 Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) celebrated the termination of the “Quiet Skies” surveillance program in which U.S. Marshals posed as airline passengers to shadow targets. This $200 million a year program did not, according to the Department of Homeland Security, stop a single terrorist attack. But, in the words of Sen. Paul in The American Conservative, it “was an unconstitutional dystopian nightmare.” Sen. Paul writes: “According to Department of Homeland Security documents I obtained, former Congresswoman and now Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was surveilled under the program while flying domestically in 2024. Federal Air Marshals were assigned to monitor Gabbard and report back on their observations including her appearance, whether she used electronics, and whether she seemed ‘abnormally aware’ of her surroundings. She wasn’t suspected of terrorism. She wasn’t flagged by law enforcement. Her only crime was being a vocal critic of the administration. What an insanely invasive program – the gall of Big Brother actually spying on a former congresswoman. It’s an outrageous abuse of power … “And perhaps the most absurd of all, the wife of a Federal Air Marshal was labeled a ‘domestic terrorist’ after attending a political rally. She had a documented disability and no criminal record. Still, she was placed under Special Mission Coverage and tracked on commercial flights – even when accompanied by her husband, who is himself a trained federal law enforcement officer. She remained on the watchlist for more than three years. To make matters worse, this case resulted in the diversion of an Air Marshal from a high-risk international mission ... “Liberty and security are not mutually exclusive. When government hides behind secrecy to justify surveillance of its own people, it has gone too far." Comments are closed.
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