GOP lawmaker gives expected timeline for Mitch McConnell’s return

2026-09-03 12:06 PM ET / CNN

By Annie Grayer

Updated Sep 3, 2026, 12:24 PM ET

PUBLISHED Sep 3, 2026, 12:06 PM ET

Sen. Mitch McConnell delivers an opening statement during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, on Capitol Hill on May 12.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/File

House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky said Thursday that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s staff have told him they are hoping the senator – who has had an extended absence from Washington due to health issues – will return when the Senate comes back into session on September 14.

Although he said he has not spoken to McConnell directly, Comer said he communicates regularly with the senator’s staff as their offices often work together on matters for their state.

Asked if McConnell is expected to be back at that time, Comer said, “I expect that. I sure hope so.”

“I have not talked to Leader McConnell. I’ve talked to his staff, many of whom are from my district originally. And they have all said it’s their goal for Senator McConnell to be here when the Senate comes in,” Comer said.

Stephanie Penn, a spokesperson for McConnell’s office told CNN on Wednesday when asked if there is a date for his return that there are “no scheduling announcements at this time.”

McConnell spokesman David Popp on Thursday referred CNN to the office’s latest statement.

The former Senate majority leader, who is 84 and not running for reelection, was admitted to the hospital on June 14, but his office did not disclose the reason for the hospitalization at the time.

In July, after weeks of speculation over his health status, McConnell announced that a fall had landed him in the hospital.

The senator then moved to a rehabilitation center to continue regaining his strength and later announced he was discharged in early August and would continue to recover at home.

The Senate is currently in a five-week recess period for the summer and will return Monday, September 14.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed

Rep Ralph Norman affirms that he’ll ‘support’ ex-rival Sen Darline Graham in election

September 3, 2026 12:22pm EDT / Fox News

Norman said that ‘defeating the Democrats and protecting our conservative values must remain the priority’

By Alex Nitzberg

Ralph Norman responds to question about whether he would support Sen. Darline Graham

Rep. Ralph Norman responds after being asked on Aug. 31 whether there is “a world where” he would “campaign for or support, even tacitly,” Sen. Darline Graham. (Credit: CSPAN)

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Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., indicated in a Wednesday post on X that he would “support” Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate general election contest.

“As I said repeatedly on the campaign trail, my fight was never with other Republicans. It’s with the socialist Democrats and the RINOs who enable them,” Norman said in part of the post. “I respect the decision of South Carolina voters, and I congratulate Senator Darline Graham on winning the Republican nomination. I will support our Republican nominee in November because defeating the Democrats and protecting our conservative values must remain the priority.”

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, to fill the vacancy following her brother’s death in July.

Then in August, the new senator, who was backed by President Donald Trump, defeated Norman in the South Carolina special Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff.

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT BOOSTS SISTER OF LATE LINDSEY GRAHAM TO HISTORIC RUNOFF VICTORY

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., speaks to the media as he departs a House Republican conference meeting in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

During remarks the day he lost the runoff last week, Norman had said he would “support” the senator the “best I can.”

But earlier this week, someone asked Norman whether there is “a world where” he would “campaign for or support, even tacitly,” Sen. Darline Graham.

THE PRIMARY IS OVER; NOW COME THE PRIMETIME MISTAKES

Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a campaign event at the Green Boundary Club on Aug. 24, 2026, in Aiken, S.C.(Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“She won the nomination,” Norman replied. “What I disagree with, she got all of her money from Washington D.C. The liberal PACs, Lisa Murkowski supported her. That’s concerning.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Graham’s campaign on Thursday but did not immediately hear back. Fox News Digital also reached out to Murkowski’s office, which declined to provide comment.

