Project Main Core: The Secret US Government Database of Subversive Citizens

By Joe Marzo

In the shadowy corners of American national security policy, there lies a project so secretive, so chilling in its implications, that its very name conjures images of Orwellian surveillance and martial law. Its name is Project Main Core—a classified U.S. government database allegedly designed to track and monitor American citizens considered threats in the event of a national emergency.

Little known to the public and rarely acknowledged in official records, Main Core is believed to be one of the government’s deepest and most extensive efforts to catalog and surveil Americans—not for crimes committed, but for potential behavior that may be deemed subversive during a national crisis.

What Is Project Main Core?

First publicly revealed in a 2008 Radar Magazine article by journalist Christopher Ketcham, Project Main Core is described as a vast, secret database of Americans who could be rounded up or surveilled in a time of emergency—without due process, formal charges, or legal oversight.

The name “Main Core” reportedly refers to the “main core” of individuals whose personal information is stored in a highly classified Continuity of Government (COG) program. This program would activate during scenarios such as a major terrorist attack, nuclear strike, or widespread civil unrest.

Sources from within the intelligence community suggest the database contains names of millions of Americans—potentially as many as 8 million—flagged as threats based on data-mined activity, associations, beliefs, or perceived affiliations. Most of these people have never committed a crime.

The Origins: Cold War Roots and Continuity of Government

Project Main Core is believed to be an outgrowth of Cold War-era COG efforts—designed to ensure the survival of the U.S. government in the face of existential threats. After the 9/11 attacks, these plans were revived and expanded dramatically under the Bush administration, driven by fears of another catastrophic assault on American soil.

It was during this post-9/11 expansion that Main Core appears to have evolved into a real-time surveillance and profiling tool.

According to multiple reports, the data in Main Core is collected without warrants or judicial oversight from numerous sources:

• NSA intercepts

• FBI reports

• CIA intelligence

• Financial records

• Credit card transactions

• Travel records

• Social media and internet activity

• Public utility usage and patterns

All of this data, once collected, is used to build psychological and political profiles on American citizens, many of whom may not know they are on any list.

What’s the Purpose of the Database?

In theory, the government claims that these types of databases exist solely to protect the country in times of unprecedented emergency. If communication systems fail, or if domestic dissent threatens government stability, authorities could use Main Core to quickly locate, monitor, or detain “high-risk individuals.”

But critics argue that Main Core is pre-crime profiling—a digital blacklist that allows the federal government to secretly flag and potentially detain citizens in violation of the Constitution.

In the event of martial law or the suspension of habeas corpus, Main Core could become the basis for mass arrests. Whistleblowers have hinted that it functions as a “Red List”—a quiet mechanism for identifying dissidents or people seen as threats to the national order.

Whistleblowers and Journalists Speak Out

Christopher Ketcham’s reporting relied on multiple unnamed sources with high-level security clearance, many of whom expressed deep concern about the implications of the project. One intelligence official noted:

“The program’s goal is to collect as much information on as many people as possible, in a centralized location, for quick and easy access during a time of crisis.”

Journalist Tim Shorrock, in his book Spies for Hire, corroborated the existence of the program and placed it within the broader trend of post-9/11 surveillance and private contractor involvement in intelligence collection.

Others have drawn parallels between Main Core and historical abuses like COINTELPRO and Operation CHAOS, where U.S. agencies spied on civil rights leaders, anti-war activists, and political dissidents.

Why Does It Matter?

The existence of Main Core raises profound constitutional and ethical concerns:

• No judicial oversight: People can be flagged without warrants or due process.

• Mass surveillance: Entire populations are watched not for what they do, but for what they might do.

• Government overreach: The line between protection and repression becomes dangerously blurred.

In an age where government agencies have already admitted to warrantless wiretapping and the mass collection of metadata (as revealed by Edward Snowden), Main Core is a chilling reminder of what could happen when secrecy and fear override civil liberties.

The Bottom Line

Project Main Core is a haunting specter of the surveillance state—existing in the background of American governance, unseen and unaccounted for. Whether it still operates today under the same name is unknown, but the machinery of mass data collection, surveillance, and emergency government powers has only grown more sophisticated since its exposure.

In a time when algorithms increasingly shape reality and dissent is often conflated with extremism, Main Core reminds us that the greatest threat to liberty may not come from outside enemies—but from within.

Sources:

• Ketcham, Christopher. “The Last Roundup.” Radar Magazine, May/June 2008.

• Shorrock, Tim. Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing.

• Bamford, James. The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America.

• The Washington Post’s “Top Secret America” series (2010)

• The Atlantic, “Total Information Awareness,” 2002

• Interviews from PBS Frontline – “Top Secret America”