The Department of Homeland Security under the Biden administration has been diverting federal air marshals from crucial missions to track individuals who traveled to Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. This revelation comes from the Air Marshal National Council, an association representing air marshals. The association alleges that these individuals were tracked even if they did not participate in the Capitol protest and were never charged with a crime.
This move suggests a politicization of law enforcement agencies and raises concerns about the potential risk to innocent passengers. The diversion of air marshals from sensitive missions to track potential conservatives might have put people uninvolved in politics at risk. This comes amidst other revelations that the FBI allowed an apparent child rapist to go free in order to focus on January 6 cases.
Five days after the protest at the Capitol, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and then-Rep. John Katko (R-NY) requested the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) disrupt the travel of those who “attacked the seat of the U.S. government.” They cited “online chatter” as evidence, suggesting potential threats similar to al-Qaeda-style bombers.
In a letter to House leaders, David Londo and Sonya LaBosco, the president and executive director of the Air Marshal National Council, expressed their concern about innocent Americans being wrongly classified as ‘Domestic Terrorists.’ They revealed an absurd situation where an air marshal was assigned to follow another air marshal’s wife because she was in D.C. during the protests but never participated in them.
The council also highlighted that the TSA had repurposed a domestic surveillance program called “Quiet Skies” to follow people weakly linked to January 6. This program allows air marshals to flag and follow people who are “unknown or partially known terrorists” who are “not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Database.”
The Air Marshal National Council warned of the potential risk of actual terrorism due to the diversion of air marshals from their primary duty. It noted that hundreds of federal air marshals were deployed to the southern border to assist illegal immigrants instead of enforcing law in the air.
This situation raises serious questions about the priorities of the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security. The politicization of law enforcement agencies and the misuse of resources for political ends are deeply concerning. The American people deserve better, and our leaders must be held accountable for their actions.
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