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#characteristicsoffascism — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #characteristicsoffascism, aggregated by home.social.

  1. 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:
    theintercept.com/2026/08/28/tr

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/4ETk2

    #FreeSpeech #AutisticiInventati #Solidarity #USPol #WorldPol #SolidarityWithAutisticiInventati #FreedomOfExpression #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Fascism #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  2. HT
    @bruces

    A single signature by #Trump can remove you from the #internet

    by di Stefania Maurizi, 31 August 2026

    Excerpt: " 'Designating a collective that has been active for over twenty years in the European civil and digital rights movement—and has always operated openly—as a terrorist organization is part of the technological war that the United States is waging against anyone who asserts autonomy over digital networks and infrastructure...' "

    ilfattoquotidiano.it/2026/08/2

    #AutisticiInventati #USPol #WorldPol #ItalyPol #Censorship #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #Trumpistan #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  3. 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:
    theintercept.com/2026/08/24/pe

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/uPwYW

    #USPol #Censorship #SiliencingDissent #SilencingThePress #NoComment #Orwellian #MinistryOfTruth #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  4. Older #StudentLoan borrowers are at risk of losing a chunk of their #SocialSecurity. There's a new bill to prevent that.

    Story by Ayelet Sheffey, August 17, 2026

    "Student-loan borrowers could lose their Social Security checks if they fall behind on their loan payments. Democratic lawmakers want to put an end to that practice.

    "On Monday, Sens. #BernieSanders, #ElizabethWarren, and #EdMarkey introduced a bill to prevent older student-loan borrowers and borrowers with disabilities from facing Social Security garnishment if they default on their payments.

    "A fact sheet of the legislation reviewed by Business Insider said that the bill would prohibit the Treasury from seizing Social Security payments, including Social Security Disability Insurance, and protect those borrowers from 'unnecessary forced collections.'

    "Sanders said in a statement that 'in the richest country in the history of the world, no senior should have their Social Security payments taken away from them to pay back student debt.'

    " 'This is especially true when seniors throughout the country already cannot afford the skyrocketing price of healthcare, prescription drugs, groceries and housing,' Sanders said. "Congress must pass this legislation.'

    "The legislation comes as student-loan defaults are at a record high. Over 9 million borrowers were in default as of March, according to the latest Education Department data, which happens when a borrower has missed payments for 270 days.

    "The New York Federal Reserve's latest household debt report showed that student-loan delinquencies stood at 10.6% in the second quarter of 2026 — up from 10.3% in the first quarter. Pre-pandemic delinquency rates were around 11%, and researchers said the latest data showed that delinquency is stabilizing. Yet researchers said that number could rise again due to the elimination of the Biden-era SAVE repayment plan, which gave borrowers affordable payments and a shorter timeline to debt relief."

    Read more:
    msn.com/en-us/news/other/older?

    #SAVEPlan #StudentLoans #USPol #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  5. #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:
    bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08

    #Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
    #CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
    #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  6. Documents show federal surveillance operation in #Minnesota targeted #progressive groups, #unions

    By TIM SULLIVAN and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
    Updated 11:02 PM EDT, August 13, 2026

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — "Federal agents launched a sweeping undercover surveillance operation earlier this year targeting progressive organizations, labor unions and other groups protesting the immigration crackdown then raging through Minneapolis, according to court documents filed Thursday.

    "The program, dubbed #OperationPuppetMaster, was aimed at what officials called a network of conspirators helping 'violent opportunists and agitators.' The documents were filed in a case involving 15 people charged by federal prosecutors in June with impeding the crackdown, accusing them of conspiring against the federal government through a range of actions, from throwing ice chunks to setting up blockades.

    "The government documents were released Thursday in connection with a motion from a defense lawyer in the case, #KevinRiach, who requested that officials disclose more material collected during the investigations.

    "The reality, according to government documents revealed in court motions, was Department of Homeland Security officers infiltrating meetings in churches, schools and parks that were often simply discussions of constitutionally protected protests.

