"Darth Vader" STAR WARS & The FLOCK CAMERA'S
The short version: A Darth Vader-costumed speaker turned a city council's Flock camera debate into a viral moment, but the underlying surveillance concerns are no joke.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: Witching Hour TV caught something that local news often misses — a resident dressed as Darth Vader using public comment to call out Flock Safety cameras at a city council meeting. It's absurd, it's funny, and it's exactly the kind of stunt that gets a normally sleepy agenda item actual attention. Say what you want about the costume, but the tactic worked: people are watching a council debate ALPR contracts who otherwise never would.
That's the real story here. These systems get approved in five-minute votes buried between zoning updates and budget line items, with little public scrutiny of who has access to the data, how long it's retained, or what happens when it's shared with federal agencies. A guy in a cape pointing that out doesn't make the concern less legitimate — if anything, it's a reminder that most residents have no idea their plates are being logged block by block until someone forces the issue, comedically or not.
If your town hasn't had its own Vader moment yet, don't wait for one. Check our camera map to see what's already been installed near you, and use our take-action guide to show up to your own council meeting — cape optional.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Witching Hour TV, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.