The US Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) this month quietly awarded a $30,000 no-bid contract for sniper and combat training to a Virginia firm run by Dan LaLota, the brother of US representative Nick LaLota, a second-term Republican from New York.

Finalized on September 2, the award went to Target Down Group of Mechanicsville, Virginia, which will provide a five-day precision fires and observation course for the Homeland Security Investigations’ Special Response Team (SRT) sniper program. The course, intended to help inform new DHS procedures, is “aimed at equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively conduct law enforcement sniper operations in high-risk environments,” per records reviewed by WIRED.

The SRT functions as the agency’s version of a SWAT te

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