News/Commentary By Ed Wallace  

This article is based on the investigative work of columnist Wayne Wickizer, a decorated intelligence veteran, a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces Association, InfraGard, and other strategic intelligence organizations. It is written in collaboration with Ed Wallace, USNews Publisher, and the The Republic Project, a nonprofit civic intelligence engine dedicated to oversight, accountability, and constitutional integrity. You can read Wayne’s report here:

Read the Executive Summary here: URGENT: Utah Governor Cox Exposed as America’s Most Dangerous Surveillance State Operator

 “Only in Utah would we roll out foreign spy-linked tech in the name of ‘public safety’ while whistling past the Constitution. You thought Cox’s CARES Act fiasco was bad? This one makes Orwell look like an optimist.”  Ed Wallace, Publisher

The Illusion of Utah’s Innocence

When most Americans think of Utah, they picture snowcapped mountains, red-rock canyons, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, or ski towns selling mugs that boast “The Greatest Snow on Earth.” What they don’t picture is a state becoming the testbed for a full-scale surveillance state, an experiment in concentrated political, military, and technological power, hidden in plain sight.

But that’s exactly what’s happening.

According to Wayne Wickizer – MSAJ, FBI Command School graduate,with more than 5 decades of major case analysis, investigation, preparation for, and prosecution of corruption in Government matters. Utah has become the proving ground for a model of governance that fuses surveillance, corporate control, and political manipulation. In Wickizer’s words, “What we’re seeing here isn’t just Utah politics. It’s the future of America, if people don’t wake up.”

The story begins, as many American scandals do, with money.

Following the Money: CARES Act Billions and Utah’s Shadow Games

In 2020, Congress approved trillions in pandemic relief funding. Utah’s slice was enormous: nearly $934 million in CARES Act dollars flowed into a fund that Governor Cox controlled. On paper, it was meant to save jobs, stabilize communities, and protect small businesses.

But instead of transparency, Utahns got a black hole. No clear audits. No honest accounting. No “show your work” spreadsheets that any taxpayer could check.

At the center of the storm was Governor Spencer Cox. Wickizer’s research shows that under Cox’s watch, CARES Act funds became a slush fund of influence, enriching well-connected insiders while starving small businesses. (See: BREAKING: UT Governor Cox Hit with Explosive Corruption Lawsuit Involving ~$934 MILLION CARES Act Scandal – Utah Standard News)

Cox’s political donors received contracts and grants. Big firms cashed in while mom-and-pop shops closed their doors. When pressed on oversight, state officials dodged questions and hid behind bureaucratic walls of restrictive legislation.

This wasn’t just sloppy governance. It was systematic mismanagement of nearly a billion taxpayer dollars. To put that in perspective: $934 million is enough to give every household in Utah County a $5,000 relief check. Instead, much of it disappeared into the shadows of no-bid contracts, friendly “consulting” deals, and politically convenient handouts.

Wickizer warns: “This is the template. Emergency funds, little oversight, and the political class enriches itself while the people are left with crumbs.”

And this isn’t just about dollars. There is every indication that the CARES Act became the gateway drug for a far more ambitious project: using crisis money to fund the infrastructure of a permanent surveillance state.

From CARES Cash to “Smart State” Control

The pandemic didn’t just bring masks, mandates, vaccinations, and shuttered businesses. It brought an unprecedented opportunity for government to re-engineer daily life under the banner of “safety.”

Utah’s leaders seized that moment. CARES Act dollars began flowing not only into contracts and consulting deals, but into the digital scaffolding of a Smart State – a web of surveillance tools and databases designed to monitor, measure, and manage people in real time.

This wasn’t presented as a police state. It was dressed in the language of innovation and efficiency. Utah was proudly marketed as a “tech hub,” a “smart government,” a “21st-century model for governance.”

But underneath the glossy slogans was something far more sobering: the quiet wiring of a state where every transaction, every movement, every interaction could be tracked.

The Birth of “Smart Utah”

It started with infrastructure that seemed benign: digital driver’s licenses, expanded state databases, “smart city” pilots in urban centers, and partnerships with Silicon Slopes tech firms. Each initiative was sold as convenient, forward-looking, or pro-business.

But taken together, they amounted to the digital skeleton of a society under constant watch.

Imagine this:

….. A digital ID that logs not only your name, but your medical history, financial profile, and location data.

….. Cameras at every major intersection that don’t just snap your license plate but can track the faces inside your car.

….. Contracts that allow private companies to vacuum up your data and share it with government partners with almost no legislative oversight.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s Utah 2025.

The Bluffdale Behemoth

No discussion of Utah’s surveillance architecture is complete without mentioning the Bluffdale Data Center: the NSA’s massive spy facility nestled in the desert, consuming millions of gallons of water daily to cool its endless rows of servers.

