4 ms·
Flying a drone within 1/2 mile of ICE vehicles, which may be unmarked, is illegal? You can be flying a drone and if an unmarked ICE vehicle drives close enough,
by Aurornis 7mo ago
Flying a drone within 1/2 mile of ICE vehicles, which may be unmarked, is illegal? You can be flying a drone and if an unmarked ICE vehicle drives close enough, without warning, you have now broken serious FAA laws? This isn’t the kind of restriction that gets passed when the people making the rules care about being fair or consistent. It’s a power grab.
- idle_zealot 7mo agoThis is par for the course for rules regarding law enforcement. A group of armed men bust down your door in the middle of the night without identifying themselves. They're aiming guns at you and your family. Are you allowed to fire on them with your legally owned firearm? The law says yes, but also that police are allowed to be those people knocking down the door and shoot you if you aim a gun at them. So if that happens, who is in the wrong? Courts have been dodging the question, but in practice the answer is that you're going to be killed and the police won't be liable. You can do everything right and law enforcement is allowed to arrest you, steal your shit, destroy your property, or kill you, and officially you're the criminal for perfectly normal and normally legal behavior.
- gruez 7mo ago>Courts have been dodging the question It's not hard to find contradictions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge_standoff#Trials_of_Weaver_and_Harris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ridge_standoff#Trials_of_... If by "courts" you mean appellate (precedent setting) courts, cases like these usually never get to that stage because cases like these are straightforward enough that juries can rule on them without lawyers getting into esoteric arguments.
- helterskelter 7mo agoI expect a court would rule against the government if they tried to enforce this against somebody unknowingly flying within a 1/2 mile of an unmarked ICE vehicle. I'd feel sorry for the poor soul that would have to fight it though.
- jimbob45 7mo agoPfffff the rules for flying drones as set by the FAA are already draconian as is and that’s before you begin to run afoul of city/state rules. They’re usually banned in residential areas to begin with (without permits) so you’re screwed even before this rule. Hope you kept VLOS the whole time too or none of the other rules matter.
- themafia 7mo agoThe NOTAM reads: "ALL UNMANNED ACFT ARE PROHIBITED FROM FLYING WITHIN A STAND-OFF DISTANCE OF 3000FT LATERALLY AND 1000FT ABOVE." That is somewhat narrowly defined. I'm sure you can still effectively film them from 1100ft. further: "FACILITIES AND MOBILE ASSETS, INCLUDING VESSELS AND GROUND VEHICLE CONVOYS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ESCORTS" I think you'd easily beat this language in court. "Please show us where 'mobile asset' is legally and narrowly defined."
- light_hue_1 7mo agoYou cannot fly drones over 400ft above the ground (with some very narrow exceptions). So this isn't narrow, it's extremely broad. You can't read such rules in a vacuum without knowing their context.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- reactordev 7mo agoUmmmm… I fly drones at 8,000ft for arial mountain shots… drones are surprisingly capable given good wind conditions.
- hrimfaxi 7mo agoThat would be against the law in the US. https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers
- kotaKat 7mo agoNot if you stay within 400 feet AGL of the mountain terrain. You can be over 400 feet MSL (mean-sea-level) but still be within 400 feet above-ground-level from where the drone's sitting in the sky.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 7mo ago
- sandworm101 7mo agoIt isnt about the flying. This is about ICE now being able to take down any drone footage and arrest those who post it. They can also obtain extensive search warrants for uploaders, giving them an investigative path into the lives of ICE protest groups.
- amelius 7mo agoI hate ICE like the next guy but if the drone followed the wrong car, shouldn't that be illegal?
- defrost 7mo agoIf a car follows your car, is that illegal? If a drone follows your car, is that illegal?
- amelius 7mo agoIf someone systematically follows your car (drone or not), don't you think that should be illegal?
- 05 7mo agoHeard of ALPR networks?
- defrost 7mo agoIt's seemingly creepy, yes. It might warrant a restraining order, sure. Outside of judge's opinion that it constitutes stalking or threatening behavior, what exactly is the crime here? Perhaps it's a neighbour who keeps the same hours and works in the same city block, etc. Perhaps it's a PI hired to follow you because <whatever> .. is that a crime?
- sheikhnbake 7mo agoThe 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeals have recognized the First Amendment right to record law enforcement in public. The inclusion of drones and vehicles doesn't really change that.
- amelius 7mo agoYes, but what if the drone followed a car they __believe__ is law enforcement (where in reality it is not)?
- rlpb 7mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea#Levels_of_mens_rea_within_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea#Levels_of_mens_rea_wi... is relevant here. There are exceptions - I don't know the specifics especially in relation to US law - but the starting point is that unknowingly causing the situation to exist doesn't make you guilty automatically. You have to intend it.