Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Lawmakers Target Flock Cameras with Funding Freeze, Warrants

8/4/2026

50 12

Summary

Massie Targets Flock

Rep. Massie will sponsor a bill to withhold federal money from municipalities and police that deploy Flock cameras.
Rep. Keith Self introduced the “Privacy Act,” requiring agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing Flock license-plate data.
Attorney Brian McKellar gave Idaho Falls city an ultimatum to remove Flock cameras by July 29 or face a tort claim.
Four $3,000 Flock cameras were sawed off in Winona, Minnesota over a weekend.

Summary

Campbell Steals Camera

Justin Lee Campbell faces three Rice County charges— theft, interfering with emergency communications, and fourth-degree property damage—for taking a Flock camera, and a conviction could bring over four years in prison and a $14,000 fine.
The camera went offline 1:43 a.m. on July 27 after its cables were cut at Lyndale Ave and Highland Place.
A warrant search recovered stolen unit, a backpack, and tape over the lens, confirming the theft.

History

Historical Context

In 1967 the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Katz v. United States, authored by Justice John Marshall Harlan II, overturned Olmstead and created the reasonable-expectation-of-privacy test for electronic surveillance. That precedent now guides Rep. Kelly Massie and Rep. Keith Self’s calls for warrants on Flock license-plate data and fuels ACLU-linked camera-removal protests in Minnesota and Idaho.

1 of 3

Massie Targets Flock

Rep. Massie will sponsor a bill to withhold federal money from municipalities and police that deploy Flock cameras.
Rep. Keith Self introduced the “Privacy Act,” requiring agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing Flock license-plate data.
Attorney Brian McKellar gave Idaho Falls city an ultimatum to remove Flock cameras by July 29 or face a tort claim.
Four $3,000 Flock cameras were sawed off in Winona, Minnesota over a weekend.

1 / 3