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Tennessee Conservative News [By David Seal] –
Knox County Commission issued a notice for a workshop between the Sheriff’s Department, County Commission and Flock Personnel. The public can attend the workshop but will not be permitted to participate with comments or questions.
Flock is the business that operates the automatic license plate readers (ALPR) that has been the center of controversy in many jurisdictions across the nation.
WVLT TV News in Knoxville reported on July 29th that the Knox County Sheriff’s Office has delayed the deployment of an additional 300 automatic license plate readers and that Tennessee lawmakers are working to place restrictions on the use of ALPR systems.
At the federal level, Congressman Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), highly concerned with unwarranted surveillance, has introduced legislation to prohibit the use of federal funds for the mass surveillance of citizens. I introduced the “Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act” to rein in the use of invasive Flock cameras. This legislation will prohibit any body of the federal government from purchasing or deploying any automated surveillance technology. This bars anything used to track, identify, or otherwise watch over American citizens without knowledge or consent. – said Tim Burchett.
For background on Burchett’s legislation, a link is provided here.
The public can observe the meeting between Flock personnel, the Sheriff’s Department, and Knox County Commissioners, but will not be permitted to participate. The workshop is scheduled for 1:00 PM in the City County Building at 400 Main Street, Knoxville, Tennessee on August 24th, 2026.
Tennessee Stands, a conservative statewide grassroots organization, issued a statement of their concerns on Sunday, August 23 in their weekly email, stating in part:
“Our Founding Fathers saw first-hand what happens when the government over-steps their power and treats their citizens as guilty before being proved innocent. During the years leading up to the Declaration of Independence, British rule prohibited searches without warrants, but these warrants were general and did not require probable cause.”
The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution tackled unwarranted search and seizure. However, there was a loophole concerning personal possessions.
“In Tennessee, our state founders recognized a weakness in the federal amendment and made sure to protect Tennessean’s “possessions”.
“Article I, Section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution says, “That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures; and that general warrants, whereby an officer may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offences are not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not be granted.”
Their Executive Director issued the following statement for this article.
“At a time when Tennesseans are either deeply concerned about Flock Cameras or are at least asking valid questions about why people want to ban them, Knox County is choosing to hold a meeting where the public is allowed to attend but must remain silent. All levels of government should never put themselves in a position of “we know best, we don’t need your input”. I hope the public will be allowed to ask questions for the County Commission and Sheriff to consider before their next meeting, after all, how can one represent the people without knowing how the people want to be represented.” – said Anne Lowery, Executive Director, Tennessee Stands
Knox For Liberty (KFL) is urging the public to observe the workshop meeting on August 24th and bring their questions and comments to the Knox County Commission Meeting on August 31st.
KFL Chair, Tracey Smith issued the following post on social media concerning the workshop. “Come hear the discussion. Afterwards, contact your county commissioner and encourage them to remove and ban the flock cameras. Then, show up at the County Commission Meeting on August 31st when public comments will be heard. Sign up to speak by calling 865-215-2534.”
Finally, Washington County, Tennessee Republican Party Chair recently published her concerns in the Johnson City Press about mass surveillance cameras, comparing their usage to that of China’s surveillance state.
“China is one of the world’s leading examples of widespread government surveillance through facial recognition, AI analytics, extensive camera networks, and digital monitoring of its own citizens. Citizens who oppose warrantless surveillance are advocating against China’s model—they are warning against adopting it here at home….In Johnson City, approximately 6,000 residents participated in a public survey regarding proposed data centers. According to the published results, roughly 86% of respondents said they were extremely concerned, and approximately 95% expressed high or extreme concern overall.” – said Danielle Goodrich, Chair, Washington County Republican Party
A link is provided here to the Knox County Commission Page with commissioner contact information and the meeting notice regarding Flock Cameras.
For extensive resources and background information on open-source databases, a valuable link is provided here.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