President Donald Trump congratulates U.S. Sen. Darline Graham after she spoke during a campaign rally at Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Aug. 21, 2026.(SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

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Dr. Annie Andrews is the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee running against Graham in the general election.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

ICE agent charged with lying over Minnesota shooting, source says

2026-09-03T19:35:29.788Z / reuters.com

The badge of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is embroidered on a polo shirt of an ICE employee in Arlington, Texas, U.S. August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Federal indictment charges Castro with six counts of lying to investigators, source says
• Charges to be unsealed once Castro is in custody, source says
• DHS had suspended Castro for making false statements

WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) – An immigration officer has ​been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making false statements about the shooting of a ‌Venezuelan man in Minnesota during a deportation surge last winter, according to a source familiar with the matter on Thursday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro was indicted on six counts of lying to investigators, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak ​publicly about the investigation. The charges will be unsealed once Castro is in custody, the person said.

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The charges ​are an extraordinary step by a Justice Department that has refrained from alleging criminal wrongdoing by federal officers. This is the ⁠first known Justice Department prosecution of a federal immigration officer over wrongdoing in the Minneapolis operation, part of President Donald Trump’s ​immigration crackdown.

Castro faces state charges in Minnesota for shooting and wounding Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg on January 14, at ​the height of Trump’s deportation campaign in Minnesota, which drew weeks of protest.

There is an active Minnesota state arrest warrant for Castro, who spent 90 days in a Texas county jail. He was released last week after Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said he was refusing to sign ​extradition papers sent by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat.

The state charges also include falsely reporting a crime after Castro allegedly ​wrongly told superiors at the Department of Homeland Security that Sosa-Celis and others attacked him with a snow shovel and broom, which was ‌disproved by ⁠video evidence.

DHS has suspended Castro, and the person familiar with the case said a civil rights investigation is ongoing and no decision has been reached yet in that matter.

Matt Evans, a federal prosecutor who had been working on the case, was fired this week after ProPublica reported he sent an email to Sosa-Celis’ lawyers saying DOJ attorneys had stopped his efforts to bring ​federal charges, according to the person ​familiar with the case. ⁠Evans is now being investigated for obstruction of a grand jury investigation, the person said.

Castro has not publicly addressed the state charges against him since his release from the Cameron County jail ​last week, and he could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

The Trump administration ​has largely defended ⁠the conduct of ICE agents, saying incorrectly that they have absolute immunity from state prosecutions.

Robin Wolpert, a lawyer for Sosa-Celis, said in a statement her client wants Castro to be held “fully accountable” with stronger civil rights charges. “Mr. Castro has been indicted for making false ⁠statements,” she ​said. “But he made them to cover up the fact that he shot ​my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification.”

The ACLU of Minnesota announced on Thursday that it will represent Sosa-Celis as he sues ​the Trump administration.

Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff in Washington, D.C. and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Elon Musk’s super PAC starts spending to help GOP in midterms, including Texas’ Ken Paxton

Sep 3, 2026, 12:43 PM ET / CNN

By Fredreka Schouten

Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks in Washington, DC on November 19, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s super PAC has disclosed its first spending on behalf of Republican candidates, providing roughly $800,000 to help congressional contenders across several states, new filings show.

The expenditures by America PAC, made in August and disclosed on Wednesday night to the Federal Election Commission, cover printing costs – a sign that Musk’s political operation is focused on direct voter outreach. The spending includes help for candidates competing in high-profile Senate races from Maine to Texas.

The largest share of the newly disclosed spending, more than $247,000, went to aid Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who has been vastly outspent on the airwaves by Texas’ Democratic nominee James Talarico. In recent weeks, America PAC’s feed on X has targeted Talarico, arguing that his views are out of touch with Texas voters.

Musk, the world’s richest person, already is one of the biggest funders in the midterm elections, plowing more than $50 million into his America PAC and donating $10 million each to the main Republican super PACs active in House and Senate races. He also has given $10 million to a super PAC active in Kentucky’s Senate race.

Other races where America PAC has made early investments include Senate contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and Ohio and key House races in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The activity marks a reengagement in Republican politics for Musk more than a year after he publicly bickered with President Donald Trump. At one point, he threatened to start his own political party before abandoning those plans and reconciling with Trump.

