DHS Spends $500,000 on Fully Automatic Pepper Spray Launchers
This is definitely not the America I grew up in. -W.E.
PrisonPlanet
Homeland Security to purchase “riot expansion kits” & 240,000 pepper spray projectiles as agency prepares for domestic unrest
The Department of Homeland Security is increasing its preparations for domestic unrest by spending half a million dollars on fully automatic pepper spray launchers and projectiles that are designed to be used during riot control situations.
In an announcement of a no bid contract posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website,
the federal agency signals its intention to purchase nearly 240,000
pepper spray projectiles, 100 pepper spray launchers, as well as 36
“riot expansion kits”.
The PepperBall TAC-700 pepper spray launcher “features
full auto, semi-auto, or 3 round burst providing up to 700 rounds per
minute,”according to the company
which will provide the DHS with the weapons. It is also “accurate to 60
feet with area saturation up to 150 feet.” The weapon is routinely used in riot control situations around the world.
According to a video demonstration, the TAC-700 has a
“strong psychological influence” on the people it is being used against
because it is so loud and sounds like an automatic machine gun.
Although the weapons are being purchased by Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, the document makes it clear that they will be
used to train Federal Protective Service (FPS) agents.
Although the contract states that the pepper spray
projectiles will be used for “training purposes,” 117,000 of them are
inert compared to 120,000 “Live X Projectiles,” which are the most
powerful projectiles available on PepperBall’s website, and are designed to be used during riot control situations.
The “riot expansion kits” being purchased by the DHS are
holsters that accompany the PepperBall products and can be used to
store projectiles. According to one website,
they represent, “the perfect non-lethal crowd management tool for
gaining compliance over rioters, organized protesters, and unlawful
assemblies,” and can be used to, “Gain psychological advantage over
unruly crowds.”
The purchase of these items sends another clear signal that the DHS is preparing for some form of civil disorder.
In June it emerged
that the DHS was purchasing top of the range body armor and helmets for
FPS guards as part of preparations for “riot control situations.” This
followed a controversial drill last year dubbed “Operation Shield,”
during which FPS agents armed with semiautomatic guns were posted
outside a Social Security office in Florida. The unannounced exercise
centered around “detecting the presence of unauthorized persons and
potentially disruptive or dangerous activities.” Residents were forced
to show identification papers to the guards during the drill.
Back in May, FPS guards were stationed outside an IRS building in St. Louis during a Tea Party demonstration, and the DHS has also used its sub-branch to spy on protesters.
As we reported last week,
Homeland Security is spending $80 million dollars on hiring armed
guards in New York to be used during “public demonstration(s),” as well
as “civil disturbances, or other unanticipated events on an as-needed
basis.”
Fox News host Neil Cavuto speculated that the guards could be linked to cuts in food stamp benefits set to take effect on November 1st.
Watch another video of the Pepperball TAC-700 in action below.
