#characteristicsoffascism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #characteristicsoffascism, aggregated by home.social.
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[Alleged] #Christian Employers Can Now Discriminate Against #TransPeople
A settlement with the Christian Employers Alliance blocks the EEOC from ever investigating the group’s members for gender identity discrimination.
Bryce Covert
September 1 2026Excerpt: "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency tasked with protecting workers from illegal discrimination, inked an unprecedented settlement with a conservative Christian employer association that could have long-term, wide-ranging consequences.
"The lawsuit that led to the settlement was in reaction to #EEOC guidance issued under the Biden administration and after a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that Title VII protects against gender identity discrimination.
In the settlement, reached on August 18, the EEOC pledged to not pursue any claims of gender identity-based discrimination against the #ChristianEmployersAlliance — and made the pledge in perpetuity."The EEOC provides free investigation into complaints of discrimination and, in some cases, will bring lawsuits on behalf of employees at no cost to the plaintiffs.
"Now, however, anyone who works for a company with membership in the Christian Employers Alliance who believes they suffered gender identity-based discrimination won’t be able to avail themselves of the EEOC’s process.
"The settlement also contains an unusual provision: It applies not just to the more than 20,000 employers that are already members in the Christian Employers Alliance, but also to any future members, so long as they are members at the time that any claimed discrimination occurred.
"That means that any employer that decides to sign up for Christian Employers Alliance membership will get the benefit of blanket protection from the EEOC against all claims of #GenderIdentity discrimination, such as harassing someone for being #nonbinary or firing them for coming out as #trans .
" 'I am not aware of any settlement that just creates in perpetuity a freedom from investigation, 'said Karla Gilbride, a former EEOC general counsel under President Joe Biden who is now at the American Civil Liberties Union. 'I’ve never seen an organization get a settlement that allows protection to future members in this way.'
"The settlement will stay in place even if #AndreaLucas, the current Republican chair of the EEOC, is replaced with a Democratic chair under a future Democratic president. (The Christian Employers Alliance declined to comment, and the EEOC did not respond to an inquiry.)"
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/09/01/christian-employers-settlement-gender-discrimination-eeoc/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/FnMei#WWJD #LoveOneAnother #USPol #GBLTQRights #HumanRights #TransRightsAreHumanRights #HumanRightsViolations #ChristoFascism #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Trump Goes After Anonymous Email Provider in Italy. The Real Target Is Free Speech in the U.S.
Trump designated an Italian web-hosting provider as a foreign “terror” group. It could take #antifascist sites in the U.S. offline.
Matt Sledge
August 28 2026"In the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s war on the left, the U.S. government’s designation of a popular antifascist webhosting provider as a terror group could shutter a swath of radical websites in the U.S.
"Secretary of State #MarcoRubio and Treasury Secretary #ScottBessent announced Wednesday that they were targeting the Italy-based A/I Collective with terror sanctions. Federal law gives the Treasury Department broad discretion to apply the terror label to foreign groups.
"A wide array of #anarchist, antifascist, and #FarLeft groups in the U.S. and abroad use the privacy-minded collective’s offerings, including an anonymous email service and its popular noblogs.org blogging platform.
"The practice of designating an internet platform and service provider as a terror group — rather than those pursuing violence themselves — has 'huge' implications for the future free speech on the internet, warned Jillian York, the director of international freedom of expression at the #ElectronicFrontierFoundation.
" 'They are going after the messenger,' York said. 'I don’t think that the members of the group would necessarily condone the actions of the people that they hosted. What they do condone is the freedom to host, the ability to be anonymous, the ability to be private.'
"The A/I Collective told The Intercept that it is exploring its legal options to fight the sanctions, which block U.S. citizens and companies from providing the group with financial support.
"In an unsigned statement, the group said that it denies the U.S. government’s allegations.
" '#Antifascism and #anticapitalism are not #terrorism ,' the group said. '#Protesting is not terrorism. And everyone has the right to speak out and to struggle for #humanity.' " [And #MotherEarth ! ]
Source:
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/28/trump-antifa-terrorist-websites-free-speech/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4ETk2#FreeSpeech #AutisticiInventati #Solidarity #USPol #WorldPol #SolidarityWithAutisticiInventati #FreedomOfExpression #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#Whistleblower Says #Trump Officials Are Defying Court Orders on #VotingByMail
A report detailed “grave concerns” that a new system being rushed into use by the U.S. Postal Service could imperil millions of mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections.
Chris Cameron
By Chris Cameron
Reporting from Washington
Sept. 1, 2026Excerpt: "A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a 'secretive, rushed' effort to carry out President Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans.
"The official filed a whistle-blower report, published on Tuesday morning by the office of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asserting that the 'risky and haphazard' implementation of Mr. Trump’s order could lead to a 'catastrophic failure' in the mail ballot system ahead of this year’s #MidtermElections. The report said that the agency had planned to complete the new digital system overseeing mail ballots by Sept. 1.
" 'Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,' the official said in the report, which was prepared with the assistance of #WhistleblowerAid, a nonprofit group that represents people seeking to expose potential lawbreaking.
Speaking to reporters by phone on Monday, Mr. Blumenthal said of the report that 'the main takeaway for me is that the Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans. One-third of all Americans cast their ballots by mail, and the #USPS puts all of their votes at risk.'
"A Postal Service official declined to comment on the record."
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/01/us/politics/whistle-blower-voting-by-mail.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/IJg8U#USPol #Elections2026 #Fascism #USElections #Trump #StealingElections #VoterSupression #TrumpIsAFascist #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Pentagon Spokesperson Admits There’s a Secret Blacklist of Journalists
When pressed about the Iran war, a CENTCOM press official threatened to put an Intercept reporter on a “list of people to disregard.”
Nick Turse, August 24 2026
Excerpt: "Under self-styled #WarSecretary #PeteHegseth, the U.S. military has mounted the most aggressive assault on #PressFreedom in memory, from an effort to outlaw 'unauthorized' questions from reporters to imposing unconstitutional restrictions on journalists’ access to the Pentagon. Hegseth has compared reporters to 'Pharisees,' who in the Bible call Jesus’s teachings into question, while the secretary’s minions regularly hurl insults at reporters. This is part of a broader war on press freedoms by the #TrumpAdministration, that includes demonizing #journalists; filing so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or #SLAPPs, to intimidate and silence criticism through expensive legal proceedings; and employing grand jury subpoenas and search warrants to intimidate reporters.
" 'Threatening journalists with placement on a #blacklist in retaliation for reporting the government doesn’t like is as #unconstitutional as it gets,' said Seth Stern, the director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation. 'This should put to rest the Pentagon’s prior claims that it’s anti-press policies — like its infamous requirement that reporters sign pledges to only print authorized information — are somehow content neutral.'
"Allee revealed the existence of the blacklist after this reporter was left on hold for more than two hours and complained about a long-standing lack of transparency by the command. In calls earlier that morning, Maj. Emma Thompson, #CENTCOM ’s media operations chief, repeatedly refused to answer questions about Iranian attacks on U.S. bases across the Middle East, disparate U.S. casualty counts, and medical evacuation flights: 'Nothing for you,' 'Don’t have anything for you,' 'No comment.' Thompson then hung up on this reporter mid-question.
#TheIntercept called back multiple times until Allee picked up the phone. 'They’re not going to answer your call if you just keep calling and calling,' he told this reporter."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/24/pentagon-military-journalist-blacklist-press-media/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/uPwYW#USPol #Censorship #SiliencingDissent #SilencingThePress #NoComment #Orwellian #MinistryOfTruth #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
#US Manufactured Crimes and Spied on Peaceful #Protesters During #Minneapolis Metro Surge, New Court Filing Reveals
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, August 14, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "While #Dakotas were praying at a #SacredSpring for those held in federal detention at the #WhippleBuilding in Minneapolis -- the U.S. government was spying on, and stalking, the #WhippleWatchers, a new court document reveals.
"The government is refusing to release all of its documents on its surveillance of those watching the Whipple building. The Whipple building is on the site of a former concentration camp, where Dakota and Ho Chunk were imprisoned, suffered and died.
" 'The government admits withholding at least five #ProjectWhippleShield #ROIs (Reports of Investigation) from the initial disclosures,' the court filing states.
"In the current case, the court document for discovery filed yesterday describes how the U.S. government spied on and tracked peaceful protesters during the #resistance to #OperationMetroSurge.
"Not only were peaceful protesters spied on, #stalked and #doxxed, but the #surveillance was carried out to #ManufactureCrimes when none existed, states the court document filed by a defense attorney for one of the government's targets."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/us-manufactured-crimes-and-spied-on.html#Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
#CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity -
Incarcerated for Life in #Trump’s War on the Left
#AutumnHill had already gone home when a #protest outside an #ICE facility turned violent. She was still sentenced to 50 years, over twice as long as any #Jan6 defendant
by MATTHEW COOLEY
August 12, 2026"The battering ram took down the door first. A column of steel bolted to the front of a tactical vehicle slammed through Autumn Hill’s front entryway. Then the windows shattered. FBI agents threw flash-bang grenades through the glass, their concussions rattling the house’s front rooms. Hill was in the shared office space, in a thin red dress, puttering around on her computer. She heard screams from the other rooms. Then, the buzzing of a drone, as the police flew a quadcopter in through the splintered doorframe. A voice from the drone shrieked out, telling the residents of the house to come out with their hands up. Hill was terrified. She edged out of the door and immediately stared down a wall of gun barrels, masked agents screaming orders, the drone screaming in the air behind her.
" 'I remember thinking, ‘If I don’t do exactly what I’m told for the next minute of my life I’m going to die right now,' Hill says.
Through its loudspeaker, the #drone called repeatedly for one name: '#BenjaminSong.' Song wasn’t in the house, and no one inside knew them by that name. To Hill and her chosen family — an eclectic mix of personalities who lived together in what they called the '#BigGayHouse' — Song was 'Champagne,' a #genderfluid, politically #radical #activist who had, the night before, led a group to a demonstration outside of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility near #PrairielandTX. The protest, on July 4, 2025, was loosely organized in a collection of local activism group chats, and attracted a few dozen attendees, all of whom had their own idea of what they wanted to accomplish. Many, like Hill, planned a '#NoiseDemo,' or a loud protest involving fireworks and loud chants, aimed at disrupting the guards’ routine and letting the detainees inside know that they had supporters outside the fence."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/eRg8I#WarOnTheLeft #USPol #Prairieland #DetentionCenters #Fascism #NSPM7 #PrairielandDefendants #Orwellian #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #Prairieland8 #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#FlockCameras Can Track Every Car in America. #Police Love Them. Citizens Don’t.
In Texas, there’s one thing liberals and conservatives agree on: They don’t want cameras trained on their cars.
By Fernando Alfonso III and Kashmir Hill
Aug. 10, 2026Excerpt: "A #Texas officer used Flock’s cameras to track a woman across state lines who was suspected of self-administering an abortion. Officers across the country have abused their access to Flock’s cameras, including to track romantic partners, resulting in discipline and termination. #LosAngeles and #DaytonOH , among other cities, recently suspended their contracts with Flock to prevent immigration authorities from accessing data from the cameras. Dayton resorted to covering the cameras with trash bags. In cities like Houston, Oakland, Calif., and Grand Junction, Colo., residents have taken matters into their own hands, with police reports and surveillance footage documenting Flock cameras being cut down, splattered with paint and even shot.
"Flock’s pitch is simple: It can help the police find stolen cars, locate wanted people and solve crimes. One license-plate reader led to the arrest in Florida of a man who had threatened a mass shooting in Louisiana; another helped police find the man eventually convicted in an assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump.
"But as its cameras have spread, so has the opposition. Americans are accustomed to surveillance cameras. They put them on their doorbells and tolerate them on street corners, offices and restaurants. What sets Flock’s cameras apart is that they are connected, creating a vast, searchable national network — often surprising residents who didn’t realize their local governments had signed up for them and raising fears of #BigBrother style surveillance. And they are hard to miss once you start noticing them."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/3PnB8#USPol #ACAB #ICE #SurveillanceState #Fascism #Orwellian #PoliceState #BigBrotherIsWatchingYou #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Um, looks like #USGovt is looking to imprison more folks -- #shoplifters! Like, parents who can't afford food for their kids because of #TrumpsWar ! #Homeless folks, #veterans , #protestors -- they are all on the *list* too!
Congress Might Give ICE the Power to Go After Shoplifters
A bill intended to halt the supposed threat of “organized retail crime” would put ICE in charge of the federal response.
by Sam Biddle
August 7 2026, 7:17 a.m. ET"To counter the purported national scourge of 'organized retail crime,' a bill moving through Congress would deliver the Department of Homeland Security unprecedented policing powers, granting even more authority to what experts say is an already lawless ICE."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/08/07/congress-ice-shoplifting-theft-surveillance/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/gMIHt#USPol #DetentionCenters #HungerGames #DefundICE #DefundDHS #WarOnIran #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism #CORCA #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity
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So, I've been downloading #GBLTQ resources and historical documents (including #QueerTalk, a radio show on #WMPG hosted by one of my first friends after I moved to #Maine). Why am I doing this? Because I don't trust #Trump and fiends to be in charge of public university archives. I'll be uploading those precious digital records to the @internetarchive soon. So grateful IA are there to be an independent repository of #History and #Culture! 📚 🎧 🎥
#PreservingCulture #PreservingHistory #InternetArchive #FundingCuts #MemoryHole #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LGBTQ #QueerHistory
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Federal Judge Blocks #Idaho Law Criminalizing #Transgender Bathroom Use
Six transgender residents claimed that the #BathroomBan, the most restrictive in the nation, violated their constitutional rights.
By Amy Harmon, June 16, 2026
Excerpt: "Twenty states besides Idaho restrict transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the #MovementAdvancementProject, which tracks state-level legislation on #LGBTQ issues. But the restrictions elsewhere apply only to schools and colleges, government-owned buildings and public places like parks and airports.
"Idaho’s measure is viewed as the most restrictive such law in the nation because of its broad application and because of the penalties it imposes. Repeat violators face up to five years in prison. The law covers restrooms in all publicly owned buildings as well as privately owned settings such as restaurants, retail stores and business offices. It includes bathrooms with a single stall. Idaho’s law also applies more immediately, including no provision like the one in #Florida that requires a transgender person to refuse to leave a bathroom that does not match their sex at birth in order to establish a violation.
"State officials argue that even if the law is challenging to enforce, it is not unconstitutionally vague because it is clear about what must be proved. They noted that a person’s biological sex could be determined later through objective means, such as a birth certificate or DNA testing, even if it cannot be done at the scene."
Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/us/transgender-idaho-bathroom-law.htmlArchived version:
https://archive.ph/VjZXW -
Congress members join protest against #oligarch’s dinner for #Trump thrown by Ellisons
#Paramount #Skydance CEO fetes administration as it weighs $110bn merger with CNN parent #WarnerBros Discovery
Jeremy Barr in Washington
Thu 23 Apr 2026 20.43 EDT"Dozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an 'intimate' dinner being held by #ParamountSkydance’s chief executive, #DavidEllison, 'in celebration of the first amendment' and 'honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House correspondents', and attended by Donald Trump.
"Paramount has faced criticism for the dinner, which has been seen by some as illustrative of the cozy relationship between the #Ellisons and the White House – right as the Trump administration is weighing whether to approve the company’s $110bn merger with CNN parent company #WarnerBrosDiscovery ( #WBD ). The dinner comes before Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner, which Trump will attend. His defense secretary, #PeteHegseth, is expected to sit at one of the many tables bought by CBS News for the event.
"Earlier Thursday, WBD shareholders voted 'overwhelmingly' to approve the merger, which will still require approval from the Department of Justice and European regulators.
"The US representative Jamie Raskin, who has been vocal in his criticism of the Ellisons’ ownership of CBS News, referred to the event as 'a lavish oligarch’s dinner for Donald Trump'.
" 'We’re gathered here together tonight [because] in the building behind us, David Ellison is hosting a dinner to honor President Trump, a dinner that’s designed to cement the Ellisons to the president in their years-running corrupt merger scheme,' Raskin said."
Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/david-ellison-trump-dinner-paramount-skydance-cnnArchived version:
https://archive.ph/hQ6Ku#USPol #PowerCorruptionAndLies #CorporateSuckUps #Oligarchy #Fascism #SilencingDissent #SilencingCriticism #OligarchsDinner #Oligarchs4Dinner #EatTheRich #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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So, maybe I'm biased, but I personally think that degrees in #LiberalArts and #Humanities are very important in having well-rounded citizens -- who are exposed to art, history, geography, philosophy, etc. And I think that sort of education should be free and start at the high school level (or even before).
Hampshire College Will Close Amid Student Enrollment Declines
Other small private colleges like Hampshire have closed in recent years as financial pressures and competition for students increase.
by Mark Arsenault, April 14, 2026
Hampshire president, Jennifer Chrisler: “Some of it is a persistent and ill informed, I think, belief at the federal level that the only value of an education is what you earn four years after your graduation”.
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/snPv7#Authoritarianism #DumbingUsDown #CharacteristicsOfFascism #HigherEducation #Education #LearningForLearningsSake
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I guess all #Goths are #Terrorists?
Wearing #AllBlack at #Protests Makes You Guilty of #Terrorism, Prosecutors Tell Jury
The Prairieland case is a major test of the Trump administration’s push to label “#antifa” protesters as #terrorists.
“They’re here asking you guys to put protesters in prison as terrorists.”
by Matt Sledge
March 12 2026,"Federal agents raiding the home of two alleged #antifa 'operatives' seized a telling piece of evidence, a defense attorney said during closing arguments in a landmark trial Wednesday.
"A printing press.
"That printing press was never presented to jurors. Still, the government has kept it locked away because it hated the #pamphlets and #zines it published, lawyer Blake Burns said.
"Burns represents Elizabeth Soto, one of nine defendants whose fates were in the hands of jurors as deliberations began Thursday. All are accused of roles during or after a late-night noise demonstration outside #PrairielandDetentionCenter, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Dallas that ended with a local police officer wounded by gunfire.
"The case has become a bellwether for the Trump administration’s crackdown on dissent from the left. The government charged people involved with the #AntiICE protest with a slew of charges, including attempted murder and terrorism counts that defense attorneys said are being used to #CriminalizeProtest.
" 'They’re here asking you guys to put protesters in prison as terrorists,' Burns, the defense lawyer, told jurors. 'That’s not happened before. And you are literally the only people in the world who can stop it.'
"During 10 days of testimony in a packed Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom, prosecutors bombarded jurors with images of radical zines printed on the press, anti-government internet memes, drawings of burning cop cars, and a video of an unidentified street brawl between far-left and far-right protesters.
"Prosecutors acknowledged those materials were protected by the #FirstAmendment but said they showed the roughly dozen people who assembled outside the ICE facility were steeped in antifa tactics.
"Eight of nine defendants on trial this month face material support for terrorism charges for wearing '#BlackBloc' clothes at the protest. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have hailed the first-ever use of terrorism charges against alleged antifa members."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/12/antifa-ice-protest-texas-trial-terrorism/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/UFFO9#USPol #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Fascism #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Anti-ICE #Protesters Convicted on #Terrorism Charges for Wearing All Black
By Matt Sledge, March 13, 2026
Excerpt: "The defendants said the protest was a peaceful demonstration meant to show solidarity, pointing to the megaphone that one member of the group brought to shout slogans to detainees. Prosecutors pointed to the guns, ballistic vests, and trauma first-aid kits they brought as evidence of malicious intent."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/13/ice-protesters-terrorism-prairieland-antifa/#Antifa #RadicalZines #AntiICE #PrairielandDetentionFacility #Texas #USPol #CriminalizingDissent #BlackClothes #BlackBloc #CharacteristicsOfFascism #BenjaminSong #AutumnHill #ZacharyEvetts #SavannaBatten #MeganMorris #MaricelaRueda #ElizabethSoto #InesSoto
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#Bipartisan even! #DoublePlusUngood!
Congress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be #Anonymous Online
The bipartisan push to remove #anonymity from the #Internet is ushering in an era of unprecedented #MassSurveillance and #censorship.
Taylor Lorenz
March 5 2026, 12:20 p.m."In August 2024, the Biden administration hosted hundreds of influencers at the White House for the first-ever Creator Economy Conference. Neera Tanden, a senior Biden adviser, took to the stage and bemoaned anonymity online. The influencers alongside her agreed, pushing the idea that anonymous speech on the internet is harmful, and regulation is needed to force the use of real names on social media. The audience whispered excitedly as those on stage spoke about how proposed laws like the #kidsonlinesafetyact or #KOSA, could unmask every troll.
"This narrative of online safety, particularly in relation to children, has become central to the bipartisan effort to #censor and #deanonymize the internet for everyone. Today, a package of a dozen 'child online safety' bills is moving forward in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. The laws, framed as a way to crack down on harmful content and make the internet safer, would force social media companies to enact invasive identity verification measures in order to keep children from accessing online spaces.
"The problem is that there’s no way to reliably verify someone’s age without verifying who they are. A platform cannot magically discern that a user is 16 without collecting identifying information, whether through government documents such as a passport, payment information like a credit card, or other identity-disclosing data. Whether that data is stored by the platform itself or outsourced to a vendor, the result is always the same: A user’s offline identity is forever linked with their online behavior.
"Stripping anonymity from the internet would constitute one of the most sweeping rollbacks of civil rights in recent history. It would allow for unprecedented levels of mass surveillance and censorship, endangering the most marginalized members of society. #Whistleblowers exposing #corporate wrongdoing could be tracked and fired, #GovernmentEmployees speaking out about illegal behavior or bad policies could face prosecution, and #activists #OrganizingProtests could be identified and surveilled before ever setting foot on the street.
"Already, the U.S. government is flooding social media platforms with subpoenas seeking to unmask hundreds of anonymously run #AntiICE social media accounts. These laws would make it all the more easier for the government to target and prosecute those who dissent.
Vulnerable members of society will suffer most. #TransPeople under attack from the government could be identified and outed without their consent."Undocumented #immigrants could be cut off from the ability to communicate and connect with advocates. Young people seeking #abortions in states with restrictive laws might no longer have the ability to access information safely and anonymously.
"Not only will a de-anonymized internet be valuable to the government as it seeks to tighten control, it will also make it easier for any #corporation or bad actor to intimidate, #blackmail, or exploit people by leveraging their own data against them."
Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/05/kosa-online-age-verification-free-speech-privacy/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/al8if#USPol #Orwellian #BigBrother #SurveillanceState #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism #BigBrotherIsWatchingYou
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#ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next
ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, monthslong expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.
February 10, 2026
Excerpt: "As of January, ICE’s expansion is heavily concentrated in a few key states. #Texas has at least 9 leasing projects underway. In #Harlingen, located near the US border with Mexico, a lease has been awarded at 222 East Van Buren, in the same building as the city’s Department of Labor–aligned outpost. (ICE has already detained dozens of Harlingen-area residents.) In the #Woodlands, a district near #Houston, ICE appears poised to move into an office building at 1780 Hughes Landing Boulevard, blocks away from a Primrose preschool. In #ElPaso, ICE is moving into the Epicenter Office Community, a large campus of buildings right off Interstate 10 near many local health providers and other businesses. In #SanAntonio, ICE is considering a move into a building located at 15727 Anthem Parkway, near apartment buildings, dozens of restaurants, and the Methodist Hospital Landmark. In #EaglePass, ICE appears to be looking at a move into a building at 3381 US Highway 277, where at least one government office—the Drug Enforcement Administration—is already located.
"A Trump administration official recently told WIRED that #California and #NewYork are 'next' for the type of fraud investigation that culminated in 3,000 ICE agents in Minneapolis. At least seven leasing projects are underway in California. In #Sacramento, ICE has installed security features at the John E. Moss building ahead of further expansion. The location is already the site of a Justice Department immigration court. In Irvine, a city in Orange County located an hour’s drive from #LosAngeles, ICE is moving into offices on 2020 Main Street, located right next to the airport and a childcare agency. In #VanNuys, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, ICE is expanding its offices at the James C. Corman federal building that also has offices for the IRS and Health and Human Services. Further expansion of ICE offices is also underway throughout the state, in federal buildings in Los Angeles, at San Diego’s Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and federal building, and in Santa Ana’s federal building. The #SantaAna federal building is located within blocks of a church, the stadium for one of the nation's top high school football programs, and many government services.
