US airport security agency TSA relies on controversial 'counter-extremism' group to put names on a secret watchlist.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of relying on a 'counter-extremism' group, which has ties to the Department of Homeland Security, to identify and put names on its "Quiet Skies" watchlist. The watchlist is used to track individuals suspected of being security threats, but critics argue that it can also be used to target innocent people.
The investigation was led by Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, who announced the probe at a Senate hearing last month. He alleged that the George Washington University Program on Extremism may have had an unduly close relationship with the TSA and Department of Homeland Security.
The program's staffers often appear on cable TV to comment on issues related to extremism. The program has published a publicly available database of January 6 defendants, but Paul wants to learn whether the TSA relied on non-public information.
Critics argue that the program's research can be used to add names to the watchlist without any evidence or due process. Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said at Paul's hearing that he sympathized with the experience of right-wing activists who have been targeted by the TSA.
The investigation comes as part of a broader effort to reform the TSA's watchlisting system, which has been criticized for its lack of transparency and due process. Democrats and left-leaning civil liberties groups have long called for reforms to the system, which spans multiple agencies and includes hundreds of thousands of names in different databases.
In June, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she was ending the Quiet Skies watchlist program, citing an internal investigation as the reason. However, the Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about who conducted the investigation or what reports it produced.
The controversy highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the government's use of watchlists. As Senator Peters said at a hearing chaired by Paul, "internal oversight had been gutted, eliminating one of the few checks and balances that Americans can use to protect their rights."
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of relying on a 'counter-extremism' group, which has ties to the Department of Homeland Security, to identify and put names on its "Quiet Skies" watchlist. The watchlist is used to track individuals suspected of being security threats, but critics argue that it can also be used to target innocent people.
The investigation was led by Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, who announced the probe at a Senate hearing last month. He alleged that the George Washington University Program on Extremism may have had an unduly close relationship with the TSA and Department of Homeland Security.
The program's staffers often appear on cable TV to comment on issues related to extremism. The program has published a publicly available database of January 6 defendants, but Paul wants to learn whether the TSA relied on non-public information.
Critics argue that the program's research can be used to add names to the watchlist without any evidence or due process. Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said at Paul's hearing that he sympathized with the experience of right-wing activists who have been targeted by the TSA.
The investigation comes as part of a broader effort to reform the TSA's watchlisting system, which has been criticized for its lack of transparency and due process. Democrats and left-leaning civil liberties groups have long called for reforms to the system, which spans multiple agencies and includes hundreds of thousands of names in different databases.
In June, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she was ending the Quiet Skies watchlist program, citing an internal investigation as the reason. However, the Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about who conducted the investigation or what reports it produced.
The controversy highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the government's use of watchlists. As Senator Peters said at a hearing chaired by Paul, "internal oversight had been gutted, eliminating one of the few checks and balances that Americans can use to protect their rights."
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
. It's like they're playing a game of "who can be added to the list next?" without any evidence or due process. I mean, what's next? Adding names from social media? 
The fact that there are hundreds of thousands of names in different databases just makes it sound like a big ol' mess. And what really gets my goat is that some people have already been targeted by the TSA because of their activism (no, I'm not naming anyone out, but you know who you are 
). It's time for more transparency and accountability from our government agencies. We need to make sure our rights aren't being trampled on just because someone might be perceived as a security threat. Let's get some real oversight in place before this watchlist gets out of control 
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According to a recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice, the US has over 850,000 names on its watchlist system, with 73% of those individuals never being charged or investigated. 
Did you know that the TSA's Quiet Skies program has a mistake rate of up to 10%? 
I mean, can't we do better than that? 
The rest are just random targets... 
Let's get this system revamped with more transparency and accountability! 
I'm getting major red flags here! 
The fact that a 'counter-extremism' group with ties to DHS is being used by TSA to put names on the "Quiet Skies" watchlist without any evidence or due process is super concerning 
And let's not forget that this is happening under the guise of "counter-extremism" - what does that even mean? 
. The stats on how many people have been removed from the list are pretty slim - only 0.2% of those added back in were actually cleared 
. And what's up with this George Washington University Program having ties to TSA and DHS? It sounds like they're basically self-censoring 
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. We need to make sure that these watchlists are not being used to silence dissenting voices or target marginalized communities 
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. And to make matters worse, they're not even giving people a chance to prove their innocence before adding them to the list. That's just basic human rights stuff. I'm all for keeping our country safe, but this approach is definitely not it 
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I mean, what about due process? How can people know if they've been unfairly added to the list without any evidence? And now that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says she's ending the Quiet Skies watchlist program, who knows who conducted that internal investigation and what they found? This lack of transparency is wild 
it's like, what if someone gets targeted just because they were at a protest or something? that's just not right 
we need to make sure our rights are protected and that these watchlists have some real checks and balances 
can't trust the government to do the right thing all by themselves 
. What if the wrong people get added and then they're treated unfairly? It's like, we need some checks and balances in place to make sure our rights aren't trampled 
I mean, what if someone gets on the list by mistake? What if it's an innocent person being targeted because of who they are or where they come from? 
First, there's the investigation led by Senator Rand Paul. Then, we get to the counter-extremism group and its alleged ties to the TSA. But wait, wasn't Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying she was ending the Quiet Skies program in June? 
A clear heading, some bullet points... something! 
Otherwise, it's just a jumbled mess of information.
. So they're relying on some shady 'counter-extremism' group to put people on their watchlist without any real evidence or due process? That's just a recipe for disaster 
It's like something out of a sci-fi movie, but sadly it's all too real. And don't even get me started on the fact that this group has ties to the Department of Homeland Security... it's just a big ol' mess 
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Who needs due process when you can just add names to a secret watchlist? 
. We gotta be careful not to get too caught up in fear-mongering and start targeting people for their opinions.
. We gotta protect our rights as citizens and make sure our government is working for the people, not just the powerful interests 
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That just sounds like a recipe for abuse and targeting of innocent people, you know? 
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️. I'm all about transparency and due process, you know? The fact that this 'counter-extremism' group has ties to the Department of Homeland Security and is influencing who gets on the Quiet Skies watchlist without proper evidence or oversight is just plain concerning 
. I mean, who gets to decide who goes on this watchlist? It's like a secret police force, and that's a slippery slope 
. We need to shine a light on this and make sure our rights are protected 
And I'm all for keeping our airports and transportation systems safe, but at what cost? 
It's a disaster waiting to happen. We need better transparency and accountability, like, ASAP 
. The government needs to step up its game and make sure this watchlist isn't used to silence or persecute anyone 
. Can we please get some real reforms in place before it's too late? 