Conroe mayor says police department is investigating online threats over Flock cameras

Our Take

ABC13 Houston reports that Conroe's mayor says police are investigating online death threats made against public officials over the city's Flock Safety cameras. Let's be clear: threats of violence are illegal and indefensible, full stop. Nobody should be threatening public servants, and anyone doing so should be held accountable. But reducing this story to "angry residents vs. officials" conveniently sidesteps the question of why people are this furious in the first place.

Flock's ALPR network has spread into thousands of towns with little public debate, often approved in budget line items rather than open referendums. When residents eventually learn their daily movements are being logged, stored, and shared with other agencies — sometimes including ICE or out-of-state police hunting for abortion seekers — the backlash shouldn't surprise anyone. That doesn't excuse threats, but it does point to a pattern: communities are discovering mass surveillance infrastructure after the fact, and officials are often unprepared or unwilling to explain data retention, access logs, or audit policies.

If you want to know whether Conroe or your own town has Flock cameras watching your street, check our map. And if you'd rather channel frustration into something that actually changes policy — public records requests, city council testimony, local ordinances — our take action page has real steps that don't involve threats and actually put pressure where it belongs.