"In New York and #NewJersey, ICE is expanding its physical footprint rapidly. In #RoselandNJ, less than an hour’s drive from New York City, ICE is moving into a building at 5 Becker Farm Road. The building is located near the Roseland Child Development Center. In #WoodburyNY, a hamlet in #LongIsland, ICE is moving into offices located at 88 Froehlich Farm Boulevard, near an expedited passport center. In #NewWindsor, New York, a town within driving distance of New York City along the Hudson River known for the Storm King Art Center, ICE is moving into offices at 843 Union Avenue. All three of these locations are within an hour and a half from a warehouse in #ChesterNY, that DHS is pursuing as an immigrant detention center.
"The same pattern plays out in dozens of other cities across the US. ICE’s expansion includes not just its own preexisting space—or sharing an office with other government agencies—but also situates its agents near sensitive civilian locations.
"That often includes places of worship. In #Hyattsville, Maryland, ICE is expanding its offices at the Metro 1 building on 6505 Belcrest Road, which sits a few blocks from a Lutheran church. In #Tennessee, OPLA is planning to move into the #Nashville House office building, a business center in the city near multiple churches. The #OneCityCenter building in #PortlandME, where ICE plans to expand its offices, is within walking distance to at least six churches, a mosque, one synagogue, and a Salvation Army adult rehab center. [Good to know. We'll be there protesting!]
"Several planned ICE office spaces are located near schools and early-childhood care centers. ICE is poised to move into a building on 1000 Westlakes Drive in the #Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, suburb of #Berwyn; the Hillside Elementary School is about a mile away. In #Hartford, Connecticut, OPLA is poised to expand existing ICE office space in the Abraham A. Ribicoff federal building, which sits two blocks from the Betances elementary school. Back in Tennessee, ICE is ready to move into offices at 5904 Ridgeway Center Parkway in Memphis, in a building near the private all-girls Hutchison School. In the #ColumbusOH, suburb of #Westerville, OPLA appears ready to move into a small office building at 774 Park Meadow, near the Oakstone Academy High School. In #MeridianID ICE is moving into the Portico at Meridian Center, which is located near the Spalding STEM Academy high school. And in #OakbrookIL, a suburb of #Chicago, ICE is moving into the Oakbrook Gateway, an office building located near both a Bright Horizons daycare center and a hospice center.
"Many other planned locations are near hospitals and medical offices. In #YorkPA, ICE’s OPLA division has leased space at Yorktowne Medical, a facility with multiple medical offices. In #ColumbiaSC, ICE is poised to move into offices at 1441 Main Street, which sits blocks away from the Prisma Health Baptist Hospital. In #NaplesFL, ICE is poised to move into offices at 75 Vineyards Boulevard, close to Physicians Regional Pine Ridge campus hospital.
"Other locations appear to be strategically situated near buildings that ICE either currently uses or could use to detain immigrants. The #Hyattsville location is about an hour and a half from a warehouse DHS recently purchased that ICE has said will be used to detain immigrants, as is a second office marked for OPLA use in #CockeysvilleMD.
"Among the many ICE leasing projects underway in Florida is Research Commons, a building located in #Orlando at 12249 Science Drive that’s less than 25 minutes away from another warehouse identified by the Post as a potential large-scale detention center. The York, #Pennsylvania, location is also an hour and 20 minutes away from a warehouse recently purchased by ICE for nearly $90 million that a Republican congressman said will be used as a processing and immigrant detention facility.
"In Alexandria, Louisiana, ICE is moving into a building on 1201 3rd Street, located right in the city’s historic downtown center and a 16-minute drive from the Alexandria Staging Facility, where immigrants have been detained, transferred, and then deported.
"#AlexandriaLA has emerged as a key location for ICE’s activities in the state and around the country, and an investigation from The Guardian alleged a pattern of abuse and alleged due process violations at the Alexandria facility that’s operated as a deportation 'hub.'
"This is just a sampling of the dozens and dozens of lease locations in the process of being awarded to ICE in every single GSA leasing region, which spans the entire country and US territories. ICE agents and officers will share buildings with doctors, restaurants, and businesses. They’ll expand existing offices and move in with unrelated government agencies—at 801 Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for example, they’ll share space with the DMV."
Read more:
https://www.wired.com/story/ice-expansion-across-us-at-heres-where-its-going-next/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/BQfRW#USPol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #BorderPatrol #MurderPatrol #DetentionCenters #ICERaids #Terrorism #ICESucks #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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“De Facto #Dictatorship”: Democrats Confront #ICE, #CBP Officials on Brutal Tactics
#DemocracyNow, February 11, 2026
"House Democrats grilled the heads of ICE, CBP and USCIS at a hearing Tuesday over their role in the Trump administration’s brutal campaign to carry out #MassDeportations. 'These three directors are responsible for what we are seeing around the country, whether it’s in detention, whether it’s in the streets or even in the courts,' says Illinois Congressmember #DeliaRamirez, who is calling for her fellow Democrats to suspend funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless Republicans agree to their demands to rein in federal immigration agents. We play excerpts from Ramirez and other representatives’ remarks about the killings of U.S. citizens #ReneeGood and #AlexPretti in Minneapolis, the deaths of #immigrants in ICE custody and the fear and terror experienced by civilians confronted daily by masked federal agents. 'This is more than #authoritarianism. This is a de facto dictatorship,' says Texas Congressmember #AlGreen, who also spoke at the hearing."
Read / watch / listen:
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/11/ice_congress#USPol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #BorderPatrol #MurderPatrol #DetentionCenters #ICERaids #Terrorism #ViewerSupportedNews #ICESucks #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#OglalaLakota President Refuses #ICE Manipulation and Deal -- as Three #Lakota Remain #Disappeared at #FortSnelling
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Jan. 15, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "ICE's violence continued on Wednesday night with another #ICEShooting. Three #Lakotas arrested by ICE remain disappeared at Fort Snelling, the long time site of the genocide of #Dakota people.
"In the search for the three disappeared Lakotas, Oglala Lakota President #FrankStarComesOut says he refuses to cut a deal with ICE, which ICE is demanding to release more information.
"Meanwhile, a whistleblower has leaked the secret ICE operations underway -- including the targeting of #activists, recruiting informants in jail, and 'Operation A' exploiting migrants for intelligence.
"Both the #TohonoOodham Nation government, and #Navajo President #BuuNygren, play roles by recruiting and promoting ICE agents."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/oglala-lakota-president-refuses-ice.html#ICESucks #ReadersupportedNews #ResistICE #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#OglalaLakota President Refuses #ICE Manipulation and Deal -- as Three #Lakota Remain #Disappeared at #FortSnelling
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Jan. 15, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "ICE's violence continued on Wednesday night with another #ICEShooting. Three #Lakotas arrested by ICE remain disappeared at Fort Snelling, the long time site of the genocide of #Dakota people.
"In the search for the three disappeared Lakotas, Oglala Lakota President #FrankStarComesOut says he refuses to cut a deal with ICE, which ICE is demanding to release more information.
"Meanwhile, a whistleblower has leaked the secret ICE operations underway -- including the targeting of #activists, recruiting informants in jail, and 'Operation A' exploiting migrants for intelligence.
"Both the #TohonoOodham Nation government, and #Navajo President #BuuNygren, play roles by recruiting and promoting ICE agents."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/oglala-lakota-president-refuses-ice.html#ICESucks #ReadersupportedNews #ResistICE #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#OglalaLakota President Refuses #ICE Manipulation and Deal -- as Three #Lakota Remain #Disappeared at #FortSnelling
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Jan. 15, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "ICE's violence continued on Wednesday night with another #ICEShooting. Three #Lakotas arrested by ICE remain disappeared at Fort Snelling, the long time site of the genocide of #Dakota people.
"In the search for the three disappeared Lakotas, Oglala Lakota President #FrankStarComesOut says he refuses to cut a deal with ICE, which ICE is demanding to release more information.
"Meanwhile, a whistleblower has leaked the secret ICE operations underway -- including the targeting of #activists, recruiting informants in jail, and 'Operation A' exploiting migrants for intelligence.
"Both the #TohonoOodham Nation government, and #Navajo President #BuuNygren, play roles by recruiting and promoting ICE agents."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/oglala-lakota-president-refuses-ice.html#ICESucks #ReadersupportedNews #ResistICE #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#OglalaLakota President Refuses #ICE Manipulation and Deal -- as Three #Lakota Remain #Disappeared at #FortSnelling
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Jan. 15, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "ICE's violence continued on Wednesday night with another #ICEShooting. Three #Lakotas arrested by ICE remain disappeared at Fort Snelling, the long time site of the genocide of #Dakota people.
