Matthew Stiegler
@matthewstiegler.bsky.social
Appellate lawyer, president of Third Circuit Bar Association, former prosecutor, fellow of American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Boring until fascism.
Views here: just mine.
Views here: just mine.
Pinned
🧵 Authoritarianism, Democratization, and Coalition Politics.
The consensus around here is, more or less, that the United States is currently a consolidating authoritarian regime controlled by a mix of reactionary populists and fascists.
The consensus around here is, more or less, that the United States is currently a consolidating authoritarian regime controlled by a mix of reactionary populists and fascists.
We lose it all if we don’t unite in time.
Boring Until Fascism
In 1854, after watching the federal government deploy 2000 federal troops and spend $40,000 sending Anthony Burns back into slavery, Boston's Amos Adams Lawrence said “we went to bed one night old-fashioned, conservative, Compromise Union Whigs and waked up stark mad Abolitionists.”
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Boring Until Fascism
Wat
🚨 President Trump’s Claim of an “Irrefutable” Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text in the Shadows of a Microfilm Copy of the U.S. Constitution electionlawblog.org?p=154326
President Trump's Claim of an "Irrefutable" Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text ...
Yesterday I noted the latest set of unhinged social media posts from President Trump in which he declared that voter id requirements and other election changes would be imposed in the midterms via exe...
electionlawblog.org
February 14, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Wat
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
Hummus and beer in Carrboro NC. At the end, I stood there so awkwardly that she reached out and shook my hand.
This is an unapologetically sappy feel-good subject (at least, I guess, for people in a happy relationship”). So, to prepare for Valentine’s Day, what did you and your partner do for a first date?
My wife and I went to tea at Huntington Gardens and walked around.
My wife and I went to tea at Huntington Gardens and walked around.
On our first date, my spouse and I spent like an hour talking about footnotes.
February 14, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Hummus and beer in Carrboro NC. At the end, I stood there so awkwardly that she reached out and shook my hand.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting piece today on Philly-based FIRE. Gift link.
“Creeley and Glennon said they never anticipated their work being used to justify repression.”
www.inquirer.com/news/a/fire-...
“Creeley and Glennon said they never anticipated their work being used to justify repression.”
www.inquirer.com/news/a/fire-...
How FIRE, a Philly-based free-speech group, went from ‘cancel culture’ watchdog to Trump antagonist
FIRE built its reputation policing cancel culture. Now the free-speech group is confronting the Trump administration.
www.inquirer.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:32 PM
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting piece today on Philly-based FIRE. Gift link.
“Creeley and Glennon said they never anticipated their work being used to justify repression.”
www.inquirer.com/news/a/fire-...
“Creeley and Glennon said they never anticipated their work being used to justify repression.”
www.inquirer.com/news/a/fire-...
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
This was the incident that led Deputy Attorney General Blanche to immediately accuse Minnesota Gov. Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Frey of “terrorism” and “promise, not “threat[en],” to “stop[]” them “by whatever means necessary.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump’s former criminal lawyer — responds to an ICE shooting in Minneapolis tonight in which a man was hit in the leg by threatening Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing them of “terrorism” in relation to “Minnesota insurrection.”
February 13, 2026 at 10:12 PM
This was the incident that led Deputy Attorney General Blanche to immediately accuse Minnesota Gov. Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Frey of “terrorism” and “promise, not “threat[en],” to “stop[]” them “by whatever means necessary.”
Pardon the habeas nerdery, but I am definitely including this language in all future COA applications.
"I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future."
😆
😆
Trump: “The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections. This was not what our Founders desired … There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!“
February 13, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Pardon the habeas nerdery, but I am definitely including this language in all future COA applications.
Today’s tweet is bad too, but Trump has been perfectly open about trying to impose voter ID without Congress for quite a while now.
Trump says he plans to issue an executive order to force states to adopt voter ID.
In plain English, his last EO targeting free elections ordered:
• cutting off election funding to any state that counts mail-in ballots received after election day;
/1
In plain English, his last EO targeting free elections ordered:
• cutting off election funding to any state that counts mail-in ballots received after election day;
/1
February 13, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Today’s tweet is bad too, but Trump has been perfectly open about trying to impose voter ID without Congress for quite a while now.
