(NEW YORK) — A nationwide wave of protesters and vandals targeting surveillance cameras made by Flock Safety did not deter a man in a Darth Vader costume from praising the devices at a recent city council meeting in San Diego, California. His “Star Wars”-themed acclaim, as it turned out, was anything but.

“The Emperor is a fan of Flock,” the man told elected officials in a mocking tone last week. “We must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum.”

So far this year, more than 50 cities and counties have canceled or deactivated automated license plate-recognition (ALPR) cameras of the type manufactured by Flock Safety and other firms, also known as Flock cameras, Politico found.

On Monday, Florida’s state transportation office revoked the ability of local law enforcement to put license plate readers on state highways.

Flock cameras have been vandalized in at least 36 states, including incidents in which individuals sawed down the devices and shot at them with guns, NPR reported last month.

The neighborhood cameras have prompted pushback in localities big and small, dotting red and blue states. Privacy concerns have been stoked in part by instances of police officers tracking ex-partners or other relations, some analysts and advocates told ABC News.

Wariness about the role of artificial intelligence in the technology has deepened public unease, tapping into discontent about the possibility of AI acting beyond human oversight, they added.

“This is the biggest, most grassroots privacy backlash that I’ve ever seen in more than 20 years working on these issues,” Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told ABC News.

“It just shows people don’t like mass surveillance,” Stanley added.

Surveillance technology firms and a law enforcement expert, however, touted the cameras as a valuable tool for police departments, leaving officers better equipped to protect public safety.

“You can see in some cases unsolved crimes may have been solved if there were a Flock camera in the area at the time,” Kenneth Gray, a lecturer in the Criminal Justice Department at the University of New Haven, told ABC News. “They can be useful.”

More than 135,000 automated license plate-recognition cameras have been identified nationwide, and four of every five of those are made by Flock Safety, according to crowdsourced data from DeFlock.org. The company says its cameras operate in 49 states.

Flock cameras, which sit atop metal roadside poles resembling streetlights, capture a vehicle’s license plate number and characteristics as it passes, Flock Safety says on its website. The devices do not identify individuals in a given car, nor do they record continuously, the company adds.

Earlier this month, the firm bolstered safeguards for its cameras, including a default data-retention period of seven days instead of 30, as well as an “Evidence Mode” for preserving data related to an active investigation.

“Flock is designed to help authorized users find relevant evidence for investigations without compromising safety and compliance,” the Flock Safety website says. “Clear safeguards define how information is stored, accessed, shared, and reviewed.”

Flock Safety did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The technology has triggered some police abuse involving its recordings. A police officer in Kentucky was arrested last week after authorities alleged he used Flock cameras to track his ex-girlfriend more than 2,000 times. In Savannah, Georgia, six police department employees were fired in August over alleged abuse of Flock cameras, according to local ABC affiliate WJCL.

The nonprofit Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm, says it has identified more than 100 incidents of ALPR abuse, among them stalking and wrongful stops.

“People have a sense, ‘I wouldn’t want someone following me around in a car; and I wouldn’t want them doing it with a camera,'” Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, an advocacy group organizing against Flock cameras, told ABC News.

“Then when these stories come out about law enforcement officers using it to stalk their exes, it reminds people once you build a surveillance apparatus like this, it can and will be abused,” Greer added.

The use of AI in Flock cameras has exacerbated concern among some critics, analysts said, since they fear data could be compiled and examined by the technology with limited oversight.

“These companies are not just recording that you were on this street at this time on this day; they’re also allowing law enforcement to run algorithms to decide whether your movement patterns are ‘suspicious,'” said Stanley, of the ACLU.

Surveillance companies and a law enforcement expert promoted the crime-fighting benefits of Flock cameras. They pointed to the unique information provided by a network of devices that can identify and track vehicle movements.

Flock Safety says it helped authorities locate more than 10,000 missing people last year, amounting to more than 27 per day. Roughly 1 million criminal investigations were supported by Flock in 2025, the company says.

