A local beekeeper electrified a North Carolina county commissioners’ meeting with an anti-Flock surveillance speech, emphasizing the bipartisan makeup of the growing, nationwide backlash. Tens of thousands of Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers (ALPRs) blanket the U.S., but have triggered pushback from concerned citizens, local activists, civil liberties groups and state and federal lawmakers. Flock’s defenders say the cameras are a crucial tool for fighting crime, but detractors believe the government could exploit the system and violate Americans’ constitutional rights. [snip] “There’s gays, straights, young, old, liberals, way-left liberals, Genghis Khan conservatives to the right here,” Harris said. Harris was among 41 locals who spoke at the Aug. 17 meeting in protest of New Hanover County’s contract with Flock and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office’s operation of 19 Flock cameras. Ahead of the meeting, dozens of protesters gathered outside the New Hanover County courthouse holding anti-Flock signs. During his speech, Harris compared America’s network of surveillance cameras to that of the United Kingdom, which has one of the largest electronic and physical surveillance networks of any Western, democratic nation. [snip] “It’s very incremental,” he continued. “Just a little bit here, a little bit there. But a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, over four years, and that country is gone. We say, ‘That can never happen here.’ It is happening here.” WATCH: (Video from YouTube & not related to this article) He also described an interaction with a liberal from Boston, Massachusetts. Although the man despised President Donald Trump, Harris explained, he also despised Flock cameras. [snip] “As long as Flock continues to value profits over privacy and continues to treat legitimate privacy concerns as mere PR issues, we are going to continue to see more Flock efforts like today’s that seek to create headlines about positive reforms when few if any impactful changes are actually made,” Marlow previously told the Daily Caller. Harris acknowledged that New Hanover County lacks the power to prevent the U.S. or the state of North Carolina from becoming a U.K.-esque surveillance state, but still urged commissioners to take action where they can. “You can light a candle in the darkness,” he said. “Other counties have done that. You can just say, ‘No.’” (*) Full article: https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/27/barry-harris-new-hanover-county-meeting-anti-flock-protest-surveillance-wilmington-north-carolina/ Post navigation The Rustbelt Klansman: 8/27/26 As kids go back to school, parents need to be involved — in every way
