Florida Man Charged With Felonies for Destroying Fake License Plate Reader

On a summer morning in Florida, a man struck out against what he believed was a surveillance camera quietly cataloguing his movements — only to discover he had walked into a trap designed precisely for someone like him. The device was a decoy, a hollow replica planted by police to catch those who would destroy the real thing, and the act that might have earned a fine instead earned three felony charges. His story sits at the intersection of two anxieties that define this era: the public's unease with being watched, and the state's determination to protect the instruments of watching.