Border Patrol Flies Anti-Terrorism Drone Over Minneapolis Protestors

29 May 2020, 08:45 by BeauHD

U.S. Customs and Border Protection flew a drone over Minneapolis to keep a careful eye on the unfolding unrest following the death of George Floyd, a local black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest. Ars Technica reports: The drone, using the tracking signal CBP104, took off from Grand Forks Airforce Base at 9:08 am Central Daylight Time and shortly afterward headed directly to Minneapolis, this feed from live flight tracking service FlightAware showed. The drone then circled the city six times from about 10:45 until noon. The aircraft maintained an altitude of about 20,000 feet. Grand Forks AFB is the home of the Air Force's 319th Reconnaissance Wing. It is also a site Customs and Border Patrol personnel use for takeoff and landing of the Predator B unmanned aircraft system. CPB uses the drone in anti-terrorism operations by helping to identify and intercept potential terrorists and illegal cross-border activity.