The secret police

Cops built a shadowy surveillance machine in Minnesota after George Floyd's murder. In February 2021, law enforcement announced a secretive long-running surveillance program known as Operation Safety Net, designed to help maintain public order by keeping close tabs on protestors around Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's trial. However, an extensive investigation conducted by MIT Technology Review has determined that this surveillance continued long after the announcement of his sentence. In this rare glimpse behind the political curtain during a transformative time for policing and protesting in the United States, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Sam Richards illuminate previously hidden surveillance operations. Here, they explore these plans have brought an end to Americans' ability to exercise their First Amendment freedom of speech rights anonymously in public places.