    "A statement from the department said Homeland Security Investigations doesn’t comment on the existence or status of on-going investigations or investigative methods. The statement referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota, which didn’t immediately respond to an after-hours email from The Associated Press."

    apnews.com/article/minnesota-i

    #Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent
    #CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism
    #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  7. ‘Outrageous’: #Trump Officials Investigated #LeftWing Groups After #AlexPretti Killing in #Minneapolis

    One #FirstAmendment advocacy group called the investigation a “disturbing, invasive, and utterly unjustifiable attack on freedom of expression and political dissent.”

    Julia Conley
    Aug 13, 2026

    "The Trump administration began the probe under the auspices of investigating whether the groups had provided 'help and money,' as the Times reported, to people who had participated in protests across the #MinneapolisSaintPaul area, where tens of thousands of residents rallied against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) and defended their neighbors from immigration raids last winter.

    "Newly released government documents, which were uncovered after an attorney filed a motion with the federal District Court in Minnesota demanding information about the DHS investigation, show that the agency characterized the protesters who opposed ICE as 'violent opportunists and agitators.'

    "The investigation included #DHS’ use of administrative subpoenas to obtain financial records from #SunriseMovement, Communications Workers of America [ #CWA ], and the #SEIU, scrutinizing what the agency called 'domestic terrorist financing.' "

    commondreams.org/news/trump-le

    #Authoritarianism #Fascism #USPol #UnionBusting #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #DefundICE #DefundDHS #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  8. 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."

    Read more:
    rollingstone.com/politics/poli

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/eRg8I

    #WarOnTheLeft #USPol #Prairieland #DetentionCenters #Fascism #NSPM7 #PrairielandDefendants #Orwellian #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #Prairieland8 #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  9. She protested #ICERaids. Then agents showed up at her door

    by Meg Anderson, August 3, 2026

    "Early one morning this June, #TreasureThoreson was drinking coffee on her couch in #Minneapolis when she heard a knock at the front door.

    " 'I go and I see a woman standing there in office clothes, but with a Homeland Security vest over the top. And I see six more agents standing in my front yard,' Thoreson told NPR. "She said, 'We have a warrant for your arrest, for conspiracy.' "

    "Thoreson, a special education teacher, was still in her pajamas. The agent let her change clothes and hug her partner goodbye before taking her into custody.

    "The government charged Thoreson and 14 others with engaging in a conspiracy to impede federal agents — a conspiracy it says culminated in the use of blockades outside the Whipple Federal Building, which served as ICE's headquarters during the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota this past winter.

    "The government cited meetings and conversations on the encrypted messaging app #Signal as evidence. At the advice of her lawyer, Thoreson declined to comment on the specifics of the indictment.

    An increasing trend

    "The charges against Thoreson are part of an escalating trend. NPR reviewed court records from the last five years to examine how the federal government is wielding one specific charge: conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, which can carry a sentence of up to six years in federal prison.

    "The statute, which dates back to the Civil War, has historically been used infrequently. But since President #Trump took office last year, the Justice Department has charged more than three dozen people in at least 10 cases. All of them involve people protesting federal immigration enforcement.

    The government has also indicted nearly 50 people on #conspiracy charges in #Michigan, #Texas and #Minnesota using different legal statutes."

    Read more:
    npr.org/2026/08/03/nx-s1-58862

    #USPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #ICESucks #DefundICE #TrumpSucks #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  10. I'm not much of a beer drinker these days, but I would encourage everyone who does, and who has access to #MinocquaBrewing, BUY THEIR BEER!!! And donate to their legal fund!

    US brewery punished for promising free beer when Trump dies

    Carsen Holaday
    Thursday 30 July 2026

    "- The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is set to revoke the alcohol permit for Minocqua Brewing Company by 4 August.

    - Owner #KirkBangstad, a liberal activist, claims the move is politically motivated due to his outspoken #AntiTrump stance.

    - The brewery previously garnered attention for social media posts suggesting free beer would be offered upon the death of a prominent political figure.

