St. John Barned-Smith
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stjbs.bsky.social
St. John Barned-Smith
@stjbs.bsky.social
6.1K followers 1.1K following 640 posts
Reporting for the SF Chronicle. RPCV: Paraguay. Call me ‘Sinjin.'
Signal: stjbs.82
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stjbs.bsky.social
Just staggering.
kathleenclark.bsky.social Kathleen Clark @kathleenclark.bsky.social · 19h
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
February 5, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
kathleenclark.bsky.social
There's been lots of attention on 1 particular inexperienced & untrained govt lawyer
But I want to give a shout-out to Kira Kelley,
climatedefenseproject.org/profile/kira...,
who focused on ICE's horrific treatment of an immigrant prisoner -- all occurring *after* the court had ordered him released
And I would point Your Honor to two declarations in a recent filing, which if Your Honor would permit, I could file in a supplement in this case. The first is a petitioner -- is a affidavit written by my client Oscar. And that was filed at Docket 67, The Advocates for Human Rights, et al., v. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., Case Number 26-cv-749. And Oscar's declaration is important for a few reasons. One, it articulates just his horrific experience throughout this proceeding. And it's easy for us to see court orders not being complied with and the e-mails back and forth on the computer, but his affidavit really just shows what it's like to experience that and in ways that were personally for me just sickening to read as his attorney. That he was without food. He was without clean clothes. He was subject to physical danger, both through reckless driving of ICE agents transporting him from one location to another, watching people screaming in pain with medical neglect, being exposed to COVID. Just the conditions of his confinement; eating food that he conflated with dog food. That people are just being treated like less than human. And all of this was happening while he had a court order for his release. And while all of this is happening, ICE agents are telling him to self-deport because he's got no chance to get out of there other than self-deport, so he's being deprived of access, and this is all in his affidavit. Myself and his immigration attorney, who's here in the courtroom today, were not able to talk to him. His immigration attorney in particular made diligent efforts to ensure compliance with the court order, and these are e-mails that are in Oscar's case. I think you've seen these. We're trying to get ahold of him. We're trying to get access to him. We're trying to bring him home. And, meanwhile, he is sleeping on the floor, if he gets to sleep at all, and he's being lied to, denied access to phone calls to call his loved ones or his attorneys. I would encourage Your Honor to read this declaration, and I would defer to the Court if you would like me to submit it formally in Oscar's own case. And the second declaration also in The Advocates
February 5, 2026 at 12:03 AM
stjbs.bsky.social
‘No one warned us’: Toxic mushroom superbloom fuels California’s largest poisoning outbreak

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
‘No one warned us’: Toxic mushroom superbloom fuels California’s largest poisoning outbreak
Death cap mushroom poisonings in California have reached record levels. Many of those poisoned are immigrants.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM
stjbs.bsky.social
SF teachers to strike, starting Monday www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/t...
S.F. teachers to strike starting Monday
Labor leaders for the district’s 6,000 educators, classroom aides, counselors, nurses, and other members scheduled a news conference and were expected to discuss details about the strike.
www.sfchronicle.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
benmullin.bsky.social
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
markjacob.bsky.social
Yet another reminder that Homeland Security routinely lies as a matter of policy after its violent clashes with immigrants, protesters and observers. it’s the Department of Homegrown Impunity.
DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’
Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
timdickinson.bsky.social
Elon Musk, Jeffrey Epstein and Woody Allen on a Carribean island at Christmastime?

www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
January 30, 2026 at 10:50 PM
stjbs.bsky.social
I don’t have official estimates but 10s of thousands showed up here in SF for the #generalstrike
January 30, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
ICE's decision to just leave cars abandoned in the roads is one of those dystopian things that makes you recoil in shock when you encounter it.
danielsilliman.bsky.social Daniel Silliman @danielsilliman.bsky.social · 7d
A legal asylum-seeker who works at Chipotle and plays music at a church in Maine went missing. His pastor searched and searched, eventually finding his abandoned car with the keys on the floor.

ICE grabbed him. No criminal record. No explanation.
January 29, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
jael.bsky.social
BIG SCOOP @heatmap.news: The Trump administration is now going after renewable energy projects on both public and private lands by indefinitely delaying water permits … on grounds that the projects might have bad “aesthetics”

Yes, they’re hurting renewable energy projects by calling them ugly
The Trump Administration Is Now Delaying Renewable Projects It Thinks Are Ugly
The Army Corps of Engineers is out to protect “the beauty of the Nation’s natural landscape.”
heatmap.news
January 29, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
clarajeffery.bsky.social
The ICE budget has a bonus pool so large it would amount to $42,000 for every single employee www.tiktok.com/t/ZThyjC6ao/
ICE’s projected 2026 budget is so large that it would rank among the top 15 military budgets in the world if it were its own national armed force.
TikTok video by NowThis Impact
www.tiktok.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:01 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
daviss.org
Story: www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/u...
Alex Pretti was in earlier confrontation with federal agents who tackled him, broke his rib, sources say | CNN
Federal immigration officials have been collecting information on protesters and agitators, sources told CNN.
www.cnn.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
andrewsolender.bsky.social
NEW: House Democratic Leaders Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar say in a joint statement, "Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives."

