Jeremy Meeks, famously dubbed the ‘Hot Felon,’ recently reminisced about the whirlwind that ensued after his mugshot went viral in 2014. The image, initially shared by the Stockton Police Department on Facebook, catapulted him into the global spotlight.

‘I was probably getting 300 letters a day, and it was just too much,’ the 42-year-old White Cross Management Model told Matthew Cox’s podcast Inside True Crime on Sunday.

“I was bombarded with explicit photos and money orders. People were sending me all kinds of cash,” he shared, reflecting on the unexpected attention.

However, the global recognition soon became overwhelming as strangers began to claim his limited visitation slots at the Sacramento County Jail, showing up without any notice.

“Sacramento is notorious for its strict visitation policies,” noted the Washington State native. “It was frustrating to have random visitors and having to refuse them before even entering the visitation area. I would see them through the glass and think, ‘I have no idea who that person is!'”

‘Hot felon’ Jeremy Meeks reflected on the immediate aftermath of his mugshot going viral in 2014 after the Stockton Police Department posted it on their Facebook page

‘I was probably getting 300 letters a day, and it was just too much,’ the 42-year-old White Cross Management Model told Matthew Cox’s podcast Inside True Crime on Sunday. ‘I’m getting naked pictures, I’m getting money orders. All kind of money’s being sent in’

‘I’m getting random people visiting me and I’m denying them before I even walk up the stairs into the section and I’m like, “I don’t know who that person is!” I could see him through the glass. I’m like, “I don’t know who that person is!”

‘They’re like, “Well, I’m still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I’m still going to take your visit for the week.” So now my family can’t come because I got f***ing random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating.’

Meeks – who scored nicknames like ‘prison bae’ and ‘the blue-eyed bandit’ – would plead with the strangers not to come back so he could see his children.

‘They’re like, “Well, we drove all the way from Tennessee!”‘ the Love After Holidays actor recalled.

‘”I understand that and thank you. But my son’s five years old and he doesn’t understand why I’m not home and he needs to see me. And so I’m just going to ask that you please don’t come back. Write me.”‘

Meeks welcomed 15-year-old son Jeremy Jr. during his decade-long marriage to nurse Melissa Meeks, which amicably ended in 2018.

The former Crips gangster is also father to seven-year-old son Jayden from his two-year relationship with Topshop heiress Chloe Green, which ended in 2019.

But the worldwide fame got tiring for Meeks once random people started snatching up his coveted two visitor’s passes allotted per week at the Sacramento County Jail, and arriving unannounced (pictured in 2022)

‘And Sacramento is very strict and just a**holes when it comes to visiting,’ the Washington State-born heartthrob recalled. ‘They’re like, “Well, I’m still taking your visit. You can deny it, but I’m still going to take your visit for the week.” So now my family can’t come because I got f***ing random people coming to see me and it was so frustrating’

Meeks – who scored nicknames like ‘prison bae’ and ‘the blue-eyed bandit’ – would plead with the strangers not to come back so he could see his children: ‘They’re like, “Well, we drove all the way from Tennessee!”‘

The Love After Holidays actor recalled: ‘”I understand that and thank you. But my son’s five years old and he doesn’t understand why I’m not home and he needs to see me. And so I’m just going to ask that you please don’t come back. Write me”‘

Meeks welcomed 15-year-old son Jeremy Jr. during his decade-long marriage to nurse Melissa Meeks, which amicably ended in 2018 (pictured in 2024)

The former Crips gangster is also father to seven-year-old son Jayden from his two-year relationship with Topshop heiress Chloe Green (R, pictured in 2018), which ended in 2019

At the time, Meeks was serving 13 months for possession of a firearm and resisting arrest in 2015-2016 following his prior nine-year sentence for grand theft and corporal injury to a child aged 16.

‘The hate came from the correction officers [not the other inmates],’ the Dutch III: International Gangster actor continued.

‘I was very angry with the correctional officers who, you know, they were beating the s*** out of me for a while, different shift changes and [it was jealousy]. There’s a lot that I could say.’

Meeks – who boasts 2.2 million social media followers – scored his latest brand ambassadorship last November with the clothing company SAYA, which was dubbed ‘Oriental Angels.’