"In the search for the three disappeared Lakotas, Oglala Lakota President #FrankStarComesOut says he refuses to cut a deal with ICE, which ICE is demanding to release more information.
"Meanwhile, a whistleblower has leaked the secret ICE operations underway -- including the targeting of #activists, recruiting informants in jail, and 'Operation A' exploiting migrants for intelligence.
"Both the #TohonoOodham Nation government, and #Navajo President #BuuNygren, play roles by recruiting and promoting ICE agents."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/oglala-lakota-president-refuses-ice.html#ICESucks #ReadersupportedNews #ResistICE #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#OglalaLakota President Refuses #ICE Manipulation and Deal -- as Three #Lakota Remain #Disappeared at #FortSnelling
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, Jan. 15, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS -- "ICE's violence continued on Wednesday night with another #ICEShooting. Three #Lakotas arrested by ICE remain disappeared at Fort Snelling, the long time site of the genocide of #Dakota people.
"In the search for the three disappeared Lakotas, Oglala Lakota President #FrankStarComesOut says he refuses to cut a deal with ICE, which ICE is demanding to release more information.
"Meanwhile, a whistleblower has leaked the secret ICE operations underway -- including the targeting of #activists, recruiting informants in jail, and 'Operation A' exploiting migrants for intelligence.
"Both the #TohonoOodham Nation government, and #Navajo President #BuuNygren, play roles by recruiting and promoting ICE agents."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/01/oglala-lakota-president-refuses-ice.html#ICESucks #ReadersupportedNews #ResistICE #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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Texas A&M is banning #Plato, citing his “#GenderIdeology.”
Brittany Allen January 12, 2026
"Today, Texas A&M resumes classes for the spring semester—but a number of canonized texts will not be welcomed back to school. The public research university has lately been caught in the crossfire between state and stupid.
As The Texas Tribune has reported, faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences were informed just last week that 'a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender' is set to take effect today.
The policy, engineered and approved by the Texas A&M University Regents last November, requires that the school’s president sign off on every syllabus with an eye to scrubbing 'problematic' content. But the foes were loosely framed.
Under the new restrictions, gender ideology is defined as 'a concept of self-assessed #GenderIdentity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex.' Race ideology entails 'attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity' or anything that 'promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction.'
As a European history professor pointed out at the time, this wording could effectively prohibit a professor from teaching about the Holocaust.
The regents used AI analysis software to audit syllabi for unapproved content. Thanks to this rude mech, 200 courses have been cancelled, stripped of core curricular credit value, or forced into revision.
The hammer came down over the weekend for assorted religion, film, ethnic studies, sociology, communications, and literature classes. And in a truly-beyond-parody move, a philosophy professor, Martin Peterson, was told to 'either remove ‘modules on race and gender ideology' ' from his course, or be reassigned to teach a different class entirely.
Most philosophy nerds will recognize the 'gender ideology' readings in question, which are lifted from the Symposium. The university apparently quibbled with Plato’s reference the the 'Myth of #Androgyne,' in which #Aristophanes describes three genders.
Most musical theatre nerds will also catch the reference—the same myth was called up in #JohnCameronMitchell and #StephenTrask’s epic ballad, 'The Origin of Love,”'from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Even as we note the rise of smoothbrain rhetoric sea to sea, the fact that Plato has been deemed inappropriate for an Introduction to Philosophy course is a surreal escalation of terms.
Meanwhile, A&M students are set to be deprived of so much recent world. Including but not limited to 'literature with major plot lines that concern #gay, #lesbian or #transgender identities,' #feminist and #queer film, or #race and #ethnicity as a subject…fullstop.
As Abby Monteil at them reports, these curricular restrictions have all trickled down from the Trump administration, which continues to dangle federal funding as a carrot for universities compliant with its agenda. We simply hate to see it.
As you go about your reading today, pour one out for the Aggies."
Source:
https://lithub.com/texas-am-is-banning-plato-citing-his-gender-ideology/#USPol #Censorship #AncientHistory #Philosophy #Philosopher #GBLTQ #History #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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When Universities Become Informants
A practice from the #McCarthy era makes an ugly return.
By Judith Butler September 13, 2025
"On September 4, I received an email from the #UniversityOfCalifornia at #Berkeley’s chief legal counsel, David Robinson, informing me that my name has been handed over to the #Trump administration in a file containing allegations of antisemitism. A few days later, I discovered that the university had sent a list of 160 names to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The list includes the names of students, staff, and faculty who may well suffer serious consequences, including the loss of jobs, expulsion, #deportation, or harassment. This was a shock for many of us who believed that Berkeley is a university where one can expect support for freedom of expression and guarantees of fair procedure.
"Antisemitism must be unequivocally opposed along with every other form of racism, but there are campus protocols for investigating such allegations that ensure fairness and which, in this instance, were suspended by the administration. Moreover, it is important to consider which definition of antisemitism is at work. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which the Trump administration accepts, is overbroad, often equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. It acts as a cudgel against freedom of expression and dissent."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/RK0K2#selection-2651.0-2657.54#ExhumingMcCarthy #McCarthyism #Censorship #Fascism #UCBerkeley #AmericanUniversities #Capitulation #SilencingDissent #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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New 'Thought Policing' Bill May Let #Rubio Strip #Passports from #USCitizens Over Political Speech | Common Dreams
Stephen Prager
Sep 13, 2025"#FreeSpeech advocates are sounding the alarm about a bill in the US House of Representatives that they fear could allow Secretary of State #MarcoRubio to strip US citizens of their passports based purely on political speech.
"The bill, introduced by Rep. #BrianMast (R-Fla.), will come up for a hearing on Wednesday. According to The Intercept:
:Mast’s new bill claims to target a narrow set of people. One section grants the secretary of state the power to revoke or refuse to issue passports for people who have been convicted—or merely charged—of material support for terrorism...
"The other section sidesteps the legal process entirely. Rather, the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine 'has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.'
"Rubio has previously boasted of stripping the visas and green cards from several immigrants based purely on their peaceful expression of #ProPalestine views, describing them as '#Hamas supporters.'
"These include Columbia protest leader #MahmoudKhalil, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) after Rubio voided his green card; and #RumeysaOzturk, the Tufts student whose visa Rubio revoked after she co-wrote an op-ed calling for her school to divest from #Israel.
"Mast—a former soldier for the #IsraelDefenseForces who once stated that babies were 'not innocent Palestinian civilians' — has previously called for 'kicking terrorist sympathizers out of our country,' speaking about the Trump administration’s attempts to deport Khalil, who was never convicted or even charged with support for a terrorist group.
"Critics have argued that the bill has little reason to exist other than to allow the Secretary of State to unilaterally strip passports from people without them actually having been convicted of a crime."
Read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-thought-policing-bill#ThoughtPolice #Orwellian #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #FreeMahmoud #FreeRumeysa #WaterProtectors #FreePalestine #LandDefenders #SilencingDissent #Fasicsm #Authoritarianism
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#Protesters in #SouthFlorida to fight back against state orders to remove #RainbowCrosswalks
Walter Murphy, August 25, 2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — "Protesters are expected to hit the streets of South Florida Monday to fight back against state orders to remove rainbow crosswalks in places like #FortLauderdale, #MiamiBeach and #KeyWest.
"Four crosswalks in Fort Lauderdale are in the crosshairs of the Florida Department of Transportation.
"The state recently sent the city a non-compliance letter, demanding the different designs and murals be removed.
" 'It’s an attempt to try to erase the presence of anything to do with the #LGBTQCommunity,' Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said.
"The state sent similar letters to Miami Beach, Key West and #DelrayBeach, citing safety issues, but Trantalis says it has nothing to do with safety.
" 'It could be the gay community this year -- who knows what’s going to be next year,' he said. 'We don’t know where they are going to keep trying to eliminate the diversity of what represents Florida.'
"Two of the crosswalks in Fort Lauderdale on the state’s list are along Breakers Avenue at Terramar and Riomar streets.
"Another one is at East Las Olas Boulevard and Almond Avenue, and the final one is at Sebastian Street along A1A.