When it opened in 2013, officials downplayed its role. Just a “data storage” site, they said. But Edward Snowden’s leaks confirmed what many already suspected: Bluffdale is one of the largest intelligence-gathering hubs on earth, capable of storing the communications of entire nations.

Now combine that with Utah’s state-level build-out. Local government feeds its surveillance streams upward. Cameras, databases, and emergency powers knit into the federal apparatus. The line between state and federal has blurred. Utah isn’t just hosting the NSA. It’s mirroring the NSA model inside its own borders.

Wickizer doesn’t mince words: “Bluffdale isn’t a monument. It’s a warning. What the NSA does globally, Utah is learning to do locally.”

Surveillance in Daily Life

Utahns don’t have to imagine what this looks like – they can see it every time they drive downtown.

….. At intersections in Salt Lake City, cameras perch on almost every major intersection mast arm, capturing constant streams of traffic and pedestrian data.  

….. Police deploy license-plate readers that sweep up not just “bad guys” but every commuter heading to work.

….. Private corporations, many tied to Utah’s ruling elite, contract with local government to extend the surveillance web.

Most residents shrug. After all, the cameras are small, the databases invisible. But Wickizer warns: “The most dangerous controls are the ones people don’t notice until they’re everywhere.”

Foreign Ties & Unit 8200

The story doesn’t end in Utah. Many of the so-called “Silicon Slopes” firms are deeply intertwined with foreign intelligence networks, particularly Israel’s Unit 8200, the elite cyber and surveillance arm of the Israeli Defense Forces. Veterans of Unit 8200 have gone on to launch or staff Utah-linked tech companies, bringing with them advanced tools of data mining, predictive profiling, and behavioral tracking. Add to that the shadowy financial web surrounding figures like Jeffrey Epstein, whose ties to Mossad and intelligence-linked financiers provided both money and cover for these global experiments, and a disturbing picture emerges: Utah is not just a domestic test case, it’s a node in an international surveillance grid. When your child’s school login, your housing payments, or even your medical data pass through these pipelines, it isn’t just local bureaucrats watching,  it may be part of a global system designed to blur the line between commerce, intelligence, and control.

Utah as America’s Testbed: The National Playbook

If Utah’s political class wanted to hide this transformation, they picked the perfect state. Utah has long projected an image of clean politics, safe streets, and neighborly trust. “If it happens in Utah,” the thinking goes, “it must be wholesome.”

That image has made Utah the ideal pilot program for policies that would spark outrage elsewhere. The state is conservative enough to sell new systems as “law and order,” yet progressive enough in its tech sector to embrace Silicon Valley’s innovations.

Why Utah?

Wickizer outlines three reasons Utah became the proving ground:

.. 1 Political Control – One-party dominance creates little real opposition. When Republicans control nearly every lever of power, backroom deals face minimal scrutiny.

.. 2 Tech Infrastructure – The Silicon Slopes boom gave Utah a digital backbone and a culture of innovation ripe for government partnerships. Data is the new oil, and Utah built the pipelines.

.. 3 Public Trust – Utahns rank among the most trusting citizens in America. That cultural trust, rooted in religious and community ties, makes it easier to slip in surveillance under the guise of “protection.”

“It’s the perfect storm,” Wickizer says. “You’ve got tech muscle, political monopoly, and a trusting population. That’s why Utah is ten years ahead of the national curve.”

The CARES Act as Dry Run

The CARES Act scandal wasn’t an isolated blunder. It was a stress test for control. Federal money poured in, state leaders diverted funds, oversight evaporated, and the public barely noticed.

What happens in a state like Florida with louder media watchdogs or more activist opposition? There’d be protests. Lawsuits. Headlines.

In Utah? A shrug. And that silence gave national actors their answer: Utah is the safest place to refine control mechanisms before exporting them to other states.

From State to Nation

The pattern is becoming clear:

….. Digital ID pilots tested in Utah are already inspiring copycats in other states.

….. Smart city contracts are packaged as turnkey “solutions” for municipalities across the country.

….. Emergency fund slush models show governors everywhere how to seize billions without accountability.

In short, Utah’s “quiet revolution” is not staying in Utah. It’s the beta version of a national operating system.

Constitutional Blind Spot

All of this raises a glaring question: Where is the Constitution in all this?

Utah was settled by pioneers seeking religious liberty. Its people pride themselves on independence and self-reliance. Yet in the rush to build a Smart State, constitutional rights, privacy, due process, limits on government power, have become an afterthought.

Facial recognition capabilities at intersections. Data-sharing between corporations and police. A state-level surveillance web feeding into the NSA.

