a rather extensive program, and before we get to the questions I still have, I want to lay out some facts about the program that I’ve found in the public domain.1
1. Many Federal agencies have extensive air fleets that they use for a variety of tasks, including surveillance. 2
2. The FBI has in the past used false registration in cooperation with the FAA to try to hide its ownership of surveillance platforms and has active contracts with private businesses that specialize in intel collection.3
3. Typically the surveillance platforms contain multiple intel-gathering devices, not just video/thermal imaging pods. They have cutting-edge technology, including numerous DOD-developed technologies developed for use against foreign adversaries. These include cell spoofing/tracking tech known as “Stingray,” advanced video systems code-named Gorgon, etc. If one looks at the picture in the Guardian article cited, there is a Cessna aircraft with several different antennas and arrays pictured that was used as an FBI platform.4
4. According to the FBI, there is a different burden on investigators to use manned surveillance platforms versus unmanned aerial systems(UAS). The use of manned systems is a much lower burden that requires less substantiation vs. UAS. Per a 2015 memo and since the updated statute, DOJ/FBI must report UAS activities for audit purposes because of the grave civil liberty concerns their abuse would cause. The DOJ/FBI claims that their manned aerial platforms are only supposed to conduct very narrow targeted surveillance, but most of the tools they use are by nature broad collecting tools that sweep up innocent people’s data.56
5. Tenax states: “Our company focuses on special mission aviation programs critical to national security and the public interest including, but not limited to: aerial fire suppression, aerial intelligence gathering and airborne data acquisition” they have multiple contracts with the government for a variety of services including a multimillion-dollar contract with the FBI for air lease services.7
There are several questions we need answers on from the DOJ/FBI
1. What are the current procedures for deploying manned/unmanned surveillance platforms by the DOJ/FBI? When were these procedures and the accompanying documentation last checked for civil rights violation?
2. What do the authorities do with the “incidental” private information caught when these platforms are in use that they are unauthorized to collect?
3. When was the last time there was an outside review of the DOJ/FBI surveillance program?
How does the FBI record the use of other federal assets for a counter-terrorism type investigation?
4. Have there been any recorded instances of illegal/improper monitoring by the DOJ/FBI in the past six years? What were the cases, and what corrective actions were taken?
5. Were electronic/aerial surveillance platforms in use on January 5th and 6th? If yes, what type/amount of data was collected, and how has it been used? Has the cell data been matched to the time/area of the bomber suspect?
6. How many riots did the DOJ/FBI monitor over the past two years? Has aerial surveillance been used in any prosecutions of crimes committed during these riots?
7. What is the procedure for the raw data that the DOJ/FBI collects during these efforts?
8. What UAS systems do the Federal Government have that they use for domestic surveillance? 8
Current FAA registered craft by DOJ and Tenax:
More Tenax contract history:
