John Pfaff
@johnpfaff.bsky.social
Professor at Fordham Law. Prisons and criminal justice quant. I'm not contrarian, the data are. Author of Locked In. New stuff at johnfpfaff.com.
Reposted by John Pfaff
Besides the senility-dementia issue, probably not a bad idea for Presidents to always know that they’ll be around for at least ~20 yrs after they leave office: forced to watch history really judge what they do.
(And avoid any sort of “my dying legacy!” BS.)
(And avoid any sort of “my dying legacy!” BS.)
January 21, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Besides the senility-dementia issue, probably not a bad idea for Presidents to always know that they’ll be around for at least ~20 yrs after they leave office: forced to watch history really judge what they do.
(And avoid any sort of “my dying legacy!” BS.)
(And avoid any sort of “my dying legacy!” BS.)
I know the amendment process is nigh unto impossible, but it’s not totally impossible.
After Trump, Biden, and all various forms of Congressional senility and in-office deaths, not to mention general Millennial and Z exhaustion w their elders:
We should aim for one for age limits on Fed offices.
After Trump, Biden, and all various forms of Congressional senility and in-office deaths, not to mention general Millennial and Z exhaustion w their elders:
We should aim for one for age limits on Fed offices.
January 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM
I know the amendment process is nigh unto impossible, but it’s not totally impossible.
After Trump, Biden, and all various forms of Congressional senility and in-office deaths, not to mention general Millennial and Z exhaustion w their elders:
We should aim for one for age limits on Fed offices.
After Trump, Biden, and all various forms of Congressional senility and in-office deaths, not to mention general Millennial and Z exhaustion w their elders:
We should aim for one for age limits on Fed offices.
Excellent @radleybalko.bsky.social piece on why what we are seeing in Minneapolis is, in fact, something qualitatively different than the police violence that happens all too often.
This struck me as a key line: the OPEN contempt for accountability. Such explicitness matters.
This struck me as a key line: the OPEN contempt for accountability. Such explicitness matters.
January 21, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Excellent @radleybalko.bsky.social piece on why what we are seeing in Minneapolis is, in fact, something qualitatively different than the police violence that happens all too often.
This struck me as a key line: the OPEN contempt for accountability. Such explicitness matters.
This struck me as a key line: the OPEN contempt for accountability. Such explicitness matters.
Man, this is impressive. Inspiring.
And shows that for all their bluster, ICE is afraid, and likely growing more so as the public turns increasingly against them.
One woman and a camera drove off, what, a dozen heavily, clearly rage-filled armed men w almost unfettered permission to kill.
And shows that for all their bluster, ICE is afraid, and likely growing more so as the public turns increasingly against them.
One woman and a camera drove off, what, a dozen heavily, clearly rage-filled armed men w almost unfettered permission to kill.
Watch that. And then tell me how we replace Schumer with her
January 21, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Man, this is impressive. Inspiring.
And shows that for all their bluster, ICE is afraid, and likely growing more so as the public turns increasingly against them.
One woman and a camera drove off, what, a dozen heavily, clearly rage-filled armed men w almost unfettered permission to kill.
And shows that for all their bluster, ICE is afraid, and likely growing more so as the public turns increasingly against them.
One woman and a camera drove off, what, a dozen heavily, clearly rage-filled armed men w almost unfettered permission to kill.
All future appropriations bills should make it clear that zero dollars can be used for any social media post that is not a barebones announcement. And no pictures.
Zero dollars for any propaganda. Not just this fascist crap. But also def none for fascist crap.
Zero dollars for any propaganda. Not just this fascist crap. But also def none for fascist crap.
Now, I’m no military historian. However, I’m pretty sure that’s not a common Revolutionary war tactic (and that’s ignoring the one guy firing into the air).
January 20, 2026 at 12:30 AM
All future appropriations bills should make it clear that zero dollars can be used for any social media post that is not a barebones announcement. And no pictures.
Zero dollars for any propaganda. Not just this fascist crap. But also def none for fascist crap.
Zero dollars for any propaganda. Not just this fascist crap. But also def none for fascist crap.
“PEopLe JusT nEeD tO oBEy tHe oFFicErS!”
Police have shot and killed ppl based on not following contradictory orders, and later been acquired for it.
People get killed for not following contradictions while panicking bc they are staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone screaming at them.
Police have shot and killed ppl based on not following contradictory orders, and later been acquired for it.
People get killed for not following contradictions while panicking bc they are staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone screaming at them.
At about the 35-second mark the officer says "IF YOU FUCKING MOVE I'LL FUCKING TASE YOU," followed immediately by "GET OUT OF THE FUCKING CAR RIGHT NOW."
Which contradictory order are you supposed to follow, knowing that either could get you tased? Or worse?
bsky.app/profile/petr...
Which contradictory order are you supposed to follow, knowing that either could get you tased? Or worse?
bsky.app/profile/petr...
'"YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"', has a WHOLE new meaning under #Trumpism. 🗽
January 20, 2026 at 12:21 AM
“PEopLe JusT nEeD tO oBEy tHe oFFicErS!”
Police have shot and killed ppl based on not following contradictory orders, and later been acquired for it.
People get killed for not following contradictions while panicking bc they are staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone screaming at them.
Police have shot and killed ppl based on not following contradictory orders, and later been acquired for it.
People get killed for not following contradictions while panicking bc they are staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone screaming at them.
At this point I’m too far along to give up on my quest to do every single Friday and Saturday NYT crossword puzzle in the app (back to 1993), but … man.
Even in the latter half of the 1990s—well into the post-Maleska Shortz era—the Saturdays esp are mostly joyless slogs thru crosswordese slop.
Even in the latter half of the 1990s—well into the post-Maleska Shortz era—the Saturdays esp are mostly joyless slogs thru crosswordese slop.
a man with his eyes closed and the word schitts creek on the bottom left
Alt: a man with his eyes closed and the word schitts creek on the bottom left
media.tenor.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:07 AM
At this point I’m too far along to give up on my quest to do every single Friday and Saturday NYT crossword puzzle in the app (back to 1993), but … man.
Even in the latter half of the 1990s—well into the post-Maleska Shortz era—the Saturdays esp are mostly joyless slogs thru crosswordese slop.
Even in the latter half of the 1990s—well into the post-Maleska Shortz era—the Saturdays esp are mostly joyless slogs thru crosswordese slop.
Don’t even have to click thru to read the replies. Think I can predict almost all of them from memory. And I have 1/10th the reach Kevin has.
Bothsiderism is bad in both directions.
Bothsiderism is bad in both directions.
January 19, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Don’t even have to click thru to read the replies. Think I can predict almost all of them from memory. And I have 1/10th the reach Kevin has.
Bothsiderism is bad in both directions.
Bothsiderism is bad in both directions.
It is, again, and I will keep saying this again and again and again, absolutely insane that federal law enforcement, and fed law enforcement alone, is generally exempt from being sued for these sorts of flagrant constitutional violations.
Given the raid against the Liberian man a couple weeks ago in which no valid warrant was ever shown, I suspect they only had an administrative warrant (which does NOT authorize what they did, making the entry illegal), and they did it anyway because they don’t care anymore and no one can stop them.
Did they have a warrant to enter the house? because I believe they used force to break in the door.
January 19, 2026 at 10:27 PM
It is, again, and I will keep saying this again and again and again, absolutely insane that federal law enforcement, and fed law enforcement alone, is generally exempt from being sued for these sorts of flagrant constitutional violations.
Reposted by John Pfaff
Is there anything in Art III and the way we’ve confirmed Circuit judges that would stop Congress from keeping the Circuits but passing a law making assignment random and impermanent?
IOW: Circuit judges get assigned to a Circuit for, say, 1 year, get randomly assigned to another the year after.
IOW: Circuit judges get assigned to a Circuit for, say, 1 year, get randomly assigned to another the year after.
January 19, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Is there anything in Art III and the way we’ve confirmed Circuit judges that would stop Congress from keeping the Circuits but passing a law making assignment random and impermanent?
IOW: Circuit judges get assigned to a Circuit for, say, 1 year, get randomly assigned to another the year after.
IOW: Circuit judges get assigned to a Circuit for, say, 1 year, get randomly assigned to another the year after.
Not the point, but even the FEDS think QI is a relevant issue for them!
Our legal system is so convoluted that even CBP agents can't keep straight which doctrine lets them kill with near-impunity.
It's a simple rule: For all intents and purposes, QI does not apply to the Feds!
Our legal system is so convoluted that even CBP agents can't keep straight which doctrine lets them kill with near-impunity.
It's a simple rule: For all intents and purposes, QI does not apply to the Feds!
I attended a Border Patrol recruitment event. By never saying “no,” I was corralled from standing near the recruitment table to having a completed application submitted on my behalf, and I received a tentative selection days later.
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
www.cltampa.com/news/at-st-p...
At St. Pete recruitment event, Border Patrol rep touts qualified immunity and early retirement
A DHS officer at The Hilton in St. Petersburg, Florida Jan. 13, 2026. Dubbed “The Green Monster” by some DHS officials, Border Patrol has a reputation as
www.cltampa.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Not the point, but even the FEDS think QI is a relevant issue for them!
