Source: https://footnote4a.org/news/flock-forward-2026
Publisher: Footnote4a (editorial publication of haveibeenflocked.com; H.C. van Pelt)
Date Published: July 5, 2026
Relevant To: Flock CEO rhetoric escalation; conference keynote choice; DeFlock National Week of Action Aug 16-22; connects to JTF Vanguard/NSPM-7 pattern
Verification Status: Verified
Notes: Confirmed via full-text fetch. This is footnote4a.org, the editorial publication run by H.C. (Hendrik) van Pelt, operator of haveibeenflocked.com (already cited multiple times in this library, e.g. via the Law360 “To Protect and Stalk” piece). Reports that Flock’s annual “Flock Forward” conference (August 18-20, 2026, Atlanta, $350/ticket, not livestreamed) will be keynoted by Matt Eversmann, a US Army Ranger and Battle of Mogadishu (“Black Hawk Down”) veteran — co-author of a pro-police book. Article frames this as consistent with Flock CEO Garrett Langley’s escalating rhetoric: Langley has called DeFlock (the crowdsourced ALPR-mapping project) a “terroristic organization” “closer to Antifa than anything else” (Forbes interview), and told police customers in a December email that Flock and law enforcement are “under coordinated attack” from activist groups trying to “turn a public records process into a weapon.” Regarding haveibeenflocked.com specifically: Flock told 404 Media the site is “doxxing cops during active investigations” and implied it’s run by people trying to “let murderers go free”; Flock also filed takedown demands (via third-party firm Cyble) with the site’s hosts (Cloudflare, Hetzner) claiming it poses “an immediate threat to public safety” — Cloudflare declined, finding “insufficient evidence of a violation,” and EFF called the takedowns “bogus.” Article explicitly links this rhetoric pattern to real-world consequences already documented elsewhere in BPA’s library: a 30-year sentence for transporting “terrorist” zines (Prairieland, TX — also referenced in a BINJ piece already cataloged) and RICO/domestic-terrorism charges against “Cop City” activists in Georgia. Directly connects to BPA’s existing IPVM entry on Langley’s rhetoric and the Lever News entry on DOJ’s Joint Task Force Vanguard/NSPM-7 — this piece argues Flock’s “under attack” framing parallels and potentially legitimizes the federal government’s own escalating domestic-terrorism-label approach to protest and civil liberties activity. Also flags: DeFlock’s National Week of Action against ALPRs runs August 16-22, 2026, deliberately wrapped around Flock Forward — a concrete organizing date worth noting for BPA’s own August ALPR presentation timing. Notes Flock’s Flock911 product reportedly sends live 911 call transcripts to a third party without apparent contractual restrictions (footnoted, links to a companion footnote4a investigation) — worth a follow-up entry if that piece is fetched separately.