Court Kills ‘Round-The-Clock’ Surveillance Case: Via Threat Level.

Welcome to the tinfoil hat club.

That’s what a federal appeals court is telling Scott Tooley of Kentucky in dismissing his civil rights lawsuit. Tooley believes the government put him under blanket surveillance after he said the word “bomb” to an airline agent.

Tooley sued the government on allegations of invasion of privacy and for violation of his First Amendment speech rights, claiming he was subjected to “round-the-clock surveillance” following his 2002 B-word utterance.

The alleged spying targeting Tooley ranged from phone taps to RFID chips on his vehicles. He claimed he was placed on an airline travel watchlist, and, in 2005, spotted an undercover agent in a Ford Crown Victoria parked outside his Louisville house for about six hours a day.

In throwing out the case Wednesday, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found his allegations amounted to “patently unsubstantial claims” that were “not realistically distinguishable from allegations of ‘little green men.’” (.pdf)

Of course, even if Tooley’s far-out allegations were true, he likely would never prevail. [ Read more ... ]