A non-partisan whistleblower watchdog group is demanding the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate new alleged abuses of the surveillance state ignored by the administration.
On Monday, the non-profit Empower Oversight sent a letter to the agency investigator outlining a whistleblower report which alleged the U.S. Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS) “was improperly targeting individuals for enhanced surveillance.”
Those in the round-up of individuals surveilled include former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and the whistleblower’s wife, who had been “improperly labeled a ‘domestic terrorist’ and targeted for FAMS ‘Special Mission Coverage’ simply because she attended President Donald Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech at the ellipse in Washington D.C.,” according to the letter.
“She was nowhere near the U.S. Capitol complex that day, yet her FAMS file falsely stated she ‘unlawfully entered the United States Capitol Building on [Jan. 6, 2021],’” the letter read.
Individuals who are being investigated under “Special Mission Coverage” are subject to additional screening by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on top of FAMS surveillance.
The whistleblower represented by the legal non-profit had previously filed reports to disclose the misconduct to the agency inspector general in 2021 and 2022. The whistleblower also made reports to the office of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, “informing them that his chain of command knew his wife had been falsely listed as a domestic terrorist who entered the U.S. Capitol.” The Office of Special Counsel, however, denied the
