Heavy police presence ringing the Capitol this morning, fleet of plows for crowd control, clear ‘police line’ signage and police vans for mass arrests situations at the ready. Security not messing around.
Some Three Percenter regalia here, including one man with a ‘Vietnam Veteran’ hat and jacket . Several affiliated with these loose anti-govt groups were arrested after Jan. 6.
A very good boy doing security.
Small counterprotest presence here too. No visible pro-Trump signage, which is what organizer asked for.
Event underway, very low key. Wife of Jonathan Mellis (one of Jan. 6 defendants held in pretrial detention) currently speaking.
Aaaand it’s over. Protesters appeared to be outnumbered by media/cops for duration of event. A muted demonstration that nevertheless put DC on edge and drew an overwhelming display of force from police/government.
USCP chief Manger hanging out with Montgomery County officers (his old force) on front line of Capitol defenses.
NEW: DC was on edge, but a rally in support of those arrested on Jan. 6 drew a meager turnout — media presence rivaled the crowd size and overwhelming police force was on display.
At issue are hundreds of cases in which people have been ordered deported — sometimes after serious criminal offenses ranging form murder to rape to drug trafficking, but whose home countries won't accept them, or who have won protections from torture/persecution. politico.com/news/2026/04/1…
These people have served their criminal sentences but were released — sometimes years, and even decades ago — after ICE was unable to deport them.
The Trump administation has been re-detaining them and claiming to have restarted or reinvigorated deportation efforts, but courts have routinely found this to be predicated on "hope" rather than concrete progress. politico.com/news/2026/04/1…
Judge Kea Riggs, a Trump-appointed judge from Arizona, has ordered ICE provide a bond hearing a man in the United States for 25 years with no criminal record, who is the father of two US citizen kids, one of whom needs a heart transplant. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
We also have what appears to be the first and only ruling so far on the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy in the Northern District of West Virginia. John Bailey, a George W. Bush appointed judge, ordered the release of a man from Georgia. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
'UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY': Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointeee from NY, absolutely thrashes DHS' treatment of a man who came to the US. at age 9 and deemed an abuse/neglect victim, has no criminal record and became a college grad.
NEW: Four federal judges have formed a firewall against ICE in West Virginia — and say they’ll punish state and federal officials if they continue detaining people in ways the court has ruled illegal and unconstitutional.
For weeks, Judges Joseph Goodwin (Clinton), Robert Chambers (Clinton), Thomas Johnston (GWB) and Irene Berger (Obama) have been ordering the release of dozens of detainees ICE and its WV partners have picked up since Jan 1. But they’re not stopping there
They are calling out violations of court orders, sloppy paperwork in detention cases, the destruction of families, the erosion of civil liberties and a climate of fear wrought by masked agents operating on WV’s roadways. Contempt is next, they say. politico.com/news/2026/03/0…
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has struck down President Trump's tariff authority, saying his claim of emergency authority to issue sweeping tariffs to America's trading partners was unlawful. supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf…
Roberts, writing for the majority, says Trump's claim of an emergency to issue unbounded tariffs on whoever he feels like flies in the face of decades of law and practice. supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf…
Gorsuch, in his concurrence, worries that granting a president sweeping new powers based on vague delegations from Congress would risk "permanent accretion of power in the hands of one man." supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf…
NEW: Judges are asking increasingly pointed questions about why ICE is detaining pregnant/nursing mothers — and whether a 2021 policy sharply restricting the practice remains in force.
They’ve ordered many released, warning of threats to safety/health.
The admin has told different judges different things re the policy. But outgoing spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin did defend the treatment of pregnant women in their custody and added “being in detention is a choice.” Self-deportation, she said, is another.
ICE's policy to sharply limit detention of pregnant/nursing mothers was adopted in 2021. It says ICE shouldn't detain pregnant/nursing mothers unless there are "exceptional circumstances." What are exceptional circumstances? Threats to life or national security. politico.com/news/2026/02/1…
Some people do Friday Zillow. We do Friday habeas. Here are some cases of people who have been detained by ICE and ordered released by judges who said the detention was illegal. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Mexican man with no criminal history and six US citizen kids.