The NSA blimp is owned by Greenpeace and named the AE Bates. The protestors reportedly launched the NSA blimp at 6 a.m., at 1,000 feet over the Bluffdale facility. Reitman said they timed the launch of the NSA blimp according to the year after the political debate on NSA spying began. He said, 'Many members of congress have acted as roadblocks or sat on the sidelines of this debate. The time had come for us to be very honest with the general public about those who have and haven't called for NSA reform.' According to reports, Greenpeace became involved in the project as a plaintiff in a lawsuit the EFF filed against the NSA last year.
The lawsuit reportedly accused the agency of intimidating activists with its mass phone metadata collection programs. Previously, before it came out as the NSA blimp, the humongous airship has already made appearances during protests on coal-fired power plants in North Carolina, overfishing in the pacific northwest and the Koch brothers in Southern California. FOX 13 reports on statements from the FAA and the Utah National Guard regarding the NSA blimp. According to them, the flight was legal.
Lt. Col. Steven Fairbourn said, 'Camp Williams only restricts the airspace when we're under operations with live fire cannon operations or small fire operations.' Protest groups also said that they have taken every precaution to make sure that the NSA blimp flyover was legal before the launch. Eventually, the activists group responsible for the NSA blimp flyover brought the NSA blimp down by 7 a.m. so as not to interfere with other air traffic. Meanwhile, the NSA blimp got commuters talking, and sharing on social media.
Another view of the blimp flying near the #NSA facility in Bluffdale Utah #utpol pic.twitter.com/51gPHbJv0F — David Lifferth (@DavidLifferth) June 27, 2014
However, it seems that some Utahns reportedly did not get the message of the NSA blimp. One local wrote on Twitter, 'There was an NSA blimp on my way to work this morning. #whydotheyneedablimp? #whatwasitdoing? #nsa.'
Another twiterrer said, 'Wasn't a huge fan of the NSA blimp that saw me on the way to work this morning.'
As for the opinion of the NSA regarding the launch of the NSA blimp demonstration, the agency has not returned a request for comment.
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