Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · 14d

Nine Spokane protesters face federal conspiracy charges, a political prosecution meant to intimidate rather than seek justice. Citing the dangers of politicized prosecutions, Sen. Murray is blocking Pete Serrano’s nomination. This is federal overreach against dissent. bit.ly/spokane9

1 2

Reposted by Liz Yates

SiriusXM Progress @siriusxmprog.bsky.social · 19d

Western States Center's @lizyates.bsky.social joined @deanobeidallah.bsky.social, calling on the entertainment industry to form a coalition in retaliation of the Trump administration's removal of Jimmy Kimmel and their flagrant violation of 1st Amendment rights.

LISTEN: siriusxm.us/Dean

1 7 17

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · 14d

Got to contribute to a really good article on the antisemitic background of a recent Fox News host. Check it out.

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · 15d

Our Momentum Program Director, Liz Yates, wants to remind you that streamers aren’t harmless, they’re the “cheerleaders and enforcers” of authoritarian assaults on multiracial democracy.
Read more: buff.ly/fFnQtb7

1 2

Reposted by Liz Yates

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Sep 6

The We Are All DC march to protest against Trump admin’s takeover of DC is currently heading toward the White House:

Via @benjalvarez1.bsky.social

180 3K 10K

Reposted by Liz Yates

Free DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · Aug 28

Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The national guard has got to go! Hey hey! Ho ho! These federal troops have got to go! Let’s get loud DC! #FreeDC

20 370 1.3K

Reposted by Liz Yates

Free DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · Aug 28

NO COOPERATION, END THE OCCUPATION

11 210 720

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Aug 29

This is a must-read! Outlines the provocateur playbook and captures all of the frustration, anger, hurt, and absurdity that results. So good.

kate b.ooOooO 👻 @katebitz.bsky.social · Aug 28

i talked to @katerqburns.bsky.social about one of the most annoying people on the planet, and how communities have repeatedly clocked and outplayed his manipulative strategies

Vivian McCall @vivmccall.bsky.social · Aug 28

A must read: The fantastic @katerqburns.bsky.social breaks down the controversy Christian Supremacist/Nationalist celeb Sean Feucht will try to manufacture in Seattle this weekend. You don't have to be a fortune teller to know what Feucht's up to.

www.thestranger.com/news/2025/08...

2 2

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Aug 26

Why is this legal? Someone explain it to me like I’m nearly forty and have never lived in a dictatorship before.

amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · Aug 25

MPD and mystery federal agencies have set up a checkpoint on North Capitol by Michigan.

1 2

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · Aug 18

Help put this critical convo on the SXSW EDU 2026 stage! 💥 Vote for Jay Breslow’s workshop: Confronting White Nationalism in Schools: A Toolkit Approach 💗 Voting ends Aug 24! Register + vote here 👉 buff.ly/GbnMtJF #SXSWEDU #EducationJustice #VoteNow

PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals

PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

buff.ly

2 1

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · Aug 11

Fear-mongering over invented threats is a classic authoritarian strategy to grab power. We stand with the people of DC!

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 11

President Trump once again catapulted crime in D.C. into the national conversation.

“It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World,” he said in a Truth Social post.

Local and federal data, though, paint a contrasting picture: wapo.st/3UnYDNd

3 4

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · Jul 30

Joe Kent’s record is clear:
❌ Smears human rights advocates
❌ Labels protesters as terrorists
❌ Pushes deportations w/out due process

The Senate must reject his nomination to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Voters already rejected him twice. Your senators should do the same.

(⬇️ LINKS ⬇️)

1 2 1

Reposted by Liz Yates

investigatewest.bsky.social @investigatewest.bsky.social · Jul 22

NEW: With powerful allies in the pulpit and the Pentagon, the Christian Nationalist-led Idaho Family Policy Center seizes its moment.

For and by Christians: How Idaho’s influential Christian Nationalist group wants to reshape the state

With powerful allies in the pulpit and the Pentagon, the Idaho Family Policy Center seizes its moment

www.investigatewest.org

5 8

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Jul 24

Glad to be able to contribute to this great piece outlining what some powerful Christian Nationalists today want the country to look like and exactly how they are out here trying to make it happen:

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · Jul 23

Our own @lizyates.bsky.social reflects on the Idaho Family Policy Center: “They are trying to install a theocracy in which the authority of government comes not from the people, but from the Bible. And people who don't subscribe to that form of Christianity are the ones who are excluded."

investigatewest.bsky.social @investigatewest.bsky.social · Jul 22

NEW: With powerful allies in the pulpit and the Pentagon, the Christian Nationalist-led Idaho Family Policy Center seizes its moment.

