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Meet The FBI's Secret 'Eye In The Sky' Overseeing The Baltimore Riots

Tyler Durden's picture




 

As the controversy surrounding the upcoming Jade Helm military exercises has made abundantly clear, Americans are growing more distrustful of a federal government they perceive as being increasingly willing to infringe upon the civil liberties of US citizens. Fears that Washington is conducting clandestine activities aimed at gathering intelligence about the US populace and the notion that we are witnessing a creeping militarization of US cities has many Americans on edge and as the following story from the Washington Post makes clear, it’s not paranoia if they’re really watching you. 

Via WaPo:

As Benjamin Shayne settled into his back yard to listen to the Orioles game on the radio Saturday night, he noticed a small plane looping low and tight over West Baltimore — almost exactly above where rioting had eruptedseveral days earlier, in the aftermath of the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody.

 

The plane appeared to be a small Cessna, but little else was clear. The sun had already set, making traditional visual surveillance difficult. So, perplexed, Shayne tweeted: “Anyone know who has been flying the light plane in circles above the city for the last few nights?”

 

That was 9:14 p.m. Seven minutes later came a startling reply. One of Shayne’s nearly 600 followers tweeted back a screen shot of the Cessna 182T’s exact flight path and also the registered owner of the plane: NG Research, based in Bristow, Va.

As it turns out, Shayne had unwittingly uncovered a secret FBI overhead surveillance campaign carried out over Baltimore during the riots that set the city ablaze late last month. The operation involved two planes circling the city, and as WaPo notes, if equipped with the latest technology, the aircraft would have been capable of monitoring “dozens of city blocks” at a time. The revelations have prompted the ACLU to demand answers as to the legality of what an unnamed official calls FBI “aerial support”:

Civil libertarians have particular concern about surveillance technology that can quietly gather images across dozens of city blocks — in some cases even square miles at a time — inevitably capturing the movements of people under no suspicion of criminal activity into a government dragnet. The ACLU plans to file information requests with federal agencies on Wednesday, officials said.

 

“A lot of these technologies sweep very, very broadly, and, at a minimum, the public should have a right to know what’s going on,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU specializing in privacy and technology issues.

 

A government official familiar with the operations, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss matters not approved for public release, said the flights were aerial support that Baltimore police officials requested from the FBI.

 

Flight records maintained by the Web site Flightradar24 show two Cessnas — one a propeller plane, the other a small jet — flying precise formations over the part of West Baltimore where the rioting had occurred. The smaller Cessna conducted flights in the area on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, always after dark. The planes used infrared technology to monitor movements of people in the vicinity, the official said.

 


 

 

Last year, the Post outlined how Cessnas can be outfitted with technology "that can track every vehicle and person across an area the size of a small city, for several hours at a time." The camera setups the Post profiled are developed by Persistent Surveillance Systems (PSS). Here's a schematic:

The company's Chief Technical Officer Ross McNutt told the Chicago Tribune that PSS was not involved in the Baltimore operation, noting that "the kinds of sensors used in most government surveillance flights can see at least a five-block-by-five-block area. What they need is a system that follows people back to the house they came out of."

Nevertheless, it's worth noting that these systems have been deployed over Baltimore before. Here's WaPo from last February:

Already, the cameras have been flown above major public events such as the Ohio political rally where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) named Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, McNutt said. They’ve been flown above Baltimore; Philadelphia; Compton, Calif.; and Dayton in demonstrations for police. 

If that's a little too ambiguous for you, have a look at the following slide from a company presentation delivered in January 2014 by the very same Ross McNutt:

 

Just what is this PSS 'eye' that the company swears was not 'in the sky' over Baltimore, you ask? A good place to start in terms of answering that question might be a product called the "NightHawk" which employs infrared technology that provides "wide area surveillance capability with persistent coverage of areas as large as 4 square kilometers." 

The NightHawk "integrates seamlessly" with the company's HawkEye II wide area surveillance sensor which PSS markets to law enforcement with this rather compelling sales pitch:

Have a Crime Spike?  Criminals on the run?  Gang or Drug Networks you need to shut down? [ZH: Rioters burning down your city?]  Do you have limited manpower and/or limited intelligence assets?

