Rattling the Bars
@rattlingthebars.bsky.social
100 followers 51 following 10 posts
Rattling the Bars is a web series about prisoners' rights on TRNN and hosted by former political prisoner turned reporter Mansa Musa, who spent decades in the US carceral system organizing for liberation. 🏠 therealnews.com 📺 youtube.com/@therealnews
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
interruptcrim.bsky.social
"One of the most insidious things about prison is that it tries to mute us. It can’t take our voices away, but it can make it harder for them to be heard...Amplifying our voices is empowering and powerful. And you can help by joining any number of advocacy efforts."
lewispants.bsky.social
Talking to folx in prison reminds me that people have been living with extreme authoritarian conditions, including censorship and denial of trans health care, prior to this moment. Let's listen when they tell us how to get through it and what they need. #solidarity truthout.org/articles/bei...
Being Trans Behind Bars in Florida Was Already Hard. Under Trump, It’s Worse.
Trans people in prison are at the front lines of the increased targeting that trans people are facing under Trump.
truthout.org
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
shannonheffernan.bsky.social
Hundreds of people arrested by ICE agents around Chicago over the past few months could be released, according to a new fed. ruling.

|https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/08/100s-could-be-freed-from-ice-custody-after-ruling-that-warrantless-arrests-violated-consent-decree/
Hundreds Could Be Freed From ICE Custody After Warrantless Arrest Ruling
Immigration attorneys said they have already identified more than 200 arrests that potentially violate the consent decree. However, they said those 200 arrests are likely "just the tip of the iceberg....
blockclubchicago.org
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
therealnews.com
“You are not provided any joy, any stimulation—you got to find that yourself… I didn’t understand what weeks and months of silence can do to someone’s psyche. That can tear people apart if you’re not conscious of what’s happening to you.”
‘A soul-sucking, desolate hell': How I survived America’s most secretive supermax prison
“You are not provided any joy, any stimulation—you got to find that yourself… I didn't understand what weeks and months of silence can do to someone's psyche. That can tear people apart if you're not ...
therealnews.com
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
maximillianalvarez.bsky.social
More mass federal layoffs, healthcare, the Epstein files... What's really behind the GOP government shutdown, and how will it affect YOU? @therealnews.com Inequality Watchdogs @tayagraham.bsky.social & Stephen Janjs join me in the studio break it all down
youtu.be/4kw51v7rJVw?...
Layoffs, healthcare, Epstein files: Breaking down the GOP government shutdown
YouTube video by The Real News Network
youtu.be
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
therealnews.com
We've been notified that two of our podcasts, The Marc Steiner Show and Stories of Resistance, are finalists for the prestigious Signal Awards! But we don’t just want to be nominated—we want to win this thing! So we need you to go to the Signal Award voting portals and vote for Marc and Mike to win.
We’re finalists for the prestigious Signal Awards. Help us win!
Move over, Jon Stewart. The Real News is here…
therealnews.com
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
therealnews.com
“Most people think, ‘If you’re under US Marshal jurisdiction, you must have committed some horrible crime.’” Wanda Bertram of @prisonpolicy.org tells us. “But there’s a lot of people there who are just undocumented, and their cases are becoming criminalized.”
Trump’s loophole for mass-jailing immigrants: The US Marshals
“Most people think, ‘If you're under US Marshal jurisdiction, you must have committed some horrible crime.’” Wanda Bertram of Prison Policy Initiative tells us. “But there's a lot of people there who ...
therealnews.com
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
therealnews.com
Harriet Tubman is an icon for freedom. She first fled slavery with two brothers in September 1849. But it was not enough to be free. She would return again and again, to help others flee to freedom. Latest episode #StoriesOfResistance @undertheshadow.bsky.social #HarrietTubman
Harriet Tubman showed how to act bravely in dark times
September is Underground Railroad Month. The month when both Harriet Tubman and the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass freed themselves from slavery. This is episode 69 of Stories of Resistance.
therealnews.com
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
interruptcrim.bsky.social
"We are pushing for the state to not only close prisons permanently and not reopen or sell them, but then to try and transform the conditions of the prison...detoxify the land, give it back to the local communities...give it back to put it into a program for reparations..."
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
psfrench.bsky.social
"“They thought we were just white trash rednecks & that we would just roll over & take it & not say anything." Remarkable new feature by @laurengill.bsky.social about the doubts & resistance that Sarah Huckabee Sanders' mega prison project has spurred in rural Arkansas: boltsmag.org/arkansas-pri...
The Prison Next Door - Bolts
How Arkansas’ secretive plan for a new state lockup angered residents in a deep red corner of rural America—and changed how some see incarceration.
boltsmag.org
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
prisonpolicy.org
If your county is pushing for a new jail, we're here to help. Our advocacy team offers free research help and technical support across all stages of the criminal legal system. Learn more here, and drop us a line:

www.prisonpolicy.org/contact.html
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
prisonpolicy.org
Memphis needs clinics and classrooms – NOT cages. Instead of investing in a new jail, Shelby County should invest in its community.

Learn more about jail construction here 👇
www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/02...
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
prisonpolicy.org
An alarming share of ICE arrests rely on collaborations with local law enforcement – even in places that are "sanctuary cities"

Since January, 45% of all ICE arrests were transfers from local jails:
Graph showing that jails working with ICE led to the early expansion of arrests in 2025.
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
Reposted by Rattling the Bars
therealnews.com
Collaborating with state governments, the Trump administration is building out an “unprecedented” mass incarceration system. “This is something we’ve not really seen at this scale before in the United States,” @shannonheffernan.bsky.social of The Marshall Project tells us.
Trump’s incarceration nation: ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ is just the beginning
Collaborating with state governments, the Trump administration is building out an "unprecedented" mass incarceration system. “This is something we've not really seen at this scale before in the United...
therealnews.com