Joe Berkowitz
@joeberkowitz.bsky.social
Writer. Not too annoying. Books: American Cheese, Away With Words, You Blew it. Bylines: Many of the good places.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
DHS said that the woman CBP shot in the chest in Portland was “involved” in a gang shooting.
Her ~involvement~ was that suspected gang members sexually assaulted and robbed her.
Her ~involvement~ was that suspected gang members sexually assaulted and robbed her.
After Border Patrol shot two people in Portland, DHS claimed they were "vicious gang members" tied to a past shooting.
But records I obtained reveal a US prosecutor has since directly contradicted DHS, saying, "We're not suggesting he is a gang member." My dive into how DHS' claims have collapsed:
But records I obtained reveal a US prosecutor has since directly contradicted DHS, saying, "We're not suggesting he is a gang member." My dive into how DHS' claims have collapsed:
DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’
Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:02 AM
DHS said that the woman CBP shot in the chest in Portland was “involved” in a gang shooting.
Her ~involvement~ was that suspected gang members sexually assaulted and robbed her.
Her ~involvement~ was that suspected gang members sexually assaulted and robbed her.
[X starts January as a csam-generating machine and ends with its owner’s latest Epstein entanglements]
Professional media-knower Ben Smith: Twitter is back, baby!
Professional media-knower Ben Smith: Twitter is back, baby!
February 2, 2026 at 2:08 PM
[X starts January as a csam-generating machine and ends with its owner’s latest Epstein entanglements]
Professional media-knower Ben Smith: Twitter is back, baby!
Professional media-knower Ben Smith: Twitter is back, baby!
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once
Horrifying. ICE confirms measles outbreak at Dilley family detention center. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil...
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:31 AM
'measles outbreak at the child prison' seems entirely avoidable, it's really the kind of thing that only happens if you do several unthinkably evil things on purpose all at once
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
The pure cruelty of putting a five year old through all this for absolutely no benefit to anyone or anything
BREAKING... and Thank God...
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, father board plane for Minneapolis after detention center release - ABC News abcnews.go.com/amp/US/5-yea...
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, father board plane for Minneapolis after detention center release - ABC News abcnews.go.com/amp/US/5-yea...
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, father board plane for Minneapolis after detention center release
A federal judge on Saturday ordered that the pair be released.
abcnews.go.com
February 1, 2026 at 3:46 PM
The pure cruelty of putting a five year old through all this for absolutely no benefit to anyone or anything
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Nothing has changed and these masked, armed federal paramilitaries are just as aggressive and lawless as ever.
This morning, federal agents staged at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center lot and began to throw chemical irritants at observers. They also kidnapped an observer. Our parks are meant for our children, youth, and neighbors. They should never be militarized zones meant to separate families. 1/
February 1, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Nothing has changed and these masked, armed federal paramilitaries are just as aggressive and lawless as ever.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
for over 3 weeks, I've spoken to ICE watchers and organizers across the country: first right after Renee Good's killing — then 2 weeks into my reporting, Alex Pretti was killed.
ICE watchers are being detained and harassed — but they're also stopping ICE abductions and inspiring others to join them
ICE watchers are being detained and harassed — but they're also stopping ICE abductions and inspiring others to join them
‘Backing down isn’t an option’: Minnesota ICE shootings mobilize Americans to join ICE observer groups
The killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti have inspired people across the US to document federal agents’ activities in their communities
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:18 PM
for over 3 weeks, I've spoken to ICE watchers and organizers across the country: first right after Renee Good's killing — then 2 weeks into my reporting, Alex Pretti was killed.
ICE watchers are being detained and harassed — but they're also stopping ICE abductions and inspiring others to join them
ICE watchers are being detained and harassed — but they're also stopping ICE abductions and inspiring others to join them
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
got our asses
NGL this description of Bsky in Vulture cracked me up
February 1, 2026 at 3:53 AM
got our asses
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Elon...They scrubbed Trump from the files but not you. They're setting you up to take the fall! You gave them $300M and this is how they thank you. Next they're coming for your subsidiesss and contractsss
January 31, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Elon...They scrubbed Trump from the files but not you. They're setting you up to take the fall! You gave them $300M and this is how they thank you. Next they're coming for your subsidiesss and contractsss
What an incredible cast on Flirting With Disaster. This title card is just obscene.
January 31, 2026 at 3:09 PM
What an incredible cast on Flirting With Disaster. This title card is just obscene.
Thumbing through Catherine O'Hara's filmography, found this nonexistent movie she was in 3 years after Swingers, whose studio in no way hoped to evoke Swingers.
