Pick A Side_NSSE

THE OLYMPICS ARE JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

The Olympics is classified by the federal government as a “National Special Security Event”, or NSSE. Our analysis is that NSSE/SEAR events inevitably cause the expansion of policing, surveillance and data gathering. These lead to the persecution of already over-policed communities, racially biased outcomes, and makes host communities less safe in the long run.

What is an “NSSE”?

A National Special Security Event (NSSE) was originally created in 1998 for large national events likely to draw political protests. It is an event of national or international significance deemed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a “potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity.” The NSSE security apparatus includes a hub of communications and intelligence gathering between local, state and federal law enforcement, much like today’s Fusion Center or its precursor, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. NSSEs are designated for events like the Olympics, presidential inaugurations, state funerals, select international meetings, RNC and DNC conventions and many Super Bowls.

This analysis can also apply to SEAR-1 events, which include some recent Super Bowls. SEAR-1 events are of the same magnitude and significance as NSSEs and still require the full support and inter-agency coordination of the US Government, however they are one tier below an NSSE designation. The only difference is the event size and number of VIP’s involved.

LA is scheduled to host at least seven NSSEs / SEAR events in the next decade:

2021 MLS All-Star Game
2022 Super Bowl
2022 MLB All-Star Game
2023 College Football Playoff
2023 US Open
2026 World Cup
2028 Olympics

What is COPPSC, and what is its relationship to the NSSE?

COPPSC, or California Olympic and Paralympic Public Safety Command, is the Incident Command System (ICS) assigned to LA28 under the presumption that LA28 will be designated an NSSE. ICS is the standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response, providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies (federal, state and local)can coordinate. Security for NSSEs is organized and led by the U.S Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) all in coordination with local police agencies. Refer to figure 1 for the 2008 Republican National Convention’s detailed command structure, or MACC.

Who’s Involved?

NSSEs pull in just about every law enforcement body available. This includes DHS, ICE, CBP, U.S Secret Service, FBI, state police, local police, the Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department, Transit, Airport Police, Department of Defense (DOD), US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) or geographically relevant support, LA28 Private Security, the Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves, U.S Marshals Service, ATF, EPA, CDC, and the FDA. This security force goes so far as to include The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) which is responsible for using military-grade satellites to monitor and photograph Americans, investigate critical infrastructure, and collect geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). Some collaborators include the Department of Public Works, Department of Health, USAO, FCC, FDA, US DEP ENERGY, AT&T, VERIZON, SPRINT, and other private telecom companies.

How long does a NSSE last?

An NSSE officially lasts from the beginning of the designated event until the end of the event. However, from the moment the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is reached, interagency-planning is underway for a NSSE. Additionally, the Secretary of Homeland Security can unilaterally expand the official period of a NSSE [source].

what we can expect for 2022’s Super Bowl (SEAR-1 or NSSE), 2026 World Cup (NSSE), and 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (NSSE)?

1. Facial Recognition

As several major cities ban its use, facial recognition technology will continue to advance and, unless banned, its use will continue to proliferate. . Despite opposition from a number of civil liberty groups, the NSSE designation of the 2001 Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, FL allowed for the implementation — and normalization — of the use of facial recognition and other biometrics at sporting events. [source]

Facial recognition is racist. A House Committee On Oversight and Reform found that facial recognition technology misidentifies women and minorities at a much higher rate than white males, increasing the risk of racial and gender bias. [Source] The privacy policy of SoFi Stadium (where 2022’s Super Bowl, likely the 2026 World Cup, and the LA28 opening and closing ceremonies are to be staged) states that they may record or monitor attendees in Hollywood Park (300 acres) using facial recognition — 2021’s Super Bowl arena, a far less advanced stadium than SoFi, began the implementation of this tech in preparation for the games. [source] [source]. Additionally, LA28 and Super Bowl LVII Chair, Casey Wasserman, has publicly stated his desire to replace tickets for the Olympics with facial recognition technology [source].