    - Bangstad plans to challenge the decision, urging supporters to donate to a legal defence fund to fight the state.

    - The Department of Revenue confirmed the revocation notices for two brewery locations and an alcohol beverage warehouse, stating the business can operate during the appeal process until 4 August. "

    Read more:
    the-independent.com/life-style

    Link to defense fund:
    buy.stripe.com/7sYbIT1S090709R

    #TrumpSucks #USPol #Wisconsin #Illinois #DrinkUp #Cheers #Resistance #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  11. #ICE Arrests Surge at #Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive

    Federal agents are arresting spouses of Americans, tech workers and others whose visas have expired, including many who have active applications to stay in the country.

    By Hamed Aleaziz and Miriam Jordan
    July 28, 2026

    Excerpt: "The Trump administration has begun arresting foreign citizens with expired U.S. visas as they travel through airports, including spouses of Americans, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and interviews with immigration lawyers — a tactic that opens up a vast new pool of people for deportation.

    "Immigration agents in plain clothes have whisked away targets at check-in counters and arrival gates, with enforcement actions in at least 15 airports in recent weeks. Some of the arrests have occurred quietly, while others have happened as angry fellow passengers filmed the encounters.

    "The recent arrests appear to be an expansion of an arrangement between the Transportation Security Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Times reported in December that ICE officers were arresting people with deportation orders at airports with the help of information provided by airlines to the T.S.A.

    "Now, through a review of #HomelandSecurity Department documents and interviews with lawyers for more than 25 people from more than a dozen countries recently detained at airports, The Times has learned that the program apparently now includes people with expired visas — a much larger group.
    Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and visitors overstay visas each year. Many with expired visas occupy a legal gray area, as they are awaiting #VisaExtensions or #GreenCards and have been issued work permits. Such individuals were not prioritized for deportation in the past unless they had committed crimes, and they were rarely detained while waiting for visa extensions or green cards. But that has changed under President #Trump, whose administration has undertaken a campaign of mass deportation and views all visa overstays as illegal.

    " 'This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,' a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department said in a statement. The agency did not confirm the expansion of the program.

    "The department, which oversees ICE, has not disclosed how many people have been detained at airports as overstays under the new initiative. The arrests come during a period in which the White House has pushed ICE for more arrests across the country, and Homeland Security Secretary #MarkwayneMullin has pledged to turn 'up the heat on the streets.' To that end, the administration has set a target of 2,000 immigration arrests a day, roughly double the pace from earlier this year.

    "Interviews with more than a dozen immigration attorneys, advocacy organizations and an airline employee reveal a broad cross-section of targets: an engineer awaiting a work-visa extension, several newlyweds married to U.S. citizens, and a former au pair.

    "Footage of encounters between travelers and ICE officers have flooded social media. In one widely circulated video, Chantal Morales Rojas, a 27-year-old from Ecuador, was detained by plainclothes officers as she boarded a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Oakland, Calif., on July 20. She had been spending the weekend with the family for whom she had worked as an au pair, according to the family."

    Read more:
    nytimes.com/2026/07/28/us/ice-

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/brvNl

    #ICESucks #USPol #WorldPol #Fascism #DefundCBP #DefundICE #TSA #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  12. Oh yes. Abusing the system by paying for an #education and then paying into #SocialSecurity when they become wage earners?!! WTF!

    "Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: 'For decades, foreign students have been admitted into the US indefinitely, allowing thousands to abuse our immigration system by perpetually enrolling in courses to avoid having to leave the US.' "

    #Trump administration tightens visa rules for foreign students

    Read more:
    bbc.com/news/articles/czdmp87r

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/JxT20

    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #WorldPol #TrumpSucks #TrumpAbusesTheSystem

  13. #AntiProtestLaws: #Alabama #SB247#AntiProtest Bill

    Note: SB 247 went into effect on October 1, 2025

    Latest Update: March 27, 2025

    The #ACLU of Alabama opposes this.