"That will be the site of one of two demonstrations against #FDOT’s order set for Monday night.
"Both protests were organized by #EricSwanson, who is better known as #MissBouvèé.
" 'A crosswalk doesn’t define us,' Miss. Bouvèé said. 'It’s the principle of the fact (that) it symbolizes a safe space for us.'
" 'I am outraged by the State of Florida’s decision to forcefully remove #PrideCrosswalks — symbols of love, support, and unity in our communities,' Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Thursday.
" 'These vibrant installations are more than paint on pavement. They reflect the values we hold dear in Miami-Dade: respect, appreciation of fellow neighbors, and the fundamental right to live and love openly,' she said in a statement.
"The warnings to communities across Florida come after last week’s removal of a rainbow-colored crossing marking the 2016 massacre outside the #PulseNightclub in #Orlando, where 49 people were gunned down. It was painted over in the middle of the night by work crews, but has since been restored by a group of demonstrators."
"The issue has been simmering since a July 1 directive from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who gave U.S. governors 60 days to identify what he called safety improvements.
" 'Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,' Duffy said in a statement at the time.
"The Federal Highway Administration said in a statement Friday to The Associated Press that Duffy 'has made every state receiving federal dollars responsible for identifying hazards on their roads.'
:Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday amplified those comments, saying on X: 'We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.'
"A statement from FDOT said the agency has a duty 'to ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems.'
" 'That means ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests,' it said.
Efforts to remove the crosswalks are 'clearly an #AntiLGBTQ push on behalf of both the federal government and the copycat version from the state government,' said Rand Hoch, founder of the Palm Beach County #HumanRights Council.
" 'They’re basically blackmailing municipalities, counties and states by saying if you don’t do this, we’re going to withhold funding,' Hoch said. 'It’s absolutely ridiculous.'
"It is unclear whether other states and communities outside Florida are being ordered to remove rainbow crossings, but Florida is often the vanguard nationwide in fights over what some call the culture wars of politics. Those include battles over the removal of #LibraryBooks deemed inappropriate by #DeSantis and other Republicans.
"In Key West, state transportation officials said that if pavement markings in its historic downtown aren’t removed by Sept. 3, 'the Florida Department of Transportation will remove them by any appropriate method necessary without further notice.' In a letter to Key West’s city manager, federal authorities also threatened the 'immediate withholding' of state funds if it finds 'additional violations.'
"The Aug. 15 letter to Key West leaders said that many local communities in Florida 'immediately began undertaking actions to ensure compliance.' It did not specify how many communities have cooperated or what steps they have taken.
"Miami Beach has also been ordered to remove its rainbow crosswalk on Ocean Drive by the first week of September."
#DeSantisSucks #GBLTQIntolerance #GBLTQErasure #CharacteristicsOfFascism #FascismInTheUSA #USPol #FloridaPol #TrumpIsAFascist #TrumpIsABully
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#MAGA really wants it to be legal to burn a #PrideFlag, while Trump wants jail for #AmericanFlag burners
by Josh Marcus
Tue, August 26, 2025Excerpt: "Trump supporters, as well as the president himself, have been accused of desecrating the American flag in other ways.
"During the January 6 insurrection, Trump supporters replaced an American flag at the U.S. Capitol with a Trump flag, and one protester used Old Glory as a weapon against police officers.
"At the White House, the administration has replaced Hillary Clinton’s first lady portrait with a painting imposing Donald Trump’s face over the American flag.
"On the 2020 campaign trail, meanwhile, Trump replaced the American flag with the police-themed Thin Blue Line flag at rallies."
Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/maga-really-wants-legal-burn-212638395.html#USPol #MAGADeathCult #TrumpIsAFascist #GBLTQIntolerance #CharacteristicsOfFascism
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#Oklahoma court clarifies #RiotLaw amid legal battle for 2020 #protesters
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has clarified the state's definition of rioting, affecting the legal proceedings for five protesters charged in 2020.
Jason Burger, July 18, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY — "The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has clarified the state's definition of rioting, impacting the legal proceedings for five individuals charged after a protest in 2020 over the death of #GeorgeFloyd.
"In 2020, five protesters were accused of blocking the path of an officer while painting a #mural outside the police department.
" 'The defendants, who were convicted in the state of Oklahoma, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, saying their free speech rights were violated by being forced to plead or go to trial,' said legal expert Ed Blau. 'What this opinion from the court of criminal appeals did was clarify to the federal court that covers Oklahoma — exactly what Oklahoma statutes mean when it comes to rioting.'
The protesters believed the law was vague or improperly defined."
#ProtestLawsOklahoma #VagueLaws #FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #ACAB #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #GeorgeFloydProtests #BLM #ICantBreathe #BlackLivesMatter -
Because an educated populace might not fall for #fascism and #AuthoritarianRule!
#Trump Finds a New Way to Attack Education: Cutting Aid for #Students Who Are Parents
The Trump administration proposed eliminating #CCAMPIS, a vital child care program for LowerIncome parenting students.
by Jessica Washington, May 28 2025
Original article:
https://theintercept.com/2025/05/28/trump-aid-student-parents-college-child-care/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/0ttW8#TrumpHatesThePoor #TrumpIsDumbingUsDown #MAGA #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LearnToBeASerf #USPol #MadKingTrump #NoKings
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Congressional Analysis: #GOP Tax Gifts to #Rich Would Explode Deficit They Always Complain About
"This bill gives enormous additional tax cuts to wealthy people and corporations, spikes the deficit, and strips healthcare from millions of Americans," said one critic.
Jessica Corbett
May 13, 2025Excerpt: " 'Reckless tax cuts for the top and new corporate loopholes appear to be the big features of this bill, and they're paid for by cutting our healthcare and making American communities more vulnerable to floods, fires, and storms,' she stressed. 'The revenue raisers—which don't stop this from being extremely expensive—seem to be about picking winners and losers, rather than passing rational, consistent policies.' "
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-reconciliation-package
#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #TaxBreaksForTheRich #CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture -
What’s in Trump’s big bill? Trillions in tax cuts, changes to Medicaid and more
By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
Updated 8:21 PM EDT, May 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — "#Republicans in Congress are moving with rapid speed to advance President Donald Trump’s big bill of #TaxBreaks, #SpendingCuts and beefed-up border security funding as leaders work to enact many of his campaign promises.
"House committees have been laboring for months to draft the legislation, which Republicans have labeled 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' a nod to Trump himself. Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing to approve the package and send it to the Senate by Memorial Day.
"Democrats say they will fight what House party leader #HakeemJeffries calls 'this extreme and toxic bill.' "
https://apnews.com/article/trump-tax-cuts-bill-medicaid-work-requirements-17cbde167f3b434e925a199c3253b8e1#BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #StudentLoans #Medicaid #TaxBreaksForTheRich
#CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
#WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
#MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor
#AntiLife #Greenpeace
#Indivisible #FreePalestine
#CREW #PeaceAndJustice
#Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent
#USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495
#TaxPackage #Authoritarianism
#AuthoritarianRule
#FightForTheFuture
#Section112209 -
This is what I sent to Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King...
Dear Senator Collins / King, I beg you to vote "no" on Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." The passing of this will hurt many Mainers, and could impact Maine non-profits (Section 112209). Many Mainers are already struggling to pay their bills, and putting more of a burden on them, while giving tax breaks to the rich is unfair to working and disabled Mainers. Thank you.
#HR9495 #BigBeautifulBill #BigUglyTaxBill #ToxicBill #Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
#TrumpHatesThePoor #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy
#CharacteristicsOfFascism
#SilencingDissent #USPol
#HR9495 #TaxPackage
#Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture
#Section112209 -
House Republicans look to help Trump strip tax-exempt status of nonprofits he says support terrorism
By ALEXA ST. JOHN and MATTHEW DALY
Updated 1:37 PM EDT, May 13, 2025WASHINGTON (AP) — "A proposal by Republicans in Congress would allow President Donald Trump’s administration to remove the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that it says support #terrorism, creating what some #nonprofits say is an arbitrary standard to financially punish #charities that advocate for issues that don’t align with his agenda.
"Unusual language added Monday to a reconciliation bill from the House Ways and Means Committee — the tax-writing committee — would allow for terminating the tax-exempt status of groups the administration deems 'terrorist supporting organizations.' The language mirrors a bill from the last Congress that passed in the House but did not pass the Senate.
