People participating in Saturday's widespread "No Kings" protests against President Donald Trump's administration face potential federal surveillance using technologies such as facial recognition and phone hacking, according to civil libertarians.
Organizers anticipate 2,600 rallies across all 50 U.S. states, with surveillance varying by location and involved police forces.
Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, noted Friday that crowds in Washington, D.C., surrounded by anti-scale fencing near the White House, would likely experience different monitoring than those in small rural areas.
Ryan Shapiro, executive director of the government transparency group Property of the People, stated in an email Friday that under previous administrations, law enforcement surveillance of peaceful demonstrations was already commonplace and corrosive of free expression.
Given Trump's open hostility to even minor dissent, such surveillance now poses an existential threat to what remains of American democracy and only underscores the need for mass protest.
The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement has implemented Trump's immigration crackdown using a digital surveillance arsenal that includes facial recognition, phone hacking tools and cell site simulators for detailed tracking of protesters' mobile phones.
Multiple federal agencies have also deployed social media monitoring.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration used MQ-9 Predator drones, typically employed in combat zones, over Los Angeles during anti-ICE protests.
The agency employs lower-tech options as well, such as high-definition cameras observed at recent protests in Chicago.
Department of Homeland Security officials did not directly address potential surveillance of "No Kings" protesters, stating in a response that as it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation.
An ICE spokesperson told Reuters in an email Saturday that the First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting — and that DHS is taking reasonable and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers.
Surveillance extends beyond federal levels, with various local police departments using facial recognition technology, governed by differing state laws.
Nate Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, explained that different technologies carry varying legal requirements and often need specific court authorization for focused use.
However, proving inclusion in inappropriate data collection remains challenging.
This is a recurring problem in trying to constrain government's use of surveillance technologies, Wessler said in an interview.
They are often designed to work surreptitiously and it can be extremely hard to prove whether you or any particular person was swept up in this kind of surveillance.
The Trump administration sidelined or fired Homeland Security staffers who might have curbed surveillance excesses, according to Don Bell, policy counsel for the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight.
One of the reasons why the use of these technologies is uniquely dangerous is that there are virtually no legal guardrails in place to prevent mass surveillance, and what did exist has been bulldozed, Bell said in an email.
Wessler added that drones collecting footage raise concerns about chilling First Amendment rights, noting no good reason exists for deploying them over permitted peaceful protests.
In Washington, D.C., Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy headlined the rally, joined by speakers including British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, science educator Bill Nye and rapper Oddissee.
Murphy addressed the crowd, calling Donald Trump the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America.
The D.C. event started at 12 p.m. and is set to conclude at 2 p.m.
White House economist Kevin Hassett dismissed the protests, telling Fox News that President Trump has said himself that he’s not a king, and that allowing them proves there isn’t a king, rendering the actions nonsensical.
The New York Police Department announced it would deploy officers across the city, emphasizing a zero tolerance policy for illegal activity while ensuring safe exercise of First Amendment rights.
In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, protesters donned costumes including unicorns, chickens and bears along a freeway, with one in an inflatable dinosaur outfit holding a sign reading: fascism is prehistoric.
The first "No Kings" protest in June featured mostly peaceful, festival-like crowds, though Trump and allies have labeled participants terrorists and far-left agitators without evidence, heightening anxiety among some observers.