Homeland Security Drones Designed to Identify Civilians Carrying Guns

Breitbart ^ | 3-5-13 | Wynton Hall

[444Flyer]

Recently uncovered government documents reveal that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) unmanned Predator B drone fleet has been customize designed to identify civilians carrying guns and track cell phone signals.

"I am very concerned that this technology will be used against law-abiding American firearms owners," said founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation Alan Gottlieb. “This could violate Fourth Amendment rights as well as Second Amendment rights."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) obtained a partially redacted copy of Homeland Security’s drone requirements through a Freedom of Information Act request; CNET uncovered an unredacted copy.

Homeland Security design requirements specify that its Predator B drones “shall be capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not” and must be equipped with “interception” systems capable of reading cell phone signals.

[dragnet2]

Funny, I recall several years ago, people warning of these military style drones being used against the American public and the so called well informed called them, “Conspiracy nuts”.

Where are they now?

[MeganC]

“The military version of the Predator B drone carries 100-pound Hellfire missiles, but the Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says the 10 drones in its domestic fleet are unarmed.”

Note that they don’t say that their drones CAN’T be armed, just that they’re not armed for now. How comforting to know that a DHS drone can go from unarmed to armed in the amount of time it takes to hang a missile on the rails.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Now that this has been published the perp in question will know to just slip his cell phone into the purse of some 82 year old woman and watch the fun ensue.

[Venturer]

Bullets, tanks, drones, for the Americans. Freedom for the illegals.

WTF??????

[blackdog]

Imagine the crowded airspace on a Saturday night in Chicago?

The only upside to this one is watching high technology fail miserably.

Part of our military superiority comes from not disclosing the stuff we have at our disposal. Using such hardware on Americans is undermining the tools of military superiority around the globe.

[blackdog]

So if the government is after you and you fedex your cell phone to yourself, will the drone shoot down a Fedex plane?

[JoeProBono]

[Tijeras_Slim]

Relevant to your article.

[dragnet2]

The guys watching the monitors at some government installation 500 miles away will get a good laugh watching him trying to pull that one.

BTW, ya just know they're likely using face recognition software as well as other tracking/identification technology. In fact, they're probable are using bio/heat signature software, which I would assume has been developed or will be.

They have lots of your tax dollars to play with.

[MichaelCorleone]

***Homeland Security design requirements specify that its Predator B drones “shall be capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not”...***

‘LIKELY’ armed or not. Nice.

Bad as this already is, they won’t even be sure the Americans they kill are even armed or not. Suppose a 3-yr old carries his/her toy nerf gun home from grandma’s house? Too bad, sucka...

[Vaduz]

Looks like those little hand held laser pointers will come in handy after all.

[dragnet2]

You got it...

Where are all those who pointed fingers and called others “Black helicopter tin foil hat wearing conspiracy wackos”.

Those folks seem as scarce as public pay phones nowadays.

[drypowder]

“This could violate Fourth Amendment rights as well as Second Amendment rights."

CLUE: this administration operates as though there is no law that constrains what it does, therefore the US citizens have no rights. Don't believe me, just observe what the Congress has done each time obozo, Holder and the dyke have broken laws. The American citizens who follow this and the previous administration's laws that are contrary to our constitution are doing nothing short of placing the government's noose around their own necks.

[JGT]

At any moment the usual suspects will come on here and tell us that the 2 billion ammo purchases are not really purchases but instead contingency p.o.’s in case the DHS should ever need them over the course of the next 5 years, the so-called “tanks” are actually refitted left overs from Iraq and will mainly be going to the Marines for training purposes (DHS will be receiving less than 20 of these), and these drones are only for patrolling our northern and southern borders, they aren't currently fitted to carry missles therefore once again, the conspiracy minded loons on FR are finding just another excuse to declare the impending doom of our nation. Move along people...move along.

[VRW Conspirator]

If this were a republican administration...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What we need is a technology that identifies agents of the feral government.

[Bryan]

‘LIKELY’ armed or not. Nice. Bad as this already is, they won’t even be sure the Americans they kill are even armed or not.

I don't believe that even the Obama/Holder/Napolitano type of jackbooted thug would authorize a drone strike against an American citizen, simply for being "likely armed." But such a report by a recon drone would more likely be used as probable cause for more sophisticated surveillance ... or even a "stop and frisk" by two or more police officers, who are far more heavily armed than the "likely armed" individual.

[dragnet2]

I could be mistaken, but I believe it was a Republican administration and their policies who made this possible. Bush comes to mind.

[piasa]

You may as well blame the Wright Brothers.
They made it possible.