Our legal system is so convoluted that even CBP agents can't keep straight which doctrine lets them kill with near-impunity.
It's a simple rule: For all intents and purposes, QI does not apply to the Feds!
Our legal system is so convoluted that even CBP agents can't keep straight which doctrine lets them kill with near-impunity.
It's a simple rule: For all intents and purposes, QI does not apply to the Feds!
Reposted by John Pfaff
I want to see well funded DFL campaigns in every Republican district in Minnesota, focusing on the occupation. Sure some of them are way too far to the right to swing, but we should take some runs at the further suburbs.
the minnesota occupation is, i think, already a political defeat for the administration, and i don't see how it eventually ends as anything other than a major political disaster
January 19, 2026 at 7:27 PM
I want to see well funded DFL campaigns in every Republican district in Minnesota, focusing on the occupation. Sure some of them are way too far to the right to swing, but we should take some runs at the further suburbs.
Either Moriarty, the Hennepin DA, or Ellison, the MN AG, need to charge Ross. He'll remove to federal court, and then immediately push to dismiss under supremacy clause immunity.
He might win that. It's prob a tough bar here for MN to clear. But even fighting that fight there matters.
He might win that. It's prob a tough bar here for MN to clear. But even fighting that fight there matters.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made clear that the Department of Justice won’t look into the shooting death of Renee Good—but Minnesota Attorney General @keithellison.bsky.social tells @joanwalsh.bsky.social that that won't stop the state from investigating. www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Trump Official Says It Won’t Investigate the Killing of Renee Good
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche makes clear that the Department of Justice won’t look into the death of Renee Good—but that won’t stop Minnesota from investigating.
www.thenation.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Either Moriarty, the Hennepin DA, or Ellison, the MN AG, need to charge Ross. He'll remove to federal court, and then immediately push to dismiss under supremacy clause immunity.
He might win that. It's prob a tough bar here for MN to clear. But even fighting that fight there matters.
He might win that. It's prob a tough bar here for MN to clear. But even fighting that fight there matters.
Their claim is concern over someone else getting upset by it and acting out.
Which even I, not a 1A expert by any stretch, know is not a valid reason, even vaguely remotely, to silence someone.
The Harper’s Letter writers will all somehow miss this one too.
Which even I, not a 1A expert by any stretch, know is not a valid reason, even vaguely remotely, to silence someone.
The Harper’s Letter writers will all somehow miss this one too.
A woman left a comment on Facebook criticizing the Mayor of Miami Beach,.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
January 19, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Their claim is concern over someone else getting upset by it and acting out.
Which even I, not a 1A expert by any stretch, know is not a valid reason, even vaguely remotely, to silence someone.
The Harper’s Letter writers will all somehow miss this one too.
Which even I, not a 1A expert by any stretch, know is not a valid reason, even vaguely remotely, to silence someone.
The Harper’s Letter writers will all somehow miss this one too.
Paragraph 3, at the top and before any ads, in the CNN piece on the MN protests.
The “alleged” is linked to the pastor’s other job, not the violence or the illegality of ICE’s behavior.
CNN didn’t equivocate on ICE’s illegal acts, and they didn’t bury it down the piece.
That seems like a shift.
The “alleged” is linked to the pastor’s other job, not the violence or the illegality of ICE’s behavior.
CNN didn’t equivocate on ICE’s illegal acts, and they didn’t bury it down the piece.
That seems like a shift.
January 19, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Paragraph 3, at the top and before any ads, in the CNN piece on the MN protests.
The “alleged” is linked to the pastor’s other job, not the violence or the illegality of ICE’s behavior.
CNN didn’t equivocate on ICE’s illegal acts, and they didn’t bury it down the piece.
That seems like a shift.
The “alleged” is linked to the pastor’s other job, not the violence or the illegality of ICE’s behavior.
CNN didn’t equivocate on ICE’s illegal acts, and they didn’t bury it down the piece.
That seems like a shift.
This is just unhinged fascism fanfic, right? Who ordered it? Pursuant to what statutory authority? Getting around which 10A and other issues? And surrender to whom? How?
This just sounds deranged.
This just sounds deranged.
Senior White House official says local and state police in Minneapolis “have been ordered to stand down and surrender.”
What?
What?
January 19, 2026 at 5:16 PM
This is just unhinged fascism fanfic, right? Who ordered it? Pursuant to what statutory authority? Getting around which 10A and other issues? And surrender to whom? How?
This just sounds deranged.