PSS can help - and fast.

 

Whether your objective is to monitor a single intersection, several city blocks, or a whole city, PSS's HawkEye II gives the capability and the flexibility to meet your mission requirements.

 

To get an idea of what the Hawkeye II is capable of in terms of both scope and detail, have a look at the following images from the portion of the company's webpage dedicated to its law enforcement customers:

*  *  *

Besides the Baltimore Police Department, PSS has conducted operations in conjunction with police in Dayton, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, and while we can't say for sure whether Baltimore was indeed under the watchful eye of the PSS "NightHawk" last month, we think it's safe to say that if you want to watch those who may be watching you, PSS is a good company to keep an eye on. 

 

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Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:34 | 6067322 will ling
will ling's picture

empire beta; only sheepulace would believe otherwise.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:46 | 6067353 BoredRoom
BoredRoom's picture

This is how the JustUs Department coordinated the riots

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:49 | 6067473 Comte de Saint ...
Comte de Saint Germain's picture

During times of war and under the grounds of National Security, compulsory internment of certain US Citizens and Aliens living in Continental United States and overseas possessions into designated military areas is LEGAL. Executive Order 9066 is a historical precedence for this case and these types of actions carried out by the Executive Branch are non-reviewable by the courts. -- http://www.ourdocuments.gov/print_friendly.php?flash=true&page=transcrip...
Read also Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944): http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=323&invol=214

In legal terms the United States of America is currently in a State of War: Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) -- http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-107publ40/pdf/PLAW-107publ40.pdf

18 U.S. Code § 1385 - Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus
Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1385

joint resolution. (17c) A legislative resolution passed by both houses. It has the force of law and is subject to executive veto. Black's Law Dictionary Ninth Edition
Actions taken under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which is a Joint Resolution, are exempted from the Posse Comitatus Act

50 U.S. Code Chapter 33 - WAR POWERS RESOLUTION
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/chapter-33

The Global War on Terrorism is broad in scope and not restricted by jurisdictional boundaries

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:03 | 6067503 Stackers
Stackers's picture

Argus Drone

Sees all

Records all

Already deployed over US cities for more than a year

http://www.laweekly.com/news/game-of-drones-how-lapd-quietly-acquired-th...

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:13 | 6067529 Perseus son of Zeus
Perseus son of Zeus's picture

Oh yea baby.

I'm going to breakout my Fleshlight and whack it good for a few seconds.

I love a fascist government! It makes me sooooo horny.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 23:47 | 6068092 COSMOS
COSMOS's picture

No wonder they pulled back in the riots, it was their own undercover guys burning down the stores.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:03 | 6067504 espirit
espirit's picture

Mount a green laser on screen door extension spring buried in the ground.

Give it a 'twang'.

Run like hell.

Watch the fun from afar.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:52 | 6067623 max2205
max2205's picture

I am already afraid of  my laptop camera....now this....

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 21:06 | 6067660 The Chief
The Chief's picture

What are you talking about?

 

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:38 | 6067592 mobtown
mobtown's picture

We also have this hovering over us for the past several months: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aberdeen-havre-de-grac...

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:01 | 6067499 junction
junction's picture

Those planes could also have had Boeing "dirt boxes" to scoop up all cellphone traffic.  No wonder the FBI has no time to handle multi-state crime cartels that distribute meth in the Midwest, destroying the lives of countless Americans.  Protecting their brother Gestapo cops in Baltimore and Ferguson and who knows where else is real important.  Besides, who knows how much these meth distributors pay to FBI SACs for protection.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:44 | 6067608 Perseus son of Zeus
Perseus son of Zeus's picture

Welcome to America where you have only 1 right.

The right to go shopping.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 22:03 | 6067822 Colonel Walter ...
Colonel Walter E Kurtz's picture

And at some point, with all the gubmint officials and banksters jawboning, I think that right, might morph into a mandate, that you must shop!

