The West Virginia Clarity Project

07/21/2026

FOIA requests about Flock to 9 WV Sheriff Departments - What is Flock & What is a FOIA request? In depth Research Article Coming Soon

The West Virginia Clarity Project has submitted FOIA requests to 9 Sheriff Department's across WV.

The county's included are:
Wetzel, Ohio, Mercer, Harrison, Brooke, Hampshire, Mineral, Morgan, Marshall

Flock Safety is a private manufacturer and operator of security hardware & software, and the largest surveillance network in the U.S that has over 100,000+ cameras across the nation. Operating in 5000+ police departments, they perform over 20 billion scans of vehicles in the US every month.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flock_Safety

FOIA - Freedom of Information Act.
FOIA allows the public to access records from government bodies, ensuring transparency in government operations. Anyone can request information using FOIA. Please see this guide from Bloodhound Media

https://bloodhound.media/foia-guide/

The West Virginia Clarity Project is doing it's research and our contributions a based in a belief that knowledge should be easily accessible to everyone, especially when there are major concerns about safety, privacy, and whether there is even evidence that proves mass surveillance is effective. Along with these FOIA requests, we will be doing a large, in depth research article about Flock Safety. This will be thorough and include a lot of relevant information that you will need to understand what is happening with Flock Surveillance Network. Please follow and we will be releasing this soon.

In our requests, we asked for public records related to Flock Safety cameras or similar automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance equipment that has been bought, rented, leased, or subscribed to using county funds:

1. The full Flock Safety contract or any contract for similar ALPR surveillance equipment, including its expiration and renewal date.
2. Records indicating whether an elected body voted to approve the contract, or whether an individual official signed without a formal vote.
3. Search audit logs showing how and when the surveillance system has been accessed or queried.
4. Data sharing agreements, settings, or configurations governing how collected data is shared with other agencies, companies, or entities.

07/08/2026

West Virginia needs to focus on a few things make our civic space better:

First of all, thank you to Ashley from WV Utility Impact Project, she has gotten over 11,400 surveys completed and we have a website and report in progress.

1) Holding all of our politicians accountable, no matter the letter besides their name. This means that if we want to do better in our world, we need to remind them who they serve. A politician is vastly different from a public servant. A public servant will speak and advocate constantly for their constituents, not what they think is right.

2) Looking into an officials voting history, and past. Likely if they did something unfavorable within the legislature... itll happen again. This example that Ashley will be sharing is a good one, as politicians from all parties have all taken money from the corporations they say they are against. Remember, they have the ability to turn down donations, but they did not. Being under a specific party does not make you a good public servant.

3) Judge by their actions outside of the legislature. Sure, voting and town halls are mandatory. WV legislature is essentially a part time job. Ask yourself, what services has your official created, provided. How have they engaged within the community (and not just a few grants, are they actively engaged outside of the legislative session?) How do they speak, with conviction and from the heart? Or is it the same practiced lines

4) Ask the deep question of WHY haven't things gotten better. Big examples are the coalfields and many other places in West Virginia with decaying infrastructure and water issues. West Virginia has the money to help our people. The legislature has the abilities to call for special sessions, but guess what? They have not. This goes back to number 3. Do they continually speak about identity politics, or are they actually focused on the issues we face? The difference is astounding when you actually sit back and observe.

We feel so disconnected to our legislators, because we legitimately are disconnected. When you take away the fact that you may agree with them, what do they become to you? An action will always speak louder.

If you're new here, we have 11,400 utility impact surveys to date. We want 15,000 by July 14th to take to the Public Service Commission. And we're looking for 5% of each county's population in the dataset for our final report.

There are several actions pending related to utility infrastructure, rate increase proposals, and the links with utilities to data centers. We will keep you updated as we hear more.

We're fighting back against a proposal that would increase the costs of MonPower and PotomacEdison customers by $500/mo within the next 5 years. We know you can't afford it. Help us build the record that proves it. ⬇️

https://form.jotform.com/260745171610047

06/28/2026

A much needed investment in our civic and community spaces. We deserve better, so I am creating better.