January 31, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Thumbing through Catherine O'Hara's filmography, found this nonexistent movie she was in 3 years after Swingers, whose studio in no way hoped to evoke Swingers.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
every epstein commentary is these immensely rich/powerful/influential people raving about what a genius epstein was, and every one of his emails is just “helo, my name jomfrie”
January 31, 2026 at 4:28 AM
every epstein commentary is these immensely rich/powerful/influential people raving about what a genius epstein was, and every one of his emails is just “helo, my name jomfrie”
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Lawyer here. There’s a lot of misinformation about what this means. It means he’s innocent even though he did it and the judge said that it’s good what he did
BREAKING: Judge dismisses murder, weapons charges against alleged UnitedHealth CEO killer Mangione reut.rs/45Fin56
January 30, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Lawyer here. There’s a lot of misinformation about what this means. It means he’s innocent even though he did it and the judge said that it’s good what he did
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
January 30, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday.
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
An early favorite poster from today’s protest in downtown Minneapolis.
January 30, 2026 at 7:43 PM
An early favorite poster from today’s protest in downtown Minneapolis.
RIP to a staggering talent. Here she is doing the best drunk acting you will ever see in your life.
January 30, 2026 at 6:18 PM
RIP to a staggering talent. Here she is doing the best drunk acting you will ever see in your life.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Brewery workers, bar owners, and union organizers in MSP are setting the mark on how to actually care for their community, rather than just invoke as a buzzword. At @vinepair.com, I reported how their work doubles as a playbook for colleagues nationwide whose homes may face MAGA sieges soon enough.
The Twin Cities’ Beer Scene Is Showing the Rest of the Industry How to Fight Back
When I reach Drew Hurst, he’s running late to work. “I’m taking the call from my car right now because there’s an ICE. stop on my road on my way in, which, y’know, I pulled over to film,” the presiden...
vinepair.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Brewery workers, bar owners, and union organizers in MSP are setting the mark on how to actually care for their community, rather than just invoke as a buzzword. At @vinepair.com, I reported how their work doubles as a playbook for colleagues nationwide whose homes may face MAGA sieges soon enough.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
i am happy to fight for freedom with the libertarians but also, we don’t really need to *talk*
January 30, 2026 at 4:07 PM
i am happy to fight for freedom with the libertarians but also, we don’t really need to *talk*
It sure looks like no one in Trumpworld knows what 'doxxing' actually means, so I wrote about why it benefits them to pretend not to know.
January 30, 2026 at 4:40 PM
It sure looks like no one in Trumpworld knows what 'doxxing' actually means, so I wrote about why it benefits them to pretend not to know.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
Saw the Melania doc last night and it was surprisingly fun, just her and the Jackass gang doing dangerous pranks. I didn’t even know they were all friends! Anyway Mel burned her left arm off but was a great sport about it.
January 30, 2026 at 1:42 PM
Saw the Melania doc last night and it was surprisingly fun, just her and the Jackass gang doing dangerous pranks. I didn’t even know they were all friends! Anyway Mel burned her left arm off but was a great sport about it.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
It is delightfully strange for New Yorkers to have a humane and cuddly mayor. If I saw a photo of Giuliani with his arms wrapped around a bunch of kids, I’d assume he was trying to arrest them.
January 30, 2026 at 12:41 PM
It is delightfully strange for New Yorkers to have a humane and cuddly mayor. If I saw a photo of Giuliani with his arms wrapped around a bunch of kids, I’d assume he was trying to arrest them.
You don’t need to read Trump’s tweet about Alex Pretti. I summed it up here.
January 30, 2026 at 8:35 AM
You don’t need to read Trump’s tweet about Alex Pretti. I summed it up here.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
One of the hardest things to explain to people who aren’t here is the very real feeling that we are in a war against the federal government. Not only are we occupied by unaccountable armed, masked paramilitaries, but we are constantly aware our neighbors might be abducted in the blink of an eye.
Was he actually approaching Minnesota as a regime change
January 29, 2026 at 11:04 PM
One of the hardest things to explain to people who aren’t here is the very real feeling that we are in a war against the federal government. Not only are we occupied by unaccountable armed, masked paramilitaries, but we are constantly aware our neighbors might be abducted in the blink of an eye.
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
If you find yourself sitting across from this guy you are F U C K E D
January 30, 2026 at 3:21 AM
If you find yourself sitting across from this guy you are F U C K E D
Reposted by Joe Berkowitz
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
IDF accepts Gaza Health Ministry death toll of over 71,000 Palestinians killed in the war
Although Many International Experts Have Accepted the Health Ministry's Data as Reliable, and Even Conservative Relative to the True Death Toll, Israel Had Refused to Accept the Health Ministry's Coun...
www.haaretz.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:29 PM
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...