West Virginia’s Freedom Caucus is renewing its push to ban Flock AI-powered surveillance cameras statewide, arguing that automated license plate readers, facial recognition systems, and other government monitoring tools violate Americans’ constitutional right to privacy.
The caucus is calling for the removal of Flock Safety license plate readers and the passage of the Fourth Amendment Restoration Act, legislation that would prohibit a broad range of AI-powered surveillance technologies from being used by law enforcement and other government agencies.
Supporters say the measure is necessary to protect citizens from warrantless government tracking, while opponents argue it would unnecessarily restrict legitimate policing tools.
Freedom Caucus Warns of Expanding Government Surveillance
West Virginia Delegate Chris Anders (R), chairman of the West Virginia Freedom Caucus, said the growing use of AI surveillance systems represents a direct challenge to constitutional protections.
“The West Virginia Freedom Caucus strongly opposes the unchecked expansion of automated surveillance technologies, including Flock Safety camera systems, automated license plate readers (ALPRs), AI-powered facial recognition, multimodal vehicle recognition, and emerging ‘gun detection’ software that claims to identify armed citizens based on body shape or movement,” Anders said.
“These technologies represent a dramatic expansion of government surveillance that is fundamentally at odds with the Fourth Amendment.”
Anders argued that governments should not be tracking the movements of law-abiding citizens without judicial approval.
“No state or local government should be mass tracking the daily movements of law-abiding citizens without a warrant,” Anders said.
“Mass surveillance has no place in a free society.
“The Constitution does not disappear because technology advances.”
The Freedom Caucus plans to reintroduce the Fourth Amendment Restoration Act after similar legislation failed to advance during the previous two legislative sessions.
The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies from using technologies including automated license plate readers, facial recognition software, surveillance drones, and other AI-assisted monitoring systems.
Leadership Clash Over Failed Legislation
Anders blamed House leadership for preventing lawmakers from voting on the proposal.
“For two consecutive years, the Fourth Amendment Restoration Act has been introduced in the West Virginia Legislature, yet it has failed to reach the Governor’s desk. That must change,” he said.
He criticized House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R) and House Judiciary Chairman JB Akers (R) for declining to bring the legislation forward.
“Despite growing public concern over government surveillance, Speaker Roger Hanshaw and House Judiciary Chairman JB Akers declined to bring the bill forward for consideration,” he noted.
“As a result, the House was never given the opportunity to debate or vote on the legislation.”
Anders vowed the Freedom Caucus would use “every parliamentary tool available” to force an up-or-down vote if leadership again blocks the measure.
“Constitutional rights should never be quietly buried in committee,” he asserted.
Akers sharply rejected those accusations.
“We actually passed a bill last session that limits the amount of surveillance law enforcement may engage in on private property,” Akers said.
He argued Anders’ proposal was poorly drafted and would unintentionally hinder routine law enforcement activity.
“Last session, he tried to amend a bill in a way that would have prevented police from entering property even if a dead body were in plain view in the front yard,” Akers said.
“Bluntly, his idea was dumb.”
Akers added that Anders “would rather see his bad bills fail so he can then scream RINO for clicks.”
Critics Warn AI Surveillance Creates Databases of Innocent Americans
Freedom Caucus Secretary Henry Dillon (R) argued that Flock’s technology records the daily activities of citizens who have committed no crime.
“The Fourth Amendment was written specifically to stop the government from engaging in generalized surveillance and warrantless searches,” Dillon said.
“Flock cameras don’t just identify criminals — they create a database documenting where law-abiding citizens worship, seek medical care, conduct business, and travel.
“That is fundamentally incompatible with a free society.”
State Sen. Craig Hart (R) also pointed to reported abuses involving Flock technology, including a 2025 case in Georgia in which Braselton Police Chief Michael Steffman was arrested after allegedly using automated license plate readers to stalk and harass individuals.
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance, at least five municipalities in West Virginia currently use Flock license plate readers, while others operate surveillance drones, camera registries, and intelligence fusion centers.
Civil Liberties Groups Join Opposition
The American Civil Liberties Union is currently suing the City of Huntington over a $2.1 million contract with Flock Safety.
The organization argues the agreement would blanket the city with extensive surveillance technology.
“If the Court allows the contract to proceed, Huntington would be blanketed in license plate recognition cameras with vehicle fingerprint technology, live video cameras, gunshot detection audio devices, and even automatically dispatched drones,” the ACLU said.
The ACLU also noted that more than 50 residents attended a city council meeting to oppose the agreement.
Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell defended the technology, arguing it has already helped solve violent crimes involving West Virginia suspects.
Recalling one homicide investigation, Farrell said a suspect fleeing toward Michigan was identified because another jurisdiction had installed license plate reader cameras.
“That gave us the lead that led to his arrest in Michigan,” Farrell said.
“So it helps our law enforcement do its work faster, more efficiently, and that’s the kind of success that I think we need more of.”
Flock Defends Its Technology
Despite those arguments, Anders maintained that the constitutional concerns outweigh the technology’s investigative benefits.
“The Founders did not fight a revolution so government could monitor innocent citizens everywhere they travel,” Anders said.
“George Orwell’s 1984 was intended as a warning, not an instruction manual.
“We should be striving for more 1776, not more 1984.
“The Fourth Amendment Restoration Act does not prevent police from investigating crime.
“It simply requires government to do what the Constitution has required for over two centuries: obtain a warrant based upon probable cause before engaging in targeted surveillance of Americans.”
Flock Safety defended its products, saying it supports legislation establishing clear safeguards while preserving law enforcement’s ability to use the technology.
The company said it does not sell customer data, agencies control whether information is shared with other departments, and license plate data is automatically deleted after 30 days unless local policies require otherwise.
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