Officials Remain Silent After Journalist Exposes How Government Falsely Labeled Him a ‘Domestic Terror Threat’

A 23-year-old journalist who has been operating as a field reporter for several years was apparently labeled a ‘domestic terror’ threat/suspect by the federal government following his on-the-ground reporting of the Capitol incident from January 6, 2021. What ensued as a result of this government designation involved the journalist being “stalked” by Federal Air Marshals for a period of nearly two years across numerous flights.

Tayler Hansen, who began to amass a notable following in journalism due to his coverage of the riots that plagued Portland, Oregon in 2020, was one of the many reporters present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, during the infamous Capitol riot. Hansen, like many of his journalist peers present during the incident, was merely documenting the events of the day and not taking an active/participatory role in any of the unlawful exploits that unfolded at the Capitol.

Evidence of Hansen’s journalistic endeavors amid the Capitol riot are plain as day, with Hansen going on to pen a piece for The Gateway Pundit on January 28, 2021, which featured video footage he captured during the riot. Furthermore, he even outwardly wrote in the aforementioned article that he, “in no way, shape, or form support the events that unfolded on the 6th.”

For the sake of context, Hansen was never formally arrested or charged with any sort of offense related to the incident at the Capitol, as the Justice Department has largely avoided levying any charges against journalists present at the incident who only documented the ongoings of the riot.

But what Hansen, and undoubtedly countless others at the time, wasn’t aware of was that his mere presence at the Capitol as a journalist wound up placing him on a terrorist watchlist with the TSA.

On December 29, 2023, Hansen had finally obtained confirmation that he’d been intentionally targeted for additional screenings on flights upon seeing the infamous ‘Quad S’ designation on his flight boarding passes over the past couple of years. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the journalist shared a TSA LE/FAMS internal document identifying Hansen as a “102 Suspect (DT)” which translates to a domestic terror suspect.

𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩… pic.twitter.com/Wn8T07pYWe

— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) December 29, 2023

As seen in the TSA LE/FAMS internal document, the purported reasoning behind the government designating Hansen as a suspected domestic terrorist was because he “was one of the individuals who trespassed the Capitol,” and appeared on a Fox News program regarding the Capitol incident. Interestingly, the TSA LE/FAMS internal document conveniently omitted the fact that Hansen was a journalist in both the summary and “Occupation” field of the document.

A list of several flights spanning from February of 2021 to July of 2022 were listed in the document which detailed the flights Hansen endured additional screening measures, as well as an incognito Air Marshal detail, under this ridiculous designation by the government.

Interestingly enough, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs released a report in December of 2023 which delved into the intricacies of the very list Hansen found himself on, where an explicit definition of what defines a “suspected terrorist” is shared on the twelfth page of the report.

“A suspected terrorist is: an individual who is reasonably suspected to be, or has been, engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of terrorism and/or terrorist activities based on an articulable and reasonable suspicion.”

 This means that the government, knowing full well that Hansen operated within his journalistic capacities while at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, labeled him as a potential terrorist.

Nothing from MSM either (even Fox)

Which isn’t surprising at all.

— Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) January 3, 2024

On January 2, 2024, Hansen shared an update regarding the discovery, noting how Congress and even media outlets have been silent on what is ostensibly an attack on First Amendment activities.

It’s unclear what the recourse is for something of this magnitude, insofar as the government placing a journalist on a terrorist watchlist in a manner that can only be digested as a punitive action rather than one meant to serve American interests in preventing domestic terrorism. But what’s more unsettling is the likelihood that many Americans who may harbor opinions or political leanings the government isn’t fond of could be on these sorts of lists themselves.