Patrick Matthews
@matthewsp.bsky.social
Delawarean. Workforce management professional, quiz bowl enthusiast, and Microsoft Excel MVP. Philadelphia sports enjoyer. I left The Bad Place.
Pinned
California judge rules that a report on police in Vallejo bending their badges to mark fatal shootings can remain secret. The judge also closed the hearing to public and press and locked the door to the courtroom. openvallejo.org/2024/10/02/f...
From a locked courtroom, judge rules Vallejo badge bending report will remain secret
A Solano County Superior Court judge on Wednesday blocked the full release of an investigative report into Vallejo police badge bending in a hearing closed to the public and press.
openvallejo.org
Alternate headline: “Armed Gang Suppresses Details of Initiation Rituals”
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People Without Warrants
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:30 PM
They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
34,000 signing up for this work AFTER seeing their fellow citizens gunned down by federal thugs in cold blood? I'm chugging whatever the opposite of doomerism is
More than 34,000 Minnesotans signed up to be trained as ICED observers with various activist groups in recent weeks, many of them since Jan. 7, when a federal agent shot and killed Renée Good.
Thousands of new ICE watchers hit the streets after two killings
Minnesotans outraged by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have signed up in large numbers to monitor and protest ICE with other activists.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:13 AM
34,000 signing up for this work AFTER seeing their fellow citizens gunned down by federal thugs in cold blood? I'm chugging whatever the opposite of doomerism is
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
the reason the details are important here is because this is behavior we don’t even tolerate from local police, the violations are illegal and egregious, and they’re being committed daily
drawing their guns, aiming them at someone who hasn’t even committed a traffic offense, forcibly removing her from her vehicle at gunpoint and throwing her into their vehicle for transport were crimes committed before local police even made a phone call, and should be reported as such imo
January 31, 2026 at 7:22 PM
the reason the details are important here is because this is behavior we don’t even tolerate from local police, the violations are illegal and egregious, and they’re being committed daily
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
While this is a banger of a story, let's look again at that image of three federal officiers with guns drawn and pointed at an unarmed observer in her car. She's a citizen, but her status isn't really the point. These "officers" are the problem, and you can plainly see why.
January 31, 2026 at 2:56 PM
While this is a banger of a story, let's look again at that image of three federal officiers with guns drawn and pointed at an unarmed observer in her car. She's a citizen, but her status isn't really the point. These "officers" are the problem, and you can plainly see why.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident
The police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into custody. It is believed to the first time local police in...
www.mprnews.org
January 31, 2026 at 2:48 PM
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
I’m so disappointed by what’s become of the university I was so proud of, and what’s happening to the professors who cared so much about their students
and yet, I still wear the ring, because I want to be an example of what I think A&M *can* be
and yet, I still wear the ring, because I want to be an example of what I think A&M *can* be
For two years, I've been investigating claims that Texas A&M University has been overtaken by the forces of gay race communism. The truth is a little more complicated: www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
What’s the Matter With Texas A&M?
Five presidents in five years. Firings of “woke” professors. Crackdowns on Plato. Inside state leaders’ efforts to remake a great university.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:46 AM
I’m so disappointed by what’s become of the university I was so proud of, and what’s happening to the professors who cared so much about their students
and yet, I still wear the ring, because I want to be an example of what I think A&M *can* be
and yet, I still wear the ring, because I want to be an example of what I think A&M *can* be
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
new CBS contributor Peter Attia
Here is Peter Attia MD emailing Epstein’s assistant claiming he goes into “JE withdrawal” when he doesn’t see him.
January 31, 2026 at 10:20 AM
new CBS contributor Peter Attia
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Is it the unitary executive when POTUS sues the executive branch?
President Trump has filed a lawsuit against the IRS, in which he demands that the IRS, which he as president controls, pay him $10 billion.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 30, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Is it the unitary executive when POTUS sues the executive branch?
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
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
LOL
LMAO, even
LMAO, even
Melania’s first screening in Times Square draws four people, at least three of them professional critics. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
January 30, 2026 at 9:56 PM
LOL
LMAO, even
LMAO, even
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
They want everyone to know it came from the top, that it's corrupt and anti-1A, and they like that.
