Flock camera attacks and vandalism are happening nationwide, but when more than a dozen Flock automated license plate readers went down between April and October 2025 in Virginia, authorities started paying attention. Now, a U.S. Air Force engineer and mechanic is facing charges. Jeffrey Sovern faces 13 felony counts of destruction of property, six counts of petit larceny, and six counts of possession of burglary tools in connection with the Flock Safety camera takedowns across North Suffolk between April and October 2025. Sovern has pleaded not guilty.
The alleged vandalism began with cameras simply being redirected away from roads. Things soon escalated, with poles holding the cameras being knocked down. Finally, authorities started noticing cameras being thrown off bridges and onto interstates below.
Authorities were on the case as soon as they noticed Sovern’s gray pickup truck near one of the Flock cameras in question. From there, they obtained a warrant to place a GPS tracker on the car. That gave them enough to carry out a search warrant at Sovern’s home. While there, they recovered solar panels and other components believed to be from the destroyed camera systems.
Growing outrage over Flock cameras nationwide
Though Sovern’s the only one being charged in this particular case, it’s not just Virginia seeing pushback in response to Flock cameras. Since the company’s founding, Flock has signed contracts with more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across nearly every state in the U.S, working out to over 20 billion license plate scans every month.
Flock cameras record a wide range of vehicle characteristics such as make, model, color, and distinguishing features, which proponents claim help law enforcement agencies better investigate crimes and identify suspects. On the flip side, many believe that Flock is creating a controversial surveillance network capable of tracking ordinary motorists who aren’t suspected of any criminal activity whatsoever, effectively violating their constitutional rights.
In Virginia, being charged with felony destruction of property entails having intentionally damaged or destroyed another person’s property, with the value of the damage being $1,000 or more. According to Suffolk police, each Flock camera installation includes an $800 camera, a $500 pole, and a $350 solar panel. With 13 different incidents total, Sovern faces 25 charges in all. And for a good idea of how fed up people are getting with Flock, he’s received over $15,000 in donations to support his case.
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