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Sam Levin

@samtlevin.bsky.social

17K followers 590 following 170 posts

Guardian senior reporter, based in Los Angeles. Sam.Levin@theguardian [dot] com. https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sam-levin

www.theguardian.com

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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

“They are using our work to minimize the harm of conversion therapy. There are few practices where there is as much demonstrated evidence of harm” -Lisa Diamond, renowned psychology + gender studies scholar, whose work ADF cited to promote conversion practices. “The misinterpretation is so profound"

Christian group ‘deceived’ supreme court about LGBTQ+ research, cited scholars say

Exclusive: Experts say Alliance Defending Freedom, arguing to revive conversion therapy, ‘profoundly misrepresented’ their work in case threatening trans and queer youth

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

The case, CO notes, is manufactured: No one has filed a complaint against Chiles. The state has not disciplined her. The law is narrow: it bans conversion practices for licensed clinicians with youth patients, but does not impact religious counselors or life coaches or Chiles' speech outside of work

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

ADF defended its quotations as "accurate." The group reps Kaley Chiles, a Colorado counselor who claims a ban on conversion therapy violates free speech rights to discuss Christian faith + beliefs about “biological sex” with patients.

Chiles, ADF says, has "begun censoring herself" due to the law.

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

ADF also cited a deceased researcher and psychologist as a proponent of conversion therapy, prompting his family to tell me they were “deeply disturbed” by the “distortion” of his work, and that he “strongly condemned all forms of conversion therapy."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Christian group ‘deceived’ supreme court about LGBTQ+ research, cited scholars say

Exclusive: Experts say Alliance Defending Freedom, arguing to revive conversion therapy, ‘profoundly misrepresented’ their work in case threatening trans and queer youth

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

ADF used two scholars' work to argue for conversion practices to be permitted, even though their paper explicitly condemns conversion therapy as "psychologically damaging" + linked to suicide.

“This is the most upsetting use of my scholarship in my career ...It's lethally dangerous to LGBTQ+ kids"

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom "deceived" the Supreme Court + "profoundly misrepresented" LGBTQ+ research, according to scholars cited by ADF.

Quoted experts speak out about ADF's "distortions" + "false evidence" in major case, on deck tomorrow, to revive "conversion therapy"

Christian group ‘deceived’ supreme court about LGBTQ+ research, cited scholars say

Exclusive: Experts say Alliance Defending Freedom, arguing to revive conversion therapy, ‘profoundly misrepresented’ their work in case threatening trans and queer youth

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 10d

CoreCivic, the operator, opened the California City ICE facility without proper permits or a business license and bypassing state law, the city’s mayor told me. The private prison company has denied mistreatment claims, and says it “submitted all required information” to the city for its license.

‘Hell on earth’: immigrants held in new California detention facility beg for help

Six people at a remote Ice facility in California City describe medical problems and filthy conditions, which operator CoreCivic denies

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 10d

NEW: Six people detained in California’s newest + largest ICE facility speak out, saying they are confined in filthy cells, struggling to access basic medications, going hungry due to insufficient food, drinking dirty water, and faced with “military-like” staff.

“This place is built to break us”

‘Hell on earth’: immigrants held in new California detention facility beg for help

Six people at a remote Ice facility in California City describe medical problems and filthy conditions, which operator CoreCivic denies

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18d

The law enforcement briefings + counterterrorism training materials were obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org / @rshapiro.bsky.social and shared with @us.theguardian.com.

Experts say US officials’ claims linking emojis to the Venezuelan gang are “ludicrous,” “baseless,” “uneducated” + “absurd”

Image that says: “The FBI and NYPD say using these emojis could signal affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang … Experts and immigration attorneys who reviewed the records said the claims were ludicrous, uneducated and baseless”

Followed by pictures of alien, ninja, crown, hand, swords, train, and shield emojis

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18d

👽 🛡️ 👑 🤘🏼 ⚔️ 🥷 🚂 🏛️ 🍓

Those are emojis the FBI, NYPD, CBP and US Army have said could be signs of affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang + part of their “code language”, internal records show.

“Just like tattoos, we could see folks rounded up + tortured based solely on their use of certain emojis”

Revealed: US law enforcement claimed emojis could signal Tren de Aragua affiliation

Claims are ‘an unsophisticated, uneducated approach that demonstrates a lack of knowledge’, says one professor

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Sam Levin

Property of the People @propertyofthepeople.org · 18d

BIG: US law enforcement claims certain *emojis* could signal Tren de Aragua gang membership, leading to deportations, as revealed in intelligence documents we obtained & shared with @samtlevin.bsky.social / @maanvisingh.bsky.social / @us.theguardian.com. #FOIA www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Revealed: US law enforcement claimed emojis could signal Tren de Aragua affiliation

Claims are ‘an unsophisticated, uneducated approach that demonstrates a lack of knowledge’, says one professor

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Sam Levin

Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 18d

US law enforcement officials have claimed the use of certain emojis could signal affiliation with Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan gang, according to internal records reviewed by the Guardian and obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org, a government transparency non-profit.

