Sam Feldman
@srfeld.bsky.social
Appellate public defender, trade unionist, NYC-DSA member. Washingtonian by birth, Chicago alum. He/him. Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Thirty-one known defendants have been charged in Chicago with non-immigration crimes tied to “Operation Midway Blitz.”
With today’s acquittal, 15 of them have been cleared.
No one has been convicted.
With today’s acquittal, 15 of them have been cleared.
No one has been convicted.
#BREAKING: Federal jury finds Chicago man NOT GUILTY of offering $10K for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
The trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez was the first to result from “Operation Midway Blitz”: chicago.suntimes.com/live/closing...
The trial of Juan Espinoza Martinez was the first to result from “Operation Midway Blitz”: chicago.suntimes.com/live/closing...
January 22, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Thirty-one known defendants have been charged in Chicago with non-immigration crimes tied to “Operation Midway Blitz.”
With today’s acquittal, 15 of them have been cleared.
No one has been convicted.
With today’s acquittal, 15 of them have been cleared.
No one has been convicted.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
You read things like this and you can only hope that when the time comes, if it comes, when it is your community's turn to be tested, that you acquit yourselves half as well.
If the admin's strategic goal was to break public resistance to immigration enforcement activities, it was a tactical mistake to go to the Twin Cities.
January 23, 2026 at 7:04 PM
You read things like this and you can only hope that when the time comes, if it comes, when it is your community's turn to be tested, that you acquit yourselves half as well.
Every politician across the U.S. is taking credit for their unique efforts that drove down the local crime rate, when in fact violent crime is plunging across the country. "The surge in violence in the early 2020s was a departure during a time of massive social upheaval, not a new normal."
What’s Behind the Staggering Drop in the Murder Rate? No One Knows for Sure.
www.nytimes.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Every politician across the U.S. is taking credit for their unique efforts that drove down the local crime rate, when in fact violent crime is plunging across the country. "The surge in violence in the early 2020s was a departure during a time of massive social upheaval, not a new normal."
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Very interesting forthcoming article on state constitutional equivalents to the 4th Amendment, and how state courts do and don't interpret them, from Quinn Yeargain.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
January 21, 2026 at 5:38 AM
Very interesting forthcoming article on state constitutional equivalents to the 4th Amendment, and how state courts do and don't interpret them, from Quinn Yeargain.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #N
Despite stonewalling opposition from Starbucks, its workers around the country have continued to unionize at a fast rate. Each of the past four years, @sbworkersunited.org has won over 100 union elections and added thousands of workers to its ranks.
The Starbucks Union Won 125 Elections in 2025
NLRB data show that the Starbucks unionization drive is holding steady.
www.nlrbedge.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Despite stonewalling opposition from Starbucks, its workers around the country have continued to unionize at a fast rate. Each of the past four years, @sbworkersunited.org has won over 100 union elections and added thousands of workers to its ranks.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
this is, obviously, a very strange way to get a message out to foreign officials when you have a State Department and a modern communication system that isn't restricted to the city of Washington DC
it suggests Rubio wouldn't do it and some chuds in the executive branch found a way to bypass him
it suggests Rubio wouldn't do it and some chuds in the executive branch found a way to bypass him
Not the sort of letter committed to paper by a well man. "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"
January 19, 2026 at 12:58 PM
this is, obviously, a very strange way to get a message out to foreign officials when you have a State Department and a modern communication system that isn't restricted to the city of Washington DC
it suggests Rubio wouldn't do it and some chuds in the executive branch found a way to bypass him
it suggests Rubio wouldn't do it and some chuds in the executive branch found a way to bypass him
Reposted by Sam Feldman
If you’re cold, they’re cold, but you don’t have to let them in. - The third amendment
January 18, 2026 at 2:25 PM
If you’re cold, they’re cold, but you don’t have to let them in. - The third amendment
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Flags with extinct animals on them:
- California (California grizzly bear)
- Chernyshevsky District, Russia (Kulindadromeus)
- Doronogovi, Mongolia (sauropod)
- Srednekolymsk, Russia woolly (mammoth)
- California (California grizzly bear)
- Chernyshevsky District, Russia (Kulindadromeus)
- Doronogovi, Mongolia (sauropod)
- Srednekolymsk, Russia woolly (mammoth)
January 16, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Flags with extinct animals on them:
- California (California grizzly bear)
- Chernyshevsky District, Russia (Kulindadromeus)
- Doronogovi, Mongolia (sauropod)
- Srednekolymsk, Russia woolly (mammoth)
- California (California grizzly bear)
- Chernyshevsky District, Russia (Kulindadromeus)
- Doronogovi, Mongolia (sauropod)
- Srednekolymsk, Russia woolly (mammoth)
Reposted by Sam Feldman
1/3 Are you a lawyer litigating against the Trump Administration? Have you witnessed administration attorneys misbehave? We want to know!
