Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 7m

I hope those in a position to conduct oversight investigation will look into this episode to assess whether Trebach's or McLaughlin's version is closer to the truth. In the mean time, DHS needs to back down from its untenable insistence that recording agents is somehow unlawful "doxing." /8, end

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 7m

Even aside from immigration, police "have been known to resort to informal methods of repression, threatening or roughing up persons they see using cameras, or demanding that they delete the footage or hand over their phones or tablets." We need explicit acknowledgement of a right to record. /7

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 13m

"Numerous reports from raid scenes suggest that ICE agents are already informally 'enforcing' their disapproval of at-the-scene recording by shoving, beating and even shooting (with less lethal munitions [or otherwise]) journalists, freelance photographers, and others with cellphone cameras." /6

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 15m

My new @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social piece tells how DHS continues to deny that citizens have a right to videorecord its agents and raids even in the face of overwhelming court precedent that the First Amendment protects their right to do so. Nor is it just a matter of positions taken in court. /5

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

2 17 33

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 24m

“None of that happened,” Trebach told the New Yorker writer when reached by phone. Trebach "has not been charged with a crime" but says "that her cellphone was confiscated while in detention, and it remains in the possession of D.H.S." /4

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 24m

Then Trebach says she was held at two locations, questioned, and finally released the next day. Asked for reaction, DHS spox Tricia McLaughlin "alleged that Trebach jumped in front of a Border Patrol vehicle," pummeled it while swearing, and blocked CBP agents from carrying out their duties. /3

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 31m

"On the morning of August 8th, two masked men leaving the federal complex exited their vehicle and targeted one of the Patrollers, Amanda Trebach, who was photographing cars and holding a protest sign. She was pinned to the ground, handcuffed, and thrown into a van." /2

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 31m

New Yorker profile of a small group of Los Angeles activists ("Peace Patrol") who videorecord ICE vehicles entering and exiting around Terminal Island at the city's port where the agency has a complex. /1

The Volunteers Tracking ICE in Los Angeles

How a small group of activists dubbed the “Peace Patrol” stymie the deployment of federal agents in California.

www.newyorker.com

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Bob Weeks @bobweeks.bsky.social · 3h

The core lesson is that rights protected for opponents today are the same rights that protect everyone tomorrow.

"Protect Opponents' Legal Rights, and You Protect Your Own." Cato Institute, 1 Oct. 2025, www.cato.org/blog/protect-opponents-legal-rights-you-protect-own

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Mike Walker @newnarrative.bsky.social · 23h

Alligator Alcatraz was built on secrecy, expansive emergency powers, and an unprecedented state power grab

reason.com/2025/10/07/a...

Alligator Alcatraz was built on secrecy, expansive emergency powers, and an unprecedented state power grab

Shadowy deals and unilateral powers created Florida's notorious immigration detention camp.

reason.com

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Connor Ewing @cmewing.bsky.social · 1h

Great primer on the Insurrection Act by @walterolson.bsky.social

What is the Insurrection Act? And Will Trump Invoke it? We Asked an Expert

YouTube video by New York Post

www.youtube.com

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 3h

Podcast panel on developments in free speech including jawboning and reactions to the Kirk assassination with @cato.org's Thomas Berry and David Inserra, joined by Robby Soave.

Protecting Expression in Crisis

Featuring David Inserra, Thomas A. Berry, and Robby Soave

www.cato.org

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 5h

New from me at The Dispatch: DHS says it's illegal to videotape ICE agents. That's not what the courts say. @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 5h

It's out at the Dispatch:

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Greg Hernandez @ghnarrator.bsky.social · 1d

ICE kept most offices open in shutdown — but not the one inspecting detention centers

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

ICE kept most offices open in shutdown — but not the one inspecting detention centers

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s entire Office of Detention Oversight has been placed on furlough, despite surging numbers of detainees.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 13h

Since I didn’t say that, I’m not sure how the number of minutes it took matters.

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Your Local Epidemiologist @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social · 18h

1/ A lot of people have genuine questions about #routinevaccines. Between headlines, politics, and fear, it can be hard to find nuanced answers. Let’s walk through some FAQs. 👇

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 15h

Here’s video of the incident

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 14h

And now for something completely different: 5 minutes of me being interviewed by the New York Post on the Insurrection Act and whether Trump will invoke it.

What is the Insurrection Act? And Will Trump Invoke it? We Asked an Expert

YouTube video by New York Post

www.youtube.com

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 14h

Pressuring or simply forcing citizens to delete footage or surrender devices is so common I’m tempted to call it routine. That’s one of the issues I discuss in the piece.

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 14h

One of the most detailed accounts of the Nacht- und Nebel style raid at a Lakeshore Drive apartment building to appear thus far. southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 15h

My concern is that it won't be a binary answer. Some will and some won't. Those that cooperate will be promoted. Those that object, in any way, will face punishment.

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 15h

The U.S. armed forces may soon face the choice of whether to refuse illegal and unconstitutional orders, @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes. What will they do?

The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here

The leaders of the U.S. military may soon face a terrible decision.

bit.ly

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 15h

My piece on the right to videotape ICE should be out tomorrow.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 15h

What's it like living in Chicago today? This image gives us a strong sense of the fear that Chicagoans fear from Trump's secret police.

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 15h

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Reposted by Walter Olson

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 16h

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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