    "Summary:

    Background: Senate Bill 247 prohibits protestors from organizing at or near a residence or a place of employment and using sound systems during protests at these locations. It also prohibits protestors from blocking entrances and exits to roads, places of employment, and residences. A “residence” is vaguely defined in the bill as any building that someone uses to live in while “place of employment” has no listed definition at all. The Governor’s mansion, for instance, would likely fall under the requirements for residences. Organizers could even be barred from protesting when they choose to organize in proximity to apartments or other residential areas. SB 247 would also permit municipalities to author and pass ordinances that limit the time or noise level of a protest that occurs in a residential area.

    Our Position: We oppose SB 247. The ACLU of Alabama is committed to protecting First Amendment rights. That includes defending the right to protest for individuals across the state of Alabama. Senate Bill 247 attempts to exempt public officials from hearing the grievances of Alabamians, often expressed through protest when constituents are unable to inspire action in the State House. If SB 247 passes, it would add limitations on where protesters can organize and would violate the First Amendment rights of Alabamians."

    Source:
    aclualabama.org/legislation/sb

    Link to Bill Status:
    alison.legislature.state.al.us

    #AlabamaLaw #CriminalizingDissent
    #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol

  14. 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:
    theintercept.com/2026/03/12/an

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/UFFO9

    #USPol #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #Fascism #Authoritarianism #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  15. 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:
    theintercept.com/2026/03/13/ic

    #Antifa #RadicalZines #AntiICE #PrairielandDetentionFacility #Texas #USPol #CriminalizingDissent #BlackClothes #BlackBloc #CharacteristicsOfFascism #BenjaminSong #AutumnHill #ZacharyEvetts #SavannaBatten #MeganMorris #MaricelaRueda #ElizabethSoto #InesSoto

  16. #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:
    theintercept.com/2026/03/05/ko

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/al8if

    #USPol #Orwellian #BigBrother #SurveillanceState #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism #BigBrotherIsWatchingYou

  17. #PamBondi Admits #DOJ Has a Secret #DomesticTerrorist List

    After the DOJ dodged questions for months, Bondi acknowledged in a House Judiciary Committee hearing that she had a list of targets under NPSM-7.

    Nick Turse
    February 12 2026

    Excerpt: "A November FBI internal report obtained by The Guardian revealed that there were multiple active FBI investigations related to NSPM-7 in 27 locations. The Intercept revealed on Thursday that the FBI appears to be investigating #ExtinctionRebellionNYC, a climate activism group, in an inquiry that could potentially be related to NSPM-7."

    Read more:
    theintercept.com/2026/02/12/pa

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/OArt2

    #USPol #NPSM7 #SilencingDissent #Resistance #CriminalizingDissent #Authoritarianism #Fascism #EnvironmentalGroups #ProPalestineGroups #Antifa #ExtinctionRebellion #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  18. #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:
    wired.com/story/ice-expansion-

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/BQfRW

    #USPol #DefundICE #DefundDHS #BorderPatrol #MurderPatrol #DetentionCenters #ICERaids #Terrorism #ICESucks #TrumpSucks #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  19. Why Isn’t News of #Trump Building Vast #ConcentrationCamps Being Treated as a #NationalEmergency?

    History shows us that once a nation builds a #MassDetention apparatus, it never remains limited to its original targets. Wake up, people.

    by #ThomHartmann, Feb 05, 2026

    Excerpt: "The British originated the term '#ConcentrationCamp' to describe facilities where '#rebel' or 'undesirable' civilians were held in #SouthAfrica during the #SecondAngloBoerWar (1899–1902) to control and punish a #rebellious population.

    "They were facilities where the 'bad elements of society' were 'concentrated' into one location so they could be easily controlled and would lose access to society and thus could not spread their messages of #resistance against the #BritishEmpire.

    "Future generations of Americans—our children and grandchildren—won’t ask us whether #ICE followed civil detention statutes: they’ll want to know why we allowed concentration camps to exist in America at all.