We are a nonprofit organization documenting government attorneys misconduct in a public, freely accessible database.
We are a nonprofit organization documenting government attorneys misconduct in a public, freely accessible database.
The Government Lawyers Database
glowlaw.org
January 15, 2026 at 8:25 PM
1/3 Are you a lawyer litigating against the Trump Administration? Have you witnessed administration attorneys misbehave? We want to know!
We are a nonprofit organization documenting government attorneys misconduct in a public, freely accessible database.
We are a nonprofit organization documenting government attorneys misconduct in a public, freely accessible database.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
This is why I do not really take his latest threat seriously. He has already tried this multiple times just this year alone, and every time they try to actually do it, they lose.
A year ago Trump ordered that federal funds be cut off to states that don't assist in immigration enforcement, and last spring DOT tried to cut off transportation funds to sanctuary states. Twenty states sued and won a permanent injunction, and the Trump administration just dropped its appeal.
Washington prevails in case protecting more than $1 billion in transportation grant funding as Trump administration drops appeal https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/washington-prevails-case-protecting-more-1-billion-transportation-grant-funding
January 14, 2026 at 10:51 PM
This is why I do not really take his latest threat seriously. He has already tried this multiple times just this year alone, and every time they try to actually do it, they lose.
A year ago Trump ordered that federal funds be cut off to states that don't assist in immigration enforcement, and last spring DOT tried to cut off transportation funds to sanctuary states. Twenty states sued and won a permanent injunction, and the Trump administration just dropped its appeal.
Washington prevails in case protecting more than $1 billion in transportation grant funding as Trump administration drops appeal https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/washington-prevails-case-protecting-more-1-billion-transportation-grant-funding
Washington prevails in case protecting more than $1 billion in transportation grant funding as Trump administration drops appeal | Washington State
Pending court approval, case will be fully and permanently resolved in Washington’s favor The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its appeal of a judgment permanently blocking the Trump administration’s threat to withhold billions of dollars in annual U.S. Department of Transportation grants from states that do not assist the federal government’s immigration enforcement. By dropping its appeal, the Trump administration concedes the case, fully resolving it in favor of Washington and the 21 other states that sued the administration in May 2025.
www.atg.wa.gov
January 14, 2026 at 9:50 PM
A year ago Trump ordered that federal funds be cut off to states that don't assist in immigration enforcement, and last spring DOT tried to cut off transportation funds to sanctuary states. Twenty states sued and won a permanent injunction, and the Trump administration just dropped its appeal.
Despite tweeting that "ICE should be unmasked both physically and digitally," Torres is not co-sponsoring the actual bill in Congress that would ban ICE agents from wearing face masks (with carefully limited exceptions) and require them to wear badges with their name & affiliation.