I mean how in the hell are we going to reach economic escape velocity without a mandate. You know, for your own good and all, since the Obamacare mandate has done such wonders for the GDP figures.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 04:36 | 6068361 Butterflying
Butterflying's picture

My last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My sisters friend has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can't believe how easy it was once I tried it out. This is what I do... www.jobs-review.com

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 10:11 | 6068949 Eugend66
Eugend66's picture

Gosh, I thought my plead was headed.

Go away, bot.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:43 | 6067347 Dr. Bonzo
Dr. Bonzo's picture

Palestinians.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:45 | 6067472 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

OK, it is time for every male to start wearing a kippah.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:46 | 6067337 juicy_bananas
juicy_bananas's picture

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/ancestry-com-caught-sharing-dna-informa...

 

So the entire surveillance, police-state, data mining, nsa prism apparatus that was created to supposedly fight terrorism (fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here) was ultimately turned around and pointed inward towards its own citizens?  I am SHOCKED.

At this point, what difference does it make?

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:46 | 6067352 Van Halen
Van Halen's picture

So the Fed provided eyes in the sky.

200 innocent businesses were burned down.

Exactly WHAT got solved because of the eyes in the sky?

 

 

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:00 | 6067386 Urban Redneck
Urban Redneck's picture

Have a Crime Spike?  Criminals on the run?  Gang or Drug Networks you need to shut down? Do you have limited manpower and/or limited intelligence assets  PSS can help - and fast.

But PSS doesn't help.  It's pure marketing BS, and a waste of taxpayer resources.  If Baltimore is a long time PSS client, then PSS's product don't to shit to solve crime spikes, criminals on the run, gangs or drug networks.  If it did, Baltimore would have been magically cleaned, and there never would have been any riots.

Which raises questions about how effective they actually are (or aren't) for certain off-label (fascist) uses.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:50 | 6067479 Excursionist
Excursionist's picture

Don't sweat such academic questions.  You have nothing to worry about if you do no wrong.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:55 | 6067486 HelluvaEngineer
HelluvaEngineer's picture

They just watch so they know if they need to retreat into their Deep Underground Bunkers.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:51 | 6067364 davidalan1
davidalan1's picture

LOL, worked out well for the CVS store with the dead body inside and the burnt church and cars...Policing from a distance...home in time for dinner..

Fri, 05/08/2015 - 11:32 | 6073003 Ginsengbull
Ginsengbull's picture

I wonder if a precision beam of tightly focused radio waves, of certain frequencies, or harmonics thereof, could be used to cause intentional cancer in selected individuals?

 

"Chronic headaches, hair loss, vomitting...  Have you been rioting again?"

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:51 | 6067367 Laddie
Laddie's picture

All of this technology, all of this snooping on Americans and yet the government DOES not care about VICTIMS, specifically WHITE victims and mainstream media DELIBERATELY hides it from the public. Does the FBI investigate the HATERS amongst the non-white communities and the VIOLENCE they commit against the Whites? NO, they do not, neither does the US Dept of Justice investigate these as hate crimes. You don't see Obama and DOJ talking about DISPARATE rates of VIOLENCE against Whites by people of color. No, they want and expect you to sit back and LET IT HAPPEN!

The body count keeps GOING up and you would never know it given the SILENCE of MSM and .gov

Murdered shelter worker had repeatedly asked for more security

Greenville, SC woman nearly killed in racial hate crime attack

To get an idea of what the media has been hiding from you just visit this website for a month: New Nation News

All of this Ferguson and Baltimore BS while your own people are being slaughtered, without rallies, without protests, without TV coverage...

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 18:56 | 6067375 TradingTroll
TradingTroll's picture

Next time just shoot it down.

 

Shoot first, ask quiestions later.

 

Its what the police have been doing for decades.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:03 | 6067389 PhoQ
PhoQ's picture

It's tough to hit a Cessna 3600 feet overhead unless your crime family owns some serious hardware.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:47 | 6067474 Excursionist
Excursionist's picture

I guess it depends on your definition of "serious hardware".

