Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) Profile picture
Sep 29 29 tweets 10 min read Read on X
1/29

It is *SHOCKING* how little the mainstream news is talking about this memoranda right now.

They've glossed over just how bad it is!

It expands on the "Antifa" EO, but if allowed to stand then it is the *SINGLE* biggest power grab against rights since the Patriot Act! Image
2/29

Unlike an Executive Order, a Presidential Memoranda does *not* have to be published in the Federal Registrar.

They are designed to fly more "under the radar" for "administrative issues" and they've used that here with good reason.
3/29

They've essentially used this memoranda to expand on their "Antifa Terrorist Designation" executive order, by putting the details into the memoranda instead.

Remember the context of that EO:

1) Claim Antifa is a thing.

2) 2) Designate it a "Domestic Terrorist Org" Image
4/29

In the new memoranda they first make the claim that these "terrorist" actions are:

-"Not isolated incidents"

and are

-"Organized campaigns"

This paragraph otherwise seems benign, but its not.

There is a dangerous reason they make this claim - so keep it in mind! Image
5/29

They then claim that all of this happens under an umbrella term of "anti-fascist" attempting to use that rhetoric to call for "violent revolution"

And suggest that these run counter to "American Principles" which they claim include things like "support for law enforcement" Image
6/29

Based on these claims they direct the Joint Terrorism Task Force to focus new programs on various acts.

Investigating political violence, terrorism or conspiracy against rights, are all good and fair things.

But there is a problem... Image
7/29

It's this word.

Claiming that "radicalizing" someone to these "anti-fascist" views is the same as partaking in political violence and should be investigated.

There is no legal standard for what "radicalizing" means Image
8/29

BUT, it gets worse when we look at what they consider to be the "radical" "anti-fascist" positions.

According to them, if you were to express views of "hostility" against "traditional American views on family, religion, or morality" that IS a radical indica of violence. Image
9/29

Same with views against Americanism (what?), capitalism, Christianity or views that THEY consider to be "extremism" on gender, race or migration - which of course is anything that does not conform to their belief system.
10/29

Post a pro-LGBTQ post on social media?

They could technically argue that you were radicalizing some terrorist because you went against views on gender, family and religion.

But, what does this have to do with your rights? Image
11/29

The memoranda says that the DoJ should "designate" you as part of a "domestic terrorist organization" under 18 U.S.C. 2331(5).

But there is an issue with that.

It's not really a designation process like the FTO. Image
12/29

This is a definition (which is different than a designation), that is used as reference in different crimes to change their penalty and deal with jurisdictional matters.

But, the reference *IS* used in one other important place: **The Patriot Act** Image
13/29

Under The Patriot Act, the FBI can perform warrantless-surveillance on American's with NO judicial involvement through the use of "National Security Letters" (NSLs)

These letters let the FBI request data about American's without warrants, and under gag orders Image
14/29

An NSL requires:

-No judge approval
-No threshold of proof
-No requirement of probable cause

BUT, it does require one thing, the FBI can ONLY issue an NSL if they can articulate that it relates to:

-Counterintelligence

OR

-Counter-terrorism Image
15/29

The goal of this memoranda is to create legal cover for Kash Patel to create NSLs to investigate *ANY* person who expresses anti-Trump, anti-MAGA or anti-fascist rhetoric.

All without a warrant.

Simply by saying "they had the *indica* of a known terrorist group" Image
16/29

This lets them compel records from other federal departments, as well as private companies, just by saying they "had to" investigate you to rule out you were a terrorist.

Requesting logs through ALL the KYC/AML bank monitoring programs and the IRS Image
17/29

They EXPRESSLY are using this to dig up dirt on people, both directly, and in pursuit of larger charges.

Just as we saw with Fed Governor Cook, the Trump administration tries to use made up crimes, in the court of public opinions to bully detractors into silence. Image
18/29

That's *one of* the reasons that this memorandum expressly requires that the IRS and the Treasury department produce financial records, tax filings, and all financial reports, related to any one that the JTFF/FBI investigate under this "terrorist" label. Image
Image
19/29

BUT, the other reason is *MUCH* more dangerous.

And it's a the end of this paragraph, when they reference Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq) which is more commonly known as "RICO" Image
20/29

The RICO charge was created as a way to deal with organized crime (the Mafia, Bike Gangs, etc) where you could collectively charge everyone in the group with a crime, even if they themselves didn't carry out the violent act, so long as you could prove the group enabled it. Image
21/29

For this to stick, you have to prove:

-The group has a shared purpose, even if loosely defined
-There is a relationship among the participants
-They have committed at least 2 violent crimes in a 10 year period
-Have a pattern of "coordination" Image
22/29

Normally, donating to a domestic organization, even if they later commit a crime is not an offense, so long as you did not *know* the proceeds would be used in a crime.