If James Madison could visit Salt Lake City today, he’d likely ask: “When did Utah become the testing ground for government by algorithm?”

The Human Cost: Life in the Surveillance State

Big numbers and billion-dollar contracts are easy to dismiss. But what do these programs mean for an ordinary Utahn? What does it feel like to live in a place where almost every move is logged, stored, and analyzed?

The answer isn’t jackboots on the doorstep. It’s subtler. It’s a creeping loss of privacy so gradual you hardly notice until it’s gone.

Cameras on Every Corner

Take a drive through Salt Lake City. Nearly every major intersection bristles with cameras. They’re small, they’re discreet, and they’re always watching. Officially, they track traffic. But these devices are often multi-purpose sensors, capable of facial recognition, plate tracking, and movement mapping. 

You don’t opt into this system. You don’t consent. Simply driving your kids to soccer practice means you’re swept into a government database.

Digital IDs, Digital Leashes

The push for digital driver’s licenses and IDs sounds modern and convenient until you realize they are also digital leashes.

A plastic card in your wallet can’t be remotely deactivated. But a digital ID can. Tie that ID to financial transactions, healthcare access, or government services, and suddenly your freedom of movement depends on bureaucratic approval.

It’s the difference between carrying a key and asking permission.

Corporate Spies in Government Clothing

Utah’s surveillance machine isn’t just government-run. It’s corporate-powered. Contracts with Silicon Slopes firms mean your personal data isn’t just stored by the state – it’s monetized, analyzed, and fed into a network of public-private surveillance.

The line between “citizen” and “consumer” blurs. Your movements aren’t just monitored for safety. They’re tracked for profit.

The Psychological Toll

Living under constant watch changes behavior, often in ways people don’t even notice. Studies show that when people know they’re being watched, they self-censor. They avoid controversial conversations. They steer clear of “risky” associations.

That’s not liberty. That’s conditioning.

Wickizer warns: “The greatest danger of surveillance isn’t what they catch you doing. It’s what you never dare to do in the first place.”

Utah Families at Risk

Think of a family in Provo, or Logan, or St. George. They work, they worship, they pay taxes. They trust their leaders. And all the while, they are being nudged into a world where government knows more about their daily lives than their own neighbors.

For many Utahns, the first real collision with this system will come when it touches their children:

….. A school program tied to digital IDs.

….. A data breach that exposes family information.

….. A law enforcement action powered more by algorithm than officer judgment.

By then, the system will already be entrenched.

Accountability & Resistance – Before It’s Too Late

The greatest trick of the surveillance state is convincing you that you’re powerless. That it’s “too late.” That nothing you do will change the system.

That is a lie.

Every camera, every contract, every data pipeline was approved by an elected official. Every governor, commissioner, and legislator who looked the other way while Utah was converted into a testing ground is accountable to you. And the only thing stronger than their web of money and influence is the roar of an informed citizenry.

Silence as Sanction

Let’s be blunt: allowing this to happen is the same as sanctioning it.

When you shrug and say, “That’s just how government works,” you’re signing away rights bought with blood. When you stay home instead of showing up at a city council meeting, you hand your children’s privacy to the state without objection. When you decide it’s easier to scroll than to speak, you’re doing the system’s job for it.

Freedom dies not in a flash, but in a series of shrugs.

What Citizen Action Looks Like

It doesn’t take an army to push back. It takes citizens willing to reclaim the powers they already have:

….. Sunlight – Demand transparency in contracts, budgets, and partnerships. FOIA/GRAMA requests, public comment, and watchdog reporting all cut through secrecy.

….. Pressure – Call, write, and confront your representatives. Remind them they serve at your consent, not the other way around.

….. Community – Don’t fight alone. Build local networks, share information, and amplify voices of resistance. One citizen is a crank; one hundred are a movement.

….. Vote – Stop rewarding politicians who treat your rights as bargaining chips. Replace them with leaders who respect the Constitution above convenience.

Honoring Liberty

Every freedom you enjoy, the right to speak, to worship, to assemble, exists because men and women before you refused to accept surveillance and control as normal.

They fought kings, tyrants, and empires. They pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. Compared to that, what’s being asked of you today is simple: show up, speak out, and refuse to trade liberty for a false sense of safety.

If you can’t muster that effort, then ask yourself: do you deserve the rights you inherited?

The Choice Ahead

Utah stands at a crossroads, and by extension, so does America. Either the people reclaim their role as guardians of liberty, or they quietly adapt to life as managed subjects in a digital cage.

Wayne Wickizer’s research lays out the blueprint of how it happened. The next chapter depends on whether citizens are willing to tear up that blueprint and redraw their future.

The surveillance state thrives in silence. It dies in the light of citizen outrage.

Which will Utah choose?