See here:  https://www.barrett.net/firearms/m107a1

The Cessna at 3,600 feet would have a very bad day if you landed 2 - 5 slugs with this rifle.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:55 | 6067487 Citxmech
Citxmech's picture

Good luck with that.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:56 | 6067617 neidermeyer
neidermeyer's picture

Hit them on the ground. In WW2 we couldn't catch the ME262 jet ,, so we waited until they were landing and Japped them. Aircraft are expensive and labor intensive,, Helicopters take 4 hours of maintenance for every air hour. A handful of gravel thrown inside a jet engine is devastating and you can just pick it up off the ground... a toothpick shoved into a fuel drain/test port and a ignition source set a little bit away could be valuable too... and neither would be immediately detected to give you time to vamoos.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:05 | 6067391 Dragon HAwk
Dragon HAwk's picture

another reason to plant lots of shade trees.....

 

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:41 | 6067466 XitSam
XitSam's picture

Heard of foliage penetrating radar? But don't worry, only the largest drones can carry it ... or say a light plane. 

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:05 | 6067395 freedogger
freedogger's picture

I think the capabilities of these system(s) were severely understated in the article above.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 22:43 | 6067929 A_Huxley
A_Huxley's picture

Yes freedogger its all in the mapping per voice print, per phone, per two phones been near each other.  Add in any wifi devices found.

Layers of very unique data per person, per phone over years.  

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:07 | 6067401 Billy Shears
Billy Shears's picture

Hubris runs deep in the US. Just what, in the long-run, do they think they have control over? The phrase a tiger-by-the-tail comes to mind.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:11 | 6067410 SillySalesmanQu...
SillySalesmanQuestion's picture

Aaaaannnnd another fine example of taxpayer dollars, hard at work saving your lives, homes and businesses.

S/

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:20 | 6067426 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

These drones will be used to find the resistors.  Once ferreted out a skull crushing will commence.  

Probably being used in the Southwest as we type.

‘See through wall technology’, w/Iphone is the same as ‘see through roof technology’.  

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:30 | 6067444 Tachyon5321
Tachyon5321's picture

This type of surveillance is a huge waste of money.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:31 | 6067448 Tachyon5321
Tachyon5321's picture

This type of surveillance is a huge waste of money.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:36 | 6067462 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

I sure hope they didn't see me masturbating while watching Barney. That would be embarrassing and hard to explain. 

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:36 | 6067463 me or you
me or you's picture

We can unleash hundreds of GPS jammers attached to party balloons onto the sky to make those hated drones useless.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 22:35 | 6067467 Manipuflation
Manipuflation's picture

I was looking for old motorcycle parts for my 78 Twinstar and as luck would have it I found this post in a comments section instead.  I'm not sure what it has to do with finding an obsolete motorcycle part but I think the post fits on the ZeroHedge model.

 

"Ol'Goat Says:

FUCK THE POLICE

FUCK THOSE OF YOU WHO TROLL HERE TO GET OTHERS TO COMMENT ON THEIR PERSONAL LIVES!

FUCK AUSTRALIA’S RULING CLASS

FUCK GANGLAND

FUCK THE ATF AND IT’S DAPPER “CRIME FIGHTING” AGENTS. THE CRIME IS YOU LYING FUCKS WHO LIE TO EXTRACT AND DIRECT MORE PUBLIC FUNDS YOUR WAY.

FUCK THOSE OF YOU WHO LIVE OFF OF PUBLIC FUNDS. GET A PRODUCTIVE JOB OR HOLD A NICKEL BETWEEN YOUR KNEES.

FUCK THOSE OF YOU SHEEP WHO WANT SECURITY. YOU DON’T DESERVE SECURITY NOR DO YOU DESERVE THE FEW RIGHTS THAT YOU THINK YOU HAVE LEFT.

…and FUCK YOU IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY ANY STATEMENT MADE SUPRA PRECEDED BY “FUCK”.

FUCK THE WORLD and you too.

