https://www.aclu.org/files/FilesPDFs/ALPR/new-jersey/alprpra...
See the 2nd page, 2nd to last bullet point.
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/12/23/2119225/nsa-targetin...
https://it.slashdot.org/story/10/07/08/1449254/us-plans-cybe...
These are dated as old as 2010-ish...
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3kl3e9/which_manuf...
On top of that it would be far easier to just track the giant visible license plate since we already have that technology available.
The destroying with a camera flash is legit (not because of the flash but because of what seems to be caused by capacitors in the device - light reading on this so I may not be correct) however many users point out why read that when there are much easier ways to track a vehicle where-a-bouts.
Interesting and disturbing however much more complex then just OCR!
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3kl3e9/which_manuf...
Meaning, there is no current such story I'm aware of. But I'm certain it's being worked on. And if not by them, directly, that they are ensuring they have a feed from/to the resulting system.
We encounter little in the way of stories about all this data collection, that demonstrates these agencies' claimed restraint. At this point, you pretty much have to figure, if and when they can, they will.
P.S. Think that "domestic" jurisdiction will stop them? I'll just remind you, among other things, of the stories about just how much of the U.S. can be interpreted as being withing 100 miles of an international border. The CPB's jurisdiction within that territory, per reported documents. And the CPB's "need" for data analysis of people transiting its... "system".
I'm just speculating... But so far, it seems almost no speculation has been too outlandish to be eventually realized.