06/24/2026

West Virginia Petition Against Hyperscale AI Data Centers, Including Public Commenting format repost

Sign the petition here - https://c.org/vyhFNdQRYx

Public commenting: (CryptPad does not track users, does not log IP addresses, and cannot access the content of your responses because it is end-to-end encrypted)
https://cryptpad.fr/form/ #/2/form/view/cD9SmnYY50XtWEvcYo91FwenXwEcKejVQoLnDLQJfJU/

We want to properly document public opposition to the AI data centers. The biggest part of this is that we can use the comments, petition and will deliver it to Steve New to use in his cases and battles. This is a long term fight. We need to do all we can on all fronts to fight this.

I am also going to be creating a website for all information in WV in regards to data centers, including information about HB2014, legislators opinions, petitions and efforts across the state, proposed sites and information about projects. Please feel free to send any information you believe is important for us to know.

I have talked with Aubrey Hill and Britta Aguirre- Appalachian ChangeMaker to create legitimate plans on what we can do with these petitions and public commenting.

Our plan of action:

1)Submitting comments and signatures to the PSC during public comment periods

2)Deliver directly to state legislators and county commissioners

3)Provide documentation to attorneys pursuing any legal challenges in relation to data centers

4)Press releases and media campaign to demonstrate the scale of opposition - including national outlets

5)County-specific data packets so individuals can advocate in their own communities

6)Peaceful rallies at the state capital including conferences after during the legislative session

7)Ongoing advocacy regardless of what happens with the petition

This is the few plans we have created as a start. We understand the issues with AI data centers is not short term, and are prepared to fight long-term. It is growing and we will try our best to inform citizens on what they can do to actually stop these from being forced onto our communities.

This is about the hard push for massive AI data-centers being proposed without our say. This is not anti-tech, but rather opposition to the mega data centers that will ruin our land, water, and quality of life

Thank you!

06/23/2026

I have released 12 new interviews on my website, with summaries and transcripts :) thewvclarityproject.com

06/22/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026
West Virginia Clarity Project Releases 12 New WV Candidate Interviews.

The West Virginia Clarity Project announced today that 12 new candidate interviews are now available to watch on the website with long-form interviews, transcripts, and summaries of each one. The website is linked below.

thewvclarityproject.com/other_interviews.php

Including 6 State Senate Candidates, 5 House of Delegate Candidates, and 1 Incumbent from the following districts:

State Senate Districts 2,3,9,14,15,17
House of Delegate Districts 7,10,79,90,97,100

"West Virginia needs civic information, and not just something that tells you what to think," said William Polhamus, founder and creator of The West Virginia Clarity Project."I fully intend to do as many interviews as I can, and continue to provide information that helps West Virginians in a meaningful way."

"This project will not stop at interviews, the goal is to teach West Virginian's how we can actually bring change within our state, and how to take care of those who need it the most."

The West Virginia Clarity Project is very excited moving forward in providing more interviews, as we understand that many West Virginians don't even know who the candidates are, or where to find the information.

To support our work, please follow our Youtube and Facebook. Thank you

06/18/2026

Ashley has done so much for West Virginia. Im grateful to be apart of the team, creating them a website and assisting with a report.

We are pushing our hardest to bring accountability to our public officials, and truly help struggling West Virginians.

05/31/2026

Our generation can carry the torch, and make the world a better place. Permanently.

05/24/2026

What are we waiting for? Do we think that the same majority of officials who voted for HB2014 are just going to change their mind?

I think we need to understand one thing. West Virginia has a long tradition of working-class solidarity and community protection. It is deeply rooted in our history and people. We are past the point of appealing to the individuals who allowed corporate interest to continue to extract from our state. The surveillance centers do not deserve a space in our beautiful state.

The path we take going forward will not look like what we think. Something is going to give. Communities from all over the country are putting up a fight and winning against the corporations who want to impose them without our say. West Virginia, prepare yourself. We need to do all we can to help prevent the further destruction of our state.

I cannot stress how important it is for you to start finding like minded individuals and form a local network. Create plans for emergencies, plans to get out speak up. Using your rights to protest and speak up for what you believe in.

Please if you are stuck on where to start, or how you can help - do not hesitate to reach out. The West Virginia Clarity Project is working amongst a massive amount of teams, projects, and organizations across the state.

You are not alone, we are here. We are fighting. We will continue to fight. All power to the people.