"The definition and criteria for determining whether or how an organization supports terrorism are unclear. The bill also targets nonprofits in other ways, echoing complaints by Trump, who has called the tax-exempt status a 'privilege' that has been 'abused.' Trump has threatened to revoke tax-exempt status for groups that don’t abide by his directives or agree with his views."
[...]
"Michelle Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, which represents hundreds of former scientists and regulators, said last month 'we all pay the price' when charitable organizations are silenced based on politics.
"For example, the move to revoke #TaxExempt status could choke off funding for groups that urge greater action to promote clean air, water and land, work to help communities most affected by industrial pollution and advocate for projects and policies to combat #ClimateChange — among other issues.
" 'It threatens the rights, health, and future of every community,' Roos said in a statement.
Last month, Trump said he could target environmental groups and the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."
#Environment #Ethics #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #MAGADeathCult #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment #TrumpHatesThePoor #AntiLife #Greenpeace #Indivisible #FreePalestine #CREW #PeaceAndJustice #CorporatePolluters #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #StopHR9495 #FightForTheFuture #Section112209
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From 2024: #HumanRightsWatch - #Venezuela: Brutal #Crackdown on #Protesters, Voters
Killings, #MassArrests Following Elections
(Bogota) – "Venezuelan authorities are committing widespread #HumanRights violations against #protesters, #bystanders, #opposition leaders, and critics following the July 28, 2024, presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Concerned governments should push for independent verification of the electoral results and support international efforts to ensure accountability.
"International observers have raised serious concerns about the July 29 announcement by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) that #NicolásMaduro had been re-elected president. Following the announcement, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, in largely peaceful protests, to demand a fair counting of the votes. Human Rights Watch has documented that Venezuelan authorities and #ProGovernment armed groups known as '#colectivos' have committed widespread abuses, including killings, arbitrary detention and prosecution, and harassment of critics. On September 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against opposition candidate #EdmundoGonzález for '#conspiracy,' 'incitement to #disobedience' and other crimes.
" 'The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,' said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. 'Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected.'
"Venezuelans voted in the presidential election in large numbers, despite irregular government actions and human rights violations in the lead-up to the election, including arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and restrictions on Venezuelans #voting abroad. Several hours after polls closed, Venezuela’s electoral council declared that Maduro had won the election with over 51 percent of the vote. The Electoral Council has not released the tally sheets from the election, nor conducted the audits and citizen verification processes required by law.
"The United Nations Electoral Technical Team and the #CarterCenter, which observed the elections, said the process lacked transparency and integrity, and questioned the declared result. They indicated that, instead, the precinct-level tally sheets that the opposition made public were reliable. The Carter Center noted that the tally sheets showed, with 81 percent of the votes counted, that #González had won the election by a significant margin.
"Venezuelans have taken to the streets across the country, particularly in low-income areas traditionally supportive of the Chavismo movement, where many incidents of #repression have taken place.
"Human Rights Watch received credible reports of 24 killings in the context of #protests from independent local groups, including Foro Penal, Justicia Encuentro y Perdón, Monitor de Víctimas, and Provea, or discovered them on social media. Human Rights Watch independently documented 11 of these cases, including by reviewing death certificates, verifying videos and photographs, and interviewing 20 people, including witnesses and other local sources. Many relatives, witnesses, and others were not willing to be interviewed because they feared #GovernmentRetaliation.
"Human Rights Watch analyzed and verified 39 videos and 2 photographs of protests found on social media platforms or sent directly to researchers by people close to the victims, and by local organizations and journalists.
"Researchers confirmed the exact locations where these videos were filmed; used information such as shadows, weather patterns, and upload dates to determine the time of day; and consulted with forensic pathologists and arms experts, who analyzed the injuries and weapons that were seen and heard.
"According to Venezuelan authorities, they arrested over 2,400 people in connection with protests. The local pro bono group #ForoPenal recorded over 1,580 '#PoliticalPrisoners' who have been arrested since July 29, including 114 children. Prosecutors have charged hundreds with sometimes broadly defined crimes carrying harsh sentences, such as '#incitement to hatred,' '#resistance to #authority,' and 'terrorism.'
"The government has also intensified its broader repressive tactics, cancelling passports of critics to prevent them from leaving the country, encouraging citizens to report on #demonstrators, and conducting abusive #raids, especially in low-income communities. On August 15, Maduro’s supporters in the National Assembly passed a law that grants the government #BroadPowers to control and shut down nongovernmental organizations [#NGOs]."
Read more:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/04/venezuela-brutal-crackdown-protesters-voters#ElectionFraud #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Crackdown #CriminalizingDissent #protesters #Protesting #BogusCharges #Murder
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State by State Pending and recently passed #AntiProtestLaws: #Utah
SB 173: Criminal penalties for protests that disturb legislative or other government meetings
Creates new potential penalties for individuals protesting convenings of the legislature or other meetings of government officials. The law expands "disorderly conduct" to include a person who recklessly causes public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm by making "unreasonable noises" at an official meeting or in a private place that can be heard at an official meeting. "#DisorderlyConduct" also includes obstructing #PedestrianTraffic at an official meeting or refusing to leave an official meeting when asked by law enforcement. The law also increases the penalty for disorderly conduct, such that it is punishable by a $750 fine on the first offense (an infraction), up to 3 months in jail if a person was warned to cease prohibited conduct (Class C misdemeanor), up to 6 months for a second offense (Class B misdemeanor), and up to 1 year for a third offense (Class A misdemeanor). Accordingly, the law could, for example, be used to penalize silent protesters who refuse to leave a legislative committee meeting. An earlier version of the bill explicitly made it unlawful to commit even a "single, loud outburst, absent other disruptive conduct, that does not exceed five seconds in length."
Full text of bill:
https://le.utah.gov/~2020/bills/static/SB0173.htmlStatus: enacted
Introduced 24 Feb 2020; Approved by Senate 5 March 2020; Approved by House 12 March 2020; Signed by Governor 30 March 2020
HB 370: New Penalties for Protests Near #Pipelines, #Roadways, and other #Infrastructure
**Note: This bill was amended prior to its passage, and provisions that would have covered peaceful protest activity were significantly narrowed.** As introduced, the bill would have created new potential criminal liability for protesters in many locations by criminalizing acts that "inhibit" or "impede" critical infrastructure facilities. The bill's original text had a sweeping definition of "critical infrastructure facility" that included highways, bridges, transportation systems, food distribution systems, law enforcement response systems, financial systems, and energy infrastructure including pipelines--whether under construction or operational. The bill created a new felony offense for "inhibiting," or "impeding" the facility, its equipment, or operation, such that protesters who intentionally inhibited or impeded the operation of a roadway or construction of a pipeline could have faced life in prison. Amendments to the bill substantially narrowed the offense, however. The enacted law criminalizes "substantially... inhibiting or impeding" the operation of critical infrastructure only if doing so "causes widespread injury or damage to persons or property." Amendments also narrowed the definition of "critical infrastructure facility," including by removing highways, bridges, transportation systems, food distribution systems, law enforcement response systems, and financial systems from the definition.
Full text here:
https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/HB0370.htmlStatus: enacted with improvements
Introduced 3 Feb 2023; Approved by House 14 February 2023; Approved by Senate 28 February 2023; Signed by Governor Cox 14 March 2023
Issue(s): Infrastructure, #TrafficInterference
#FirstAmendment #CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AntiProtestLaws #PipelineProtests -
THIS IS BULLSHIT! (AND ILLEGAL!!!)
Pressed for evidence against #MahmoudKhalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs
By Jake Offenhartz, April 10, 2025
NEW YORK (AP) — "Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State #MarcoRubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel #noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests.
"The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student who served as spokesperson for campus activists last year during large demonstrations against #Israel’s treatment of #Palestinians and the war in #Gaza.
"Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs.
"He said that while Khalil’s activities were 'otherwise lawful,' letting him remain in the country would undermine 'U.S. policy to combat #AntiSemitism [sez the folks who do the #Nazi salute] around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.'
"'Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,' Rubio wrote in the undated memo.
"The submission was filed Wednesday after Judge Jamee Comans ordered the government to produce its evidence against Khalil ahead of a hearing Friday on whether it can continue detaining him during immigration proceedings.
