Ohio Grand Jury Refuses to Indict 35-Year-Old in Flock Camera Destruction as Backlash Spreads
Updated
Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Aug 23
Ohio Grand Jury Refuses to Indict 35-Year-Old in Flock Camera Destruction as Backlash Spreads
3 articles · Updated · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Aug 23
Summary
A Clermont County, Ohio, grand jury declined to indict Cody Morelock, 35, over the June destruction of a Flock automatic license plate reader and its solar panel near his home.
Prosecutors had presented what the report described as strong evidence — including surveillance video and credit-card receipts — but jurors still refused to bring charges.
The decision lands amid widening resistance to Flock Safety, with more than 50 U.S. municipalities canceling or rejecting contracts over concerns about pervasive surveillance and police misuse.
That anti-surveillance fight is increasingly merging with a broader anti-AI push, including opposition to data centers that polls show 75% of Americans do not want in their hometowns.
The backlash is now shaping 2026 politics, with candidates in states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida attacking data centers even as the AI industry and allied PACs prepare to spend up to $200 million on November elections.