Police State Operation In Florida (What the hell are they going to raid next, the place where you vote)

(Operation Shield seems to be for the benefit of the federal government to "shield" the corruption.) Story Reports

It may have looked like they were ready for war or some deranged person looking for his late Social Security benefits.

But it was only Federal Protective Service officers with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who were conducting a random training operation early Tuesday morning when they surprisingly showed up at the Social Security Administration office in downtown Leesburg.

With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building.

"I thought someone was upset about not getting there check," said Laura Kelly, who took a friend to the office on Tuesday.

According to one Homeland official in the Washington, D.C. office, Operation Shield. is an effort that uses routine, unannounced visits by FPS inspectors to test the effectiveness of contract guards, or protective security officers -- "detecting the presence of unauthorized persons and potentially disruptive or dangerous activities."

Part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FPS is the federal law enforcement agency that provides integrated security and law enforcement services to over 9,000 federally-owned and leased buildings, facilities, properties and other assets.

Officers on the scene would not speak to the press and by noon they were gone. But Thomas Milligan, district manager for the Social Security Administration office, said while the visit came as a surprise, the office was ready. He added the officers checked videos, security measures, alarm system and more.

"It was to make sure security measures are in place and properly followed," Milligan said.

(A THUG with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications making sure the local social security office is sucure??? BULLSHIT! These are government thugs acting like they are protecting Americans. There is no need for this kind of "random" raid with or without any notification.

What the hell are they going to raid next, the place where you vote?) Story Reports

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As part of the reinvention of the Department of Homeland Security to serve as a tool of political repression, the Federal Protective Service is used by the DHS to track the political activities of peaceful advocacy groups. The FPS was seen arresting photographers in Portland last November during an OWS rally.

In 2004, the FPS arrested a veteran for the crime of complaining to his local VA office in Des Moines.

A separate component of Homeland Security, VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response), recently received an expansion in funding from Congress that will see 2011′s figure of around 9,300 checkpoints increased with the addition of 12 new VIPR teams, who will be used to carry out security checks at bus depots, train stations, ferry ports and highways.

The extra money is being demanded despite the fact that there is “no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety,” according to an L.A. Times report.

DHS Officers Armed With Semiautomatics Set Up Unannounced ID Checkpoint