The Shadow War, The Silence, and The Crash: Reality Checks in OSINT
We spend our days tracking the unlimited resources of the “machine.” But sometimes the scariest threats don't involve black helicopters
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Bravery is not always running into a burning building or stopping an armed robbery. Strength comes in many forms, and too often the fortitude and dedication of those who work in the shadows to illuminate the truth are ignored.
Today is not that day.
Considering the material that “Eyes On ICE” is involved with, operational security (OPSEC) and OSINT are a must. I have to protect the ones I love and ensure that the communities we have built have a shield. The expansion to Substack was concerning at first. It was a new tool and a new culture.
That being said, I have been graced with some incredible people here already, and for that I owe each and every one of you my unyielding respect. It is truly humbling.
To be honest, answering chat messages still makes me nervous. My first thoughts are always questioning the angle or asking how I can be exploited and if they mean harm. Those are the protective instincts that go through my mind. But to be an advocate and stay on the right side of history, we must collaborate.
Otherwise, the machine with its unlimited resources will consume us all.
The Breakthrough in Chester
A simple message unlocked so many truths. The Monroe Gazette (who writes the excellent blog Stupid Sexy Privacy) saw what I was working on and reached out.
I was hesitant at first to answer as per my protective stance on communicating, but I did. They informed me the very work I was doing was aligned with theirs. From that moment we worked together to expand what they had already discovered.
Without them, Chester, New York, might currently have a concentration camp built on the site of a protected wildlife zone, pumping sewage into an old Pep Boys warehouse not zoned for human sustainability.
The regime thought they were clever and thought they knew all the tricks. But The Monroe Gazette was one step ahead mapping the soon-to-be atrocities. They uncovered a factual conspiracy that led all the way to Puerto Rico.
How about that?
The Department of Homeland Security used shell LLCs registered to a building in Brooklyn, NY, that houses a hole-in-the-wall mail shop with over 1,000 other LLCs holding multiple government contracts.
They did all of this to hide the purchase of the property in question. They used this devious tactic to exploit the people of Chester, NY, including the local government.
I took the information I was given and ran with it for 15 hours. I dug through the fat finding chunks of data that could not be ignored. It sounds gross and that is the point. It is disgusting what the federal government is doing.
The Silence and The Fear
I sent my findings over. And then silence.
For a day or two after, The Monroe Gazette went dark.
Had I been duped? Were they part of the bigger picture? Did I fail? My anxiety, which is always on high alert, broke through the roof. All sorts of dark thoughts went through my mind.
When you spend your life tracking entities that use billion-dollar shell games to hide human rights abuses, your mind goes to the worst-case scenario when a collaborator suddenly stops responding.
I thought the machine had struck back.
I thought our uncovering of their FOIA loopholes and LLC hideouts had led to someone trying to take them out.
Then, like surfacing from the depths, a message was received. The reality was more mundane than my darkest fears, but it was no less horrifying.
The Reality Check
It wasn’t a DHS hit squad. It was a reckless driver in a pickup truck with the black box.
In their latest post, “OSINT: Let’s try to find the guy who almost killed my dad,” The Monroe Gazette detai harrowing hit-and-run incident involving their father.
The delay in our communication wasn’t because of a grand conspiracy. It was because real life-brutal and random real life-intervened. While we were focused on state-sponsored bad actors, an everyday asshole nearly took away someone they love.
I highly recommend reading the article. It’s a masterclass in applying OSINT during a personal crisis, expertly navigating FOIA/FOIL requests to track down assholes. Their abilities are brilliant, especially considering the immense stress they must have been under.
A Call to Support Our Neighbors
We often feel like we are fighting in eternal darkness. The Monroe Gazette has been a guiding light in that darkness, and they almost died.
Reality, more often than not, isn’t sexy spycraft. It is full of random events and difficult people. But it also contains heroes who do the work anyway. Their car isn’t in the best shape, and luckily modern engineering saved a life, but they have so much more work to do.
I am asking this community to step up. Be a good neighbor. Go to their Substack. Subscribe to them. If you have the means, donate to help them get back on their feet.
We need them in this fight.
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