May 20, 2026
From Flock to full freakout
After Town Bans Flock, Councilmember Crashes Out, Proposes Internet, Phone Ban
Residents killed the camera plan, and one furious official responded with full 1880 mode
TLDR: Bandera’s council voted to kick out license-plate cameras after fierce resident backlash, and one angry supporter responded by proposing bans on phones, internet, and cameras across town. Commenters are split between calling it an embarrassing meltdown and admitting he accidentally exposed a bigger truth: modern life is already packed with surveillance.
Bandera, Texas just served up a tiny-town political meltdown with huge internet energy. After months of angry meetings, resident pushback, and even repeated vandalism of the poles holding Flock’s license-plate cameras, the city council voted 3-2 to dump the surveillance deal. But the real spectacle came after the vote, when pro-camera councilmember Jeff Flowers reacted by floating what many readers saw as the ultimate sore-loser move: if people want privacy so badly, why not ban cell phones, the internet, cameras, GPS, and basically modern life inside town limits? Yes, really. His so-called “Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence” sounded less like policy and more like a community-wide rage quit.
And the comments? Absolute feast. One reader summed up the mood with brutal efficiency: this wasn’t media exaggeration, it was a straight-up “crash out.” Another called the proposal a pile of “bad faith non-sequiturs,” which is internet-speak for none of this follows, sir. Suspicion also bubbled up fast, with one commenter wondering whether Flowers has a personal stake because he seems to be taking the defeat way too personally. Still, not everyone was mocking him: one hot take admitted, with a smiley face no less, that he’s “not wrong” because phones, GPS, and internet services are all forms of surveillance too. That split is the whole drama in miniature: was this a tantrum, a troll, or an accidentally honest point about how much tracking people already accept every day? Either way, the internet has decided Bandera’s city hall is now must-watch reality TV.
Key Points
- •Bandera, Texas voted 3-2 to immediately end its contract with Flock Safety after months of controversy over surveillance cameras.
- •The town had used a state grant to install eight AI license plate reader cameras.
- •Residents repeatedly opposed the system at council meetings, and camera poles were repeatedly destroyed by vandals, requiring replacement at the town's expense.
- •Councilmember Jeff Flowers, who supported Flock, said he would introduce the "Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence" after the vote.
- •Flowers said he would propose bans on cellular and GPS-capable devices, outward-facing cameras, internet services, and electronic record-keeping within city limits.