{"id":17867,"date":"2026-07-05T07:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=17867"},"modified":"2026-07-05T07:51:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:51:02","slug":"us-air-force-engineer-charged-with-sawing-down-flock-surveillance-cameras-receives-thousands-of-dollars-from-supporters-across-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/05\/us-air-force-engineer-charged-with-sawing-down-flock-surveillance-cameras-receives-thousands-of-dollars-from-supporters-across-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force Engineer Charged With Sawing Down Flock Surveillance Cameras Receives Thousands of Dollars from Supporters Across the Country"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

He’s already raised over twice what he asked, so as this gets out there and covered by alternative news he’ll probably get even more donations. It is vandalism, but these cameras are a violation of our privacy and reprehensible. I have a lot of posts<\/a> about Flock ALPR cameras, and now they’re putting up microphones for gunshots but was also reported to listen for sounds of distress, eventually conversations… And microphones can be setup to be directional in arrays to where they’d be incredibly sensitive, and one woman recently had one put up in front of her house<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/endtimeheadlines.org\/2026\/07\/us-air-force-engineer-charged-with-sawing-down-flock-surveillance-cameras-receives-thousands-of-dollars-from-supporters-across-the-country\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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A Virginia-based US Air Force engineer has become a focal point in the growing debate over expansive surveillance technology after authorities charged him with destroying multiple Flock Safety cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey Sovern, 41, of Suffolk, Virginia, stands accused of intentionally targeting more than a dozen AI-powered license plate reader systems operated by Flock Safety in North Suffolk between April and October 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prosecutors say the actions involved sawing down or dismantling the cameras, with some reportedly thrown from overpasses along Interstate 664, where they shattered. Investigators recovered components, including solar panels, batteries, and wiring, during a search of his property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sovern, who worked as an engineer and mechanic, allegedly used tools such as vice grips to disassemble the two-piece poles supporting the cameras. He faces 13 counts of felony destruction of property, six counts of petit larceny, and six counts of possession of burglary tools. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities linked Sovern to the incidents through a combination of evidence, including footage from a separate traffic monitoring camera. When questioned, he reportedly told investigators that the Flock systems were \u201cunconstitutional and a violation of his and others\u2019 Fourth Amendment rights,\u201d arguing they contribute to an overreaching surveillance apparatus that tracks vehicles and builds searchable databases accessible to law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flock Safety cameras use artificial intelligence to capture license plates, vehicle details, and other information, often retaining data for extended periods. Critics nationwide have raised privacy concerns about the technology\u2019s proliferation in communities, with some localities pushing back against its deployment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to mounting legal costs and public attention, Sovern launched a GoFundMe campaign for his defense. The effort has garnered thousands of dollars in donations from supporters across the country. On the page, he addressed the outpouring directly: \u201cThere has been community support for me that I humbly welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further noted the personal toll, stating that the situation has negatively impacted his and his support system\u2019s mental health, while expressing appreciation for the growing awareness sparked by local news coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/jeff-sovern-legal-fund<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Jeff and I appreciate my privacy. I appreciate everyone’s right to privacy, enshrined in the fourth amendment. With the local news outlets finding my legal issues and creating a story that is starting to grow, there has been community support for me that I humbly welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been charged with allegedly destroying multiple “flock” cameras around the Suffolk, VA area. My support system and I have seen the social media comments of support, and we greatly appreciate the sentiments, as this process has been negative on our mental health to say the least. Seeing multiple comments about a gofundme have encouraged me to create this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have hired a lawyer and incurred some minor costs so far in the process. Those expenses combined are what I have set the goal at for now. There will increased costs as this process continues, but I will not move the bar until increased costs are solidified. Anything over the goal at this point is to provide as many resources as we can put to bear for court, so we appreciate the continued support!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have never set up a crowd fund campaign before, and even had to ask friends and family about where to start. I will say that I am fortunate enough to have an emergency fund that has gotten me by so far, but if people wish to show their support, I appreciate it. I welcome anything that is within someone’s budget (if you are hurting in this economy, keep your money! Talk to your community about privacy and security instead). If this fund grows in excess of what it costs to fight this fight, I will forward any to the institute for justice’s lawsuit in Norfolk or other similar efforts to rollback intrusive surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am generally quite introverted and stubbornly independent. So this feels weird to set up. I genuinely do not want anyone to hurt financially, so please find productive ways in your community if you wish to share your support. Or I don’t know if it would work, but ask the Cities of Suffolk and Chesapeake to drop their charges and to apply their funds to more productive means. I appreciate a quiet life and am not looking forward to this process, but I will take the silver lining that this can be a catalyst in a bigger movement to roll-back intrusive surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not affiliated with this website, but it is a good starter to learn more about flock: <\/a>https:\/\/deflock.me\/what-is-an-alpr.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updates are posted as they come about, usually after each court date; that have ended-up being about monthly.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The preliminary hearing went with no surprises. The prosecution said things happened, our lawyer asked questions. The judge certified the charges for follow-on in circuit court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to those that had the time to show support this week! We have seen a huge uptick in awareness of the system and this case. Continue to do what you can to preserve privacy and roll back the pervasive data infrastructure taking the joie-de-vivre away from enjoying life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next step is scheduled for 7 Aug. See you there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~js<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He’s already raised over twice what he asked, so as this gets out there and covered by alternative news he’ll probably get even more donations. It is vandalism, but these cameras are a violation of our privacy and reprehensible. I have a lot of posts about Flock ALPR cameras, and now they’re putting up microphones […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17869,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17867\/revisions\/17869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}