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1984 Has Arrived, And People Are Fighting Back

1984 Has Arrived, And People Are Fighting Back

Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Francis Kapper
July 12, 2026 10:59 AM ET

A new battlefront has opened in the American war against robot surveillance.

An increasingly popular social media trend is to post videos on social media showing the destruction of Flock AI (artificial intelligence) surveillance cameras. The cameras have attracted the ire of Americans and legislators who are concerned about privacy and civil liberties.

The cameras have been illegally used by law enforcement to stalk estranged wives and ex-girlfriends, as well as in the dissemination of wrongful criminal accusations.

The Flock cameras are poles that contain AI-powered cameras and sensors, which allow law enforcement to track and monitor the movement of people and vehicles on foot and in traffic in American cities. The purpose of this surveillance technology is allegedly to prevent crime, but critics have argued that this is an intensification of the American surveillance state.

The videos on social media depict vigilantes cutting down the cameras with angle grinders, smashing them and throwing them in the garbage.

The American vigilantes are not alone in their fight against the technology, which has increasingly been characterized as Orwellian. Videos on social media from the United Kingdom depict similar scenes of the AI-powered surveillance devices being smashed, cut down or covered in paint.

Flock cameras are often placed on bike paths, nature trails, public parks, wilderness areas, community pools, reproductive clinics, schools, state park entrances, gyms and even in a children’s gymnastics room, according to an X post from Free Thought Project reporter Jason Bassler.

Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Flock cameras and similar devices violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“I hate them. I think they are absolutely unconstitutional,” Boebert said. “They violate our Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and unreasonable search and seizure, and they are an absolute impediment of our constitutional rights.”

Boebert told the DCNF that she does not condone the destruction of private property, but she understands the frustrations of the individuals who are taking action against Flock cameras.

“I’m pretty sure I have shared stories of folks covering flock cameras. I am more in favor of that than I am destruction of property,” Boebert told the DCNF. “But I again understand the sentiment. These we everyone is being violated each and every day with these with these flock cameras. Also, that doesn’t give you a right to destruction. It it does incentivize awareness for American citizens to protect their general privacy.”

“People have every right to make their voices heard, but criminal acts should never be part of that process,” Flock Safety Public Relations Manager Paris Lewbel told the DCNF. “Damaging public safety equipment ultimately hurts the very communities this technology is there to help protect.”

Criminal charges have already been leveled against one of the individuals who was destroying the Flock cameras. In Virginia, Jefferey Sovern was arrested in October for dismantling 13 Flock cameras, the Suffolk News-Herald reported.

“When a camera is taken offline, an investigative lead can disappear, and a time-sensitive alert tied to an AMBER Alert, a missing-person case, or a violent crime suspect on the move may never reach the officers who need it. These are tools agencies rely on to respond quickly and help keep people safe,” Lewbel told the DCNF. “Overall, we have seen few reports of vandalism against Flock equipment. When it does happen, we work directly with law enforcement to investigate damaged or stolen cameras.”

Graylark is another firm that aims to spread AI-powered surveillance technology. Graylark’s CEO, Daniel Heinen, criticized people who were destroying the cameras in a post on X, threatening that AI could be used to track them down.

Graylark has no official affiliation with Flock Safety. Heinen appears to be defending the Flock cameras as Graylark works to provide similar “AI solutions to empower law enforcement,” according to its website.

A majority of the quote tweets on his post expressed their anger with Heinen. Heinen responded to the criticism by saying that he would get the most liked hate comment engraved on a Rolex watch in an X post.

“Flock cameras will hit the ground like tea hitting the Boston Harbor,” one comment on his post says. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion,” another comment reads.

These are only a few examples of the sentiment on Heinen’s post. A quick review of the quotes section on his post shows the prevailing sentiment against AI surveillance.

“A safer world has no blind spots,” the banner on Heinen’s X profile reads.

Another string of attacks by vigilantes on Flock cameras took place in Houston, Texas, ABC 13 Eyewitness News reported on Wednesday. The vigilantes left calling cards in the form of American flags after they destroyed the cameras, according to the outlet.

“Houston officials are furious after a SURGE in Flock cameras being ripped down, vandalized and destroyed — with at least 4 being attacked in a matter of days,” Right Line News Chief Content Officer Eric Daugherty posted on X. “They put an AMERICAN FLAG over the destroyed camera. This is happening in the Carolinas in Georgia as well”

“Over the July 4 weekend, we had two that were found damaged, and then within the next few days, there were two others found damaged nearby,” a Houston Police Department spokesperson told the DCNF. “They’re in the in the general vicinity near each other. All four of them were reaching out to flock, and per contract, we will be having them either repaired or replaced based on our agreements with them.”

The quote tweets on Daugherty’s post reflect the anti-AI surveillance sentiment in the quotes section on Heinen’s post.

“Get the Flock Out,” one comment says. “Destroying flock cameras is one of the most patriotic acts you can do today. Down with the police state.”

“Damaging public safety equipment is illegal and puts communities at risk, which is why we strongly condemn this type of behavior,” Lewbel told the DCNF. “In communities across the country, Flock’s LPRs help law enforcement locate missing people, solve violent crimes, and recover stolen vehicles. Our technology helped investigators locate the Brown University mass shooting suspect, even after he changed license plates. In another case, Flock cameras helped authorities locate a man accused of planning a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival before a tragedy could occur. In cases like these, every lead matters.”

In Colorado, Police Sgt. Jamie Milliman used a Flock camera to make a false accusation against a woman, claiming she stole a $25 package, the Colorado Sun reported on Nov. 11, 2025.

The opposition to Flock cameras extends beyond public outrage. Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie openly expressed their concerns surrounding AI-powered surveillance devices.

“If you want to spy on Americans, get a warrant,” Boebert said in an X post on April 23.

Massie introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act, a bill that would restrict the installation and use of AI-powered surveillance devices throughout America. Boebert sponsored the bill and even explicitly cited Flock cameras in a press release supporting the bill.

“It [the Surveillance Accountability Act] would prohibit any government from receiving that data. Now, I also have a problem with private companies receiving this data,” Boebert told the DCNF. “However, in my role, it is my constitutional duty to protect citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights, and therefore, when any government, local, state, federal, is contracting or has an agreement with these private companies to receive that data. It is an infringement on your Fourth Amendment rights.”

“The Surveillance Accountability Act would … Restrict the use of automated license plate readers (such as Flock cameras) to create persistent location databases of citizens without a court order,” according to Boebert’s April 23 press release.

Massie’s bill also protects the private data of Americans, according to an X post he made on April 23.

The bill restricts “License plate images, vehicle metadata, or vehicle movement patterns obtained through automated license plate readers or similar systems,” according to the published draft.

One organization, DeFlock, has begun documenting the location of these devices to spread public knowledge of their whereabouts. The DCNF does not condone the destruction of private property.

Online message boards have often compared Flock cameras to the Telescreen, a fictional surveillance device from George Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel, “1984.” The practice is similar in function; civilians never know if they are being watched or not.

“He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them,” George Orwell wrote in “1984.”

“Well, Flock is just one company. Of course, that is the company that is getting the most attention right now,” Boebert told the DCNF. “And in general, I would like to apply the same statement to any AI company who is surveilling citizens who should not be. And I would say, get the Flock out.”

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