Flock Safety cameras helped law enforcement identify the car belonging to a suspect in the murder of a Brown University professor last year, aiding efforts to track down the individual, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said in December. The suspect died by suicide before he was located.

The surveillance capability that unnerves some critics can be vital to a police investigation, according to Gray, of the University of New Haven.

“Because there’s a series of Flock cameras, you can put together a pattern of where a particular car goes at a certain time of day along a particular route,” he said. “That can be useful in putting together details that can be analyzed to try to fill in gaps for an investigation.”

Still, Gray acknowledged, the camera system collects information on many innocent people, vacuuming up data of no utility for law enforcement.

“The Flock system is building a database without any allegation of criminal activity. It’s useful to law enforcement after the fact, but it’s also gathering up information on many people that have committed no crime,” Gray said.

Critics of Flock cameras lauded local efforts to cancel or alter contracts with surveillance companies. They said they hoped additional restrictions would be implemented on a wider scale.

Greer, of Fight for the Future, advocated for a nationwide ban of the technology, saying “there are certain types of weapons we’ve decided as a society are too dangerous to sit in the basement of your local police department.”

Torin Monahan, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in surveillance, said law enforcement should be required to possess a judicial warrant in order to access Flock camera data.

“If they have to prove probable cause and protect people’s 4th Amendment rights, as they do with other evidence, I think that would be reasonable,” Monahan told ABC News.

Gray, the law enforcement expert, agreed.

“A warrant for the information from the database would protect the public from misuse,” he said.

The backlash has prompted action from state and national elected officials belonging to both major parties.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot last week paused state funding of Flock cameras. Meanwhile, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in recent days he would welcome a bipartisan bill to ban Flock cameras in the state.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, on Friday announced an investigation into Flock Safety, penning an open letter to the company that included a request for internal documents.

“I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe. But Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” Hawley wrote.

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(NASHVILLE) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants to honor Dolly Parton in a big way.

Lee said he spoke with Parton’s team about renaming Nashville International Airport in honor of Dolly, which would create “a lasting tribute to her indelible legacy and the generations of people she inspired across Tennessee and around the world.”

Parton’s team “expressed their appreciation for the extraordinary outpouring of support to honor Dolly,” according to Lee, and they are “touched by the idea and open to continuing the conversation.”

“Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Gov. Lee said in a statement. “From her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her. At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness.”

Lee’s proposal will be addressed at the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority’s meeting on Sept. 17.

MNAA President Doug Kreulen said in a statement, “Dolly’s remarkable legacy reminds us that what makes Nashville special is our ability to welcome people from every walk of life. She understood that dignity, kindness and opportunity should never be defined by where you come from or your socioeconomic status.”

Kreulen added, “At BNA, we share that commitment. Whether you are boarding a private aircraft or taking your first flight, you deserve to be welcomed, respected and served with the same level of care. That spirit is what defines BNA and it is a fitting reflection of the values Dolly shared with Tennessee and the world.”

A change.org petition created by Lydia Popovich and Dan Dion in January 2025 to rename the airport after Parton has received tens of thousands of additional supporters since her death on Aug. 25. Since it was created, it has received more than 155,000 signatures.

The petition calls on Lee and Tennessee lawmakers Todd Warner, Bob Freeman and Fred Atchley to make the change.

Warner shared a response to the petition on Wednesday, writing, “Yes I will definitely introduce legislation to rename the BNA airport Dolly Parton International Airport! Thanks, TW.”

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge approved the $72.5 million settlement between Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and Bank of America, the third financial institution to publicly reach such a settlement. 

“The settlement class has been properly served,” Judge Jed Rakoff decided Thursday.

The women, suing collectively under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused Bank of America of ignoring suspicious transactions by Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial. 

