Socialists in South Texas
The short version: Texas Scorecard's roundup notes Bastrop City Council voted to cover its Flock cameras, a small but telling sign that local pushback on ALPR surveillance is spreading.
Our Take
Buried in Texas Scorecard's latest roundup of South Texas politics is a line that matters a lot more to us than the socialist-march headline: Bastrop City Council voted to cover its Flock Safety cameras. We don't have the full backstory from this clip, but the fact that a city council felt compelled to physically shroud ALPR hardware tells you something — elected officials are starting to feel heat from constituents who don't like being tracked block by block without a warrant.
This is how these fights actually get won, not with sweeping federal reform but with city councils, one by one, realizing that unchecked plate-reading cameras are a political liability. Covering cameras isn't the same as ripping them out, and it raises obvious questions about whether Bastrop is pausing data collection or just avoiding scrutiny while the system stays live. We'll be watching for follow-up reporting to see which it is.
Credit to Texas Scorecard for flagging a local government story that would otherwise get lost under bigger headlines. If you want to know whether Flock cameras are already watching your own commute, check our map, and if your city hasn't had its Bastrop moment yet, our take-action guide walks you through how to start that conversation at your next council meeting.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Texas Scorecard, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.