Virginia Police Scanned and Tracked License Plates Of People Attending Political Rallies

by Austin Petersen

I always feel like, somebody’s watchin’ me

The American Civil Liberties Union revealed that the Virginia State Police have been targeting citizens who attend political rallies and tracking them via their license plates. Authorities have been using Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) to collect information on peoples political activities. Police tracked citizens who went to President Barack Obama‘s 2009 inauguration as well as Gov. Sarah Palin‘s visits to the state.

In response to the revelation, the ACLU is calling for tighter controls to protect citizen’s privacy. The police created and maintained a database of millions of people, targeting them specifically to track their political activity. You don’t have to be suspected of committing a crime, only of practicing your free speech.

Civil liberties experts believe this would have a chilling effect on free speech if people know that they will be tracked and recorded for attending a political event. The International Association of Chiefs of Police stated that, “[t]he risk is that individuals will become more cautious in the exercise of their protected rights of expression, protest, association, and political participation because they consider themselves under constant surveillance.”

Attorney General and now candidate for Governor of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli wrote that the practice was a breach of privacy. His stance convinced the Virginia State Police to scarp the program, purge its license plate database and enact new methods in order to safeguard citizen’s privacy.

(Source, Source)

Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.