The Trump Administration has dramatically ramped up arrests and sweeps of people residing in the U.S., with new highly visible incidents and court cases unfolding every week and reaching new heights by mid-May. A new development could spell much larger scales of activity on American…
An Israeli spy software tech firm licenses web surveillance tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The software contract shows new details about this sensitive technology DHS has used to spy on activists during the last several years.
In 2020, while protests raged in nearly every city in the United States, a privately owned Israeli spyware firm helped the Department of Homeland Security monitor the online presences of Americans—including protesters and journalists. That company is now set to join forces with competitors, creating…
Minneapolis, MN – Documents obtained via a series of public records requests from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) provide rare insight into police intelligence gathering. The documents include case numbers in which facial recognition was used, details about systems that gain access to vehicle…
San Francisco, CA – In a shock sweeping the Internet freedom community, technologist, security expert and organizer Kevin Michael Gallagher was discovered deceased in his San Francisco apartment on June 10. Early word from the local coroner is that he passed away June 5, his…
Minneapolis, MN – The morning of Thursday, March 4, saw Minneapolitans waking up to the noise of a surveillance aircraft circling. The spy plane circled from around 9:15 a.m. until departing the airspace just after noon. There are likely to be similar flights in the…
United States – Unicorn Riot obtained more than two dozen Homeland Security policy manuals including several from the 1980s and 1990s – 195 pages in all. This is the last release in our Icebreaker series.
While some of these documents have appeared elsewhere in various…
Washington, DC – As the Trump administration’s immigration policies continue to generate escalating backlash, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has come under increasing scrutiny. Journalists, senators, and others attempting to learn more about the agency’s practices have been frequently turned away and/or had their requests…
Unicorn Riot obtained a series of Homeland Security Investigations policy manuals. Part 4 of the Icebreaker series of stories covers the 2008 version of the special agent training program, shedding light on the overall architecture of the Department of Homeland Security and how it instills…
Washington, DC – In a vote denounced by civil liberties advocates, the US House of Representatives has voted 256 to 164 in favor of re-authorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA – one of the main legal underpinnings of the unaccountable…