2. Experimental Data Collection

We can expect experimental data collection technology in communities with majority Black and brown residents such as Inglewood, the location of SoFi Stadium. [source] SoFi is the first stadium to use a new, NASA-developed technology called “digital twinning.” A largely unknown data collection process, which aims to [convert] all quantifiable aspects of physical buildings into living, learning and evolving virtual replicas,”digital twinning dwarfs the surveillance of past Super Bowls in its scale and scope. SoFi claims that this technology is “the most intuitive way to store, organize and access the incredible amount of data generated by complex smart buildings, allowing owners, facility managers and built environment professionals real-time insights to strategize and optimize every aspect of a building’s operations.” [source] What it fails to disclose here is that this info is guaranteed to pass into the arms of US Government entities. The command structures of NSSEs allow for seamless data sharing between public and private entities and a “National Security” exception allows for Federal Agencies to bypass warrant requirements. [source] NSSEs are a feds’ version of a surveillance bacchanal.

3. Harassment and Criminalization of Immigrants

While DHS/ICE and the FBI already share intelligence (S-Comm), their coordination will be even more pronounced during an NSSE.[source] Since both ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) will be working in concert with Intelligence agencies, we should expect an increased and prolonged presence of their on the ground agents as well. [source]

According to Vitale:

“Border Patrol…are likely to carry out identity checks in bus and rail stations far removed from the venue sites as well as provide extensive surveillance capacity.” [source]

While immigrants (particularly undocumented imigrants) will be impacted the most by the preseance of ICE and CBP, all residents will be affected to some extent. According to the Center For Constitutional Rights:

“The test subjects for this new system are the most vulnerable populations, like immigrants, but ultimately everyone will be impacted. The recent experiences of individuals within immigrant communities are examples of some of the consequences when government agencies are given unfettered access to information for purposes different than the reasons for which the information was initially collected.” [source]

NSSE in the Past Two Decades

While NSSEs were created in 1998, governments have been using the Olympics to shift power to law enforcement for half a century. According to Vitale:

Since Mexico ’68 [Olympics], we have seen local security forces use the Olympic Games as an excuse to dramatically increase their riot control capabilities. Body armor, less lethal weaponry, and surveillance technology can be expected to proliferate. When the Games end, this new suppressive capacity doesn’t just evaporate; it remains part of the political policing capacity of the state and is often used to intensify protest policing in ways that undermine movement building and increase tensions between police and protestors.” Source

2008: RNC and DNC (St. Paul, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

One year out from the 2008 RNC, police infiltrated a left-wing activist group with undercover agents and informants, a common tactic used at other RNC and DNC conventions and highly condemned by organizations such as the National Lawyers Guild. In coordination with FBI, Sheriffs, police, and other agencies made up of an NSSE, the group was raided by police in what the media deemed a “pre-emptive strike.” [source] [source] Activists, organizers, protestors, and journalists were targeted and arrested throughout the RNC, culminating with $300,000 settlements against St.Paul police and the U.S Secret Service by prominent progressiveJournalist Amy Goodman. [Source] Black Lives Matter protestors were similarly targeted and arrested at the DNC.[source] Police crackdown on protests has a chilling effect on a city’s activists and organizers. [source]

2016: Super Bowl L (San Jose, California)

The NFL policy of “clean zone” ordinances require all Super Bowl host cities to, among other things, ban local street vendors — an occupation predominantly made up of immigrants. This is just one example of how mega-events negatively affect those participating in informal economies [source].

2018: Super Bowl LII (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

At Super Bowl LII (2018) in Minneapolis, the NSSE/SEAR-1 designation was used to temporarily displace 60 residents from a homeless shelter because the existing shelter was located inside the “security perimeter.” Inside this zone, people were “subject to airport-style security and intense surveillance.” Changes and restrictions to transit routes, as well as intensified policing of public spaces, made it hard for unhoused residents to follow their customary routines — a dangerous disruption in Minnesota’s cold winter [source] [source].

Law enforcement targets workers in the informal economy in Minneapolis as well. For ten days leading up to the Super Bowl, MPD conducted “Operation Guardian Angel,” in which police posted online ads posing as adult sex workers and arrested those they lured to meet. A City Councilmember boasted that if someone was thinking about buying sex, “there’s a really good chance they’re talking to law enforcement, that we’ve infiltrated and embedded ourselves in the networks that are trying to sell sex.” Opperations like these devastate sex workers’ ability to earn money during mega-events. [source]