Congressional candidate arrested after Flock surveillance cameras shot at

A congressional candidate in Tennessee shot at four automated license plate readers there, say authorities there, and got four charges of felony vandalism in return.

Adam Lee Heimerman, 37, of Lenoir City, shot out the cameras between in July and June while campaigning as an Independent in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District. On one occasion, investigators say, he took a shot from a church while services were underway. He is being held at the Blount County Correctional Facility on $40,000 bond.

Heimerman is running against Rep. Tim Burchett for a Republican safe seat. Democratic Party candidate Michaela Barnett also opposes "Flock cameras and other tools of mass surveillance", reports WBIR news, but has not embarked upon or even outlined a plan for their extralegal destruction.

Flock has installed about 100,000 cameras across the U.S., all networked into a national database of vehicle movements, with growing evidence of widespread use for casual surveillance beyond their claimed purpose. Communities nationwide are cutting ties with the company, even as it coaches local police on overcoming public opposition. Illinois found that Flock shared data with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and CNN counted at least two dozen cases of police abusing the system.

One Milwaukee officer is accused with tracking a woman 124 times. A website, deflock.org, tracks new installations and opposition.

With local government eager to ignore complaints, Americans are taking the law into their own hands—even if it means breaking it. Three Chicago men were charged with stealing five Flock cameras, a Californian was accused of vandalizing cameras surveilling rural Monterey County, and several cameras were removed or cut down across Minnesota. A teen who spraypainted lenses was tracked down by the cameras themselves.

A less destructive solution was offered earlier this week by an elderly man in Florida who sat by a Flock camera, blocking its view with a 12-foot pool skimmer. He was reportedly arrested too, but Futurism's Joe Wilkins said no charges could be found on record.

Joint Investigation Leads to Arrest of Lenoir City Man [Blount County Sheriff's Office]