Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Spencer Reynolds

@sreynolds.bsky.social

5.3K followers 350 following 220 posts

Senior Counsel, Liberty & National Security at the Brennan Center for Justice. Member, United Auto Workers. Former intelligence & counterterrorism lawyer, US Department of Homeland Security. Views my own, rarely the government's. >> Signal: sreynolds.16

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · Aug 8

Amid chaos this summer from the national guard and Marines, Homeland Security used a little-known police agency to lead its protest response in Los Angeles.

TIME has my analysis of images & video—and solutions to prevent future DHS abuse. 🧵

time.com/7307963/trum...

Trump’s Troubling Deployment of DHS Officers

An investigation from the Brennan Center highlights the impact of a little-known federal force which was deployed in LA.

time.com

1 20 34

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Oregon Justice Resource Center @ojrcenter.bsky.social · 2d

🧊Know Your Rights Training!

This year, our attorneys have conducted numerous Know Your Rights trainings to prepare Oregonians for potential encounters with ICE. We want to help as many people as possible prepare so we're offering an online training.

Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Know your rights online training. What to do in encounters with law-enforcement or ice. Thursday, October 9 at noon. RSVP for a Zoom link.

3 12 6

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

The People's Fabric @peoplesfabric.com · 1h

In Broadview this morning, just outside of Chicago, where you can get a police surveillance pod, a drone, and a helicopter in a single shot.

5 70 190

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 1h

It is impossible—even for those of us who spend a pathological amount of time every day working on CBP, ICE, and DHS—to fully track these agencies’ misdeeds.

Transparency trails years behind, if we are lucky and persistent. Someday, the accounting from this period will be terrible.

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 1h

I keep learning of months old horrors and I follow this stuff very closely. I’m sure the level of brutality and misconduct has not fully reached the public. The population cleansing agents are out of control.

1 27 96

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 14h

🚨 Senator warns that NSPM-7 is fueling a secret watchlisting effort targeting Americans
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/senator-wa...

Senator Warns of Trump's Secret Watchlist for Americans

NSPM-7 finally gets Congressional attention

www.kenklippenstein.com

15 150 550

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 11h

Antifa is not a group; the president cannot designate domestic terror groups.

My @brennancenter.org colleague @faizapatel.bsky.social is out today with a deep review of NSPM-7. It is a dangerous directive that will facilitate predatory politics-based targeting: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

4 110 380

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Amos Toh @amostoh.bsky.social · 16h

The military already wastes billions on subpar weapons. What's stopping it from doing the same with AI?

If defense contractors have their way, almost nothing.

My deep dive into the wild and wacky world of "acquisition reform" with @juliagledhill.bsky.social:

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

5 9

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 1d

🚨 We wrote about Flock rolling out "distress detection" that monitored human voices on their gunshot detection devices & asked how it was lawful under eavesdropping laws.

Now, they've changed the ad to replace a "SCREAMING" alert with a "DISTRESS" alert. See below:

www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

An add for flock raven with the title "safety you can see and now hear" with an alert for someone "screaming"

An add for flock raven with the title "safety you can see and now hear" with an alert that says "distress"

4 16 52

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 2d

Ah, how we wish for the halcyon days of 2016…

2016: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach exposes to press photographers his proposed plans for the Department of Homeland Security under the incoming Trump Administration.

1 6

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

RootsAction @rootsaction.org · 2d

For years, local governments & police departments have cooperated with federal agencies through the Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Now, through Trump's new NPSM-7 directive, these task forces will focus on “leftist” groups.

History shows us what happens when our movements are targeted by the feds.

In NSPM-7, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” President Trump directs the Justice Department, the FBI, and other national security agencies and departments to fight his version of political violence in America, retooling a network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to focus on “leftist” political violence in America. This vast counterterrorism army, made up of federal, state, and local agents would, as Trump aide Stephen Miller said, form “the central hub of that effort.”

NSPM-7 directs a new national strategy to “disrupt” any individual or groups “that foment political violence,” including “before they result in violent political acts.”

2 26 54

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 6d

No.

David S. Bernstein @dbernstein.bsky.social · 6d

Oh he can just unilaterally pass unconstitutional laws now huh ok

46 100 460

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 6d

Google has determined that ICE agents are a vulnerable group and has used this designation as pretext to delete an app that helped communities determine where ICE raids were happening

www.404media.co/google-calls...

Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ‘Red Dot’

The move comes as Apple removed ICEBlock after direct pressure from U.S. Department of Justice officials and signals a broader crackdown on ICE-spotting apps.

www.404media.co

71 410 660

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 8d

unicornriot.ninja/2024/cobwebs...