    "The Germans adopted the term in 1933 when #Hitler took power and created his first camp for #communists, #socialists, #UnioLleaders, and, by the end of the year, Hitler’s #PoliticalOpponents. They Germanized the phrase into '#Konzentrationslager' and referred to the process of their incarceration as 'protective custody.'

    "The first camp was built at #Dachau just weeks after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, and by the end of the year there were around 70 of them operating across the country."

    Read more:
    commondreams.org/opinion/why-i

    #USPol #WakeUpPeople #HistoryRepeats #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DetentionCenters
    #PrivatePrisons #CriminalizingDissent
    #SilencingDissent #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DepartmentOfHomelandInsecurity

  20. [Podcast] The return of Erik Prince - The comeback of America’s most infamous mercenary

    Nov 1st 2025

    "Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary, is back.

    "Mr Prince rose to prominence during the war on terror as the founder of #Blackwater, a private military company. The firm earned over a billion dollars providing armed personnel to various branches of the US government before becoming implicated in a number of scandals. In 2007 its contractors killed 14 Iraqi civilians, including a nine-year-old child. The massacre made Mr Prince the face of the Iraq fiasco. He sold the company and disappeared from the public eye.

    "But in recent months Mr Prince has reemerged. He has popped up in some of the most dangerous, contested places in the world, from Ukraine to Haiti to the DRC. They are places the Trump administration is interested in too.

    "For the Weekend Intelligence the Economist’s Africa Correspondent, Tom Gardner, flew to Cape Town to meet with Prince, the mercenary in CEO’s clothing. Prince is defiant after his years in the political wilderness. And he’s spying some big opportunities. The global mercenary business is on the brink of a new boom. States, across Africa and beyond, are fracturing. The international system is fraying. With UN peacekeepers drawing down, from Mali to Congo to Lebanon, mercenaries of different stripes can expect to fill the void."

    Read more / listen:
    economist.com/podcasts/2025/11

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/YYhBY

    #Blackwater
    #ErikPrinceColonialism
    #SilencingDissent
    #USPol #Project2025 #CriminalizingActivism
    #ClimateActivists #NoDAPL #Crapitalism
    #Fascism #Trump #ChristoFascist
    #CorporateFascism #SilencingDissent #ClimateActivists #Activists #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent
    #CrackdownOnProtests #AntiProtestLaws #CorporateFascism #CorporateColonialism
    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ErikPrinceColonialism #Academi #TripleCanopy #SilencingDissent #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal

  21. Make America Great Again
    #PussyRiot (2016)

    "What do you want your world to look like?
    What do you want it to be?
    Do you know that a wall has two sides?
    And nobody is free?

    Did your mama come from Mexico?
    Papa come from Palestine?
    Sneaking all through Syria?
    Crossing all the border lines?

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Could you imagine a politician calling a woman a dog?
    Do you wanna stay in the kitchen?
    Is that where you belong?
    How do you picture the perfect leader?
    How do you want him to be?
    Has he promoted the use of torture and killing families?

    Did your mama come from Mexico?
    Papa come from Palestine?
    Sneaking all through Syria?
    Crossing all the border lines?

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Did your mama come from Mexico?
    Papa come from Palestine?
    Sneaking all through Syria?
    Crossing all the border lines?

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Let the other people in
    Listen to your women
    Stop killing black children
    Make America great again

    Make America great again"

    youtube.com/watch?v=s-bKFo30o2o

    #USPol #MAGA #Trump #Fascism #FridayNightMusic #FridayNightMusicVideos #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  22. 'This Is What #Autocrats Do': Concern Grows Over Single Paragraph Buried Deep in #GOPBill

    The provision would force those challenging Trump "to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."

    Jon Queally
    May 31, 2025

    "A single paragraph buried deep in a spending bill that passed the GOP-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month is causing growing concern among democracy watchdogs who warn the provision will make it so only the well-to-do would be in a good position to launch legal challenges against a #Trump administration that has shown over and over again its disdain and disregard for oversight or judicial restraint of any kind.