OL’GOAT"

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 19:57 | 6067469 RagnarRedux
RagnarRedux's picture

Works together with Affirmative Action hires like Marilyn Mosby charging the wrong people with crimes, the perfect banana republic Police State!

http://conservative-headlines.com/2015/05/oops-marilyn-mosby-named-wrong...

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:25 | 6067565 shinobi-7
shinobi-7's picture

Brick after brick the wall is being built. It seems ineluctable. The ultimate goal is not to follow all of us, but to "reign in" those who can challenge the system. It is very difficult to see how this could be avoided now. The very sad outcome of great ideas. The founding fathers would be appalled how little we cared for the "gift" of democracy they gave us.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 01:31 | 6068232 Alvin Fernald
Alvin Fernald's picture

The USA is supposed to be a Republic. Democracy is a stepping stone to Oligarchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdS6fyUIklI

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 02:03 | 6068261 ersatz007
ersatz007's picture

It would seem the "republic" has also been a stepping stone to oligarchy too

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:28 | 6067572 WTFRLY
WTFRLY's picture

They are finding out who will take the best orders in the police state.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:30 | 6067575 Perseus son of Zeus
Perseus son of Zeus's picture

"that can track every vehicle and person across an area the size of a small city, for several hours at a time."

Then why can't they catch those god dammed motorbike/4 wheeler gangs that tear up the fucking highways at 140 mph!

I call bullshit on this bullshit.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 21:53 | 6067790 GoinFawr
GoinFawr's picture

Why 'catch' them anyway? Those on two wheels rarely damage anything else, and Social Darwinism takes care of the pnes with slow reflexes; just so long as they use their damn blinkers, mind!

Consider it a free show for soccer moms' wards.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 20:33 | 6067583 sonoftx
sonoftx's picture

This must not have been authored by the same person who has been writing about Jade Helm in Texas and Gov Abbot's response. That author believes that we are just a bunch of dumbass redneck conspiracy theorists who do not need to worry. Do I think Jade Helm is a some sort of take over plot, NO. But as has been stated by the posters why practice this here. Why try to see if they can acclimate and win favor of local population IT' S THEIR COUNTRY of ORIGIN. Does ZH take this monitoring in Baltimore serious because the Washington Post does? You don't think the military will be using something like this times 10 during Jade Helm.
I think the same person who wrote about the nine deaths of pumpers in 4 years wrote the Jade Helm articles(the article discussed one death and the rest were attributed to natural causes; MANY pumpers I know and have known are in their 70's and or are functioning alcoholics so I would not be surprised at dying from natural causes).
So according to ZH worry about surveillance if you live in Baltimore but not if you live in one of the states where JH is taking place.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 00:13 | 6068144 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

The BIG thing most miss about "Jade Helm," is that there is no provision for a peace-time standing army in the Constitution.

So, basically, they are practicing to commit more tyranny.

Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 09:46 | 6068849 Abaco
Abaco's picture

There is, however, an explicit prohibition on a standing army.

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 21:54 | 6067799 Bunga Bunga
Bunga Bunga's picture
Pentagon credit cards used for gambling, escorts

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/pentagon-credit-cards-escorts-gamb...

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 21:57 | 6067807 Omega_Man
Omega_Man's picture

Where's my manpad

Wed, 05/06/2015 - 23:25 | 6068045 TheMeatTrapper
TheMeatTrapper's picture

Don't forget the sewers. 

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 00:53 | 6068202 sandhillexit
sandhillexit's picture

Stayed in a beachfront hotel in Venice, CA on Saturday night.  When I began to logon to the hotel wireless internet one of the choices was NSA MOBILE SURVEILLANCE VAN.  That choice was password protected, however.  I thought it was a joke name, but you know, it wasn't there anymore on Sunday morning.  

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 01:49 | 6068247 julian_n
julian_n's picture

All that information from Flightradar24 could be useful to terrorists or paedophiles or drug dealers or <insert latest bogeyman here>.

Flightradar24 must be banned.

Thu, 05/07/2015 - 14:13 | 6069837 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

anyone try to look up "NG Research" yet?  That's who supposedly owns the planes.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!