Drones in Los Angeles: How the right learned to stop worrying and love surveillance

Fast Company

20 hours ago

Right-wing conspiracy theorists once believed the government was using drones to surveil its own citizens. President Donald Trump actually did.
During ongoing demonstrations in Los Angeles against Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed at least two Predator drones to monitor the crowds, according to air traffic control audio reviewed by 404 Media. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) later confirmed the drone deployment to the outlet, and DHS posted the footage on its own social media channels.
After a series of deportation raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in locations ranging from L.A.'s garment district to suburban Home Depot parking lots, protesters began to rally outside the downtown immigration services building and detention center. Trump swiftly deployed the National Guard over California Governor Gavin Newsom's objections. Since arriving, the Guard has fired rubber bullets at reporters and militarized ICE's ongoing raids.
Meanwhile, according to 404 Media, DHS deployed two Predator drones over the protests to track and film participants. The MQ-9 'Reaper' drone, referenced in air traffic control logs, is a high-powered aircraft capable of carrying up to 3,000 pounds and is regularly used by the U.S. Air Force. Predator drones have conducted strikes in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia. (CBP did not respond to a request for comment.)
Later, CBP confirmed to the outlet that federally sanctioned drones had flown over Los Angeles. In a statement sent to 404 Media, CBP wrote that the Predator drones were 'providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers,' but 'not engaged in the surveillance of first amendment activities.' On X, DHS posted drone footage of the protests—soundtracked by dramatic music—with the caption, 'This is not calm. This is not peaceful.'
This isn't the Trump administration's first drone deployment. In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter movement, DHS deployed Predators to monitor activity in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.
The federal government has invested sizably in drone research and accumulation under the leadership of both political parties. A 2012 slide deck from CBP shows the department had at least five Predator drones available for use. A year before leaving office, President Barack Obama authorized an $821 million spend on defense Reapers. Most recently, Trump signed an executive order pushing the Federal Aviation Administration to approve drone production requests more quickly.
Can the MAGA conspiracy theorists handle drone activity?
Under Trump, the GOP has embraced far-right conspiracy theories. They've spread vaccine misinformation, warned of mass anti-white violence targeting Afrikaners, and continued to blame perennial boogeyman George Soros for allegedly funding protesters.
Drones have long figured into right-wing conspiracies of their own. During the New Jersey drone panic last year, theories about drone sightings began circulating online, some suggesting President Joe Biden had sent the devices. Trump himself said that the government and military knew what was going on—but wouldn't explain it to the American people. He posted on Truth Social: 'Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!'
Fringe figures still insist birds are actually government tracking devices. (In an attempt to join the conspiracy conversation, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan mistakenly filmed the constellation Orion.) On January 28, months after the panic began, Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, finally clarified that the drones posed no threat.