Wisconsin Apparel Company Marks First Year With Stop Mass Surveillance Cap
MANITOWOC, Wisconsin - September 22, 2026 - Gadsden Productions, a Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based apparel and home goods company, marks one year in operation today, closing its first year with a Stop Mass Surveillance Baseball Cap that puts a civil-liberties argument on a consumer product. Brayden Myer founded the company at age 20 and runs it as its sole operator. He released the cap earlier this month, as automated license plate readers face review by state officials, courts, and local governments nationwide.
The cap arrives during a period of intense national attention to automated license plate readers, also called ALPR systems, which photograph and log vehicle movements for police departments. A Washington Post investigation published August 2, 2026 found at least 50 U.S. law enforcement officers have been charged or accused of misusing the systems, including 26 cases in which officers tracked the locations of wives, girlfriends, or former partners. At least 221 Wisconsin police departments use Flock Safety cameras, Law360 reported on June 26, 2026.
“People need to fight against mass surveillance to ensure the government is not intruding on their private lives as Americans,” said Brayden Myer, owner of Gadsden Productions. “This goes directly against what our founding fathers set up to form a free nation.”
The cap’s patch depicts a crossed-out pole-mounted camera, the form factor commonly used for ALPR installations on street poles, highway overpasses and mobile trailers. Wisconsin has figured repeatedly in the reporting: a former Milwaukee police officer pleaded guilty to using his department’s license plate reader system more than 100 times to track the cars of an ex-girlfriend and her partner, according to a criminal complaint cited by Law360, and the state has recorded at least four incidents of officers accused of misusing surveillance equipment for personal reasons.
Gadsden Productions takes its name from the Gadsden flag, a historic American symbol of independence. Myer built the company over its first year as a direct-to-consumer operation, handling design, listings, and customer service himself while fulfilling orders on a print-on-demand basis. He launched it in September 2025. The catalog has grown to several hundred listings across clothing for men and women, accessories, and home goods, including the “A Sip of Freedom” ceramic mug.
Some local governments have begun reversing course. About 60 towns and counties — among them Dane County, Wisconsin — have canceled Flock contracts, rejected proposed contracts or deactivated cameras since the start of 2025, according to the tracking site DeFlock, as cited by Law360.
About Gadsden Productions: Gadsden Productions is a Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based company producing patriotic-themed apparel and home goods, sold online.