Original Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/minnesota/comments/1qabuvr/icecbp_kicks_off_doortodoor_raids_in_minneapolis/
cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/19064
Backup of video: https://tankie.tube/w/38g2B9bzhC7cEBu1gEAPQM
Another angle: https://tankie.tube/w/qBSPLQJgXNVkeoBAekRxWK
Here is the original AP video: https://apnews.com/video/federal-agents-make-arrest-in-minneapolis-as-protesters-surround-them-230a8a2ddec944d1975c231db52433e0
There is more at the end. They may have had an order for this person’s arrest.
I know there is a substantial online surveillance network, but it takes effort and concerted organization to target “people involved in protests”. The drones need to cross-reference with other information to develop the capacity to get an ID, for example - though it’s not just palantir doing that. City cops do it with other contractors, too. But they tend to actually target people they ID other ways and through more basic things like following people to their cars.
Is there any information on their actual methodologies in these cases?
Cell phone tracking. Facial recognition of those at the protest used via cross-reference with federal databases like state real ID photos most people get with their drivers license. Very easy. If you’re not masked (and probably wearing big sunglasses) and not leaving your phone at home those are just two of the many ways they could do it.
But people post photos online of themselves too at the protest so there’s always really low hanging fruit too.
There are a lot of Flock cameras all over the cities and suburbs. New ones being installed in business parking lots every other week.
Cell network tracking is not very accurate. They need to combine it with other information like Bluetooth or get information from wifi networks. Facial recognition kind of works. They exaggerate its accuracy. If you have a very good photo it works pretty well, but they usually don’t. A high quality street can might grab it if you wait straight at it.
I would suspect that they’re more likely operating mostly off of following people and taking down license plates, possibly adding in cop drones to follow people.
While the surveillance state exists, including tech, a lot of it is also propaganda. They like to project power and competency they don’t have and to justify their expensive contracts with tech providers, claim how it’s making their stats better. So one should mitigate with face coverings, turning their phone off, and limiting the discovery of one’s vehicle (especially that last one), yes. But they will mostly operate based on simple but reliable techniques. Of course, if you are a reliable local organizing force yourself, they will build a profile on you and you will be targeted using more than those techniques. But the title of this post is claiming that people are targeted for simply being at protests, which surely means mostly unorganized, unknown people to the cops.
more than that they have some form of automated gait recognition too. the surveillance apparatus is stupid sophisticated. palantir truly gets them to a point they can literally just find people.
I’m extremely skeptical the gait recognition functions as promised
We all need to start practicing to sandwalk.
a lil stone on your shoe 😉
We know a ton of the tools they have (mostly due to whistleblowers) but the most we know about how they use these is the ‘Where’s Daddy’ system the IOF has been using to track and murder the families of dissenters. Literally by following them home. My guess is they’re now using this same system in the U.S. and have been for a while now.