The wife of a senior U.S. Air Marshal was labeled a domestic terrorist and subjected to invasive monitoring after attending a Trump rally on the Ellipse in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, despite no evidence linking her to unlawful activity that day, according to a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report on the Biden administration’s use of the Quiet Skies program.

She was placed in the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database and monitored on domestic flights by Federal Air Marshals for two years, with their reports detailing her movements and interactions on a minute-by-minute basis. Her name was cleared only after the FBI closed its case due to mistaken identity, according to Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

The Transportation Security Administration’s Quiet Skies initiative, launched in 2010 to track travelers with suspicious behaviors or patterns, reportedly failed to prevent any terrorism incidents. Tulsi Gabbard, a combat veteran and former congresswoman now serving as Director of National Intelligence, was also surveilled on at least five flights in 2024, the report revealed. This surveillance began just one day after she publicly criticized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Paul launched an investigation into Quiet Skies in 2024 after allegations it was used to harass dissenters of the Biden administration. The probe faced delays due to the administration’s refusal to share records, but documents were released swiftly after the Trump administration took office. On June 5, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the program.

The report also cited other individuals placed on TSA watch lists, including three Republican lawmakers for lawful political activity, dozens of Americans protesting or violating mask mandates, and hundreds who traveled to Washington D.C. ahead of the January 6 protest.

Paul condemned the program as “an unconstitutional dystopian nightmare,” noting it cost taxpayers $200 million annually without preventing a single terrorist attack. He criticized the TSA for targeting Americans “who had committed no crimes, violated no laws, and in many cases were government officials themselves.”

During a Senate hearing titled “Examining the Weaponization of the Quiet Skies Program,” whistleblower Mark Crowder, a Senior Federal Air Marshal, testified about his wife’s wrongful classification. Christine Crowder, who has a physical disability preventing her from walking long distances, was falsely accused of entering the Capitol on January 6. She endured invasive screenings and harassment for over two years, with federal marshals surveilling her on every flight.

Crowder alleged that politically motivated missions diverted resources from genuine security threats, undermining the agency’s post-9/11 mission to prevent another tragedy. He described the program’s targeting of law-abiding citizens as a “betrayal of American values.”