DRONE SURVEILLANCE OVER THE WEEKEND

Over the weekend, in Los Angeles, Trump deployed at least two MQ-9 Reaper drones over an American city to surveil American citizens. These drones are also used to shoot Hellfire missiles and are currently being used to surveil the border. The last time they were deployed over a major Ameri

can city was in 2020 in Minneapolis.

The Oregon legislature has a Democratic supermajority, so, nothing like this could happen here. Right? 

Think again. The “Drone Surveillance Bill” - SB 238A - is still alive and kicking - and it has now progressed to the House Committee on Rules.SB 238A would allow local police and sheriffs to use drones to spy on Oregonians without court oversight. (In any case - under present law - police and sheriffs can use drones with a search warrant or during urgent - “exigent” - circumstances that make getting a warrant impractical).

For more information about the dangers of SB 238A, here is a one-pager.

The hearing is tomorrow at 8am, Wednesday, June 11th. If you have not yet testified on this bill, please:- Testify in writing HERE (in the “Position on Measure” field, select “Oppose”). - Testify in person HERE (select “Register to Testify” tab). - You can access a sample testimony HERE. - You can watch the hearing HERE. 

THANK YOU FOR SAVING OUR FREEDOMS!

Find a demonstration near you HERE and join fellow Indivisibles, Oregonians, and folk across the entire country to remind every one that this country's very foundation is:

No Kings!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Companies like Flock sell surveillance cameras and drones to law enforcement – with many federal and local law enforcement able to access data from such systems in another state. Recently, journalists reported that a police officer may have used data from 70,000+ Flock cameras across the country (including cameras in Washington and Illinois) to target a person who had an abortion, and there was another report that police in Illinois may have given ICE access to data from 5000 Flock cameras.

Local, warrantless drone surveillance data can go into a private vendor’s national database, and be shared with law enforcement of any jurisdiction anywhere. With our country on the brink of a fascist, authoritarian government led by Trump and Stephen Miller who are deploying ICE and other federal law enforcement to track down, harm, and imprison everyday people in our country – including judges, elected leaders, and union leaders – this type of surveillance is especially dangerous right now. 

So, be sure to testify in writing by Wednesday (Tomorrow).

Bluesky: @act4d.bsky.socialEmail: a4dpdx@gmail.com

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