The PAC has committed to helping Republicans retain their House and Senate majorities in November’s midterm elections, spending both to defend Republican-held seats and pick up districts now held by Democrats, according to a source familiar with the committee’s plans.

DOJ charges ICE officer who shot immigrant in Minnesota with lying to investigators

September 3, 2026 / 1:10 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Federal prosecutors have charged an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota with making false statements to investigators about the incident, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CBS News.

The officer, Christian Castro, was charged in May by local prosecutors, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has refused to extradite him, prompting a legal battle. He was released from a Texas jail last week.

A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment Wednesday, but the case has not yet been unsealed, the sources said. Law enforcement officers are currently trying to locate Castro, one source said. The Associated Press first reported Castro had been charged by federal prosecutors.

The shooting at the center of the case occurred during the Trump administration’s federal immigration surge in Minnesota, just a week after agents killed Renee Good.

In January, two men, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, were hit with federal charges of forcibly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers. Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, had been shot by an ICE agent in the leg.

Accounts of the interaction that led to the shooting shifted in the immediate aftermath. The Department of Homeland Security initially said Sosa-Celis fled a traffic stop, crashed the vehicle and fled on foot. DHS said two men emerged from a nearby apartment and attacked the agent with a broom handle and snow shovel. Sosa-Celis allegedly broke free and also started striking the officer, DHS said, adding that an officer then fired a “defensive shot to defend his life.”

But an FBI affidavit filed to support the charges against the two men said Aljorna was the one who fled, and that Sosa-Celis initially struck Castro with a broomstick while the agent tried to arrest Aljorna. And cellphone video shared by a Democratic state lawmaker showed a woman telling 911 that her husband was chased by ICE agents before he reached his home, and was shot in front of his family.

Christian Castro Cameron County Sheriff

The charges against Aljorna and Sosa-Celis soon unraveled. Federal prosecutors dropped the case in February, citing “newly discovered evidence” that was “materially inconsistent” with the allegations against them. The charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they could not be reintroduced.

Todd Lyons, then the acting head of ICE, said that video evidence contradicted statements made under oath by Castro and a second officer. Both were placed on leave. Castro has since been suspended without pay.

“Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements,” Lyons said at the time. “Both officers have been immediately placed on administrative leave pending the completion of a thorough internal investigation. Lying under oath is a serious federal offense.”

Feds bust LGBT podcaster, former Christian reality TV star for alleged threats to kill Trump

September 3, 2026 2:02pm EDT / Fox News

Benjamin Southworth is also charged with cyberstalking and harassing the family of Trump’s personal attorney

By Peter D’Abrosca Fox News

GOP congressman reveals graphic death threat that prompted FBI arrest

Rep. Randy Fine spoke with Fox News Digital after a man was arrested by federal authorities for allegedly vowing death on Fine and President Donald Trump.

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A prominent LGBT podcaster who formerly hosted a Christian reality television show was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles Thursday for allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump.

Benjamin Azariah Southworth, 40, was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges for cyberstalking, making harassing interstate calls and threatening to kill President Trump, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced on X.

He said that Southworth led a harassment campaign against the family of one of Trump’s personal attorneys.

Federal agents arrest Benjamin Azariah Southworth on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, for allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump.(United States Attorney Bill Essayli)

TRUMP’S DECADE OF ASSASSINATION THREATS RUNS FROM BUTLER SHOOTING TO LATEST GOLF CLUB BREACH

“Southworth is charged with posting videos calling for President Trump’s assassination, then targeted the family of the President’s personal attorney by publishing their home address and phone numbers, and leaving voicemails threatening ‘justice comes to your door,” Essayli said.

The act of publicly revealing personal information of public officials and celebrities without their consent is known as “doxxing” and is usually done with the intent to harass, shame or cause harm.

“Threats against the President of the United States are federal crimes. We will not tolerate threats of political violence in the United States. My office will prosecute anyone who crosses that line to the fullest extent of the law,” the U.S. attorney wrote in a statement on X.