Bank America agreed to settle the lawsuit in March while still insisting it did not facilitate Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

Among the transactions the plaintiffs alleged were suspicious were payments to Epstein by Leon Black, who stepped down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management after an independent review commissioned by the company found he paid Epstein $158 million for estate planning.

Black previously said that his relationship with Epstein, which he said involved “professional services” for estate planning, tax and philanthropic advice, had been “a horrible mistake.” He has denied involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said any suggestion of his involvement in “Epstein’s reprehensible conduct is categorically untrue.”

The same Jane Doe plaintiffs reached similar settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, but their claim against Bank of New York Mellon was dismissed. The court in the BNY Mellon case concluded that the plaintiffs’ complaint had failed to adequately allege that the bank had civil liability under the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act or that the bank had obstructed investigations of Epstein.

Bank of America had previously sought dismissal of the case, contending that the lawsuit was an attempt to “radically expand liability for banks” for providing “routine services to customers who at the time had no known connection to Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

The bank denies “each and all of the claims and contentions” in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

“While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson told ABC News.

An attorney for the accusers previously called the proposed settlement “one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.”

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(NEW YORK) — Jerry Sandusky is due to return to court next month as one of his accusers is expected to recant his testimony against the former Penn State assistant football coach who was convicted of sexually abusing boys for more than a decade.

A judge scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Sept. 8 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Sandusky, who is now 82, has been serving a decades-long prison sentence after he was convicted in 2012 of abusing boys. 

An accuser known as Victim 10, who testified for the prosecution at Sandusky’s trial, is now prepared to tell the court Sandusky did not abuse him. 

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(WASHINGTON) — A DHL cargo plane lit up the runway during a landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday night as its tires caught on fire.

The Boeing 737, which was operated by DHL on behalf of Kalitta Charters II, made its landing around 11 p.m. PT when the brakes malfunctioned, causing them to overheat and blow four tires, DHL and the Federal Aviation Administration said in statements Thursday.

Surveillance video caught the flames flying from the bottom of the jet as it sped through the runway.

The runway was temporarily closed, and emergency crews rushed to put out the fire.

DHL said no one aboard the jet, which took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was injured.

The FAA said it will be investigating the incident. The jet was still on the runway and being inspected Thursday morning.

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(NEW YORK) — Bryan Kohberger, who pleaded guilty last year to the University of Idaho quadruple murders, has been granted a new hearing in his bid to take back his guilty plea, according to court filings. 

His new evidentiary hearing has been set for June 17, 2027.

In 2022, Kohberger was arrested for the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students — roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin — at the girls’ off-campus house.

In July 2025, weeks before his trial was set to start, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all counts. As part of the plea deal, the death penalty was taken off the table. Kohberger was given four consecutive life sentences for four first-degree murder counts as well as 10 years for the burglary count.

Last month, Kohberger reversed course, filing a petition for post-conviction relief. Without offering new evidence, Kohberger — a criminology student at Washington State University at the time of the murders — claimed he was lied to and pressured to falsely confess, and that there was information withheld that could have potentially helped his case. 

This is a developing story. 

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(NEW YORK) — The suspect in a quintuple homicide in Oregon allegedly targeted his girlfriend and her family and friends, shooting all five multiple times, authorities said.

Benjamin Parker allegedly carried out the killings on Saturday morning at a rural property he lived on near Forest Grove, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.

The victims were Parker’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Stella Kimsey; Stella Kimsey’s grandmother, 85-year-old Mary Kimsey, Stella Kimsey’s mother, 60-year-old Rowan Kimsey; Stella Kimsey’s best friend, 26-year-old Linsey Haraldsen; and Linsey Haraldsen’s partner, 27-year-old Alvin Chu, authorities said.

Two dogs and two cats were also found shot to death, Det. Mark Povolny said at a news conference on Tuesday. A third cat was shot and wounded and later humanely euthanized, he said.

Parker allegedly tried to set fires at each of the bodies and at the home, Povolny said.

