In a recent development, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has brought to light records indicating that federal air marshals conducted surveillance on Tulsi Gabbard, now the Director of National Intelligence, during her domestic flights in 2024.
This revelation has sparked concerns about government overreach and the potential misuse of surveillance powers.
During a Capitol Hill meeting on Tuesday, where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was present to discuss the department's budget for fiscal year 2026, Senator Paul addressed the issue. "I commend you and the Trump administration for ending all government-sponsored censorship using DHS personnel. Just last night, I received the first set of records from the department regarding Tulsi Gabbards placement on the TSA Quiet Skies watch list," Paul stated.
He further elaborated, "These documents confirm our suspicions. Federal air marshals surveilled the now-director of national intelligence during domestic flights in 2024, reporting back information related to her appearance and even how many electronics she was observed using. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case."
According to One America News, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employs the Quiet Skies watchlist to allow federal air marshals to monitor U.S. citizens, ostensibly to deter threats and potential terrorist activities. The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), under TSA's oversight, comprises over 4,000 agents tasked with this surveillance.
Gabbard herself has recounted her experiences, telling Fox's "One Nation," "As I was traveling, I ended up in 30 to 45 minutes of going through screening every time I would go to the airport to fly. I noticed air marshals, I noticed K-9 teams. There were things that I saw and noticed that were highly unusual."
She expressed her ongoing concerns, stating, "But the deepest pain and harm and stress thats been caused by this is that, forever going forward, I will always be looking over my shoulder, wondering if and how my government is surveilling me."
Senator Paul also pressed Secretary Noem on whether she had uncovered any internal communications or activities from the previous Biden administration related to censorship. Noem responded, "We have literally found thousands of documents that have proven that they were involved in censorship and policing speech. So we will be unveiling these to this committee and making sure were exposing what CISA was doing with a vast majority of its time of certain employees."
She further mentioned efforts to realign CISA's mission and reduce staff involved in inappropriate activities, noting, "And some of the discussion I think well have here today is about getting CISA back on mission and some of the reductions in staff that have been over there. And thats reflective in the fact that many of them were doing work that they shouldnt have been doing."
In 2024, Sonya LaBosco, director of the Air Marshal National Council, alleged that the agency was tasked with monitoring individuals who had traveled to Washington, D.C., for the January 6th Capitol protest in 2021.
This claim adds another layer to the ongoing debate about the balance between national security and individual privacy rights. As these revelations unfold, they underscore the need for vigilance in safeguarding civil liberties while ensuring national security.
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