Darth Vader Goes to City Council and Slams Flock Cameras!
The short version: A Darth Vader cosplayer roasted Flock cameras at a city council meeting, and R&T Media's clip shows how absurdist theater can land a serious point about surveillance overreach.
Our Take
Credit to R&T Media for capturing a public comment period doing exactly what it's supposed to do: a resident in a Darth Vader costume walked into city council and told officials, in no uncertain terms, that a network of always-on license plate cameras feels a lot like something out of the Empire's playbook. It's funny, sure, but the bit works because the underlying critique is dead serious — Flock Safety's ALPRs quietly log every vehicle that passes, building a searchable movement history on drivers who've never been suspected of anything.
City councils are exactly where these fights get decided, usually with far less spectacle than a lightsaber prop. Most Flock contracts get approved in sparsely attended meetings with little public pushback, which is precisely why moments like this one matter — they get people's attention and get the issue on the record. Costume or no costume, the speaker's point stands: mass surveillance shouldn't be rubber-stamped as a line item on a police budget.
If your town is running Flock cameras, check our map to see what's already been deployed near you, and if you want to push back before the next contract renewal, our take-action page has the tools to help you show up — cape optional.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of R&T Media, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.