Cobwebs Spy Software Locks Onto Protesters: Israeli Social Media Mining Contract with Homeland Security Revealed - UNICORN RIOT

An Israeli spy software tech firm licenses web surveillance tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The software contract shows new details about this sensitive technology DHS has used to ...

unicornriot.ninja

2 3

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 8d

In 2020, to build dossiers on racial justice demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, DHS's intelligence office also used Penlink (then called Cobwebs) to identify connections between people and build out surveillance. Article in the next post.

It's a powerful tool often used for illicit purposes.

404 Media @404media.co · 9d

BREAKING: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile phones, according to ICE documents reviewed by 404 Media.

🔗 www.404media.co/ice-to-buy-t...

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day

Documents show that ICE has gone back on its decision to not use location data remotely harvested from peoples' phones. The database is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data.

www.404media.co

5 22 32

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

UAW Archivist @uawarchivist.bsky.social · 9d

🏈"Quit trying to carry the ball alone."🏈
As we enter the heart of football season, a call to unionize from the newspaper of the @uaw.org, 1937. From the archives at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.

Art from UAW newspaper that says, "Quit trying to carry the ball alone. Join The International Union, United Automobile Workers of America." Shows drawing of footballs players carrying the ball or tackling.

3 43 230

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

AILA @aila.org · 10d

“The incidents on Thursday and Friday highlight the growing tensions in major U.S. cities over President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown.”

ICE tactics inflame tensions in New York, Chicago and other cities

Some Hispanic residents said they were stopped solely because of their appearance.

reut.rs

3 26 67

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 12d

Trump's guidance taps into common beliefs as signs of terrorism.

This isn't new. FBI, DHS, & intel agencies have long used bogus methods reliant on common things like isolation, having debt, paying off debt (!), religion, etc. to identify impending violence.

Unproven yet often harmful to rights.

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 12d

🚨 New directive NSPM-7 targets "anti-capitalism," “anti-Christian,” and “anti-American" opinions as indicators of extremist violence, authorizing an army of 4,000 counter-terrorism officers to prevent crimes that haven't happened:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...

Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators”

New order targets “anti-Christian,” “anti-American,” and “anti-capitalism” opinions

www.kenklippenstein.com

4 6

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 16d

NEW: Newly released data shows CBP has funneled the DNA data of some 2,000 US citizens, including that of children, into the FBI's CODIS database, which is intended for criminal investigations. @dell.bsky.social reports: www.wired.com/story/dhs-ha...

DHS Has Been Collecting US Citizens’ DNA for Years

Newly released data shows Customs and Border Protection funneled the DNA of nearly 2,000 US citizens—some as young as 14—into an FBI crime database, raising alarms about oversight and legality.

www.wired.com

1 43 56

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 21d

And to be clear, this “zip tying” is serious restraint with cuffs. These are peaceful public officials and citizens being detained.

1 3

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 21d

The agents doing the zip tying appear to be from the DHS Federal Protective Service.

I wrote this summer in TIME how the agency is integral to DHS’s efforts to crackdown on dissent:

time.com/7307963/trum...

1 8 14

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: Internal report reveals DHS intelligence portal was accidentally opened to tens of thousands of users for months, exposing sensitive intel about Americans. @brennancenter.org obtained the docs. @wired.com has the story. 🧵

www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

www.wired.com

36 370 650

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Madison Swart @madisonswart.bsky.social · 23d

At 26 Federal Plaza today, ICE agents detained a man after his immigration hearing, leaving behind his wife and children. His wife broke down outside the courthouse with her young child. Their 7-year-old will return from school to find her father gone.

5 43 74

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

WIRED @wired.com · 23d

A misconfigured platform used by the Department of Homeland Security left national security information—including some related to the surveillance of Americans—accessible to thousands of people. www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users

A misconfigured platform used by the Department of Homeland Security left national security information—including some related to the surveillance of Americans—accessible to thousands of people.

www.wired.com

22 140 290

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Center for Media and Democracy @exposedbycmd.bsky.social · 23d

If DHS can violently attack journalists and citizen observers without any consequences, none of us are safe anywhere in the country.
#protest #LAProtests #PressFreedom #ProtectJournalists

Freedoms Under Attack: DHS Violence Against Journalists, Observers, and Protesters

YouTube video by The Center for Media and Democracy

youtu.be

3 95 180

Reposted by Spencer Reynolds

Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 23d

NEW: A FOIA doc obtained by the @brennancenter.org shows a misconfigured DHS platform left sensitive natsec intel—including info about surveillance of Americans—accessible to thousands of unauthorized users. @agreenberg.bsky.social has the scoop. (No paywall bc FOIA) www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users

A misconfigured platform used by the Department of Homeland Security left national security information—including some related to the surveillance of Americans—accessible to thousands of people.

www.wired.com

8 140 230

Spencer Reynolds @sreynolds.bsky.social · 23d

All this follows a long history of the intel office’s abusive targeting, poor oversight, and at times incompetence. The government collects and shares massive amounts of data about us. It should at a minimum be able to safeguard it.

1 5 26