Sources on the scene are reporting multiple black Lincoln town cars and Escalades with Maryland license plates spotted at Apple Executive Briefing Center.
Sources at Apple are reporting multiple Black Vehicles with MD License Plates at Apple Executive Briefing Center this AM. Multiple CHP escorts. Men with ear pieces and sun glasses. Rumor is MD license plate indicates NSA involvement. If anyone at Apple can confirm please let us know.
Why? Just means a VIP is visiting Apple and that is their detail. Might be the Biden, John Kerry, DHS Chief, or others.
Sure there's a certain intimidation factor when a VIP comes to visit with a huge security detail, but ultimately if the US Government REALLY wanted to threaten Apple they would use pieces of paper to do so (e.g. court orders, sanctions, national security letters, or w/e).
I thought that it might be a Secret Service detail of some sort but the timing with Tim's response to the FBI demand led me to jump to this conclusion. Well, that and that was the feeling I got from the source on campus...they were definitely intimidated and phrases like "I don't want to get deposed" were being bandied about in their department.
Also the motorcade was there for a very short period of time...under an hour. Usually VIP visits involve meet-and-greets, etc... Maybe they were delivering an NSL as you hinted at?
Another theory would be that they were delivering the device for Apple to crack on their premises. This is based on the assumption that Apple could crack it (given as has been stated elsewhere that it is an older device without the secure enclave) but that they refused to hand the tools to do so over, and wanted to perform the crack themselves and the FBI, given the choice between a lengthy legal battle and getting the information on the device quickly, have given in to Apple.
In which case either the device was unlock very quickly or if there's an equally short visit some time later, it's the FBI picking up the device again.
Only a few agencies have blanket exemptions from using GSA plates -- CIA and NSA, unsurprisingly, are two of them. An official federal VIP motorcade wouldn't have generic state plates, but official federal ones with an agency code.
If the government really wanted to Threaten Apple Tim Cook would be visited in the night, and not by someone with a CHP motorcade
This is a Pre-Threat... Threat
Remember this government has no problems killing citizens with drones with out any trial... You do what you are told or you will get a predator missile up your ass
I've contacted the San Jose Mercury News...hopefully they can get a reporter on site to photograph what must be a very intimidating moment for the folks at Apple.
Based on open sources, NSA has a fleet of about 100 vehicles at most in CONUS, so they would be more likely to fly vehicles cross-country if DIRNSA needed to use a fleet vehicle. Having said that, NSA doesn't just arbitrarily get involved in domestic law enforcement cases, even ones involving crypto, so let's wait to see if there's more evidence than a random HN post to support this allegation.
This is a completely fair comment and my source certainly isn't fully aware of the situation...they just relayed what they saw out the window and some discussion among staff. I wanted to make sure this information was recorded for posterity at the time it happened in the (unlikely) event Tim Cook was taken away in hand-cuffs or something similarly dramatic were to happen. I'm hoping someone from Apple feels brave enough to confirm the events here on HN. Ideally with a few pictures showing the motorcade. I doubt Apple PR will comment.
Honestly, I didn't feel at liberty to ask and none were volunteered. I've been hoping someone from Apple would pick up on this thread and post them here.
Source indicates cars are leaving now. Nothing on the twitters so far. Hopefully someone will chime in soon. If I see anything in my news feed I'll post it here.
This doesn't seem like a story worth sending a live truck for, but OK. Do you know what station it's from? The story would also probably be posted on that station's website.
Does the government really waste our tax dollars on Escalades? I can't imagine why they'd need such a behemoth, but even if they do, why not settle for a Chevy Tahoe instead? Functionally the same car, $25K cheaper.
Theres a mix of police vehicles in Chicago. They may have a few older Tahoes.. but most of the newest police vehicles are Ford Explorers. They have to have SUVs due to winter. Most of the standard sedans won't do so well in deep snow.
There is no such a thing as "money waste" when it comes to governmental contracts that go into private hands via bribes kickbacks and staged pre-set bids.
If anything those involved would love to find ways how to spend even more!