BUT, with RICO, if no formal org exists, then that line gets hazy.
23/29

Technically you can argue:

-Anyone who coordinated, recruited, funded, donated, or provided other support for people was part of that org. Image
24/29

If you helped organize a protest, or donate to its permits, or tweeted about it, and someone there committed a violent act, OR someone there had previously committed a violent act, they could use that to bring RICO charges against you. Image
25/29

And by letting the FBI use NSLs to go after ALL your bank records and IRS records, AND your social media and phone metadata, WITHOUT you knowing and WITHOUT a court order...

...Means they will find everyone you ever interacted with or donated to, to cast a wide net.
26/29

This memoranda, in combination with the previous EO, if allowed to stand is the WORST violation of American privacy in >20 years.

They are giving legal cover Kash Patel to surveil ANYONE who publicly disagrees with the President's agenda. Image
27/29

And then they are setting the stage to use RICO charges, to clamp down on protest and dissent, by using the swaths of data they gathered.

While many of these cases likely wont hold up to court scrutiny - IT DOES NOT MATTER.

They just want to stop this: Image
28/29

The fear of that charge, the risk of it sticking, the cost of the proceeding, is enough to quash dissent - and they know that.

They are trying to use fear and threat to coerce your silence.

Because tyrants thrive when fear masks their weakness. Image
29/29

The irony is, they complain about overseas laws attacking and criminalizing speech.

And then they enact programs 1000x worse, aimed at monitoring and silencing any American who DARES to disagrees with them.

Dissent is NOT terrorism.

Dissent is FREEDOM. Image

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More from @adamscochran

Sep 25
1/43

Took a while to make sure we got everything..

...but here is *EVERYTHING* wrong with RFK Jr's multi-decade misinformation campaign against Autism:

(Video version linked at end of thread) Image
2/43

First off, let's start with what RFK Jr says about autism.

In this minute long ramble, where it sounds like RFK Jr has one foot in the grave, he paints a bleak picture about what autism is.

Even suggesting autistic people can't use the bathroom unassisted.
3/43

Our understanding of autism has evolved a lot throughout history.

Until 1911, we thought it was part of schizophrenia.

Then for decades after we thought it was a single binary condition, and only severe cases, almost solely in males.
Read 45 tweets
Sep 19
1/17

The *dangerous* mistake that mainstream journalists make on the Tyler Robinson case, is the same mistake that Chuck Schumer makes in Congress:

-They assume that the Trump admin is "politics as usual"

But this is not normal.

They lie to us DAILY! Image
Image
2/17

There is a lot of conspiracy out there, and they are quick to assume any questioning of the administrations actions must be conspiracy lacking nuance - and yet, they refuse to ask nuanced questions themselves.
3/17

Just 4 days ago, Kash Patel was on Fox News noting that they had a note that "was destroyed", that they did not "see" and that they got the contents of from "aggressive interview posture" Image
Read 17 tweets
Sep 19
1/5

WOW!

According to reporting by the New York Times:

The suspicious text messages between Tyler Robinson and his partner were *REPRODUCED* for the charging document.

Raising even more questions about their authenticity! Image
Image
2/5

Not only do they not sound like a 22 year old gamer, but:

-No one has seen any timestamps

-We don’t know if they were text messages or on another platform like WhatsApp/Discord/Telegram

And most importantly:

-We don’t know if they are paraphrased Image
3/5

For all we know, the FBI interrogated Robinson’s partner, under what they called “aggressive interrogation posture”

Under coercion he could have “recounted” texts that they “reconstructed” Image
Read 7 tweets
Sep 18
1/6

Since the Right Wing bots want to argue obscure FCC rules, here’s a crash course for you:

1) The “equal time” doctrine:

Applied to broadcast networks only means that they have to give candidates from each party, equal time on the air during an election, or
2/6

During coverage and advertising at best pricing, should they desire it.

BUT, it exempts a number of key situations such as:

-documentaries and interviews
-political debates
-talk shows from syndicators

So this rule, does not apply to Trump’s attack on Kimmel. Image
3/6

2) “The Fairness Doctrine:”

This rule used to mean that public broadcasters had to present all issues in a manner that fairly reflected both political viewpoints.

However this rule was abolished in 1987 to allow for “Conservative Talk Radio” under Reagan. Image
Read 6 tweets
Sep 18
And there you have it!

The President *stupidly* admits on the record, that this was about “targeting Trump”

It was not about offensive jokes.

It was not about lies.

It was not about Kirk.

Trump threatened licenses because of how *HE* was portrayed.

1A beach.
What did I tell you! It’s about elections!
If you’re trying to catch up, here’s how this all developed, and the important context of what to do next:
Read 5 tweets
Sep 18
1/29

This has been the most *DANGEROUS* 48 hours in the Trump Presidency so far.

Trump has taken multiple unprecedent actions, that while individually they seem innocuous, together point to an alarming future that require us to act NOW.

Here is what you need to know: Image
2/29

What's important to understand, is that the only thing that droops more than Trump's face is his approval rating.

Hitting a new record low, even among Republican voters. Image
3/29

We see this echoed in the fact that Democrats are *massively* outperforming in special elections, including in districts that Trump won by more than 10 points. Image
Image
Read 30 tweets

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