On Southworth’s website “Holy Menace,” which is still live at time of publication, the podcaster sells $5 stickers that say “Kill Trump.”

While being taken into custody by agents, Southworth yelled, “Donald Trump is a pedophile. The country has fallen!” according to the New York Post, which had a photographer present at the time of his arrest.

Court documents obtained by the publication allegedly state that on April 7, 2026, Southworth posted a video on his Instagram account that contained a series of threats against Trump.

Benjamin Azariah Southworth attends The Queerties on March 12, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif.(Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

“I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump,” he allegedly said. “This government is illegitimate and out of control. It’s time for course correction. Kill Donald Trump.”

The documents allegedly include a myriad of other examples of Southworth making threatening comments against the president, but the papers are not publicly available.

MAN INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY POSTING GRUESOME DEATH THREATS AGAINST KRISTI NOEM, PAM BONDI ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.

“They should also immediately seek psychiatric help to treat their severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has warped their brains and made them sick in the head.”

In the late 2000s, Southworth hosted the Christian reality TV show “The Remix,” which aired on some of the largest Christian networks in the country, including National Religious Broadcasters TV. The show featured Christian musicians and bands.

Flamy Grant, Benjamin Azariah Southworth, Daniel Franzese and Grace Baldridge, aka Semler, attend The Queerties on March 12, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif.(Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

In 2008, Southworth came out as gay. He was subsequently the opening act for gay Christian singer Ray Boltz on the singer’s nationwide tour in 2010.

In 2020, he started a podcast called “Yass, Jesus!’ which is described as “an interfaith and sexuality affirming comedy podcast that believes you don’t have to pick between gay and God.” He cohosts the show with “Mean Girls” actor Daniel Franzese, who is also gay.

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Southworth could not be immediately reached for comment.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

Trump says ‘you might not love his look’ but Texans should vote for Ken Paxton anyway

2026-09-03T17:24:38.932Z / CNN

By Phil Mattingly, CNN

Published 1:24 PM EDT, Thu September 3, 2026

Trump says ‘you might not love his look’ but Texans should vote for Ken Paxton anyway

Inside Politics

President Trump has been making comments about his pick to for Senate in Texas that he himself admits are “so insulting” to Ken Paxton. But while Trump doesn’t like Paxton’s looks, he says he was the best Attorney General in the country. The Inside Politics panel breaks it down.

2:53 • Source: CNN

Postal Service mail voting rules face extended block as judge presses DOJ

2026-09-03T13:52:00-0400 / CBS News

By Katrina Kaufman,

Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Read Full Bio

Updated on: September 3, 2026 / 3:27 PM EDT / CBS News

Boston — A federal judge on Thursday pressed the Justice Department on the Trump administration’s plans to impose new regulations for mail voting just weeks before the November midterms and echoed concerns that the measures could result in the disenfranchisement of voters.

Lawyers for the government and a group of Democratic-led states, joined by voting rights groups, appeared before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani for a hearing in the ongoing legal battle over President Trump’s efforts to tighten the rules for mail voting, as Talwani weighs whether to continue blocking the new rule from the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the upcoming elections.

The states and voting rights groups challenging the regulations argue that the measure is unconstitutional and have moved for longer-term relief.

The judge declined to rule from the bench but said she would issue her order as soon as possible.

“I’m here 70 days before the election and I have nothing from USPS telling me how this will happen,” Talwani said.

In response to a request from Talwani for more information, Steven Monteith, the chief customer and marketing officer and executive vice president of the Postal Service, said in a declaration filed Thursday afternoon that the agency continues to “make refinements” to the portal and anticipates it will be available for voluntary use “by sometime next week.”

Monteith said the Postal Service is not “currently” mandating a review of mail ballot envelopes to ensure they comply with the rule, but states can “voluntarily” submit the envelopes to the agency to look over.

