Camover Communique #1: LVT Camera Tower Smashed!

From Act for Freedom Now! - Portland, Oregon

Early in the morning on July 1st, four Anarchists set out with hammers, a knife, and a 30′ trucker strap, to flip over and destroy a LiveView Technologies Camera Tower on Willamette Blvd in Portland. LVT, along with Flock, Axon, Ring, Waymo, Tesla, and Google, are leading the way in “AI” equipped surveillance tools, tightening the net of surveillance while finding a way to market your every move. We crept through the night and hid in the shadows for a few minutes, analyzing traffic and watching bunnies hop through the grass, indulging in their nightly play. When we felt confident, we approached the tower and found it easy to climb and wrap the rope 3/4 of the way up. Several cars passed us by, but despite being right on the shoulder, no one seemed to notice or care! We tugged and tugged with all our might, but unfortunately, 30′ did not lend enough leverage to upend the tower.

Yet all was not lost! After three minutes of trying to flip it, we gave up and instead climbed all the way to the top of the tower. This is not super easy, but can be done by anyone with a slight climbing competency. At the top we were able to smash all the cameras, while friends on the ground slashed all of the tires, and smashed all of the solar panels, leaving the tower immobile and inoperable! While smashing the cameras we noticed one of the lenses turn, either being controlled remotely from the person renting the tower, or perhaps the “AI” responding to the beautiful noise of the hammer. Whatever the case, it certainly wasn’t turning by the time we were done with it! Next time, we might consider leaving the strap at home and just climbing the tower, or getting a longer strap (maybe 45-60 feet) and more friends! Overall, we spent 5-7 minutes by the tower, and felt comfortable the entire time. It was easy to plan and easy to do! Maybe you and your friends could do it to? You can find more cameras to smash at maps.deflock.org (Including LVT camera towers!) Death to the surveillance state!

Smash every camera! Long live Anarchy! CamOver!