4 t h A M E N DM E N T C ONCE R NS
‘Secret Spy Plane Surveillance Program’ Controversial FBI program detailed in court records
h e f b i ’s s o - c a l l e d s e c r e t spy plane surveillance program is under scrutiny in a Florida terrorism case, where the defendant has asked a federal judge to toss evidence from the bureau’s aerial surveillance activities. The FBI’s aerial surveillance program was first revealed in June 2015 by The Associated Press, which reported that the bureau maintained a civilian air force through private shell companies. The FBI admitted to the program days later. “It should come as no surprise that the FBI uses planes to follow terrorists, spies, and serious criminals,” the FBI said in a statement at the time. “Contrary to some recent media reporting, the FBI’s aviation program is not classified. Some of our aircraft are registered covertly because overt registration would put our aircraft and operations at risk of compromise.” Nevertheless, the existence of the FBI’s program sparked outrage among civil libertarians, who celebrated when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in June that a similar program operated by the Baltimore Police Department violated the Fourth Amendment. In August, accused terrorist Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari asked U.S. District Judge Anthony
26 I N S I G H T January 7 – 13, 2022
“The planes generally flew at about 10,000 feet, sometimes above cloud cover. Small, quiet, and high in the sky, the planes were barely noticeable to those on the ground.
The existence of the FBI’s aerial surveillance program has sparked outrage among civil libertarians.
Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari, accused terrorist
Porcelli to review the FBI’s program. According to prosecutors, Al-Azhari planned and attempted to carry out an attack on behalf of ISIS before his arrest in May 2020. Al-Azhari’s motion accuses the FBI of running a “secret spy plane surveillance program,” as described by the AP and other reports, before providing details about how the bureau’s air force was used to monitor him. Al-Azhari said the FBI’s planes would circle his Tampa home “often for hours on end.” “The planes followed Mr. Alazhari as he went about his life, for example, watching him pick up
428 HOURS
ACCORDING TO Al-Azhari, the FBI captured 428 hours of footage of him and created 935 separate videos with the planes.
FROM TOP LEFT: SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES, SHUTTERSTOCK, ROBYN BECK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, U.S. DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TEMPA DIVISION
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By Ken Silva