In the bustling streets of Chicago, and indeed across Illinois and the broader United States, thousands of license plate readers are silently documenting the comings and goings of countless vehicles. If you’re a driver, it’s very likely that your car has been captured by one of these high-speed camera systems.

The use of automated license plate reader technology, or ALPR, has sparked a mix of fear and praise. Communities and law enforcement agencies are grappling with the implications of this technology, which is designed to enhance crime-fighting capabilities. These sophisticated cameras, often mounted on poles, streetlights, or police vehicles, capture images of license plates in real-time. They log the time and location of each sighting, providing valuable data to authorities in their efforts to track down stolen cars, locate wanted individuals, find missing persons, and identify vehicles with suspended licenses.

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However, as the adoption of ALPR systems spreads, so do concerns about privacy and surveillance. The debate rages on: Does this technology represent a leap forward in public safety, or does it encroach too far into personal privacy?

One prominent company in this field, Flock Safety, has found itself at the center of this controversy. While the company highlights various success stories linked to its technology, it also faces significant backlash from those wary of its potential for misuse.

Flock Safety, one of the nation’s leading operators, is now facing major backlash even as the company touts success stories.

Last September, Illinois State Senator Meg Loughran Cappel’s Shorewood home, along with a neighbor’s, was pierced by bullets.

“Oh my God, our house got shot and my son could have been killed. We realized that a gunshot had gone through the top portion of our home into my son Benjamin’s room and was lodged in over his bed. So, that was pretty scary. That shook me up,” she said.

With political violence on the rise, she was relieved to learn her family was not the intended target.

Authorities say the suspected shooter was identified by their license plate with the help of Flock Safety cameras.

Loughran Cappel said, “So, when they were able to help solve this crime in like 12 hours. That was pretty amazing.”

The I-Team sat down with Shorewood Police Chief Phillip Arnold to talk about the technology the village has been using since 2018.

When asked if the shooting in the senator’s neighborhood would have been solved so quickly without the Flock system, he replied, “Absolutely not. No doubt.”

According to the company, there are more than 450 law enforcement agencies in Illinois currently using their product and more than 5,000 across the country.

Arnold said Flock has been a game changer for safety, insisting there are robust guardrails in place to prevent the misuse of data being gathered and stored.

“We actually talked with legal counsel from the secretary of state to make sure that all of our settings were proper and correct,” said Arnold.

In the past several months, some cities around the country cut ties with Flock amidst privacy concerns, data sharing, and federal enforcement.

In August, an audit by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias flagged the sharing of data with federal authorities.

“Company leadership was unaware of a pilot program with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection agency. This put them in direct violation of Illinois law,” said Giannoulias.

Flock Safety Chief Communications Officer Josh Thomas said the sharing occurred under a pilot program that has since been ended after intense public scrutiny.

“We were trying a program to stop human trafficking with a group called Homeland Security Investigations. And once we frankly acknowledge that this is being used for purposes other than what it could be used for, we stopped that. We ended the program entirely,” he said, adding that Flock has banned federal authorities from being able to ask for people to share their cameras with them.

The state investigation is still underway, and the company said it is now explicitly impossible in Illinois to share data with the feds for the purposes of immigration.

“We’re supportive of working with all of these groups to ensure accountability takes place,” emphasized Thomas.

Some communities are not buying the assurances, calling it a dystopian surveillance network.

Privacy advocates warn that the powerful monitoring tools are capturing too much personal information, tracking without a warrant, and turning lawful citizens into suspects.

The city of Evanston recently terminated its contract with Flock, as did Oak Park.

Derek Eder, an Oak Park village trustee, voted along with the board’s majority to cancel the contract.

“If your car drives by, it will snap a picture, a license plate, and you will be in their system. And so, the potential for danger is just so high when you’re tracking people to that level of granularity,” he said. “The FLOCK technology is effective. The challenge is the data in which that is created by Flock has a lot of potential for harm, and that data has been proven many times over now, unfortunately, to not be protected very well.”

Flock pushed back on the privacy and protection accusations.

“Judges consistently said the same thing: This is factually wrong. This is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. All this technology is doing is taking pictures of public information in plain view,” said Thomas.

