Three activist groups flew a blimp emblazoned with the words "Illegal Spying Below" over the National Security Agency's data center in Utah on Friday in protest against the federal government's mass surveillance programs.
The one-hour flight over the high-tech facility was launched by the environmental group Greenpeace, digital rights activists the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and a conservative political organization, the Tenth Amendment Center.
The 135-foot-long (41-meter-long) blimp, which is owned by Greenpeace, was adorned with a sign that read, "NSA Illegal Spying Below."
In an email to Reuters, the agency declined to comment.
But a spokesman did note there is no restricted airspace over the data center, housed on the grounds of the Utah National Guard's Camp Williams, in Bluffdale, 23 miles (37 km) south of Salt Lake City.