Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens

[DonViejo]

Welcome to the Quiet Skies

By Jana Winter

July 28, 2018

Federal air marshals have begun following ordinary US citizens not suspected of a crime or on any terrorist watch list and collecting extensive information about their movements and behavior under a new domestic surveillance program that is drawing criticism from within the agency.

The previously undisclosed program, called “Quiet Skies,” specifically targets travelers who “are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base,” according to a Transportation Security Administration bulletin in March.

The internal bulletin describes the program’s goal as thwarting threats to commercial aircraft “posed by unknown or partially known terrorists,” and gives the agency broad discretion over which air travelers to focus on and how closely they are tracked. But some air marshals, in interviews and internal communications shared with the Globe, say the program has them tasked with shadowing travelers who appear to pose no real threat — a businesswoman who happened to have traveled through a Mideast hot spot, in one case; a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, in another; a fellow federal law enforcement officer, in a third.

It is a time-consuming and costly assignment, they say, which saps their ability to do more vital law enforcement work.

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http://apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/graphics/2018/07/tsa-quiet-skies/?p1=HP_SpecialTSA

[dalton99a]

1. "The teams document whether passengers fidget, use a computer"

WTF

[dewsgirl]

2. Wild guess, those being harrased aren't white.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Probably are whites

... or, better said, at least including lots of whites who have protested against the RubleCon-Трамп Party.

Or presented a global warming talk at a conference or to a publication.

Or protested against the Trump Child Abductions.

Or written / spoken anything for the supposedly "failing Fake News Media".

Or marched against police killings.

Or invested in a cannabis company.

Or posted a video against forced birthing.

Or attempted to reverse a voter list purge.

Or ....

[maxrandb]

7. No, if they weren't white

the agents would be perfectly fine with it, and we'd never hear about it until they killed someone.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Or enemies on Rump's 'enemies list'...nt

[irisblue]

5. Warrents?

Note to self, another donation to the ACLU.

[mn9driver]

6. A common feature of authoritarian regimes.

There are endless stories of people being watched by “minders” for literally years as they go about their daily business in repressive states.

It’s no surprise that it is now happening here.

[Petosky Stone]

8. Disband the TSA.

A hugely bloated and un-American agency.