Madison Ruppert, Contributor

Activist Post

Through so-called VIPR teams, meaning Visual Intermodal Protection and Response, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a child agency of the behemoth Department of Homeland Security (DHS), continues to expand beyond the confines of airports.

In my view, the DHS is just about one of the least trustworthy government agencies we are subjected to. After all, they have been busted lying bald-faced to Congress about their activities, while the TSA has also helped cover up the danger of the so-called naked body scanners.

Indeed, recently in Alton, Illinois, yet another instance of TSA goons operating outside of their traditional jurisdiction presented itself.

This is being done under the guise of fighting terrorism, the same justification we are fed in an attempt to explain why our government can assassinate us without charge or trial, hold us in military detention indefinitely without any due process whatsoever, prevent us from exercising our right to free speech and so much more.

Of course, this is nothing new and the TSA is actually continuing to expand even further onto highways and other methods of transportation.

In this case, the TSA’s VIPR team worked with the Alton Police Department at the local Amtrak station.

As per usual, there was no actual threat, but instead this federal agency saw a chance to flex their muscles and further push the integration of federal and local law enforcement.

“We refer to these as VIPR operations; that stands for visual intermodal protection and response,” TSA spokesman Jim Fotenos told The Telegraph. “It was not in response to a specific threat.”

Fotenos added that this operation is one of thousands which is conducted by the TSA across the United States every year, making them look more like Hitler’s SA by the day.

“They have multiple benefits,” he said. “It’s a visual deterrent and has security value. We’re working with local law enforcement and developing relationships, so that if there were an incident that we had to respond to, we have those relationships in advance.”

This blending of law enforcement agencies is quite troubling for many who value the separation of these bodies and the quickly withering state’s rights.

These TSA programs are just one of many ways in which this is done. One of the most prominent is the so-called fusion centers and a similarly troubling development is the Pentagon’s 1033 program which allows local law enforcement to acquire heavy-duty military hardware.

The TSA does not give any advance warning of where these operations will be conducted, supposedly for security reasons.

Fotenos said that this is not the first time that the TSA has conducted such an operation at the Alton Amtrak station.

Indeed, he said that they conducted one just around a year ago, which is a bit surprising given that Alton’s population in 2010 was a mere 27,865 and the city is only 16.6 square miles.

This city, located on the Mississippi River around 15 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri, is hardly a target which would attract terrorist activity.

But of course, such logical assessments are never made by federal agencies in their quest to expand their presence across the nation and into every town and city, making it impossible to escape their checkpoints and grope-downs.

“We’ve done [these operations] at Amtrak stations and multimodal operations throughout Illinois,” Fotenos added.

Interestingly, he would not be specific about the actual purpose of the operation.

He simply said that it was “passenger-based at the actual station,” which is quite ambiguous, to say the least.

“A good portion of that is done through the Alton Police Department and the use of their K-9 assets,” Fotenos said.

“The TSA also has inspectors on hand. The visual deterrent is important, and also conducting security operations. Our inspectors are looking for a number of things, and the police are looking for a number of things,” he added.

The Telegraph makes a point of saying that these operations have occurred for quite a while since the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Of course, they are attempting to link these types of operations to the alleged Saudi hijackers who took control of planes and somehow managed to fly out-of-the-way routes for an extended period of time without being intercepted, after which they crashed into buildings.

In reality, the official story is nothing short of farcical, as James Corbett so aptly makes clear in the video below. In order to understand how many holes there are in the official story, you might also want to take a glance at this 9/11 timeline.

Suffice to say, the TSA operating in train stations in a small Illinois town in coordination with Amtrak has absolutely nothing to do with what actually occurred on September 11, 2001.

Also worth noting is the fact that terrorism actually poses a ludicrously miniscule threat to the people of the United States, yet the government continues to pretend that it is some monolithic threat.

My readers are probably well aware of this by now, as well as how this is being used to justify the American police state and Big Brother technologies while constantly stripping away our most essential civil liberties.

Fotenos also revealed how these operations being conducted by the TSA are being done, in part, to acclimate the American people to these types of operations which would fit much better into a society like Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. He also emphasized how the private sector has become one of the tyrannical federal government’s best tools.

“Amtrak has always been a great partner, and so has local law enforcement,” Fotenos said. “Many passengers, especially those who ride the rails a lot, are more accustomed to seeing our folks and the local law enforcement there.”

If the American people don’t start speaking out about the increasingly troubling activities of the TSA and other government agencies, we can expect to see these types of operations continue and increase in frequency as even more of our rights are stripped away.

Do your part by informing your friends, family and acquaintances about how terrorism is not a threat, but is instead an invention used to justify ludicrous attacks on our liberties.

Only by making more Americans aware of this reality can we begin to push back against the waves of disinformation constantly pumped out by the establishment media and our government.

I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at [email protected]

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This article first appeared at End the Lie.

Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. Madison also now has his own radio show on Orion Talk Radio from 8 pm — 10 pm Pacific, which you can find HERE. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at [email protected]