According to Washington, D.C.-based WUSA-TV, the FBI wants to talk with everyone who may have information about the recent unrest in the Capitol. Although that is standard procedure in a federal investigation, the FBI is tracing every cell tower ping during that time back to its owner. For instance, if you live in D.C. and used your phone while out walking your dog that day, WUSA-TV said you can expect a knock on your door.
“They don’t call first, they just come to your house,” said legal investigator, Bree Stevens, who lives near Capitol Hill. Stevens was downtown on that critical day, and posted a video of herself warning people to stay away. While assured that she was not suspected of suspicious activity, Stevens found the episode unsettling.
It was “extremely creepy,” said Stevens, “because he explained that they have everyone’s phone number from pinging off the cell phone towers, and they know basically exactly where you were, within the vicinity of the Capitol.” Stevens added, “And they can actually pinpoint on Google Maps exactly where you were standing. Like, he knew where I was standing on the sidewalk, like specifically, based on my cell phone ping.”
The FBI declined to comment, but some civil rights activists have expressed concerns about the privacy and surveillance reach of the government.
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