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
January 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM
stjbs.bsky.social
“Mr. President, the American people didn’t vote for these scenes and you can’t continue to order them to not believe their lying eyes.” nypost.com/2026/01/25/o...
What Trump’s next move needs to be in Minneapolis
It’s time to de-escalate in Minneapolis, Mr. President.
nypost.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
phillewis.bsky.social
The National Basketball Players Association has released a statement on the killings in Minneapolis:

“Following the news of yet another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a city that has been on the forefront of fight against injustices, NBA players can no longer remain silent”
FOLLOWING THE NEWS OF YET ANOTHER FATAL SHOOTING IN MINNEAPOLIS, A CITY THAT HAS BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST INJUSTICES, NBA PLAYERS CAN NO LONGER REMAIN SILENT. NOW MORE THAN EVER, WE MUST DEFEND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE IN MINNESOTA PROTESTING AND RISKING THEIR LIVES TO DEMAND JUSTICE. THE FRATERNITY OF NBA PLAYERS, LIKE THE UNITED STATES ITSELF, IS A COMMUNITY ENRICHED BY ITS GLOBAL CITIZENS, AND WE REFUSE TO LET THE FLAMES OF DIVISION THREATEN THE CIVIL LIBERTIES THAT ARE MEANT TO PROTECT US ALL. THE NBPA AND ITS MEMBERS EXTEND OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF ALEX PRETTI AND RENEE GOOD, JUST AS OUR THOUGHTS REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY. NBPA
January 25, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
wrigleyfield.bsky.social
This is one of the things that I find is most shocking to people outside Minnesota who don’t realize it yet—the scale at which everyone who isn’t white has been forced into a spectrum of hiding.

Very good article drawing out the Tahrir Square comparison.
Knutson mentioned in passing that his neighbor had “an adopted brown kid down there; they hid her in the basement yesterday.” This kind of thing no longer sounds weird in Minneapolis. Many people are hiding indoors—so many that, in a city with a substantial minority population, I hardly saw any Black or Latino faces on the street.
January 26, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
bretdevereaux.bsky.social
Another photo for the 'Remember Who You Are' board:
(photo by Jeff Wheeler for the Star Tribune, Jan. 12).
A man with an American flag beckons the viewer forward through the clouds of tear gas, to fight fascism.
January 25, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
jasonkirell.bsky.social
Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed.

www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
Detained by ICE, two women became first responders during agent’s seizure
The women say they guided agents through the emergency, later raising concerns about medical protocols, weapons safety and accountability.
www.startribune.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
wajali.bsky.social
This is a death sentence for America.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/h...
Rejecting Decades of Science, Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
hannahgais.bsky.social
I wrote about how fucked up the past year has been as a person who's covered the far right for over a decade and who lives in DC. The guardrails are gone, and everyone knows it.

Everything those of us on this beat warned about happened, and then some. postsfromunderground.ghost.io/the-not-so-g...
the not-so "golden age," one year on
Expo, a Swedish antiracist magazine that I contribute to, asked me to write a personal reflection how researching and reporting on the far right has felt during the first year of Donald Trump's return...
postsfromunderground.ghost.io
January 22, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
bgrueskin.bsky.social
The headline writers at The Guardian are having quite a night.
White House accuses reporter of lying for accurately reporting that Trump called Greenland 'Iceland' US court allows ICE to arrest and pepper-spray peaceful protesters in Minnesota
January 22, 2026 at 3:12 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
donmoyn.bsky.social
This guy went to work today, put a mask on, kidnapped a 5 year old child, and then used him as bait so both he and his father could be sent behind bars
A masked ICE officials with a 5 year old child
January 22, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
emilyctamkin.bsky.social
The thing about America today is that if you just describe what is happening objectively and unemotionally you sound hysterical and partisan and what you have to remind people is that the reason for that is not you, it's the people doing the things you are describing
donmoyn.bsky.social Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 14d
This guy went to work today, put a mask on, kidnapped a 5 year old child, and then used him as bait so both he and his father could be sent behind bars
A masked ICE officials with a 5 year old child
January 22, 2026 at 2:22 AM
stjbs.bsky.social
In the front of every protest and standoff, getting beaten up, shot w rubber bullets and sprayed with tear gas
mattdelong.bsky.social Matt DeLong @mattdelong.bsky.social · 15d
Nothing but respect for photojournalists. They always head straight into it. Truly some of the bravest among us.
January 22, 2026 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by St. John Barned-Smith
mattdelong.bsky.social
Nothing but respect for photojournalists. They always head straight into it. Truly some of the bravest among us.
January 22, 2026 at 1:20 AM