The legal battle arose out of an executive order Mr. Trump signed in March that tasked his administration, including the Postal Service and Department of Homeland Security, with taking steps to restrict mail voting. Among those steps, a provision calling for the Department of Homeland Security to compile and send to election officials state-specific lists of residents who are U.S. citizens has taken effect.

Mr. Trump’s executive order is part of several actions his administration has undertaken to expand federal control over elections, though many have been challenged in court. Shortly after the president signed the directive involving mail voting, a group of 23 states filed a lawsuit seeking to block it.

Talwani, who presided over that case and a different lawsuit brought by voting rights groups, barred the Trump administration in June from implementing the executive order, including the provisions involving the Postal Service.

But last month, the Supreme Court granted a Justice Department request to freeze that decision. The high court, divided along ideological lines, said that the states’ lawsuit was premature. But the conservative majority did not address the legal merits of the president’s policies for mail voting.

It’s likely that the latest case involving the Postal Service’s final rule lands back before the justices in the coming weeks.

At the beginning of Thursday’s hearing, lawyers for the Justice Department said that if Talwani does not issue her decision on a preliminary injunction right away, they will leapfrog the federal appeals court and ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

A lawyer representing Texas, which intervened in the case, along with 11 other Republican-led states, and is defending the mail-ballot rules, suggested that Talwani should make compliance optional in every state.

“So we’re going to do a test run on this election?” Talwani asked the lawyer. “We’re not playing an intellectual puzzle game. We’re talking about people’s right to vote.”

“You want me to say, ‘Well, let’s see how this works out?’” Talwani later added, referring to Texas’ proposal as a “laboratory” and “experiment.”

The judge also raised concerns about allowing some states to follow the Postal Service’s requirements given the prospect that some mail ballots could be rejected.

“How does USPS holding up the ballots help you?” she asked. “You want the voters in your state to be disenfranchised?”

Under the final rule published by the Postal Service last month in response to the executive order, mail ballots must adhere to certain design requirements, including individualized unique bar codes, and states must submit to an online portal the names and addresses of voters set to receive mail ballots.

Voters are also enrolled on state-specific “Mail-In and Absentee Participation Lists.” The agency has said it “will not play any role in determining voter eligibility, maintaining voter rolls, or counting ballots.”

Mr. Trump, who has voted by mail this year in Florida’s elections, has long argued that the restrictions on mail voting are necessary to protect election integrity in future U.S. elections. The Trump administration has not put forth evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Shortly after the rule was published, a group of 24 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit arguing that the measure is unlawful. The states argued that the regulations interfere with their ability to administer elections under their own laws.

Thursday’s arguments came after Talwani temporarily blocked the Postal Service from enforcing the requirements. Talwani’s order, set to last 14 days, was appealed by the Trump administration shortly after being issued. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has not yet acted on that appeal.

In her decision, issued Aug. 27, the judge said the regulation is “likely unconstitutional” and “practically impossible” to comply with for the November midterm elections, which are just over two months away.

The states, she wrote, “have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal, and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms.”

In North Carolina, election officials will begin mailing ballots Friday, and ballots will go out in several other states around mid-September, according to the Center for Election Innovation and Research.

The short time frame for implementation of the new regulations was underscored this week in a whistleblower disclosure submitted to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The whistleblower, described by lawyers from Whistleblower Aid as a federal official, warned there could be “potentially catastrophic problems” with the Postal Service’s new system for handling mail ballots.

The official also said the new verification process could keep large numbers of mail ballots from being delivered to voters because of a “zero percent failure rate.” In the disclosure, the whistleblower alleged that the Postal Service violated Talwani’s earlier orders by moving ahead with implementing the president’s directives.

Voting rights groups provided the disclosure to Talwani on Tuesday.

Three new companies face Josh Hawley’s investigation into AI surveillance and vehicle tracking

2026-09-03T12:35:32-04:00 / Fox News

Motorola Solutions, Verkada and Axon Enterprise received letters demanding answers on data retention and privacy safeguards

By Preston Mizell Fox News

Published September 3, 2026 12:35pm EDT

Flock cameras raise privacy concerns after alleged misuse

‘Outnumbered’ debates privacy concerns surrounding Flock surveillance cameras after allegations of misuse by law enforcement, while weighing the technology’s role in solving crimes, locating missing people and protecting public safety.

