{"schema_version":"0.10.0","id":"LR-2026-0668","record_version":1,"title":"Tennessee woman jailed six months after AI tool misidentified her","verification":{"human_verified":false,"method":"automated_gate","auto_verified":true,"score":59.6,"score_breakdown":{"source_authority":12.1,"independent_corroboration":15.0,"implicated_party_confirmed":0.0,"citation_integrity":14.0,"specificity":6.0,"completeness":4.8,"unhedged_language":4.71},"checks":{"schema_valid":true,"every_field_cited":true,"quotes_verbatim":true,"source_fetched":true,"distinct_incident":true,"dates_plausible":true,"sources_agree":true,"source_describes_incident":true,"severe_backed_by_source":true,"record_integrity":true,"eligible":true,"about_this_case":true},"gate_version":"gate-2026-10-18.7","cross_check_model":null,"cross_check_agreement":null,"duplicate_of":null,"verified_by":null,"verified_at":"2026-11-01","extraction_run_id":null,"evidence_level":{"level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change","original_document":null,"reports_total":2,"reports_independent":0,"reports_derivative":0,"developing":false,"disputed":false,"rules_version":"evidence-2026-10-29.1","computed_at":"2026-11-01","history":[{"date":"2026-11-01","from_level":null,"to_level":"preliminary","reason":"Publisher not yet named · subject to change"}]},"sources_hash":"d7591179971cce9629f340d847316bba85210da7fe620d9eef311db0cf548c39"},"system":{"model_name":"Clearview AI facial recognition technology","model_version":null,"developer":"unknown","harness":null,"tools_granted":[],"permissions_scope":null,"autonomy_level":"unknown","guardrails_present":[],"deployment_context":"unknown","tier":null,"lifecycle_stage":null,"integration_type":null,"intended_use":null,"safeguard_state":null,"production_intended":null},"event":{"date_occurred":"2025-07-01","date_occurred_precision":"month","date_disclosed":"2026-03-11","incident_class":"operational_error","failure_class":null,"agent_involved":null,"secondary_failure_classes":[],"trigger":"unknown","duration":null,"detection_method":"unknown","summary":"A facial recognition match from Clearview AI, used by police in North Dakota, flagged Tennessee resident Angela Lipps as a possible suspect in a Fargo bank fraud case. A West Fargo investigator declined to seek a warrant, but a Fargo police detective obtained one. Lipps was arrested in Tennessee in July 2025, extradited to North Dakota, and held for months. Sources differ on when charges were dismissed, December 2025 or January 2026. The Fargo Police Department said the AI match was not the only evidence used, but did not specify that evidence, and the defense attorney said no evidence beyond the match was used. In 2026 Lipps filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Fargo and the detective, seeking $10 million in damages. The detective's conduct is alleged in the complaint, not established, and no response had been filed at the time of reporting.","tags":[],"date_detected":null,"near_miss":null,"root_cause":null,"root_cause_detail":"Alleged in the complaint: a detective acted on an unverified facial recognition lead, omitted exculpatory facts and ignored departmental safeguards","failure_class_detail":null,"responsible_party":null,"adversarial_actor":null,"input_provenance":null,"time_to_contain":null,"operations_paused":null,"remediation":null,"precursor_events":null,"primary_risk":"RK14","control_chain":[{"layer":"L3","party":"deployer","party_name":null,"control_id":"I7","outcome":"held","reason":null,"quote":"However, that investigator declined to seek an arrest warrant, recognizing that facial recognition results are exploratory leads requiring independent corroboration and that no evidence tied her to the crimes.","source_index":1,"reviewed":false}]},"impact":{"direct_loss_usd":null,"remediation_hours":null,"records_exposed":null,"third_parties_affected_count":null,"severity":"moderate","severity_because":"Moderate test: a third party (Angela Lipps) was affected and the scope is bounded to her case; the stated fact is that she was held on a bond for nearly six months.","harm_class":[],"affected_description":"one individual, Angela Lipps, held for nearly six months","protected_class_involved":null,"data_categories_exposed":[],"loss_range_usd":null,"reversibility":null,"downstream_exposure_count":null},"evidence":{"sources":[{"url":"https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ai-tennessee-woman-jail/","publisher":"Snopes.com","date":"2026-07-19","type":"press","title":"Did Tennessee woman spend 6 months in jail after AI tool misidentified her? - Snopes.com","archived_url":null,"attachment":"first_report"},{"url":"https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/09/17/east-tn-woman-mistakenly-jailed-months-after-ai-flagged-her-bank-fraud-suspect-lawsuit-says/","publisher":"WVLT","date":"2026-09-17","type":"press","title":"East TN woman mistakenly jailed for months after A.I. flagged her as bank fraud suspect, lawsuit says - WVLT","archived_url":null}],"per_field_confidence":{"system.model_name":"C","context.industry":"C","context.country":"C","event.date_occurred":"C","event.date_disclosed":"C","event.root_cause_detail":"C","impact.affected_description":"C","event.incident_class":"D","impact.severity":"D","impact.severity_because":"D","event.primary_risk":"D","event.control_chain":"C","event.summary":"C","system.autonomy_level":"D","system.deployment_context":"D","event.trigger":"D","event.detection_method":"D","system.developer":"D","context.denominator_available":"D"},"field_citations":{"system.model_name":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zibolski acknowledged that investigators made incorrect assumptions based on the West Fargo Police Department's Clearview AI facial recognition technology that identified Lipps as a potential subject."}],"context.industry":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The case highlights mounting national concerns and legal fallout over law enforcement’s use of AI facial recognition technology."}],"context.country":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"Angela Robin Lipps filed the 35-page civil complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota."}],"event.date_occurred":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"Lipps was taken into custody by armed deputies at her Elizabethton, Tennessee, home in July 2025 and extradited to the Cass County Jail, where she remained locked up until January 2026, when prosecutors abruptly dismissed all felony charges after subpoenaed records confirmed she had no connection to the crimes."}],"event.date_disclosed":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"On March 11, 2026, WDAY, a Fargo TV news channel and news outlet InForum, which are both owned by the same parent company, reported that U.S. Marshals arrested Lipps July 14, 2025, from her Tennessee home."}],"event.root_cause_detail":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"According to the 35-page complaint, an investigator in neighboring West Fargo initially ran bank surveillance images through facial recognition software that flagged Angela Lipps’ social media photo, but that investigator declined to seek a warrant due to a complete lack of corroborating evidence; however, Detective Heck allegedly ignored departmental safeguards, omitted exculpatory details, and secured an arrest warrant despite Lipps never having set foot in North Dakota."}],"impact.affected_description":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"She was held on a $100,000 bond for nearly six months, unable to see her children or grandchildren."}],"event.incident_class":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"The filing comes after the Elizabethton, Tennessee, resident was taken into custody at gunpoint in July 2025 and extradited across the country on felony charges stemming from an erroneous artificial intelligence lead."}],"impact.severity":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"She was held on a $100,000 bond for nearly six months, unable to see her children or grandchildren."}],"impact.severity_because":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"She was held on a $100,000 bond for nearly six months, unable to see her children or grandchildren."}],"event.control_chain":[{"source_index":1,"quote":"However, that investigator declined to seek an arrest warrant, recognizing that facial recognition results are exploratory leads requiring independent corroboration and that no evidence tied her to the crimes."}],"event.summary":[{"source_index":0,"quote":"Zibolski acknowledged that investigators made incorrect assumptions based on the West Fargo Police Department's Clearview AI facial recognition technology that identified Lipps as a potential subject."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"A West Fargo police investigator ran surveillance images of the suspect through AI facial recognition software, which surfaced Lipps’ Facebook profile as a potential match."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"However, that investigator declined to seek an arrest warrant, recognizing that facial recognition results are exploratory leads requiring independent corroboration and that no evidence tied her to the crimes."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Despite this, the complaint alleges Heck took the unverified lead and obtained a warrant for Lipps’ arrest without conducting basic investigative steps, such as reviewing her financial transactions, examining travel records, or conducting non-suggestive photo lineups with bank tellers."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Angela Robin Lipps filed the 35-page civil complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota."},{"source_index":1,"quote":"Lipps is seeking compensatory and punitive damages totaling $10 million for severe emotional distress, loss of liberty and reputational harm, as well as attorney fees."