The transcript of the MN hearing where an AUSA said “This job sucks” is remarkable for more reasons than that. It’s a searing portrait of a crisis perpetrated by depraved & oblivious high-level officials. Read it all. ... 1/7 documentcloud.org/documents/2687…
Judge Jerry Blackwell’s own comments deserve attention: Unlawful detention “falls on the heads of those who have done nothing wrong to justify it. ... The overwhelming majority of the 100s seen by this Court have been found to be lawfully present ... in the country.” 2/7
“[Y]ou cannot ... detain first & sort out lawful authority later. ... Continued detention is not lawful just because ... an operation has expanded beyond the Government's capacity to execute it lawfully.” ... 3/7
... “In many instances, I have had to not just issue an order, but another order, another order, another order, about 7 or 8 different" iterations of a release order. ... 4/7
When detainees are finally released, “[w]e learn that, having transported him to El Paso or New Mexico, you don’t bring him back. ... [He’s] put on on the street with just the clothes on their back. ... We can’t have them released when it’s minus 14 outside.” ... 5/7
Says one detainee’s lawyer: “We shouldn’t need a specific court order to ask the DOJ not to put someone’s life in danger. ... [I’ve had to pick up clients] who were left on the side of the road with no coat, no phone, no wallet, no hat ... and it’s zero degrees outside.” 6/7
And when @politico dutifully seeks comment on what this transcript shows, both @TheJusticeDept & @DHSgov spit back their inevitable, knee-jerk, catch-all lie: It's all the fault of “activist,” “rogue judges.”
7/7-end politico.com/news/2026/02/0…
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Attys for class of refugees have asked Judge Tunheim in MN to hold govt in civil contempt for alleged failure to comply with his 1/28 order to unconditionally release refugees detained under a new DHS policy that, they say, departs from 45 yrs of practice. 1/4 documentcloud.org/documents/2680…
In Jan. DHS started subjecting 5,600 MN refugees to warrantless mandatory detention 1 year from admission if they hadn't yet become permanent legal residents. On 1/28 Judge Tunheim issued TRO to stop the policy & immediately release those detained. ...
/2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Refugees allege DHS dragged feet & imposed onerous conditions on those released, retaining their IDs & work permits. DHS has moved to dissolve the TRO, alleging “detain-and-inspect” policy is lawful & mandated by statute below, even if never before interpreted that way. /3
The Trump Adm is arresting Don Lemon and overcharging disruptive protesters at Cities Church to posture as if it’s protecting Christians. It’s not. DHS is staging disruptive ops at other churches, at least one of which has had to go online. ... 1/4
ICE vehicles commandeered that multicultural church’s private-property parking lot for staging purposes; staff experienced burning eyes from nearby chemical irritants & pepper balls, per declaration of MN AG investigator.
/2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Other church services—a healthcare clinic and preschool—have had to shut down or go online, per declaration of MN AG investigator, based on interview with the pastor).
/3
In seeking a fed court order to stop fed agents from “destroying or altering evidence” re the Pretti shooting, granted last night by a Trump-appointed judge, MN’s investigatory chief said feds blocked his inquiry for 1st time in his 20+ yrs—even after he got a search warrant to inspect the public space.
1/5
MN’s brief asserts that federal agents left the scene several hrs after the shooting, “allowing the perimeter to collapse & potentially spoiling evidence,” a “sharp departure from normal best practices” that may’ve “directly led to the destruction of evidence.” 2/5
Here’s the declaration of Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) superintendent Drew Evans.
memo announcing new policy shown only to select DHS officials, shared with some employees who were then told to read it and return it and not to take notes.
memo summarized here in whistleblower letter. allegedly issued on may 12 by acting ICE director Todd Lyons. documentcloud.org/documents/2649…
Accused J6 pipebomber Brian Cole is claiming that he is entitled to release due to govt’s failure to obtain within the allotted time period either a proper grand jury indictment or a judge’s probable cause finding after a “preliminary hearing.” Odd situation. ...
1/10
Under Federal Rules, absent defense consent or “extraordinary circumstances,” you can’t detain someone > 14 days without a finding of probable cause, either by indictment or public preliminary hearing. Prosecutors prefer indictments because they’re secret. ...
/2
Cole has been in custody since 12/4 on a criminal complaint. His initial appearance was 12/5. The mag judge set a detention hearing for 12/15, but didn’t mention a preliminary hearing. Seems like everyone assumed the govt would indict Cole by 12/15—but it didn’t. ...
/3
Re USA v Abrego Garcia: A quick summary of what Judge Crenshaw’s newly unsealed order from 12/3 shows & means: He reviewed ~3,000 govt documents in chambers. Most were irrelevant, but he ordered a few dozen key ones turned over to defense. ... 1/7 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
US Atty McGuire had previously sworn that he alone decided to indict Abrego Garcia. But emails show, per Crenshaw, that @DAGToddBlanche's Office told McGuire that indicting was a “top priority”; they wanted it “sooner rather than later”; & they even oversaw its content. ... 2/7
... Abrego’s vindictiveness claim hinges on timing. For 3 years the govt took no steps to charge him for his 11/30/22 traffic stop. It sent him to CECOT on 3/15/25 &, on 4/1/25, closed his arrest file. ...
3/7