Because they don't have anywhere close to the capacity to silence everyone by force. So they use a show of intimidation to try to chill speech, and to try to raise their supporters' flagging spirits.
Because they don't have anywhere close to the capacity to silence everyone by force. So they use a show of intimidation to try to chill speech, and to try to raise their supporters' flagging spirits.
Bondi says she personally directed the arrest, WH smears and cheers.
January 30, 2026 at 3:59 PM
They want everyone to know it came from the top, that it's corrupt and anti-1A, and they like that.
Because they don't have anywhere close to the capacity to silence everyone by force. So they use a show of intimidation to try to chill speech, and to try to raise their supporters' flagging spirits.
Because they don't have anywhere close to the capacity to silence everyone by force. So they use a show of intimidation to try to chill speech, and to try to raise their supporters' flagging spirits.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
The charges against Don Lemon are ridiculous. He’s a target because he’s black, because he’s media, and because he’s a Trump critic, and because Trump and his minions cannot accept any dissent. It’s deeply pathetic, unamerican, and lawless.
January 30, 2026 at 2:19 PM
The charges against Don Lemon are ridiculous. He’s a target because he’s black, because he’s media, and because he’s a Trump critic, and because Trump and his minions cannot accept any dissent. It’s deeply pathetic, unamerican, and lawless.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
previously:
-DOJ sought Lemon's arrest along with a group of others
-Magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon on the grounds that there was no probable cause
-DOJ tried to appeal the magistrate judge's ruling to the district judge (extremely unusual)
...
-DOJ sought Lemon's arrest along with a group of others
-Magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon on the grounds that there was no probable cause
-DOJ tried to appeal the magistrate judge's ruling to the district judge (extremely unusual)
...
here is the abbreviated backstory on lemon www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 30, 2026 at 1:53 PM
previously:
-DOJ sought Lemon's arrest along with a group of others
-Magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon on the grounds that there was no probable cause
-DOJ tried to appeal the magistrate judge's ruling to the district judge (extremely unusual)
...
-DOJ sought Lemon's arrest along with a group of others
-Magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon on the grounds that there was no probable cause
-DOJ tried to appeal the magistrate judge's ruling to the district judge (extremely unusual)
...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...
ICE’s excuse for wearing masks has never actually manifested
There have been incidents of harassment and threats. But there are no apparent incidents in which identified ICE officers have been assaulted off-duty.
www.pbump.net
January 29, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
As wild as this sounds, I really do think “president connected to notorious pedophile sex trafficker, corrupting law enforcement to cover it up, now in explicit violation of a specifically tailored law,” while easily impeachable in its own, is at most the fourth worst scandal this week.
4) And they STILL haven’t released the Epstein files.
Of the biggest scandals in US history just this week, I think I’d rank them:
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
January 29, 2026 at 3:23 AM
As wild as this sounds, I really do think “president connected to notorious pedophile sex trafficker, corrupting law enforcement to cover it up, now in explicit violation of a specifically tailored law,” while easily impeachable in its own, is at most the fourth worst scandal this week.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Of the biggest scandals in US history just this week, I think I’d rank them:
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
January 29, 2026 at 2:52 AM
Of the biggest scandals in US history just this week, I think I’d rank them:
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
1) Federal paramilitaries invade US city based on racist lies, murder US citizens
2) Slush fund for the president from stolen foreign resources held in Qatar
3) Whatever FBI and DNI are doing re: 2020 election in Georgia
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Video shows ICE leaving behind an infant and broken glass after arresting a man with no criminal history.
“There was a car seat in the back... There were broken glass shards all over it... There was just this tiny peanut of a baby. He was crying.”
My latest: www.pressherald.com/2026/01/28/i...
“There was a car seat in the back... There were broken glass shards all over it... There was just this tiny peanut of a baby. He was crying.”
My latest: www.pressherald.com/2026/01/28/i...