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
America 2026. www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/f...
ICE raid at apartment complex causes elementary students to run from their bus stop in NJ Thursday
Students were seen running away from their bus stop on Thursday morning as ICE agents conducted an operation at an apartment in Lindenwold, NJ.
www.nbcphiladelphia.com
February 13, 2026 at 9:06 PM
America 2026. www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/f...
The Charlie Kirk Show host today, voice steely, to the GOP senator balking at Jeremy Carl’s nomination:
“man, if you try to draw a line on Jeremy Carl, we will make loud noises, we will continue coming after you, we will not forget, Mr. Curtis, because this is obscene.”
“man, if you try to draw a line on Jeremy Carl, we will make loud noises, we will continue coming after you, we will not forget, Mr. Curtis, because this is obscene.”
February 13, 2026 at 9:12 PM
The Charlie Kirk Show host today, voice steely, to the GOP senator balking at Jeremy Carl’s nomination:
“man, if you try to draw a line on Jeremy Carl, we will make loud noises, we will continue coming after you, we will not forget, Mr. Curtis, because this is obscene.”
“man, if you try to draw a line on Jeremy Carl, we will make loud noises, we will continue coming after you, we will not forget, Mr. Curtis, because this is obscene.”
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
Antonin Scalia’s death 10 years ago today gave the conservative legal movement the chance it had spent decades preparing for. Republicans were ready. Democrats weren’t.
The Conservative Legal Movement Was Ready For Antonin Scalia’s Death
The sequence of events kicked off by Scalia’s death a decade ago might feel improbable. But the right was waiting for its chance to capture the Court, and didn’t let it go to waste.
ballsandstrikes.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Antonin Scalia’s death 10 years ago today gave the conservative legal movement the chance it had spent decades preparing for. Republicans were ready. Democrats weren’t.
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
NEW: In Iowa, when someone's charges are *dismissed,* they still had to pay court fees. So prosecutors pressured ppl into pleading guilty: 'plead guilty, you'll have no fees. (If you win, you'll owe $$.)'
Iowa's Supreme Court struck that down in January... but prosecutors want to bring it all back:
Iowa's Supreme Court struck that down in January... but prosecutors want to bring it all back:
In Iowa, Prosecutors Want to Bring Back Court Fees as Bargaining Chips - Bolts
Iowa's high court recently ended the practice of making defendants pay fees for charges that get dismissed. Prosecutors are backing legislation to undo the court’s ruling so they can keep using fees a...
boltsmag.org
February 13, 2026 at 2:52 PM
NEW: In Iowa, when someone's charges are *dismissed,* they still had to pay court fees. So prosecutors pressured ppl into pleading guilty: 'plead guilty, you'll have no fees. (If you win, you'll owe $$.)'
Iowa's Supreme Court struck that down in January... but prosecutors want to bring it all back:
Iowa's Supreme Court struck that down in January... but prosecutors want to bring it all back:
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
Shapiro pick for Board of Pardons wins Pa. Senate approval despite opposition from public defenders, clemency advocates
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02/board-pardons-nominee-approved-senate-justice-system/
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02/board-pardons-nominee-approved-senate-justice-system/
Pardons nominee earns Senate approval despite opposition
Opponents to John O’Brien II’s nomination say the doctor’s work as a state witness disqualifies him for the role.
www.spotlightpa.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Shapiro pick for Board of Pardons wins Pa. Senate approval despite opposition from public defenders, clemency advocates
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02/board-pardons-nominee-approved-senate-justice-system/
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/02/board-pardons-nominee-approved-senate-justice-system/
The difficulty in predicting who Trump would pick to replace Alito boils down to whether he thinks he needs a maximal loyalist on the court more than he needs a base-energizing nominee now. Hard to say.
February 13, 2026 at 6:04 PM
The difficulty in predicting who Trump would pick to replace Alito boils down to whether he thinks he needs a maximal loyalist on the court more than he needs a base-energizing nominee now. Hard to say.
Poor guy put himself in trauma
Live your life in a way that you don't need a $15m security detail, is my opinion.