This just sounds deranged.
It remains wild that one of the things that scared the Founders the MOST was a powerful centralized federal govt trampling over people and now the only armed agents of the state we can’t sue for trampling all over us are the federal ones.
Two significant externalities to the lack of a civil remedy against federal officials:
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
January 19, 2026 at 5:13 PM
It remains wild that one of the things that scared the Founders the MOST was a powerful centralized federal govt trampling over people and now the only armed agents of the state we can’t sue for trampling all over us are the federal ones.
Legal question for immigration lawyers: ICE doesn’t get to make this determination, does it? Isn’t that the job of the immigration “judges”?
Is ICE just saying it automatically gets them to probable cause* for an immigration arrest?
Always want to push back against ICE’s efforts to arrogate power.
Is ICE just saying it automatically gets them to probable cause* for an immigration arrest?
Always want to push back against ICE’s efforts to arrogate power.
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said th...
www.404media.co
January 19, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Legal question for immigration lawyers: ICE doesn’t get to make this determination, does it? Isn’t that the job of the immigration “judges”?
Is ICE just saying it automatically gets them to probable cause* for an immigration arrest?
Always want to push back against ICE’s efforts to arrogate power.
Is ICE just saying it automatically gets them to probable cause* for an immigration arrest?
Always want to push back against ICE’s efforts to arrogate power.
COME ON.
Almost a majority of Americans WANT TO ABOLISH A POLICE AGENCY.
Given how insanely obsequious our entire culture is to law enforcement these days, that is a WILD NUMBER.
It earns at least one bucket. It really does.
Almost a majority of Americans WANT TO ABOLISH A POLICE AGENCY.
Given how insanely obsequious our entire culture is to law enforcement these days, that is a WILD NUMBER.
It earns at least one bucket. It really does.
NEW: In this interview, Chuck Schumer describes the "five buckets" Dems think are key to their possibly winning a Senate majority in 2026: housing, "the high price of food [and] food monopolies playing a major role there," electricity, "the high cost of childcare," and health care.
Zero Chucks Left to Give
Chuck Schumer now sees a path back to the majority. Can he manage his way through it?
www.thebulwark.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:32 AM
COME ON.
Almost a majority of Americans WANT TO ABOLISH A POLICE AGENCY.
Given how insanely obsequious our entire culture is to law enforcement these days, that is a WILD NUMBER.
It earns at least one bucket. It really does.
Almost a majority of Americans WANT TO ABOLISH A POLICE AGENCY.
Given how insanely obsequious our entire culture is to law enforcement these days, that is a WILD NUMBER.
It earns at least one bucket. It really does.
Reposted by John Pfaff
Also, I can’t even begin to think about how they are gathering data on “verbal assaults.” This really feels like something they mostly just made up.
January 19, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Also, I can’t even begin to think about how they are gathering data on “verbal assaults.” This really feels like something they mostly just made up.
So … over 8,000 acts of ppl invoking their 1A rights to mouth off to law enforcement?
Cops have no rights to their feelings. We do, however, have the 1A right—attested to by SCOTUS—to insult the guys w guns.
This is quintessential police-as-baronial class whining: “how dare you not kneel to us?”
Cops have no rights to their feelings. We do, however, have the 1A right—attested to by SCOTUS—to insult the guys w guns.
This is quintessential police-as-baronial class whining: “how dare you not kneel to us?”
"We've seen over a thousand percent increase in assaults on ICE officers, 8,000 verbal assaults on them...."
January 19, 2026 at 2:04 AM
So … over 8,000 acts of ppl invoking their 1A rights to mouth off to law enforcement?
Cops have no rights to their feelings. We do, however, have the 1A right—attested to by SCOTUS—to insult the guys w guns.
This is quintessential police-as-baronial class whining: “how dare you not kneel to us?”
Cops have no rights to their feelings. We do, however, have the 1A right—attested to by SCOTUS—to insult the guys w guns.
This is quintessential police-as-baronial class whining: “how dare you not kneel to us?”
Bari Weiss … admits that Republicans are no longer Real Americans.
Bari Weiss is now infecting the headline writing. Note when a large majority of Americans tells the CBS pollster that they consider the protesters in Minneapolis to be well justified, she goes with only what Republicans—a dwindling number to start with—think.
January 18, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Bari Weiss … admits that Republicans are no longer Real Americans.
The youngest is working out his anger on Madden.
It’s only early in the second quarter.
It’s only early in the second quarter.
January 18, 2026 at 2:05 AM
The youngest is working out his anger on Madden.
It’s only early in the second quarter.
It’s only early in the second quarter.