Michael Linhorst
@michaellinhorst.bsky.social
240 followers 400 following 62 posts
First Amendment / media lawyer and a former / sometimes current journalist. Cornell Daily Sun, Bergen Record alum.
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Reposted by Michael Linhorst
normative.bsky.social
This is the obvious absurdity of pulling ICEBlock. It is obviously legal, protected speech for anyone to say, in any forum, “I just witnessed some police activity at location X”. Indeed, people have been doing this regularly on social media since its inception.
thebulwark.com
"I think in a free country we should be able to post onto the internet, 'hey, there are masked agents on Broadway and Vine and not have the government or the tech oligarchs prevent us from doing that.' Shame on you, Tim Cook."

@radiofreetom.bsky.social joins @timmiller.bsky.social:
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
afarles.bsky.social
Here's the kicker: Geo’s chairman, George Zoley, is an immigrant himself. He arrived here as a child from Greece. @michaellinhorst.bsky.social looks at the company—and man—at the heart of Trump’s hard-line immigration machine. 6/6 www.fastcompany.com/91396722/the...
The house that ICE built
Geo Group, America's largest for-profit jailer of immigrants, is preparing for a windfall under Trump. Its chairman is an immigrant himself.
www.fastcompany.com
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
afarles.bsky.social
When you hear about someone arrested or swept up in an immigration raid, there’s a good chance they’ve ended up at a facility run by Geo Group, the nation’s largest for-profit jailer of immigrants and one of ICE’s biggest contractors. 🧵👇 1/6 www.fastcompany.com/91396722/the...
The house that ICE built
Geo Group, America's largest for-profit jailer of immigrants, is preparing for a windfall under Trump. Its chairman is an immigrant himself.
www.fastcompany.com
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
tilleckert.com
1/ DEVELOPING: A journalist was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital following another incident with an ICE agent at 26 Federal Plaza, an immigration court in NYC. The last I heard, he was getting X-rays for his lower back.
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Judge Young: "This case ... squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally 'yes, they do.' 'No law' means 'no law.'"
This case -– perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court –- squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally “yes, they do.” “No law” means “no law.” The First Amendment does not draw President Trump’s invidious distinction and it is not to be found in our history or jurisprudence. See Section III.A infra. No one’s freedom of speech is unlimited, of course, but these limits are the same for both citizens and non-citizens alike.
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, delivers the most scathing legal rebuke of the Trump era, ruling that Trump and his cabinet illegally targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation to "strike fear" into First Amendment protesters. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
jenbmiller.bsky.social
Smart move by two young upstate NY reporters: they filed a FOIA for body cameras worn by the sheriff’s deputies at an ICE raid. These are almost always civil raids so there’s no ongoing criminal investigation that would require that footage to stay confidential. Replicable by any media outlet.
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
This is a useful reminder: if you want to investigate CBP, or any agency, don't only FOIA them -- FOIA agencies they interact with, too
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
WOW. This entire story is HORRIFIC. This is FOIA of a body cam from the raid in upstate New York the same day as the Hyundai plant. It catches a Border Patrol agent on camera only bragging about denying medical care to migrants detained at the border under Biden — who he says are all "animals."

1/3
davidjbier.bsky.social
The agent admits he treats immigrants like "they're animals" and that he tells his kids that they are animals "all the time"
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
joshgerstein.bsky.social
SCOOP: Justice Department asks judge to force nonprofit & reporter to post $50,000 bond to get faster release of classified docs found at Mar-a-Lago. Trump order to seek bonds for early injunctions seeps into #FOIA litigation. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
tilleckert.com
1/ I’m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse.

Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away.

Thread 👇
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
atrupar.com
Kimmel: "This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this."
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
freedom.press
For anyone who thinks a secrecy law purportedly for officials’ safety won’t be distorted and abused…

Tell congress you don’t want even more of this nonsense with our new action center tool below.
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
thesalad.bsky.social
A letter from an emmy award-winning journalist who's been detained by ICE for 2+ months just went up via @bittersouth.bsky.social. He's in the US lawfully. "The government asserted that Guevara posed a danger to the community because of his reporting."

bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...
Journalist Mario Guevara Speaks - Letter from ICE DETENTION FACILITY — THE BITTER SOUTHERNER
The only journalist detained by ICE on US soil, sends a letter to The Bitter Southerner.
bittersoutherner.com
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
A rule that could only be followed by state media, not an independent press
scottnover.bsky.social
NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com
Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.
www.washingtonpost.com
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
with comments from @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social, @worthrises.bsky.social & others. Zoley and Geo Group declined several requests for interviews.
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
Despite the song, Zoley keeps pushing to expand his company. It already holds about 15,000 immigrants in its jails. It plans to expand its capacity to at least 32,000 and expects a series of new ICE detention contracts. Read my full @fastcompany.com article here: www.fastcompany.com/91396722/the...
The house that ICE built
Geo Group, America's largest for-profit jailer of immigrants, is preparing for a windfall under Trump. Its chairman is an immigrant himself.
www.fastcompany.com
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
Zoley seems to be the singer-songwriter behind a rock song called The Sound. It describes "the sound of voices in pain" that are "crawling out the windows," "breaking out the doors." And it suggests we should do something about this injustice, not just stand aside. Here are some of the lyrics
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
I wanted to find out how Zoley feels about making millions from locking up other immigrants. From his nine-bed Boca Raton mansion, he's never publicly expressed any regrets. But then the story got strange...
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
Proud that we at the First Amendment Clinic could help wrestle out these public documents for @juliarock.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Linhorst
twseal.bsky.social
Headlines on the Bloomberg Terminal from Air Force One:

*TRUMP: TV LICENSES SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY IF BAD PUBLICITY FOR ME
*TRUMP: IF TV SHOWS 'HIT TRUMP' SHOULD BE DISCUSSED ON LICENSES
*TRUMP ON TV SHOWS CRITICIZING HIM: THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
George Zoley started off trying to privatize fire departments. It didn't work well. Since then, he successfully cashed in on America's mass incarceration era and now its mass deportations. His company is making millions from locking up immigrants for ICE, with even greater riches likely to come.
michaellinhorst.bsky.social
When Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia student protestor, was arrested by masked men, he was shuttled to an immigrant prison owned by Geo Group, America's biggest for-profit prison company. I profiled the founder and chairman of Geo in my latest article: www.fastcompany.com/91396722/the...
The house that ICE built
Geo Group, America's largest for-profit jailer of immigrants, is preparing for a windfall under Trump. Its chairman is an immigrant himself.
www.fastcompany.com