According to a Boston Globe exposé in 2018, the Quiet Skies program is an undisclosed TSA program that "targets travelers who 'are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the Terrorist Screening Data Base.'" The program employs approximately 3000 "flying FAMs" (employees of the U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service) to track and follow Americans on domestic flights. The article states that many air marshals believe the tracking is unconstitutional and goes "beyond the mandate of the U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service." The Globe reported, "Quiet Skies represents a major departure for TSA. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency has traditionally placed armed air marshals on routes it considered potentially higher risk or on flights with a passenger on a terrorist watch list."
Prior to Jan. 6, Smith was able to travel with ease. His last job with the government gave him a special issuance red passport, top secret security clearance, multiple FAA licenses, and automatic TSA Pre-clearance at airports. According to Smith, going through airport security with these government-issued items makes travel a much breezier experience. So, he knew almost immediately something was off when he missed his flights on two separate occasions. He missed the flights because he was suddenly subjected to inexplicable and unusually long screening procedures. Multiple uniformed Marshals were also tailing him and "goodness knows how many plainclothed officials" when he traveled by air.
Smith soon figured out he was placed on Homeland Security's "Quiet Skies" program, a Patriot Act Era program—a program even he wasn't aware existed at the time. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Quiet Skies program was established to target and track certain Americans for "enhanced screening" at airports. It began in 2010. In 2019, the GAO reviewed the "Silent Partner and Quiet Skies" oversight and screening rules. However, a closer look at the review leads one to believe the oversight and screening rule changes were not much more than a series of internal rubber stamps. Moreover, the program seems to operate with blatant disregard for the constitutional rights of Americans.
Smith's account of the Quiet Skies program and how his alleged enrollment in the program has affected his travel is chilling, if not downright appalling. Smith explained:
"You're not supposed to know if they exist. You're not supposed to know you're on the list. Not only that, you have no recourse to address it whatsoever. There is no way to confirm you are on the list, so there is no way to appeal it and no way to limit the time period you are on the list. It is a blatant violation of our Fourth Amendment right to illegal search.
Because I am on this list, I can only check in at the counter, and when I do, the agent is on the phone for hours trying to verify whether I am allowed to board the plane. You cannot change your flights. You are flagged and then taken somewhere else and strip-searched. They swab everything—the seams on your clothing, your hems, your socks. They take everything out of your bag. You have to take out all of your electronics and turn them on. And, what's worse, once you go through security, you have TSA agents at every gate, and I am not talking one or two. There were at least seven at each gate for every connecting flight. They follow you everywhere. They meet you at the next destination. Some fly on the same plane as you. The cost to the taxpayer to track a passenger is beyond comprehension.
And, in an attempt to hide who they are targeting, they harass everyone else who is getting on your flights, too. They ask to see their photo I.D.s, take their stuff out of their bags, and walk dogs by everyone just because you are in their terminal. They handwrite a quadruple S [SSSS—Secondary Security Screening Selection] on your ticket in the right-hand corner to tell every security person you encounter that you need to go through a special boarding and security process. I missed both of my flights even though for the second one I got there three hours early. This stuff started in May 2022, well before I even knew I was being investigated by the FBI, much less knew I was about to be indicted."
Keep in mind that based on both video evidence and Smith's accounting of the day, he never entered the Capitol building. He also says he didn't do any of the things the government alleges he did. Smith explains that the government took video found on YouTube and other sources and reconstructed his behavior with screenshots, thus essentially reconstructing his behavior and intentions using still shots to prove the crimes they say he committed. For example, at one point in the day, the Smith is shown holding what appears to be a "stun gun," according to the government. The government states, "A review of USCP surveillance footage, MPD BWC footage, and videos posted on YouTube revealed SMITH subsequently participated in a violent assault against multiple law fellow rioter."