    "Coming just about half-way through what President Donald Trump has dubbed the Republican Party's so-called "One #BigBeautifulBill Act"—which progressive critics point out is a giant giveaway to the nation's wealthiest at the expense of the working class and the common good—the language in question is slight, but could have far-reaching impacts.

    " 'This is what autocrats do. Consolidate power, increase the penalty for objecting, ultimately making it more difficult—eventually impossible—to challenge them.'

    "On Saturday, #HumanRightsWatch (#HRW) noted in a detailed social media thread how the provision 'hasn't gotten nearly enough scrutiny' from lawmakers or the public.

    "A recent piece by USA Today columnist Chris Brennan put it this way: 'One paragraph, on pages 562 and 563 of the 1,116-page bill, raised alarms for reasons that have nothing to do with America's budget or safety-net programs or debt. That paragraph invokes a federal rule for civil court procedures, requiring anyone seeking an injunction or temporary restraining order to block an action by the Trump administration to post a financial bond.

    " 'Want to challenge Trump? Pay up, the provision said in a way that could make it financially prohibitive for Americans to contest Trump's actions in court.

    "HRW details how the provision, if included in the final legislation, 'would make it more expensive to fight Trump's policies in court by invoking a federal rule that effectively punishes anyone willing to stand up against the administration.'

    "Anyone seeking a legal action that would involve an injunction request against a presidential order or policy, the group said, would to face a much larger barrier because Republicans would make it so that anyone challenging Trump in court in this way would 'have to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."

    Read more / listen to audio:
    www.commondreams.org/news/trump-buried-provision

    #CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #AuthoritarianRule #SilencingDissent #Fascism #BigUglyBill #BigUglyFascists

  23. 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:
    theintercept.com/2025/05/28/tr

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/0ttW8

    #TrumpHatesThePoor #TrumpIsDumbingUsDown #MAGA #CharacteristicsOfFascism #LearnToBeASerf #USPol #MadKingTrump #NoKings

  24. via @kenwhite.bsky.social‬

    "Willing to bet a very large amount that most of that 413% rise in 'assaults' on ICE agents represent unarmed people attacking ICE fists with their faces and boots with their kidneys.

    Because these people are lying scum."

    #ResistICE #Gestapo #ICESucks #ACAB #CharacteristicsOfFascism #SilencingDissent #PoliceState #Resist #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule

  25. #Trump Is Building a #GlobalGulag for #Immigrants Captured by #ICE

    The U.S. is in talks with 19 nations, including #Libya, #Kosovo, #Rwanda, and #Moldova to accept deportees from other countries.

    Nick Turse, Jonah Valdez
    May 15 2025,

    Excerpt: "In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the #GeorgeWBush administration created a worldwide network of secret prisons and torture sites as part of its global war on terror. Its crown jewel, the Guantánamo Bay detention center, was established in January 2002 as a place for the United States to hold so-called enemy combatants.

    "The U.S. government chose the U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay because it was seeking a site where neither U.S. nor international law applied — a legal black hole where they could disappear people indefinitely. Over time, Guantánamo became emblematic of gross human rights abuses. “Forever prisoners” of the war on terror are still being held there today. Others caught up in America’s counterterrorism dragnet were detained at torture prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq or kidnapped and 'rendered' to CIA black sites — secret prisons in at least eight countries around the world.

    "As the Trump administration has expanded the Bush and #Obama-era terrorism paradigm to cast immigrants and refugees as terrorists and gang members, it has reconceptualized rendition and even pressed Guantánamo Bay into service as a way station for Venezuelan men expelled to El Salvador."

    Read more:
    theintercept.com/2025/05/15/tr

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/07iRS

    #SilencingDissent #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #USPol #WorldPol #CharacteristicsOfFascism #ResistICE #PoliceState

  26. #LawFirms, #universities and now #CivilSociety groups are in #Trump’s sights for #punitive action

    By LISA MASCARO
    Updated 12:04 AM EDT, April 18, 2025

    WASHINGTON (AP) — "First the nation’s top law firms. Then its premier universities. Now, President Donald Trump is leaning on the #advocacy groups that underpin U.S. civil society.

