U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill to restrict federal law enforcement’s deployment of military drones for the purpose of recording public demonstrations.
The bill, HR 4759, comes after reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used reconnaissance drones similar to the Predator drones used in the military to monitor recent protests against immigration enforcement operations in downtown Los Angeles.
Predator drones refer to unmanned aerial vehicles primarily used by the military for reconnaissance, surveillance, and sometimes targeted strikes.
“The U.S. government should never use military drones to spy on its own people,” Gomez said in a statement on X on July 27, adding that he introduced the Ban Military Drones Spying on Civilians Act to “get these drones out of our neighborhoods.”…