From Smith's original complaint below:
Note the government's wording here. "SMITH subsequently participated in a violent assault..." Participation, you ask? Carried the "stun gun" into the tunnel? Gave it to a fellow rioter? Well, as it turns out, Smith found the "stun gun" on the ground and was attempting to return it to its owner. No one claimed it. The government, however, claims he had it in his pocket and was passing it to others, one of whom eventually allegedly used the "stun gun" to assault an officer. At one point, Smith is seen in video footage testing the device (it sparked when he pulled a small cord). That is how the government must believe it can "prove" it was a "stun gun." However, as Smith explained to UncoverDC, Smith suspected it was not your average "stun gun" because of his military training. And, because of expert testimony from another trial, the government probably knows it is nothing of the sort.
Smith, who fired his legal counsel and is now defending himself, filed for a copy of the paperwork from the trial of the very J6er (Gossjankowski) who a few minutes later allegedly used the "stun gun" to assault an officer. The expert testimony written in the document Smith obtained shows the "stun gun" was "best described as a sparkler flashlight," not a "device" that can be used "to inflict bodily harm." Because of expert testimony, the deadly weapon charge asserting Vitali Gossjankowski used the "stun gun" to assault an officer has now been dropped. The expert testimony is documented in the report below, provided to UncoverDC by Smith.
Smith never assaulted multiple officers. He never carried it into the tunnel or gave it to "a fellow rioter." Smith didn't "participate" because he never passed the "stun gun" to anyone. As a matter of fact, Smith shared that video footage corroborates his recollection of the incident. The video shows someone reaching over his shoulder to grab the "stun gun" from his hand while Smith is trying to recover from the tear gas in his eyes. Notably, the government has yet to drop the assault charges against Smith even though Gossjankowski's case proved it wasn't a deadly weapon, and the related charge was dropped. This is not the first time the government seems to be cutting and pasting its way through a J6 defendant's behaviors and intentions to prove the charges in its indictments. The government is being shamefully manipulative of evidence in J6 trials in so many cases. As such, many of the J6 indictments and convictions are actually turning out to be artful reconstructions of what the government wants us to believe.
Smith's life has been turned upside down after J6. Besides his alleged enrollment in the Quiet Skies program, he has lost numerous rights and freedoms. Smith's DOD Security clearance has been pulled (administratively flagged), and his DOD CAC (Common Access Card) card is locked. His wife is in the Army Reserve, so he has a military dependant I.D. card. However, he can no longer use it. When his wife recently received a promotion, he and his daughters could not attend the ceremony on the base. He is no longer allowed to drive on any military installation due to Security flags on his I.D. cards. And without clearance, obtaining work in his career field is impossible.
"Additionally," says Smith, "the Department of Homeland Security sent notice to the FAA and requested all FAA licenses (pilot, Airframe & power plant, Inspection Authorization "I.A.," and Designated Airworthiness Representative "DAR-T"). This prevented me from not only working in the commercial/civil sector (no security clearance requirements), but it also essentially bankrupted the small business my wife and I started in 2019, which was an Aviation maintenance, modification, prototype, and testing company. This, coupled with being placed on the DOJ's domestic terrorist list, has prevented me from obtaining any type of job site prior to the unseating of my indictment." The two-page letter informing Smith of his revoked licenses can be seen below:
To add insult to injury, the government seems to be setting J6 defendants up for failure with its illogical and impossible bond requirements. Smith pointed out that one of the conditions of his bond agreement is that he needs to maintain employment while out on his own recognizance. However, as it turns out, it is impossible in his case and perhaps in many other J6 cases. Smith explained:
Notably, Smith and other J6ers are required to give up their 2nd Amendment rights to be released on bond. Smith believes this requirement is "unacceptable, especially if the charges have nothing to do with firearm violence or the individual has had no prior history of violence with firearms." Smith refused it initially, but his attorney convinced him to agree, making "it seem like we would be able to amend the conditions in the next hearing in D.C. He didn't tell me that nobody's motion had yet been approved, and many had been filed. I am a three-time combat veteran with a combined 20+ years of service to this country's Army and DOD. Taking away my ability to protect me and my family's natural God-given rights and my property, in my opinion, was done to discourage and demoralize the defendants."
These J6 indictments take an emotional toll as well. Smith told UncoverDC that even if all five charges were to be dismissed, "there is no way to recoup" what he has lost.