January 14, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Despite tweeting that "ICE should be unmasked both physically and digitally," Torres is not co-sponsoring the actual bill in Congress that would ban ICE agents from wearing face masks (with carefully limited exceptions) and require them to wear badges with their name & affiliation.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Condé Nast forgot to renew the trademark for Gourmet and so a group of journalists grabbed it and are relaunching the food magazine as a worker-owned co-op. Love it. [gourmetmagazine.net]
Gourmet Magazine
Gourmet is a worker-owned publication about food and the people who make and consume it.
gourmetmagazine.net
January 13, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Condé Nast forgot to renew the trademark for Gourmet and so a group of journalists grabbed it and are relaunching the food magazine as a worker-owned co-op. Love it. [gourmetmagazine.net]
Reposted by Sam Feldman
This is the sort of statement that was expected from every university president and law firm partner over the last year. That those statements weren’t made played a huge part in where we are now and people will remember.
Jerome Powell: "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."
January 12, 2026 at 1:45 AM
This is the sort of statement that was expected from every university president and law firm partner over the last year. That those statements weren’t made played a huge part in where we are now and people will remember.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
I think about this quote from the Luddite movement all the time
January 11, 2026 at 12:12 AM
I think about this quote from the Luddite movement all the time
Despite the onslaught of attempts by government and private actors to restrict speech, the actual law as decided by U.S. courts remains extremely protective of free speech—arguably more now than at any other time or place in history. This is a good thing for the future of American democracy.
4th Cir. holds that it violated the First Amendment to convict Virginia man of soliciting treason for his inflammatory, disturbing, and deeply offensive post-9/11 statements which urged no concrete criminal plan or provide assistance to crime.
Huge case.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/144...
Huge case.
www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/144...
January 9, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Despite the onslaught of attempts by government and private actors to restrict speech, the actual law as decided by U.S. courts remains extremely protective of free speech—arguably more now than at any other time or place in history. This is a good thing for the future of American democracy.
At one point it looked like Gorsuch might be one of the swingier right-wing justices, but instead he's ended up part of a 3-member hard-right bloc. Roberts and Kavanaugh are clearly the two most gettable right-wing votes these days, followed by Barrett.
BREAKING: A 5-4 Supreme Court *refuses* to limit how many times a federal inmate can challenge the legality of their sentence, saying they aren’t limited to one try like state prisoners. Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch & Barrett dissent. #SCOTUS www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
January 9, 2026 at 6:46 PM
At one point it looked like Gorsuch might be one of the swingier right-wing justices, but instead he's ended up part of a 3-member hard-right bloc. Roberts and Kavanaugh are clearly the two most gettable right-wing votes these days, followed by Barrett.
My representative @repdangoldman.bsky.social, facing a serious primary challenge, is trying to look busy by introducing a confusing bill that seems like it might rein in ICE but would in fact do little or nothing. Though he's a lawyer, it's unclear if he even understands this.
January 9, 2026 at 4:46 PM
My representative @repdangoldman.bsky.social, facing a serious primary challenge, is trying to look busy by introducing a confusing bill that seems like it might rein in ICE but would in fact do little or nothing. Though he's a lawyer, it's unclear if he even understands this.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
i don't consider myself a great critic of poetry or anything but have genuinely loved reading Renee Good's poems since her death. She had a beautiful gift.
January 9, 2026 at 4:16 PM
i don't consider myself a great critic of poetry or anything but have genuinely loved reading Renee Good's poems since her death. She had a beautiful gift.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
There's no rhyme or reason to which Dems do this on any given nominee, and they never explain, because it really is as stupid as they do it to game metrics so they can't be tagged "most liberal." It's not because Republicans care, they don't need them. It's not a tactical maneuver. It's just dumb.
Amy Klobuchar voted for one of Trump's nominees the day after a woman in her state was murdered by ICE.
Alexander Van Hook is confirmed 53-40 to be a District Judge of Western Louisiana. According to @senatepress.bsky.social, the Dems yeas are Dick Durbin (IL), Maggie Hassan (NH), Tim Kaine (VA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), and Peter Welch (VT). Angus King (I-ME) was also a yea.
January 8, 2026 at 10:00 PM
There's no rhyme or reason to which Dems do this on any given nominee, and they never explain, because it really is as stupid as they do it to game metrics so they can't be tagged "most liberal." It's not because Republicans care, they don't need them. It's not a tactical maneuver. It's just dumb.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Apparently including the name of the ICE officer who killed Good seems to hide posts from the search function.
