US EditionFAA Drops No-Fly Zone Near ICE Vehicles After Duluth Native Sues
The revised notice drops fixed drone buffer zones and removes criminal and civil penalties for journalists, though officials can still seize drones deemed a threat.
- The Federal Aviation Administration this week rescinded a January notice that banned drone flights near Department of Homeland Security mobile assets, following a lawsuit by photographer Rob Levine who argued the rule was unconstitutionally vague.
- Because vehicles are often unmarked, the original January order prohibited flights within 3,000 lateral feet of DHS and other federal agency vehicles, creating an effectively invisible ban that made drone journalism impossible.
- "It was heartbreaking to have my drones grounded," Levine said of the restriction, which the National Press Photographers Association and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press opposed, citing a "chilling effect" on newsgathering.
- Replacing the prohibition, the FAA issued an advisory notice asking operators to "avoid flying in proximity to" DHS, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Justice department vehicles, though it warns drones may still be seized if deemed security threats.
- Attorney Grayson Clary plans to continue litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing the FAA's restrictions are becoming "more extensive, aggressive and reflexive" and should never have been implemented.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Duluth News Tribune
FAA drops no-fly zone near ICE vehicles after Duluth native sues
The agency rescinded the policy that threatened civil and criminal penalties for drone operators within 3,000 feet of Homeland Security assets.
FAA Lifts Blanket Aerial Ban It Placed to Protect ICE Activity From Aerial Scrutiny
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted its blanket and unconstitutional "invisible, moving" ban on drone flights near Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other government agencies -- a ban put in place to make it more difficult to cover the activity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
FAA Scraps Civil and Criminal Penalties for Flying Drones Near ICE Vehicles
On Wednesday the Federal Aviation Administration rescinded a temporary flight restriction (TFR) that created a no-fly zone within 3,000 feet of “Department of Homeland Security facilities and mobile assets.” The new restriction softened the language of the original and abandoned the threat of civil or criminal penalties but added the Department of Justice to the list of protected agencies.A 2025 TFR restricted the presence of drones around Depar…
Journalist’s lawsuit prompts FAA to abandon no fly zone near DHS vehicles
The Federal Aviation Administration has withdrawn unconstitutional restrictions that criminalized drone flights near federal immigration enforcement operations — a direct response to a legal challenge that attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed on behalf of photojournalist Rob Levine.The FAA’s sweeping, nationwide flight restrictions, which were implemented in January, prohibited drones from flying within 3,000 lat…
Grand Rapids Herald-Review
FAA drops ban on drones near DHS operations following Minnesota photojournalist’s lawsuit
The Federal Aviation Administration this week walked back a rule barring drone flights within 3,000 feet of Department of Homeland Security buildings and vehicles. The government’s retreat comes a month after a Minnesota photojournalist sued the aviation agency with help…
FAA Reverses Course on Drone Flight Limits Near Federal Operations
FAA backs down on threat to prosecute drone pilots By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill The FAA has apparently backed down on its threat to impose criminal penalties on drone operators flying in the vicinity of federal law enforcement vehicles, after a journalism rights group sued the agency in federal court to strike down its […] The post FAA Reverses Course on Drone Flight Limits Near Federal Operations appeared first on DRONELIFE.
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