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is expanding his investigation into alleged privacy violations from Flock Safety cameras to three additional companies amid concerns about the handling of images and data generated by AI-backed surveillance cameras.

Hawley put Motorola Solutions Inc., Verkada Inc. and Axon Enterprise Inc. on notice in a series of letters that the lawmaker sent on Wednesday.

“On August 26th, I wrote to your competitor Flock Safety to express my concerns regarding the size and pervasiveness of its network and demanding answers as to reports of abuse and costly errors from its technology,” Hawley’s letter to the three companies reads. “However, Flock does not stand alone in this industry; you and others are building large camera networks, assisted by artificial intelligence, that intrude on the privacy of all Americans.”

HAWLEY RIPS FLOCK’S SPRAWLING SURVEILLANCE WEB AS TEXAS CITIES CUT CAMERAS OVER PRIVACY AND DATA FEARS

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol during votes related to the government shutdown on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Hawley, who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, has been vocal about his concerns that Flock Safety cameras undermine personal privacy with an AI-powered system that tracks the movements of Americans.

“Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school or go to church,” Hawley said in a post on X last week. “I’m investigating Flock cameras to determine WHO has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data – and what they’re doing with it.”

POWERFUL CRIME-FIGHTING SURVEILLANCE GROWTH SPURS LAWMAKERS TO ISSUE WARNING: ‘ORWELLIAN’

Hawley asked each of the companies to explain how broadly customers can search vehicle data, how long the company retains license plate information, how many confirmed cases of misuse have occurred since 2021 and what safeguards are in place to ensure law enforcement officers provide legitimate justifications before conducting searches.

A pigeon perches on a Flock Safety camera, mounted high on a traffic signal pole at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove, Calif. on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“We received the letter and have reached out to Senator Hawley’s office to discuss his requests,” an Axon spokesperson said. “We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to safety and responsible innovation.”

A number of politicians have taken action against AI-powered cameras, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordering the removal of all license plate reader cameras from Florida state roads and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering all state agencies to stop spending state money on Flock Safety cameras.

FLOCK SURVEILLANCE SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS RED-STATE LAWMAKERS SEEK TO AX ‘1984’-STYLE TRACKING TOOLS

Flock Safety cameras use artificial intelligence to automatically track and identify vehicles and license plates for local law enforcement use. Nationwide concern has grown about whether the AI-backed system should be allowed to track the movement of vehicles without a warrant or the consent of drivers.

About 120,000 Flock Safety cameras operate in every state except Alaska.

Last week, Hawley also sent a letter to Flock Safety, requesting similar information from the company.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Flock Safety said the company would comply with the investigation.

FLOCK SAFETY CEO CALLS FOR NATIONAL ‘COMPROMISE’ AMID CAMERA SABOTAGE AND PUBLIC REVOLT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moved to cut off state-agency funding for Flock cameras as communities across the state reconsider their use of the technology.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“We look forward to working with Senator Hawley and the Subcommittee to provide additional context about how our technology works, the safeguards built into our platform and how law enforcement agencies use Flock to solve crime and find missing people,” Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said.

INSIDE THE FAR-LEFT’S ANTI-DATA CENTER PUSH AND WHAT EXPERTS SAY IS DRIVING IT: ‘PLAYBOOK WE’VE SEEN BEFORE’

The growing backlash against Flock cameras illustrates an unusual convergence: Republicans and far-left activists are arriving at the same target from sharply different ideological directions. While GOP lawmakers are focused on privacy, government overreach and protecting Americans from warrantless tracking, socialist and communist organizers have folded the cameras into a broader campaign against artificial intelligence, policing, immigration enforcement, the construction of data centers and the demonization of the United States as a “police state” and “AI surveillance state.”

