The Department of Homeland Security is researching the use of spy drones to monitor and provide surveillance on major ‘public safety events.’

This has led some to worry that thousands of unmanned aircraft could be used by the federal government to quell civil unrest in the run-up to the November 6 presidential election.

Info Wars, a website run by right-leaning conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, cites a $50million contract Homeland Security offered to capture, process and analyze aerial images of ‘national special security events.’

The site says it is tracking a buildup in US security, including riot gear orders and an expanded presence of Transportation Security Administration screeners at some train depots and outside airports.