Senate Candidate Destroys Flock Security Camera With Shotgun in Campaign Ad
Seth Bodnar fires a Flock camera in a new ad, escalating the midterm surveillance fight.
Montana Senate hopeful Seth Bodnar has released a campaign video showing him shooting a Flock Safety surveillance camera with a shotgun. The stunt comes as the heated debate over automated license plate readers intensifies ahead of the 2026 midterms. Bodnar's ad accuses the cameras of tracking Americans' everyday activities, from grocery shopping to attending church services.
The video highlights fears about constant monitoring and the potential misuse of collected data in cloud systems, which Bodnar claims are vulnerable to abuse.
Flock Safety, a company operating over 120,000 cameras across 49 states, maintains that it does not sell or access user data and that law enforcement agencies own the information they collect. However, Bodnar argues that the cameras are part of a larger commercial ecosystem designed to buy and sell personal data. The ad arrives amid federal investigations, statewide bans, and criminal cases targeting Flock Safety cameras.
Bodnar's ad emphasizes digital privacy concerns and the potential impact of AI-driven monitoring on policy beyond Montana's borders.
While no law enforcement agency has publicly announced an investigation into Bodnar's ad, the incident has sparked a wave of political and legal clashes over Flock Safety cameras. In Tennessee, a similar case saw an independent House candidate arrested for shooting four operational cameras, highlighting the cameras' role as both a political target and critical infrastructure.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley has launched a congressional investigation into Flock Safety, accusing the company of creating an unauthorized national surveillance network. Several states, including Florida and Rhode Island, have taken action to remove or pause the installation of automated license plate readers due to privacy concerns.
Montana has positioned itself as a leader in digital privacy by becoming the first state to close the "data broker loophole," preventing law enforcement from purchasing sensitive digital information without a warrant. Bodnar's background as a West Point valedictorian, Rhodes Scholar, Green Beret, and former University of Montana president lends him credibility on national security and technology issues.
His campaign aims to shift focus away from past controversies and onto a populist privacy message. With Bodnar trailing Republican candidate Kurt Alme by a small margin in recent polls, the surveillance issue may prove crucial in differentiating him in the crowded four-way race.
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