So re-upping this, my latest in @slate.com, on the politics of Minneapolis’s DA charging him w homicide.
She has gone hard after cops before, and it’s clear Minneapolis is angry.
So re-upping this, my latest in @slate.com, on the politics of Minneapolis’s DA charging him w homicide.
She has gone hard after cops before, and it’s clear Minneapolis is angry.
The FBI Is Already Obstructing the ICE Shooting Investigation. It Might Not Matter.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty can bring charges even without any arrest and is not one to back down from a case like this.
slate.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Apparently including the name of the ICE officer who killed Good seems to hide posts from the search function.
So re-upping this, my latest in @slate.com, on the politics of Minneapolis’s DA charging him w homicide.
She has gone hard after cops before, and it’s clear Minneapolis is angry.
So re-upping this, my latest in @slate.com, on the politics of Minneapolis’s DA charging him w homicide.
She has gone hard after cops before, and it’s clear Minneapolis is angry.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
Kristi Noem, herself, supplied the method used to ID the agent. She said he "been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
The agent, Jonathan Ross, was dragged by a vehicle and injured during a June operation in the Twin Cities, court records show.
ICE agent who fatally shot woman in Minneapolis is identified
Jonathan Ross, a Minnesota-based agent, was dragged in a separate incident last year by a fleeing motorist.
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Kristi Noem, herself, supplied the method used to ID the agent. She said he "been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
@startribune.com reporters, who know their way around court records, quickly unearthed his name and confirmed his identity.
I'm super excited to send Claire to Congress. She's smart, dedicated, and a fighter. Perhaps most importantly, she's a movement candidate, coming out of @uaw.org & NYC-DSA. I just donated and am looking forward to volunteering for her.
I'm a union organizer, Assemblymember, and democratic socialist running for Congress in NY-07.
I came to politics through low-wage jobs and the labor movement. That’s the perspective I’ll bring to Washington to take on oligarchy, fascism, and war—and win for working people.
I came to politics through low-wage jobs and the labor movement. That’s the perspective I’ll bring to Washington to take on oligarchy, fascism, and war—and win for working people.
Claire Valdez for Congress
Claire Valdez is an Assemblymember, union organizer and proud democratic socialist running for Congress to deliver for the working class.
clairevaldezforcongress.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I'm super excited to send Claire to Congress. She's smart, dedicated, and a fighter. Perhaps most importantly, she's a movement candidate, coming out of @uaw.org & NYC-DSA. I just donated and am looking forward to volunteering for her.
Reposted by Sam Feldman
State prosecutions are good and need to happen, but worth flagging there are lots of other things states can do. One of them would be cutting off all state assistance of any kind to federal law enforcement. Not just the limited sanctuary laws. Full cold stop, nothing. Also no data sharing, e.g. DMV.
January 7, 2026 at 10:59 PM
State prosecutions are good and need to happen, but worth flagging there are lots of other things states can do. One of them would be cutting off all state assistance of any kind to federal law enforcement. Not just the limited sanctuary laws. Full cold stop, nothing. Also no data sharing, e.g. DMV.
This is the same dysfunctional Port Authority that charges a whopping $8.50 to arrive at or leave JFK by AirTrain while allowing cars in for free. Disbanding the Port Authority is probably a good idea, but at the least its airports should be taken away.
The EWR AirTrain isn’t serving NJT/Amtrak for 10 hours every weekday starting next week. Of course, it’s not during overnight hours when people aren’t trying to catch a flight. The daily shutdown starts precisely at the time of the first airport departure of the day. Disband the Port Authority.
January 7, 2026 at 10:18 PM
This is the same dysfunctional Port Authority that charges a whopping $8.50 to arrive at or leave JFK by AirTrain while allowing cars in for free. Disbanding the Port Authority is probably a good idea, but at the least its airports should be taken away.