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18d

NEW: US law enforcement have claimed the use of certain *emojis* could signal affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang, records reveal. The "ludicrous" claims, like assertions about tattoos, could further fuel false gang labels + deportations. W/ @propertyofthepeople.org

emoji docs excerpted here ⬇️

Revealed: US law enforcement claimed emojis could signal Tren de Aragua affiliation

Claims are ‘an unsophisticated, uneducated approach that demonstrates a lack of knowledge’, says one professor

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 25d

Butler and others targeted were given no info about the nature of the claims against them and the university suspended normal processes for reviewing complaints, they said: "That means allegations sent to the administration, even anonymous ones, were simply forwarded without having been adjudicated

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move

Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents’

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 25d

Names include international students, lecturers and part-time faculty, Judith Butler says: “The consequences of this compliance could be terrible for a lot of people’s lives, most of whom are much more vulnerable than I am. They can suffer deportation, expulsion, job loss, harassment, surveillance"

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move

Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents’

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 25d

UC Berkeley gives the Trump admin the names of 160 faculty + students for a federal investigation into “alleged antisemitic incidents.”

Judith Butler, one of the targeted scholars, tells me: "It is an enormous breach of trust... It's shocking. Did you consider not complying with this request?”

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move

Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents’

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Aug 21

When ICE + Border Patrol agents were spotted at hotels across LA region, communities organized sustained rallies that forced them out + pressured hotels to take action. Intelligence records obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org + shared with @theguardian.com show how the US military responded:

LA Ice protests spurred US military to identify ‘hotels to avoid’ due to ‘harassment’

Exclusive: Organizers disrupted Trump’s immigration crackdown by targeting hotels where officers were staying, documents show

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Aug 21

NEW: Los Angeles protesters successfully disrupted ICE's crackdown by targeting hotels where officers stayed, emails show. Widespread rallies led Army to make list of "hotels to avoid" due to "harassment."

"When we don’t want ICE in our neighborhoods, we can actually take actions to force them out"

LA Ice protests spurred US military to identify ‘hotels to avoid’ due to ‘harassment’

Exclusive: Organizers disrupted Trump’s immigration crackdown by targeting hotels where officers were staying, documents show

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Aug 21

UCLA @williamsinstitute.bsky.social research comes as Trump erases trans + nonbinary from vital surveys across government. The report provides detailed demographic data, but it will likely be the last report of its kind for a decade or more due to the White House's attacks on data and trans people.

More than 2.8m people in US identify as trans, including 724,000 youth, data shows

Exclusive: largest data analysis of its kind counters Trump’s aggressive efforts to deny trans minors’ existence

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Aug 21

The largest ever data analysis of the US trans population is out today

•2.8m trans ppl total, including 724K youth

•3.3% of youth are trans

•Minnesota had highest rate of trans adults + Hawaii had highest rate of trans youth, tho trans ppl are widely represented in similar ranges in all 50 states

More than 2.8m people in US identify as trans, including 724,000 youth, data shows

Exclusive: largest data analysis of its kind counters Trump’s aggressive efforts to deny trans minors’ existence

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Aug 5

NEW: Two US citizens jailed in LA ICE raids speak out. Andrea Velez + Adrian Martinez were both grabbed outside their workplaces + say agents refused to believe they were citizens.

Andrea was unsure the masked men were officers as they dragged her into their car: “I thought they were kidnapping me”

US citizens jailed in LA Ice raids speak out: ‘They came ready to attack’

Exclusive: Andrea Velez and Adrian Martinez recount their capture by immigration officers and its effects on their lives

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Jul 28

The DOJ has dismissed at least 12 felony cases against protesters accused of "assault" + "impeding" officers and ppl accused of interfering w/ ICE arrests. The cases have upended ppl's lives - many jailed for days. Nearly all targeted are Latino US citizens.

“They're chasing down innocent people."

Dropped cases against LA protesters reveal false claims from federal agents

Revealed: records show border patrol gave inaccurate testimony about people it jailed. Prosecutors now face ‘embarrassing’ dismissals

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Jul 28

NEW: Border patrol made false claims about Los Angeles protesters it jailed, misrepresenting basic facts of events that were filmed. I obtained records of officers acknowledging + "apologizing" for errors

The DOJ is now dismissing cases, an embarrassment for Trump-appointed US attorney Bill Essayli

Dropped cases against LA protesters reveal false claims from federal agents

Revealed: records show border patrol gave inaccurate testimony about people it jailed. Prosecutors now face ‘embarrassing’ dismissals

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Jul 15

Thomas detailed brutal BOP + ICE conditions, worsening amid mass detentions:

-lockdown for days, cut off from family

-1hr outdoor time / week

-given stained used underwear + bloody jumpsuits

-no medical care

-immigrants denied translators

-fed “disgusting” mystery meat slop, left malnourished

Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

www.theguardian.com

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · Jul 15

NEW: An Irish tourist visiting the US was jailed by ICE for 3 months after overstaying 3 days due to medical issue. Thomas agreed to be deported, but instead went to federal prison where he recounted horrific conditions + no medical care.

“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"

Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

www.theguardian.com