An investigation conducted by the Department of Homeland Security discovered that multiple Americans who resisted the COVID-19 mask mandates were put on no-fly lists by former President Joe Biden’s administration.
According to Fox News, an internal investigation led by the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration found that Biden’s Transportation Security Administration launched “Operation Freedom to Breathe” in September of 2021 and targeted Americans who had previously resisted the administration’s mask mandates. As part of the operation, the Biden administration placed Americans who resisted the mask mandates on different watchlists, with multiple Americans being placed on the no-fly list that is usually reserved for suspected terrorists.
Fox News reported that the Biden administration’s operation resulted in 19 Americans being placed on watchlists, with over half of them being placed on a no-fly list. The outlet noted that 11 of the Americans were on watchlists until the Biden administration lifted the national mask mandate in April of 2022.
“Biden’s TSA Administrator [David] Pekoske and his cronies abused their authority and weaponized the federal government against the very people they were charged with protecting,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told Fox News.
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“Biden’s TSA wildly abused their authority, targeting Americans who posed no aviation security risk under the banner of political differences,” Noem added. “President Trump promised to end the weaponization of government against the American people, and we are making good on that promise.”
The Post Millennial reported that five senior officials who were associated with the Biden administration’s operation have been terminated by Noem. The secretary of Homeland Security also confirmed that the information regarding the operation would be referred to Congress and to the Department of Justice for additional investigation.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration’s investigation also found that the Biden administration put approximately 280 of the individuals who were allegedly involved in the storming of Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, on watchlists. Five of the individuals were placed on a no-fly list, according to Fox News.
Emails obtained by Fox News show that the Biden administration ignored the concerns of the Transportation Security Administration’s chief privacy officer and other intelligence officials, who warned that putting the individuals on the no-fly list was “clearly unrelated to transportation security” and that “TSA is punishing people for the expression of their ideas when they haven’t been charged, let alone convicted of incitement or sedition.”