The company also emphasizes its own safety measures, including only a 30-day retention of data and a permanent auto log to keep track of who and what users are searching for.

Thomas added, “It’s actually pretty straightforward for a city council to adopt a policy that says we will use it for violent offenses. And these other reasons keep the data for only this amount of time and, in fact, require auditing and oversight.”

The I-Team discovered dozens of police departments and communities are taking advantage of a grant program through the Illinois Attorney General’s Office that offers tens of thousands of dollars that can be used to help pay for the technology.

“If they had to spend their own money, they might think a little bit more deeply about the downside. I think absolutely, the program needs to be changed,” said Eder.

Arnold offered a different view to those worried about privacy.

“You know, and if you’re worried about being watched or followed, leave your cell phones at home, because our cell phones are collecting much, much more data than these license plate readers,” he said.

While some communities are continuing to debate their affiliation with Flock, the Village of Arlington Heights recently reupped its contract and told the I-Team it is the first community in Illinois to include hefty penalties the company must pay if there is unauthorized sharing of customer data by Flock.

In a move generating significant discussion, a California school district identified for its below-average performance has allocated close to $300,000 for an innovative educational partnership. The district aims to enhance student engagement through a rap-based curriculum, a decision that has caught the attention of the Justice Department, prompting concerns about its implications.

The Merced City School District, known for its challenges in academic achievement, has entered into a $270,000 agreement with the organization School Yard Rap, according to reports from the New York Post. This collaboration is designed to incorporate elements of hip-hop into educational programming, aiming to make learning more relatable and engaging for students.

A key component of this initiative is a summer program dubbed “Rap Camp,” along with an “African American Affinity Group.” These elements of the program have sparked debate over their compliance with federal guidelines, raising questions about the appropriateness and legality of such a partnership.

The district’s investment in School Yard Rap is part of an effort to integrate hip-hop culture into the educational experience, with components such as historical lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing, and performance activities. The aim is to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment that resonates with students.

Lessons include history lessons, songwriting, DJ-ing and performances.

“The School Yard Rap curriculum transforms history lessons into relatable characters presented through songs and storytelling- resulting in emotional connection,” the School Yard Rap website states. 

The school district told Fox News Digital that it  “proudly supports the partnership” with School Yard Rap, which fosters “a unique approach to education by engaging students through music, media, interactive assemblies and much more.”

The camps are advertised and open to all 3rd through 8th grade students across (the) Merced City School District, it said. 

Established in 2016, School Yard Rap, which operates in 28 states, presents “a world where learning meets rhythm, exploring diverse cultures and subjects through interactive music-infused modules.”

Merced has handed out $610,000 worth of contracts to School Yard Rap, the Post reported. Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district and School Yard Rap. 

The Justice Department told Fox News Digital that any race-based programming is “troubling.”

“It is illegal for the government to offer benefits solely on the basis of race. We have not had the opportunity to investigate these allegations, but if true, they are troubling,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital. 

The Merced City School District entered into a contract with School Yard Rap for a rap-based curriculum.  (iStock)

Brandon Brown, a former school teacher and founder of School Yard Rap, told the newspaper that the programming wasn’t exclusionary.

“This camp specifically — the African American Affinity Camp — is open to every single student grades 3rd to 8th, focusing on African American history and the diaspora,” he said. “I think this is politically driven and the reason this is being called out.”

However, one of School Yard Rap’s programs, titled “Moor than a Month” features song lyrics mimicking those by hip-hop group Migos, which talks about white patriarchy.

“I’mma be Black every day that I’m here, no cap, for more than a month, just like every Black kid in class,” the song said.

“So this album for them, but this track’s for you — every teacher and parent, you need this truth,” one line states. “History books have a white male skew, but believe me I ain’t blaming you. That’s who wrote it on paper — it’s a cycle by nature.”

The school district serves 11,400 students but has a student-teacher ratio of 25 to 1, according to Niche, a website that compiles data to rank and review schools. Only 13% of the students meet math-proficiency benchmarks, the report states. 

The Justice Department has launched probes recently into other school districts for alleged race-based programs and hiring practices. In April 2025, it began looking into Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Plan over alleged race-based benefits. 

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