}]},"notes_on_gaps":"Not stated: developer of the facial recognition tool, model version, intended use, autonomy level, whether an autonomous agent was involved (agent_involved and failure fields left out because the tool is a recognition system, not a stated agent), detection date and method, duration of detention as an exact figure, direct loss, records exposed, harm_class and reversibility. Sources conflict on the arrest date (July 11, July 14, or July 2025) and on the dismissal date (Dec. 24, 2025 versus January 2026); exact dates were not chosen. The complaint's claims that the detective ignored departmental safeguards and omitted exculpatory facts are allegations, not established facts. The $10 million figure is damages sought, not awarded. Fargo's statement that it would improve internal communications about custody is not a listed control and no remediation is recorded. Judgements made by me: incident_class set to operational_error, root_cause set to oversight, responsible_party set to deployer, country set to US from the court location, severity set to moderate because a third party was affected with bounded scope. The lawsuit had no response filed at the time of reporting. [case created by the backfill: read by claude-haiku-5-5, backfill-2026-11-01.2, 2026-11-01; not yet reviewed] [2026-11-01: evidence level set: Preliminary (Publisher not yet named · subject to change)]"},"context":{"industry":"law enforcement","org_size_band":null,"country":"US","denominator_available":false,"denominator":null,"related_incident_ids":[],"systemic_exposure":null,"shared_model_id":null,"upstream_incident_id":null,"incident_evidence":null,"regulatory":null,"coverage":null},"narrative":{"steps":[{"step":"went_wrong","text":"The complaint alleges the detective acted on the unverified match and obtained a warrant without basic checks.","quote":"Despite this, the complaint alleges Heck took the unverified lead and obtained a warrant for Lipps’ arrest without conducting basic investigative steps, such as reviewing her financial transactions, examining travel records, or conducting non-suggestive photo lineups with bank tellers.","source_index":1,"grade":"C"},{"step":"caught","text":"Charges were dismissed after defense counsel subpoenaed records showing she was in Tennessee.","quote":"Prosecutors ultimately dismissed all charges against Lipps in January 2026 after newly appointed defense counsel subpoenaed phone records and location data showing she was in Tennessee when the Fargo thefts took place.","source_index":1,"grade":"C"}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ai-tennessee-woman-jail/","https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/09/17/east-tn-woman-mistakenly-jailed-months-after-ai-flagged-her-bank-fraud-suspect-lawsuit-says/"]},"analysis":{"sections":{"timeline":[{"text":"Lipps arrested at her Tennessee home and extradited to North Dakota.","quote":"Lipps was taken into custody by armed deputies at her Elizabethton, Tennessee, home in July 2025 and extradited to the Cass County Jail, where she remained locked up until January 2026, when prosecutors abruptly dismissed all felony charges after subpoenaed records confirmed she had no connection to the crimes.","source_index":1,"when":"2025-07"},{"text":"Defense sent bank records showing Tennessee location to police and prosecutors.","quote":"He collected Lipps’ bank records to prove she was in Tennessee at the time the bank fraud in Fargo occurred and sent the records to the police department and state's attorney's office in early December.","source_index":0,"when":"2025-12"},{"text":"Detective interview of Lipps, per the timeline in a fundraiser.","quote":"The timeline of events — Lipps’ arrest in Tennessee on July 14, 2025, extradition to North Dakota on Oct. 30, interview by a detective on Dec. 19 and release on Dec. 24 — was also described in a GoFundMe fundraiser benefitting Lipps and promoted by GoFundMe itself since at least March 14, 2026, three days after the initial news report about her case.","source_index":0,"when":"2025-12-19"},{"text":"Local news outlets reported the case publicly.","quote":"On March 11, 2026, WDAY, a Fargo TV news channel and news outlet InForum, which are both owned by the same parent company, reported that U.S. Marshals arrested Lipps July 14, 2025, from her Tennessee home.","source_index":0,"when":"2026-03-11"},{"text":"Fargo police got a new chief; the department kept its position on the case.","quote":"The Fargo Police Department maintained that position even as it got a new chief of police in April 2026.","source_index":0,"when":"2026-04"}]},"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"backfill-2026-11-01.2","extracted_at":"2026-11-01","source_urls":["https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ai-tennessee-woman-jail/","https://www.wvlt.tv/2026/09/17/east-tn-woman-mistakenly-jailed-months-after-ai-flagged-her-bank-fraud-suspect-lawsuit-says/"]}}