Over the past year, far-left organizations within a network funded by pro-China, Shanghai-based tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham have built vocal community campaigns against the Flock Safety cameras, while also targeting the construction of data centers. The GOP, including President Donald Trump and administration officials, have been leading voices of support for the continued construction of data centers.

How funding from Marxist tycoon Neville Roy Singham flows to organizations https://www.foxnews.com/video/6399660138112

In May, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Denver chapter partnered with Indivisible and the far-left Sunrise Movement and promoted a forum examining the “connections between mass surveillance and data centers and how BOTH only serve the needs of billionaires and not our communities.”

MARXIST ORGANIZER LEADS CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIRGINIA AI DATA CENTER AS FOREIGN INFLUENCE CONCERNS MOUNT

By July 25, in Tucson, Ariz., the local Party for Socialism and Liberation chapter joined “deFLOCK Tucson” and the “No Desert Data Center Coalition” for an event called “It’s ALL Connected” at the “Global Justice Center” on E. 26th Street.

The promotional material asked what mass surveillance, data centers and electric power had in common. The answer: “IT’S ALL CONNECTED.”

In a new report, “The Compute War at Home,” commissioned by Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, the authors note that “money, media, organizing capacity and campaign objectives converge in the same ecosystem.”

David Chung, organizing director at The People’s Forum, prepares for an anti-war demonstration in Union Square in New York City, left. Tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham attends The Red Party in New York City on Feb. 14, 2018, right.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital; Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)

“Issue pairings rarely multiply fourteen-fold in a matter of weeks without a catalyst, particularly when the surge begins immediately after organizers start promoting the connection,” the report states.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

Florida bans highway license-plate readers as backlash over surveillance spreads

2026-09-03 18:41:08 UTC / Reuters

By Helen Coster

September 3, 2026 6:41 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

A sign describes a Flock camera as a 24/7 license plate reader near a retail area in Sun Valley, Texas, U.S. July 31, 2026. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Purchase Licensing Rights

NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Florida has banned local police from placing cameras that read license plates on its state highways in response to growing divisions over law enforcement’s use of technology ​supplied by Flock Safety and others to track vehicles in many parts of ​the U.S.

Florida’s Department of Transportation said it would revoke previous permits for the cameras and no longer issue new permits within its jurisdiction.

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“The recent exponential increase in deployments along our roadways, coupled with concerning reports of misuse, ​data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes merit immediate action to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and ​quality of life,” it said in a memo issued earlier this week.

The memo ⁠followed remarks from Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who last week said the use of ​automated license plate readers has “gotten out of control.”

Another Republican governor, Greg Abbott of Texas, last week ​ordered state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras.

A Flock Safety spokesperson said in a statement that Flock’s technology helps solve crimes in Florida and throughout the country.

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“Rather than banning a critical public safety tool, we support ​thoughtful legislation and strong privacy, transparency, and accountability guard rails that ensure technology is used responsibly ​while preserving law enforcement’s ability to use effective tools to keep people safe,” the statement said.

The move by ‌Florida ⁠comes amid growing public backlash over cameras provided by the Atlanta-based company. Across 49 states, Flock’s network of around 120,000 AI-powered cameras, affixed to streets and highways, automatically read license plates and record vehicles as they pass.

They have been billed as a security tool that allows law enforcement ​to quickly identify and ​catch criminals, but ⁠have been under fire for misuse by police departments and criticized for violating citizens’ privacy.

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Together with AI data centers, Flock cameras have emerged as a ​flashpoint in this year’s midterm elections, with candidates increasingly attacking their opponents ​by tying ⁠them to the technology.

Americans are divided on whether Flock cameras are a good idea, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. Some 38% of the country supports the use of Flock ⁠cameras in ​their community, compared to 47% who oppose their use.

Support ​was strongest among self-identified Republicans, with 54% of the party in favor of Flock cameras, while the same share of ​Democrats was against them.

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Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Alistair Bell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.