Aircraft may have been used to spy on protests in DC and Minneapolis: report

Several aircraft may have been used to spy on protesters in the highly restricted airspace above Washington, D.C., and in other cities where protests were held against police brutality.

One of those planes circled the White House 20 times on June 1, the day President Donald Trump took part in a photo op across the street in an area just cleared of peaceful protesters by chemical agents and less-lethal bullets, reported CNN.

Government watchdogs suspect the aircraft, some piloted and others unpiloted, may have been used to surveil demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd, and nearly three dozen congressional Democrats want answers.

Lawmakers demanded an immediate end to the surveillance in a letter dated June 9 and sent to the heads of the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the National Guard.

CNN has tracked the flight paths for the aircraft, which were also flown over Las Vegas and Minneapolis, and found the types used can be outfitted for thermal imaging to monitor activity night and day, or "dirtbox" equipment that can collect cell phone location data.

The flights also took place June 2 and 3, according to online records.