ICE agents shatter window, leave 1-month-old baby, mother in car after Portland arrest
Video shows federal immigration agents leaving behind an infant and broken glass after detaining a Guinean immigrant with no known criminal history.
www.pressherald.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Video shows ICE leaving behind an infant and broken glass after arresting a man with no criminal history.
“There was a car seat in the back... There were broken glass shards all over it... There was just this tiny peanut of a baby. He was crying.”
My latest: www.pressherald.com/2026/01/28/i...
“There was a car seat in the back... There were broken glass shards all over it... There was just this tiny peanut of a baby. He was crying.”
My latest: www.pressherald.com/2026/01/28/i...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Trump hasn't just insulted the troops of our allies. He's insulted the Black service members who fought bravely for a country that wasn't even giving them the full measure of equality. Great piece by Pulitzer winner Matt Desmond: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Celebrating Black military service is not “DEI shit.” It’s essential to America’s defense.
The Trump administration has sullied the legacy of soldiers our nation relies on.
www.motherjones.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Trump hasn't just insulted the troops of our allies. He's insulted the Black service members who fought bravely for a country that wasn't even giving them the full measure of equality. Great piece by Pulitzer winner Matt Desmond: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Can Minnesota pay Tom Homan $50,000 to get ICE out?
January 29, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Can Minnesota pay Tom Homan $50,000 to get ICE out?
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Highlights a problem for Mexico & other countries who might be willing (albeit under pressure) to quietly cooperate w/ US military, intelligence, or law enforcement.
This administration won't keep such cooperation quiet because they need to boast about every "win."
newrepublic.com/post/205848/...
This administration won't keep such cooperation quiet because they need to boast about every "win."
newrepublic.com/post/205848/...
Kash Patel Sets Off Diplomatic Incident With FBI Operation in Mexico
The FBI director couldn’t stop himself from posting news that shouldn’t be public.
newrepublic.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Highlights a problem for Mexico & other countries who might be willing (albeit under pressure) to quietly cooperate w/ US military, intelligence, or law enforcement.
This administration won't keep such cooperation quiet because they need to boast about every "win."
newrepublic.com/post/205848/...
This administration won't keep such cooperation quiet because they need to boast about every "win."
newrepublic.com/post/205848/...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Pretty infuriating to see a guy so crooked he took a paper bag filled with $50k in exchange for doling out government contracts now proclaim he is going after criminals. How is this real life?
January 29, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Pretty infuriating to see a guy so crooked he took a paper bag filled with $50k in exchange for doling out government contracts now proclaim he is going after criminals. How is this real life?
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
This is sort of a throughline in cases of excessive force used by law enforcement. The civilian is supposed to perfectly adhere to some unwritten code of conduct; the armed professional supposedly trained for such situations is only human & must be given lattitude if they succumb to fear and rage.
The administration is insisting that its masked goons are so emotionally stunted that words can launch them into a murderous rage.
"Our professionals are just ordinary people so ordinary people better act professionally around them, or else."
"Our professionals are just ordinary people so ordinary people better act professionally around them, or else."
January 29, 2026 at 2:18 PM
This is sort of a throughline in cases of excessive force used by law enforcement. The civilian is supposed to perfectly adhere to some unwritten code of conduct; the armed professional supposedly trained for such situations is only human & must be given lattitude if they succumb to fear and rage.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
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 3:31 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/...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
More than a year in this has mostly gone as I feared, and in some ways has been worse. But there have been two contrasting surprises:
-- The speed and breadth of institutional capitulation
-- The courage, ferocity, and resolution of regular people
Our strength isn't our institutions. It's us.
-- The speed and breadth of institutional capitulation
-- The courage, ferocity, and resolution of regular people
Our strength isn't our institutions. It's us.
January 29, 2026 at 3:09 PM
More than a year in this has mostly gone as I feared, and in some ways has been worse. But there have been two contrasting surprises:
-- The speed and breadth of institutional capitulation
-- The courage, ferocity, and resolution of regular people
Our strength isn't our institutions. It's us.
-- The speed and breadth of institutional capitulation
-- The courage, ferocity, and resolution of regular people
Our strength isn't our institutions. It's us.