Last year, Tulsi Gabbard learned she'd been placed on a TSA watchlist under the "Quiet Skies" program, which subjected Gabbard and her husband to additional security screenings and precautions.
Here's what Townhall reported at the time:
Last month, Gabbard and her husband were at the airport waiting to board their flight when they found that their boarding passes were marked with “SSSS,” which stands for “Quad S.” This means that a passenger is viewed as a potential threat and subject to random searches. She also will unknowingly have two explosive detection canine teams, a transportation security specialist, an undercover TSA supervisor, and three federal air marshals on any flight she boards.
“I had the audacity to tell the truth: that Kamala Harris would essentially be a mouthpiece and puppet of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State. The next day, July 23, they retaliated,” Gabbard said. “Sadly, this is what we can expect from the ‘Harris’ Administration.”
Gabbard said, via Racket News, that she didn’t think much of it until she saw an article in Uncover DC revealing that the Republican had been put on the TSA’s “Quiet Skies” list.
Gabbard rightly said she was put on the "Quiet Skies" list because she was critical of the Biden-Harris administration. She was not alone, however.
Fox News has revealed that other Americans, including those connected to January 6 and Americans who opposed the Biden Administration's mask mandates, were placed on another TSA watchlist called "Operation Freedom to Breathe."
Recommended
FIRST ON FOX: A federal probe reveals that the Biden administration placed some Americans who resisted mask mandates or were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots on TSA watchlists. pic.twitter.com/lONwKbSpou
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 30, 2025
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uncovered that the Biden administration placed some Americans who resisted the COVID-19 mask mandate or were involved in the events of Jan. 6, 2021 on prolonged TSA watchlists, including some on a no-fly list typically reserved for suspected terrorists.
Fox News Digital acquired the findings of an internal investigation conducted by the agencies that showed that then-President Joe Biden’s TSA initiated "Operation Freedom to Breathe" in September 2021, roughly six months after the CDC relaxed the COVID-19 mask mandate, which targeted Americans who previously resisted mask mandates set forth by the Biden Administration.
The initiative placed 19 Americans on various levels of intensive watchlists, with more than half added to the highest severity no-fly list, preventing them from boarding a flight in the U.S. entirely. Eleven of the individuals remained on watchlists until April 2022, when the national mask mandate was lifted by the Biden administration.
In an interview with Fox, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said, "Biden’s TSA Administrator [David] Pekoske and his cronies abused their authority and weaponized the federal government against the very people they were charged with protecting."
"Biden’s TSA wildly abused their authority, targeting Americans who posed no aviation security risk under the banner of political differences," Noem continued. "President Trump promised to end the weaponization of government against the American people, and we are making good on that promise."
Noem reiterated those remarks in a post on X and added she was "referring this case to the Department of Justice and for Congressional investigation."
Editor’s Note: Here at Townhall, we’ve been dealing with real government suppression of free speech for YEARS. Despite the threats and consequences, we refuse to go silent and remain committed to delivering the truth.
Help us fight back against government censorship by joining Townhall VIP today. Use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member