"The White House Office of Management and Budget, which Vought leads, is allocating $15 million of what remains of USAID operating expenses to cover the costs of his protection" www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
February 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Poor guy put himself in trauma
These people are cowards.
All of his bluster, gone. His pseudo-intellectual patter. His bold, clear insistence that white men are today’s real victims—nowhere to be found.
Removed from their odious bubbles, they stammer, they cringe, they thank you for each eviscerating question.
Cowards.
All of his bluster, gone. His pseudo-intellectual patter. His bold, clear insistence that white men are today’s real victims—nowhere to be found.
Removed from their odious bubbles, they stammer, they cringe, they thank you for each eviscerating question.
Cowards.
Watch this clip of @booker.senate.gov masterfully question white nationalist Jeremy Carl. Even as Carl tries to distance himself from some of his own racist statements, he defends the white nationalist great replacement theory! (3:40 mark.) Very important to expose this.
youtube.com/watch?v=7VYq...
youtube.com/watch?v=7VYq...
'It Sounds Like You Have A Racial Hierarchy': Cory Booker Shows Absolutely No Mercy To Trump Nom
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:08 PM
These people are cowards.
All of his bluster, gone. His pseudo-intellectual patter. His bold, clear insistence that white men are today’s real victims—nowhere to be found.
Removed from their odious bubbles, they stammer, they cringe, they thank you for each eviscerating question.
Cowards.
All of his bluster, gone. His pseudo-intellectual patter. His bold, clear insistence that white men are today’s real victims—nowhere to be found.
Removed from their odious bubbles, they stammer, they cringe, they thank you for each eviscerating question.
Cowards.
The Netflix documentary series on Epstein, Filthy Rich, came out back in 2020, but I’m only just watching it now.
In case there’s anyone left in the galaxy who hasn’t seen it yet: you should.
In case there’s anyone left in the galaxy who hasn’t seen it yet: you should.
February 13, 2026 at 2:14 AM
The Netflix documentary series on Epstein, Filthy Rich, came out back in 2020, but I’m only just watching it now.
In case there’s anyone left in the galaxy who hasn’t seen it yet: you should.
In case there’s anyone left in the galaxy who hasn’t seen it yet: you should.
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
BREAKING: Judge Nancy Brasel, a Trump appointee, has issued a TRO in the Minnesota access-to-counsel case about treatment at Whipple.
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
February 13, 2026 at 12:24 AM
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
Here’s that passage from the ethics opinion
February 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Here’s that passage from the ethics opinion
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
New: Federal judges may advocate for greater security and defend colleagues against "illegitimate" attacks and criticism that risk undermining judicial independence or the rule of law, according to a new judicial ethics opinion. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
US judges may speak out against 'illegitimate' criticism, ethics panel says
U.S. federal judges may advocate for greater security and defend colleagues against "illegitimate" attacks and criticism that risk undermining judicial independence or the rule of law, according to a ...
www.reuters.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:18 PM
New: Federal judges may advocate for greater security and defend colleagues against "illegitimate" attacks and criticism that risk undermining judicial independence or the rule of law, according to a new judicial ethics opinion. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
The rejection of the policy has been overwhelming — and driven by judges of all ideologies. While the 28 judges who have backed the admin’s view are, with a few exceptions, Trump appointees.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 12, 2026 at 10:09 PM
The rejection of the policy has been overwhelming — and driven by judges of all ideologies. While the 28 judges who have backed the admin’s view are, with a few exceptions, Trump appointees.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
NEW: We’re publishing a full list of the 373 federal judges who have ruled against ICE’s mass detention policy and the 28 who have endorsed it — as well as links to key rulings by each.
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 12, 2026 at 10:01 PM
NEW: We’re publishing a full list of the 373 federal judges who have ruled against ICE’s mass detention policy and the 28 who have endorsed it — as well as links to key rulings by each.
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump appointees have split 44 against/ 20 for the policy.
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Matthew Stiegler
Why tough man scared?
Trump nominated a legit white nationalist to a top post at the State Department. I asked him some basic questions about his belief in the “erasure of white culture”. Watch this embarrassing, fumbling answer. Like he has never before been asked to explain his views.
February 12, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Why tough man scared?