Escalades aren't (I believe) on the current GSA VAL, but Cadillac is a recipient of "non-standard vehicle" contracts, such as for the Presidential limo. Tahoes are pretty much the default SUV, even for non-standard tactical vehicles (such as motorcade protection), so I would expect an Escalade to indicate the presence of a seventh-floor official who rates something other than government standard.
If the cars are armored, the difference between Tahoe and Escalade is probably minimal compared to the overall cost I'd imagine, but still would be a nice gesture to not bling out when working for the government no matter who you are.
Remember watching the news awhile back and seeing various directors leave the white house. Most in big, black luxury vehicles, except the CIA director who got into what seemed a very normal looking, grey, mid-sized SUV, Toyota maybe. Really shows who wants to be seen and who really cares about not being a target.
Nope. I see 3-4 tourists taking pictures of the "1 Infinite Loop" sign every time I go to the main campus, yet not one of them took a picture of the giant motorcade that allegedly hung out in front of IL5 for an hour.
There is no parking specific for the "Apple Executive Briefing Center". Also, thousands of employees, and lots of people from off the street, would have seen the cars and someone would have uploaded something to Instagram/Twitter.
This reads like something made up by someone who has never actually been to Infinite Loop.
Huh. I saw a police escorted (and I mean, they cleared the street of other vehicles and pedestrians and moved alone escorted) line of cars (black sedans, black SUVs, black vans) heading south on 6th in SF today at ~9:55 am. Still curious what it was/is.
There a good video someone captured of it on Twitter[1]. Though her post is timestamped at 4:36pm, and the weather kinda looks more like it did at around 4.
I have no idea if it's the same one, of course, but how many days do police-escorted motorcades happen in a metropolis?
Haven't managed to find anything on an actual news site.
Unfortunately, I was stupid and didn't think to screenshot it. I did see it there for a while, though; it was a SFO -> LAX flight plan. I know FlightAware has a process by which you can remove flights if you can prove you've got a right to do so (e.g. Owner of aircraft)
Just a follow-up to correct the record as much as possible. I believe this motorcade was related to the Prime Minister of Malaysia's visit to Apple per the following tweet. Hat tip to the redditor @frenvedd over on r/apple for this information!
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 108 ms ] threadSure there's a certain intimidation factor when a VIP comes to visit with a huge security detail, but ultimately if the US Government REALLY wanted to threaten Apple they would use pieces of paper to do so (e.g. court orders, sanctions, national security letters, or w/e).
In which case either the device was unlock very quickly or if there's an equally short visit some time later, it's the FBI picking up the device again.
If the government really wanted to Threaten Apple Tim Cook would be visited in the night, and not by someone with a CHP motorcade
This is a Pre-Threat... Threat
Remember this government has no problems killing citizens with drones with out any trial... You do what you are told or you will get a predator missile up your ass
https://twitter.com/Honeybeast/status/700116621952552961
My knowledge of vehicle types is subpar.
If anything those involved would love to find ways how to spend even more!
Remember watching the news awhile back and seeing various directors leave the white house. Most in big, black luxury vehicles, except the CIA director who got into what seemed a very normal looking, grey, mid-sized SUV, Toyota maybe. Really shows who wants to be seen and who really cares about not being a target.
;-)
This reads like something made up by someone who has never actually been to Infinite Loop.
Nothing to see here those are not the droids you looking for!
There a good video someone captured of it on Twitter[1]. Though her post is timestamped at 4:36pm, and the weather kinda looks more like it did at around 4.
I have no idea if it's the same one, of course, but how many days do police-escorted motorcades happen in a metropolis?
Haven't managed to find anything on an actual news site.
[1]: https://twitter.com/Honeybeast/status/700116621952552961
[2]: https://twitter.com/search?q=sf+motorcade
It's interesting because FAA says there is no such N number and 007JB is obviously a play on James Bond.
A jet of that size would absolutely be capable of carrying multiple vehicles and agents.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N007JB
https://twitter.com/DelFazli/status/700133655444746241