1 2

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Jun 26

The anti-immigrant movement is “flooding the zone” with a constant onslaught of threats, policies, rhetoric, and violence. Many of us are struggling to keep track of it, and that’s the point. In response, we at WSC launched The Xenophobia Report, check it out and subscribe! wsc500.substack.com

Xenophobia Report | WSC | Substack

The Xenophobia Report is a biweekly round up of anti-immigrant political activity. A project of Western States Center. Click to read Xenophobia Report, by WSC, a Substack publication with hundreds of ...

wsc500.substack.com

1

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · May 5

Have you checked out the April 30 issue of the #XenophobiaReport? From judicial arrests to border militarization, this issue breaks down how white nationalism is driving US policy.
🧵 Catch up + subscribe: bit.ly/xenophobiare...

Xenophobia Report | WSC | Substack

The Xenophobia Report is a biweekly round up of anti-immigrant political activity. A project of Western States Center. Click to read Xenophobia Report, by WSC, a Substack publication with hundreds of ...

bit.ly

1 2 2

Reposted by Liz Yates

Michael Feola @feolski.bsky.social · May 13

Just your latest reminder that the “great replacement” fantasy — beloved by white extremist mass shooters, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists — is now doctrinal across the right.

Tweet from Matt Walsh: “The great replacement is real. If you had any doubt, this story about the South African refugees should clear it up for you. The Left wants unchecked third world migration because they want to make America less white. That's it. It's that simple. That's why they oppose the white refugees. Because white refugees defeat the whole purpose of the program.”

4 28 81

Reposted by Liz Yates

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · May 12

Q: There are many people who fit the criteria of fleeing persecution. Afghans for example. But they're being denied refugee status. So why such an exception for the Afrikaners?

TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIAL: One of the criteria is making sure they can be assimilated easily into our country

1.5K 1.3K 4.9K

Reposted by Liz Yates

Zachary A Mueller @zacharyamueller.bsky.social · Apr 16

Check out the latest Xenophobia Report from @wstatescenter.bsky.social

As the anti-immigrant forces flood the zone with xenophobic trash, this report is a helpful rundown of what is happening from the admin down to the local level.

The Xenophobia Report

Immigration is not an invasion.

open.substack.com

5 8

Reposted by Liz Yates

Devin Burghart @dburghart.bsky.social · Apr 17

Zeskind's groundbreaking book on the history of white nationalism, Blood and Politics, was one of nearly 400 titles purged from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library, as part of a Trump administration directive to eliminate materials promoting DEI.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/u...

These Are the 381 Books Removed From the Naval Academy Library

Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and books on the Holocaust were among the works removed in response to an order from the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

www.nytimes.com

2 13 36

Reposted by Liz Yates

NPR @npr.org · Apr 10

The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service resigned after the Treasury Department and Homeland Security reached an agreement to share tax data from some immigrants living in the country without legal status.

(via @wbur.org)

'Federal government will be damaged': Former IRS official on plan to share immigrant data with ICE

The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service resigned after the Treasury Department and Homeland Security reached an agreement to share tax data from some immigrants living in the country without l...

www.wbur.org

260 2.1K 6.8K

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Apr 10

Counterterrorism nominee Joe Kent really sticking to his conspiracy-theory floating today:

Sen. Kelly: “So you believe the Washington Field Office [of the FBI] was involved in the planning of the violence in the building next door on January 6th?”

Mr. Kent: “It’s being looked into…

1

Reposted by Liz Yates

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · Apr 7

There’s a really good reason that most local and state police have stayed far far far away from immigration enforcement. It’s wildly corrosive to ordinary public relations and, thus, dangerous for police and communities alike.

1 40 190

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Mar 31

“‘Shoot them,’ someone in the audience shouted”

‘That’s only in the (Florida) Panhandle you can get away with that statement,’ Trump said

Crusius said he saw video of that Trump rally and was motivated to act, Spencer said.”

elpasomatters.org/2025/03/30/p...

Patrick Crusius believed he was fulfilling Trump’s wishes in El Paso attack, his attorney says

Patrick Crusius told his attorney that he massacred people in an El Paso Walmart because President Donald Trump wanted him to stop a Hispanic invasion.

elpasomatters.org

1

Liz Yates @lizyates.bsky.social · Mar 17

If you haven’t been reading up President Bukele’s particularly scary form of authoritarianism, now is a good time to start:

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

wamu.org/story/25/03/...

U.S. deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador, despite court order

It was not clear if the deportations happened before a D.C. federal judge ordered the administration to stop using wartime powers to deport anyone immediately, and turn around any planes in the air.

wamu.org

Reposted by Liz Yates

Western States Center @westernstatescenter.org · Mar 11

Leading members of Congress reject “invasion” Executive Order as “an attack on the separation of powers.”

Anti-immigrant bigotry is a cudgel of authoritarianism. We must continue to name these attacks and confront them.

Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 @judiciarydems.senate.gov · Mar 11

Don’t fall for Donald Trump’s grandstanding.

He does NOT have the power to ignore the law of the land.

2 2