Public records indicate that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents systematically collected license plate and social media data from individuals, including peaceful protesters, and uploaded the information to a digital evidence platform. A July 2025 report reveals these activities occurred around the ICE Spokane field office, contradicting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that the agency does not maintain a “domestic terrorist” database of U.S. citizens exercising First Amendment rights.
The records, filed by Stacey Carr, a member of the Spokane Police Department’s special victims unit and an HSI task force officer, detail the surveillance of people who were not under investigation for any wrongdoing. The data was entered into Evidence.com, an AI-powered, cloud-based digital evidence management system owned by Axon Enterprise. This represents the first confirmed use of the platform to log the license plate information of protesters, according to the reporting.
The surveillance coincides with a broader push by the Trump administration to expand surveillance technologies. While DHS has disavowed reports of a “domestic terrorist” list, the agency told Congress in an April letter that ICE remains steadfast in its authority to investigate individuals who “go beyond protected speech and commit crimes against federal personnel and property.”
HSI Surveillance Tactics in Spokane
The July 2025 report by Stacey Carr provides a detailed account of surveillance activities beginning in May 2025. On May 22, Carr observed a man photographing a large white bus and a Washington State Patrol vehicle near the Spokane ICE field office. Carr noted the man might have mistaken the bus for an immigration transport vehicle, as it was a tour bus for the Outlaw Music Festival. Carr later attempted to identify the man through social media pages to make his information known within law enforcement circles.
On June 10, Carr recorded the license plate of a silver Jeep Gladiator that entered a public parking lot. Although Carr noted the driver “did not get out or take any action,” she looked up the plate, confirmed the owner’s identity, and uploaded a photo of the vehicle to Evidence.com.
The surveillance intensified during a large protest on June 11. Carr reported seeing HSI analyst Ryan Lid recording license plates of protesters. Carr assisted by driving through the crowd in an undercover vehicle to record additional plates, which she then uploaded to the Evidence.com platform. The resulting report listed three license plate numbers, vehicle descriptions, and the names and addresses of the registered owners.
The Role of Axon Enterprise and Evidence.com
The use of Evidence.com for protester surveillance introduces new questions regarding the intersection of private technology and federal policing. Evidence.com is owned by Axon Enterprise, the company behind Taser and a leading supplier of police body cameras. A 2025 investigation found that at least 21 police departments used Axon software to generate AI police reports from body camera footage, sometimes removing human oversight.
Financial disclosures reported by CNBC indicate that Donald Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million in Axon Enterprise stock just two weeks before ICE sought a $220 million Taser contract. While Evidence.com has long been used widely by law enforcement agencies—including DHS—the Carr report is the first confirmed use of the platform to log the license plate information of protesters.
Legal Challenges and First Amendment Concerns
The revelation of these records has prompted legal action from civil liberties organizations. On July 24, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and three legal observers filed a First Amendment lawsuit against DHS. The suit alleges the agency has adopted a “secret Protester Surveillance Policy” to collect and maintain records on Americans engaging in protected speech for the purpose of retaliation.
Adam Steinbaugh, a senior attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), compared the practice of recording license plates during protests to FBI tactics used in the 1960s to monitor subversive political meetings. Steinbaugh stated that recording political activities is often the first step toward acting on that speech, creating a chilling effect on public discourse.
Both FIRE and The Intercept have filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against DHS to uncover the existence of a “domestic terrorism” watchlist. The Spokane records suggest that even if a formal standalone database does not exist, the use of evidence management systems can serve a similar function of tracking political activity.
Agency Responses and Jurisdictional Disputes
The Spokane Police Department (SPD) has distanced itself from these activities. An SPD spokesperson stated that Carr is the only detective assigned to HSI’s internet crimes against children (ICAC) division and emphasized that she cannot engage in immigration enforcement under the 2019 Keep Washington Working Act. The spokesperson added that the department is currently investigating why the detective engaged in these surveillance activities and noted that the uploaded data is only accessible to SPD employees.
This creates a conflict with the reported actions of Ryan Lid, who is listed in a 2023 Washington state document as an employee of “Homeland Security Investagations/ICE.” Carr’s report indicates she shared the information regarding the Jeep with Homeland Security agents and Washington State Patrol partners.
In September 2025, then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told podcast host Glenn Beck that HSI agents would be used to investigate anti-ICE protesters, describing some demonstrators in Chicago as “paid professional agitators” engaged in “domestic terrorism.” ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the Spokane records.
The legal proceedings regarding the July 24 First Amendment lawsuit against DHS will determine the extent to which the agency can legally maintain records on citizens exercising their right to protest.
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