RC-26 Aircraft Use In Protests Investigated

 

Articles in the Air Force Times indicates there was an investigation into the use of  Air National Guard RC-26 surveillance aircraft for airborne observations of the protests in various cities around the country.

 https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2020/06/18/ig-investigating-air-national-guards-use-of-recon-planes-to-monitor-protests/

 https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/08/21/ig-air-guard-intel-planes-surveilled-seven-george-floyd-protests-without-proper-authorization/

 The bottom line appears to be that the requests for use of the aircraft did not go through the proper authorization needed for this type of operation. The RC-26 aircraft are not considered "intelligence" gathering platforms by the National Guard Bureau.