    "Trump said Thursday that the administration is looking at the tax-exempt status not just of Harvard, but environmental groups and specifically the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or #CREW. It could be a devastating financial blow to the #nonprofit organizations — and his perceived #PoliticalFoes.

    "The president’s remarks, during an event at the White House, began to confirm what advocacy groups have been quietly warning: Trump’s campaign of retribution is coming next for them.

    " 'It’s supposed to be a charitable organization,' Trump said about CREW, in particular. 'The only charity they had is going after Donald Trump. So we’re looking at that. We’re looking at a lot of things.' "

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/trump-tax-e

    #CharacteristicsOfFascism
    #SilencingDissent #USPol #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule #CriminalizingDissent #EnvironmentalGroups #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #LandIsLife #FightForTheFuture #DefendMotherEarth

  27. 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, 2025

    Excerpt: " '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.' "

    commondreams.org/news/gop-reco

    #BigUglyBill #Environment #Ethics #TaxBreaksForTheRich #CorporatePolluters #AirIsLife
    #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife
    #TrumpHatesTheEnvironment
    #TrumpHatesThePoor #Corporatocracy #CharacteristicsOfFascism
    #SilencingDissent #USPol #HR9495 #StopHR9495 #TaxPackage #Authoritarianism #AuthoritarianRule
    #FightForTheFuture

  28. 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, 2025

    WASHINGTON (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.' "
    apnews.com/article/trump-tax-c

    #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

  29. 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

  30. 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, 2025

    WASHINGTON (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."

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/congress-no

    #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

  31. #ICE Got Warrants Under “#FalsePretenses,” Claims #ColumbiaStudent Targeted Over #GazaProtests

    The law behind the warrants bars concealment of people in the country illegally, yet the students were legal residents living on campus.

    by Shawn Musgrave, March 28 2025

    "Earlier this month, while hunting for #ColumbiaUniversity students to deport over their ties to #Gaza protests, the #Trump administration convinced a federal judge to sign off on search warrants for two students’ dorm rooms — then raided the residences with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

    "As details about the warrants have emerged, however, so have allegations that federal agents misled the court and secured the warrants under 'false pretenses,' as one of the students whose room was searched, #YunseoChung, claimed in a lawsuit challenging her deportation.

    "The warrants were predicated on probable cause that Columbia was 'harboring' students who were in the country illegally, court filings indicate. Chung, however, is a lawful permanent resident, notwithstanding the Trump administration’s efforts to deport her based on her arrest and citation at a Gaza sit-in. She has lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old.

    "'The basis for this entire operation is constitutionally invalid.'

    "'The idea that they went before a federal magistrate judge and said, ‘We have to search Ms. Chung’s residence for evidence of Columbia harboring her’ — that shows they’re willing to lie to a judge,' said Nathan Yaffe, an immigration attorney.

    "Yaffe represents both Chung and the other Columbia student who was targeted by the search warrants, #RanjaniSrinivasan, who left the country in mid-March.

    "Most of the materials relating to the search warrants remain under seal in federal court, and Columbia declined to comment on them, citing student privacy protections. ICE did not respond to The Intercept’s questions about the warrants.

    "'If the government falsified information to get the warrant, that is its own bundle of serious problems,' said Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, an attorney at #HumanRightsFirst who also represents Chung. 'But even if not, the basis for this entire operation is constitutionally invalid.'"

    Read more:
    theintercept.com/2025/03/28/ic

    Archived version:
    archive.ph/ruFDs
    #MahmoudKhalil #RumeysaOzturk, #YunseoChung, #BadarKhunSuri #MomodouTaal #ResistICE #Fascism #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent #Project2025 #ProjectEsther #USPol #Authoritarianism #TurdReich #CharacteristicsOfFascism

  32. #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:
    pineandroses.org/news/new-engl
    #ResistICE #ResistFascism #Resistance #District13 #District13Resists #Fascism #USPol #Authoritarianism #TurReich #CharacteristicsOfFascism