Reid Hopkins
@reidthopkins.bsky.social
criminal defense lawyer; occasional folk singer linktr.ee/reidhopkins
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
The thing about the Boston Massacre— the fruits of arbitrary power— was not that the colonists were universally in the right. Things were thrown at the soldiers. But, the presence of a standing army escalated conditions. The use of force that night was not proportional. Citizens died needlessly.
January 10, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The thing about the Boston Massacre— the fruits of arbitrary power— was not that the colonists were universally in the right. Things were thrown at the soldiers. But, the presence of a standing army escalated conditions. The use of force that night was not proportional. Citizens died needlessly.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
I’ve re-published the December 2020 reflection I wrote about
Todd Snider, from back when I briefly thought it might be sustainable to run a music blog.
I'm hoping to write more soon about how Todd and his music changed my life. For now, I figure it's better if this is out there than if it isn’t.
Todd Snider, from back when I briefly thought it might be sustainable to run a music blog.
I'm hoping to write more soon about how Todd and his music changed my life. For now, I figure it's better if this is out there than if it isn’t.
Todd Snider never asked to inherit so many legacies
My December 2020 reflection on Todd Snider.
musicforfolks.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I’ve re-published the December 2020 reflection I wrote about
Todd Snider, from back when I briefly thought it might be sustainable to run a music blog.
I'm hoping to write more soon about how Todd and his music changed my life. For now, I figure it's better if this is out there than if it isn’t.
Todd Snider, from back when I briefly thought it might be sustainable to run a music blog.
I'm hoping to write more soon about how Todd and his music changed my life. For now, I figure it's better if this is out there than if it isn’t.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
NEW: Kilmar Abrego Garcia says the DOJ and DHS are conspiring to threaten to deport him to Uganda in an attempt to coerce him to plead guilty and instead be deported to Costa Rica after serving his sentence. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
August 23, 2025 at 2:58 PM
NEW: Kilmar Abrego Garcia says the DOJ and DHS are conspiring to threaten to deport him to Uganda in an attempt to coerce him to plead guilty and instead be deported to Costa Rica after serving his sentence. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
Will be hard to explain in the future that the US government went antivax, causing a lot of avoidable suffering and death, not in response to any negative incident with vaccines, but to the biggest, fastest, most successful, most impressive vaccine rollout in history.
August 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Will be hard to explain in the future that the US government went antivax, causing a lot of avoidable suffering and death, not in response to any negative incident with vaccines, but to the biggest, fastest, most successful, most impressive vaccine rollout in history.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
Absolutely revolting that this is becoming normalized as a policy
www.politico.eu/article/germ...
www.politico.eu/article/germ...
August 2, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Absolutely revolting that this is becoming normalized as a policy
www.politico.eu/article/germ...
www.politico.eu/article/germ...
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
In Kerr County, I was struck by two things -- the extent of the devastation (it's hard to fathom) and people's incredible desire to help one another www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Recovering the Dead in Texas’s Flash-Flood Alley
In the wake of disaster, people are relying on the volunteer fire department, the backbone of the Hill Country.
www.newyorker.com
July 11, 2025 at 1:03 PM
In Kerr County, I was struck by two things -- the extent of the devastation (it's hard to fathom) and people's incredible desire to help one another www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
Here are some texts I got from an immigration lawyer friend of mine. Shared with permission. Some of the bleakest shit I’ve ever heard.
June 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Here are some texts I got from an immigration lawyer friend of mine. Shared with permission. Some of the bleakest shit I’ve ever heard.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
thinking of becoming a full on pocket constitution guy
April 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
thinking of becoming a full on pocket constitution guy
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
The legal profession is actually chock full of public-interest-minded people who have made career choices that helped others but harmed their own career prospects.
I hope lawyers weighing their own next steps will look around and see that.
I hope lawyers weighing their own next steps will look around and see that.
March 22, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The legal profession is actually chock full of public-interest-minded people who have made career choices that helped others but harmed their own career prospects.
I hope lawyers weighing their own next steps will look around and see that.
I hope lawyers weighing their own next steps will look around and see that.
This. Forever.
a thought i’ll put out there: it is not the ideological moderation that is the electoral problem, it is that selecting for candidates who chase popular issue positions is necessarily selecting for candidates who exude the kind of focused-group affect that voters genuinely hate
March 14, 2025 at 12:27 PM
This. Forever.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
This is a grave and sobering admission: they are not pursuing the “WELL ACTUALLY he broke the law during protests,” they are bragging that they are deporting people for protected speech.
NEW: White House says the arrest and deportation of student activist & legal US resident, Mahmoud Khalil, is a blueprint for more.
The final line here is chilling. The White House specifically says Khalil was not breaking the law.
No evidence, no due process, no crime. He was just disappeared.
The final line here is chilling. The White House specifically says Khalil was not breaking the law.
No evidence, no due process, no crime. He was just disappeared.
March 11, 2025 at 5:34 PM
This is a grave and sobering admission: they are not pursuing the “WELL ACTUALLY he broke the law during protests,” they are bragging that they are deporting people for protected speech.
Reposted by Reid Hopkins
I wrote about wind and smoke for New York Mag: nymag.com/intelligence...
Escaping Los Angeles
A week of wind, fire, and devastation.
nymag.com
January 11, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I wrote about wind and smoke for New York Mag: nymag.com/intelligence...
Kris Kristofferson just died. I made a substack page to re-post this piece I wrote about one of his songs, from back when I wrote a few music pieces. (Which, for the record, is very hard to do consistently and well.) RIP Kris.
musicforfolks.substack.com/p/kris-krist...
musicforfolks.substack.com/p/kris-krist...
Kris Kristofferson’s “To Beat the Devil” is also about the inner demon we shouldn’t overcome
Whether it’s right or wrong.
musicforfolks.substack.com
September 30, 2024 at 2:05 AM
Kris Kristofferson just died. I made a substack page to re-post this piece I wrote about one of his songs, from back when I wrote a few music pieces. (Which, for the record, is very hard to do consistently and well.) RIP Kris.
musicforfolks.substack.com/p/kris-krist...
musicforfolks.substack.com/p/kris-krist...
very fun to have three twitters
October 21, 2023 at 4:58 PM
very fun to have three twitters