"Attorneys for Khalil said the memo proved the Trump administration was 'targeting Mahmoud’s #FreeSpeech rights about #Palestine.'
"'After a month of hiding the ball since Mahmoud’s late-night unjust arrest in New York and taking him away to a remote detention center in Louisiana, immigration authorities have finally admitted that they have no case whatsoever against him,' the attorneys, Marc Van Der Hout and Johnny Sinodis, said in a joint statement. "
https://apnews.com/article/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university-trump-c60738368171289ae43177660def8d34
#TrumpIsABully #FreeMahmoudKhalil #IllegalDeportations #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Fascism #Authoritarianism #BibiIsAWarCriminal -
#HR1057: Penalties for #protesters on #InterstateHighways
"Would create steep new penalties for #protesters deemed to be 'deliberately delaying traffic,' 'standing or approaching a motor vehicle,' or 'endangering the safe movement of a motor vehicle' on an interstate highway 'with the intent to obstruct the free, convenient, and normal use of the interstate highway.' The new federal offense would be punishable by up to $10,000 and 15 years in prison—a far harsher penalty than is the case under many states' laws, which generally already criminalize walking or standing on the highway. The bill provides an exception for 'any lawful activity' authorized by federal, state, or local law. However, it could still seemingly cover far more than 'blocking' the interstate, including a #PeacefulProtest on the shoulder of an interstate or a convoy-style, driving protest that slowed traffic. The sponsor of the bill made clear that it was in response to protesters. The same bill was introduced as HR 7349 in 2024.
Status: pending
Introduced 6 Feb 2025.
Issue(s): Traffic Interference
Press release by bill sponsor Rep. #MikeCollins (GA-10):
https://collins.house.gov/media/press-releases/representative-mike-collins-reintroduces-safe-passage-interstates-actFull text of bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1057
#CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CiminalizingProtest #Section25 #JustStopOil #SlowMarch #CharacteristicsOfFascism -
#S937: Barring #StudentProtesters from #FederalLoans and #LoanForgiveness
"Would exclude student protesters from federal financial aid and loan forgiveness if they commit any crime at a campus protest. The bill would cover someone convicted of 'any offense' under 'any Federal or State law” that is “related to the individual’s conduct at and during the course of a protest' at a college or university. As such, a student convicted of even a nonviolent, state law misdemeanor at a campus protest, such as failing to disperse, would be deemed ineligible for federal student loans; they would also be ineligible for having existing federal loans forgiven, cancelled, waived or modified. The sponsor of the bill said it was a response to #ProPalestine protests at colleges and universities.
(See full text of bill here)Status: pending
Introduced 11 Mar 2025.
Issue(s): #CampusProtests, Limit on Public Benefits
Bill sponsor Sen. #TomCotton (R-Ark.):
https://www.jns.org/cotton-introduces-two-bills-targeting-rotten-culture-on-university-campuses/Full text of bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/937#CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #StudentProtests #CampusProtests #CharacteristicsOfFascism #FreePalestineProtests -
#PineAndRoses #NewEngland #DSA protests #ICEDetentions
Posted by #MaineDSA and Wes Pelletier | Mar 27, 2025
"Last week, the #MaineCoalitionForPalestine organized a protest of ICE detention of #ColumbiaUniversity student leader #MahmoudKhalil. Since then, ICE has operated as the #Trump Administration’s #SecretPolice, abducting a growing number of immigrant organizers for exercising their right to #FreeSpeech and protesting the U.S.-sponsored #genocide in #Gaza. The list includes #RumeysaOzturk, #YunseoChung, #BadarKhunSuri, #MomodouTaal, #RanjaniSrinivasan, as well as #farmworker organizer #AlfredoJuarezZerefino. Maine DSA member and Portland District 2 City Councilmember #WesPelletier spoke at the Portland Mahmoud Khalil protest and DSA chapters around New England issued a joint declaration reprinted below against the ICE abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk.
New England DSA chapters demand freedom for Rumeysa Ozturk
"Yesterday, ICE agents abducted Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student and pro-Palestine activist at Tufts.
"The kidnapping comes after almost 400 #ICEArrests in Massachusetts, as well as the #doxxing of Ozturk by the pro-Isreal website #CanaryMission.
"ICE’s abductions—of Ozturk, Khalil, and many others—is an unprecedented attack on basic #CivilRights in the name of U.S. Empire, whether those detained are peaceful #PoliticalActivists or undocumented #migrants seeking safety, jobs, and a better life.
"We must stand up against this brazen attack on #Palestine, #FreeSpeech, and the #RightToProtest.
"We must stand in solidarity with our neighbors and communities under attack from Trump, ICE, and all agents of #imperialism.
"Governor Healey, the courts, and the Democratic Party establishment are not coming to save us—we must mobilize, agitate, and organize in our workplaces and campuses to defend working-class rights.
In Solidarity,
#BerkshiresDSA, #BostonDSA, #BostonUniversityYDSA, #CapeCodDSA, #ConnecticutDSA, #MaineDSA, #NortheasternYDSA, #RiverValleyDSA, #SimmonsYDSA, #SouthernNewHampshireDSA, #UpperValleyDSA, #WorcesterDSA"
Source:
https://pineandroses.org/news/new-england-dsa-protests-ice-detentions/
#ResistICE #ResistFascism #Resistance #District13 #District13Resists #Fascism #USPol #Authoritarianism #TurReich #CharacteristicsOfFascism -
Well, here's a blast from the past... The #AlienAndSeditionActs of 1768! Embodied in the latest #Trump directive -- all done in the name of "protecting Jews" (just like the ones to "protect women"). Yeah, we can see where all this is going...
Additional Measures to Combat #AntiSemitism
EXECUTIVE ORDER
January 29, 2025"(e) In addition to identifying relevant authorities to curb or combat anti-Semitism generally required by this section, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with each other, shall include in their reports recommendations for familiarizing institutions of higher education with the grounds for inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3) so that such institutions may monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff relevant to those grounds and for ensuring that such reports about aliens lead, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism/
Alien and Sedition Acts
"The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to #immigration and #speech in the United States. The Naturalization Act of 1798 increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the #AlienFriendsAct of 1798 allowed the president to imprison and deport #NonCitizens, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 gave the president additional powers to detain non-citizens during times of war, and the Sedition Act of 1798 criminalized false and malicious statements about the federal government. The Alien Friends Act and the Sedition Act expired after a set number of years, and the Naturalization Act was repealed in 1802. The Alien Enemies Act, as amended, is still in effect as 50 U.S.C. ch. 3.
"The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by a Congress controlled by the Federalist Party, and they were directed against the other party at the time, against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. Only Democratic-Republican journalists were prosecuted by these laws. Publicity from Sedition Act trials caused massive criticism and contributed to the Federalists being removed from power in the 1800 election.
"The Acts were supported by the Federalist Party, and supporters argued that the bills strengthened national security during the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war with France from 1798 to 1800. The acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans as suppression of voters and violation of free speech under the First Amendment. While they were in effect, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Sedition Act in particular, were used to suppress publishers affiliated with the Democratic-Republicans, and several publishers were arrested for criticism of the Adams administration. The Democratic-Republicans took power in 1800 because of backlash to the Alien and Sedition Acts, and all but the Alien Enemies Act were eliminated by the next Congress.
"The #AlienEnemiesAct has been invoked several times since, particularly during World War II by President Roosevelt. These laws were used to imprison over tens of thousands of #noncitizens of #German, #Italian, and #Japanese descent, all known as 'Enemy Aliens.'
"The Alien and Sedition Acts are generally received negatively by modern historians. The U.S. Supreme Court beginning in the mid-20th century has indicated that aspects of the laws would likely be found unconstitutional. Recently, the Alien Enemies Act was mentioned by President-elect Donald Trump during a campaign rally held at Madison Square Garden for the 2024 presidential election, claiming that he would use them to remove illegal immigrants operating within gangs and criminal networks on "day one" if he were to win the presidency by invoking the acts. After being sworn in as President on January 20, 2025, he mentioned it again during his inaugural address."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts
#Censorship #SilencingDissent #SilencingCritics #FreeSpeech #Palestine #Israel #IsraeliWarCrimes #SeditionAct #Colonialism #ResistFascism #USInternmentCamps #Gitmo #Immigrants #IsIt1768Again? #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Sedition