Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released new findings Tuesday on how a case of mistaken identity landed a Catholic schoolteacher on a terror watch list.
The release comes on the five-year anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, and it is part of Paul’s investigation into Quiet Skies, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) domestic surveillance program, which he describes as an example of the federal government’s weaponization of “watchlisting.”
The newly obtained Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents detail the case of Christine Crowder, a Texas Catholic schoolteacher who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, to attend a Trump rally. (RELATED: Jan. 6 Investigators Seized 30 Million Lines Of Phone Records To Hunt Trump Allies)
“A free society cannot tolerate a system in which programs and authorities intended to keep the public safe are instead weaponized against them due to mere suspicion,” Paul stated in a press release.
The FBI labeled Crowder a domestic terrorist for allegedly entering the U.S. Capitol, even though her phone data placed her elsewhere, facial recognition returned no match, and she had no criminal record or history of extremist activity, Paul previously revealed in a September hearing.
Her attendance at the rally was enough to keep her watchlisted for over two years, during which her family was subjected to air-travel surveillance, according to Paul’s findings.
“The records released today show how an unverified tip that the FBI failed to substantiate led to nearly two years of surveillance of an innocent American,” Paul’s statement continued. “I am grateful for FBI Director Kash Patel’s cooperation in producing these records, and I appreciate Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for ending the Quiet Skies program. The conduct revealed by these documents underscores the need to limit the power of faceless bureaucrats who have too often infringed on the rights of the people.”
Christine Crowder’s husband and Senior Federal Air Marshal Mark Crowder testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Sept. 30, 2025, that his wife was mistakenly placed on a terrorist watchlist and surveilled by the FBI and the Federal Air Marshal Service for more than two years.
The FBI allegedly conducted physical surveillance of Crowder’s home at least four times in an effort to identify her and her property, according to Paul’s Tuesday release. The investigation began with an anonymous tip from a “former friend” who claimed to have recognized Crowder from Jan. 6 news coverage.
In June 2021, the FBI formally opened the case and recommended placing Crowder on a watchlist, even though initial checks found no concerning geolocation data, facial recognition matches, criminal history or links to extremist activity. Despite those findings, the bureau alleged Crowder had unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol and recommended adding her to the watchlist and assigning her “selectee” status.
The following month, the FBI began surveilling Crowder’s home. Just 12 days later, agents approved paperwork labeling her a domestic terrorist and adding her to the Terrorist Screening Dataset. (RELATED: Kash Patel Wants The FBI Out Of The Spying Game — Here’s Where He Could Start)
We were told to mask up between peanuts or be treated like we were taking down the plane. That kind of absurdity fed secret watchlists where spite or bias could brand us threats.
We ended Quiet Skies, but we must stop government secrecy, over-classification, and surveillance of… pic.twitter.com/TZskPoDOxx
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) September 30, 2025
It was not until May 2022 — nearly a year into the investigation — that the FBI interviewed the anonymous tipster and the tipster’s spouse, who claimed they had seen a video Crowder allegedly posted to Facebook from inside the Capitol.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office accepted the case for prosecution based solely on the tip, without fully verifying Crowder’s identity, and recommended the FBI conduct social media analysis, according to Paul’s report. In July 2022, prosecutors said they would move forward even without positive identification through physical surveillance, and in October the FBI executed a search warrant on Crowder’s Facebook account through the law enforcement portal.
“This case is an example of misplaced priorities and everything that went wrong with federal law enforcement in the aftermath of January 6,” FBI Director Kash Patel stated in the press release.
Crowder herself was not interviewed until May 2023. During that interview, she provided FBI agents with the clothing she wore on Jan. 6, 2021, along with a rideshare receipt showing she was elsewhere at the time she was accused of being at the Capitol. (RELATED: FBI Deployed Nearly 300 Agents On Jan 6 As ‘Pawns In A Political War’)
Nearly two years into the investigation—and more than a month after a confidential human source provided a photograph confirming the case was one of mistaken identity—the FBI closed the investigation. According to the findings, the case was terminated due to negative geofence and facial recognition results, inconsistencies in the original tip, and evidence provided during Crowder’s interview.
“When a Catholic kindergarten teacher from Texas can be surveilled for more than two years simply for being in Washington, D.C., without entering the Capitol, without committing a crime, we have crossed from legitimate investigation into political overreach,” Patel’s statement continued. “That is not equal justice under the law. Senator Paul is right to demand accountability, transparency, and an end to investigations that target Americans for their beliefs or proximity rather than evidence.”