Parker, 36, allegedly fled the scene and he was later found dead in his car in Enumclaw, Washington, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.

Parker’s mother told investigators that Parker called her Saturday night and confessed to the crime, Povolny said.

“He said he had been planning this for awhile,” Povolny said. “He said he planned to kill three people, but two more people were also killed.”

Parker did not give his mother a motive, but Povolny said Mary Kimsey texted a friend on Friday night that Parker and her granddaughter Stella Kimsey got into a “horrible fight” and “Stella told him he had to leave.”

Linsey Haraldsen told Mary Kimsey that “she was on the phone with Stella around that time when the call suddenly dropped,” Povolny said. Linsey Haraldsen then called Stella Kimsey’s mother Rowan Kimsey, who said she’d go check on her daughter and call back, Povolny said. But Rowan Kimsey never called back, so Linsey Haraldsen also went to the property, Povolny said.

When Mary Kimsey couldn’t reach any of the three women, she planned to pick up Alvin Chu and go to the property, Povolny said.

“Although the suspect is deceased, this does not mark the end of our work,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said at the news conference. “Our commitment now is to provide the families of Mary, Rowan, Stella, Linsey and Alvin with answers as we learn them. They deserve nothing less.”

ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The father of a sailor deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was released by immigration authorities Tuesday — days after his son posted about the ordeal on Facebook, an account not disputed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Joshua Aviles, the sailor, posted on Facebook on behalf of the family that his dad, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, had been released.

“Luis has been released back to our family,” the Aviles family posted on the sailor’s Facebook page. “We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation. At this moment, our family is taking time to be together. While we await the return of our proud Navy sailor, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the release.

Over the weekend, Joshua Aviles detailed his father’s ordeal while he was deployed in a war zone.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit,” according to a post from Joshua Aviles on Saturday. “We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting.”

He said it is “heartbreaking.”

“I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal. My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life.”

Aviles is one of a number of active-duty military whose family members have been detained by immigration agents under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

In a statement after the sailor’s initial Facebook post, DHS did not dispute the account from Aviles.

“On August 22, Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida. He entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” according to a DHS spokesperson.

“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

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(NEW YORK) — Target is apologizing for selling a children’s Halloween costume that some described as reminiscent of racist minstrel caricatures.

“An apology from us: We pulled an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment,” Target said in a statement posted on its website and social media pages late Monday. “It is no longer for sale.”

“As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” the statement continued. “We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

According to the product’s original description on Target’s site, the costume in question was the Kids’ Circus Glow Clown Halloween Costume Bodysuit. It features an orange and black shirt and pants set with black gloves and a hooded mesh mask with an attached miniature hat. The entire design also glows “under blacklight.”

The item is no longer listed for sale on Target’s website.

The controversial costume prompted calls to boycott Target on social media, a year after the retailer faced boycotts over its decision to cut some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

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(WASHINGTON) — The State Department announced that it is preparing to revoke tourist and business visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreign nationals who have sought or are actively seeking asylum in the United States, which officials say could result in the cancellation of tens of thousands of travel documents.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we are making clear that a visa is a privilege — not a right. We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“These types of visas are issued with the clear understanding that they are for those who intend to return home. Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum is fraud — which is grounds for visa revocation,” he added. “This is an ongoing process as we uphold the integrity of our visa and asylum laws.”

The revocations are expected to happen on a rolling basis, and internal estimates suggest they could reach or exceed 200,000, according to officials familiar with the matter. 

Applicants for tourist and business visas are asked to confirm that they will not apply for asylum and intend to return to their countries of origin.

The department’s plans were first reported by The Associated Press.

Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau posted to social media about individuals who use visas to get into the U.S. and claim asylum.

“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”

It’s not clear whether any foreign nationals will be removed from the U.S. due to visa cancellations. In cases where the visa holder has an active asylum application, the claim will have to be adjudicated and denied before removal proceedings can move forward.

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