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Internal TSA Probe Says Biden-Era Watchlists Targeted Mask Resisters and Jan. 6 Associates

Based on internal TSA documents obtained by reporters, the findings have spurred calls for DOJ as well as congressional review.

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An American flag and a Department of Homeland Security flag stand at a naturalization ceremony at the Glacier Point amphitheater in Yosemite National Park, California, U.S., September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Tracy Barbutes
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TSA | (Getty Images)

Overview

  • Media reports cite an internal TSA/DHS investigation alleging the agency used aviation watchlists, including the no‑fly list, for some Americans who resisted COVID‑19 mask mandates and for people tied to Jan. 6.
  • A TSA initiative called Operation Freedom to Breathe, launched in September 2021, led to 19 mask‑related listings, with more than half placed on the no‑fly list and 11 remaining listed until the mask mandate ended in April 2022.
  • Roughly 280 individuals associated with Jan. 6 were reportedly placed on watchlists, including five on a no‑fly list, with most removals occurring on June 28, 2021.
  • Internal emails show TSA’s privacy chief and career intelligence staff warned the practice was unrelated to transportation security and risked penalizing protected expression.
  • The documents indicate TSA relied on an academic extremism database and social media rather than traditional law‑enforcement sources, producing alleged errors that put at least two people not present on Jan. 6 on watchlists.