"Police baked their own contempt into the data, listing people’s occupations as 'SCUM BAG,' 'TURD,' or simply 'BLACK.'" Great FOIA work from @sreynolds.bsky.social and reporting from @dell.bsky.social Worth noting this DHS-CPD partnership happened under Biden; no admin has had good DHS oversight.

Police and judges need a refresher on the First Amendment. Kansas’ Marion County just provided the syllabus — the expensive way.

Contrary to what you might have heard, journalists don't need to seek permission from or check in with the government to cover immigration courts. Thanks to FPF's advocacy, the government changed its practices and its policies to make that clear. freedom.press/issues/no-jo...

A $3 million settlement is major victory, but it can’t undo the damage to press freedom from the illegal raid on the Marion County Record. If other communities don’t want to learn First Amendment law the expensive way, they must train police and prosecutors to respect press rights.

The top brass at the LA County Sheriff's Department “don’t want their deputies to be accountable to the public they serve. The Sheriff’s Department fights all Public Records Act cases. It’s a knee-jerk reaction," Susan E. Seager tells Seth Stern.

It's past time for cameras in courtrooms nationwide. None of the studies have ever substantiated whatever harms critics have claimed transparency would cause. Hopefully, the Kirk trial will make this a bipartisan issue.

“They’re letting us do whatever we want." That's because SP is worth more than Trump can cost Paramount. He lets it slide because he knows that. Regardless of Ellison's politics, it's all business. Make censorship less lucrative and support news outlets run by people who care about news.

The Alabama Solution couldn’t have been made without incarcerated people having access to cell phones. Think that has to do with why the Trump administration now wants to jam cell phones in prisons? Read more from @joinjeremy.org in collaboration with @freedom.press and @theintercept.com

“I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time.” aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...

"Federal judges can fine and jail people who violate their orders. But they rarely use those powers, especially against the government. That needs to change when state thugs are tearing up the First Amendment on Chicago’s streets."

YouTube quietly erased more than 700 videos documenting Israeli human rights violations: "A capitulation to Trump sanctions" Read more in this @theintercept.com story by @jonahmv.bsky.social and Nikita Mazurov:

"Now the city attorney says in a leaked memo the real problem is that 'anyone can claim they are a Journalist.' Fine. Maybe those anyones shouldn’t get shot in the head, either," the @ladailynews.bsky.social' editorial board writes.

If Senate Republicans think tech giants with billions in the bank and armies of lawyers are susceptible to pressure from a censorial government, doesn’t it go without saying that so are individual journalists who lack anything close to those resources?

“ICE loves to demand our papers but it seems they don’t like it as much when we demand theirs,” said Ginger Quintero-McCall, one of FPF's lawyers in our latest FOIA lawsuit against the immigration agency.

The absolute gall of this administration full of Christian dominionists suddenly, well, getting religion on the separation of church and state because clergy is embarrassing them. (Also obviously they are wrong on both the law and morality)

The administration hates “fake news” so much it keeps stealing journalists' work for its ICE sizzle reels. Why can't it find footage from those supposedly better outlets it wants in the WH and Pentagon? Could it be that they don’t make content worth stealing?

Republicans are blasting Tucker Carlson for whitewashing antisemitism. But Trump's DOJ hasn't dropped the prosecution of journalist @bubbaprog.xyz, who exposed Tucker Carlson for whitewashing antisemitism. Use our action center to tell your lawmakers to speak up.

Wear your support for FPF on your sleeve! SecureDrop and Dangerzone help protect journalists and their work with whistleblowers. Join the club!

A federal judge told the top Border Protection official to start wearing his body camera this week. We should FOIA that footage now. Read about this story and more in our secrecy newsletter, The Classifieds.

New graffiti art in my Rogers Park, Chicago, neighborhood.

At least three news outlets had photo/video stollen by DHS to make an ICE propaganda video this week. (Also a Coldplay song?) Was your IP stolen by DHS? Get in touch! I'm with @freedom.press and we're concerned. Also, anyone work with content ID tools that do copyright matching at scale?

🔔 Tomorrow: Join us for a conversation with journalists abducted by Israel from Gaza aid flotillas, featuring @recolston.bsky.social, Emily Wilder, and Noa Avishag Schnall, and moderated by @chipgibbons.bsky.social. 🗓️ Nov. 3, 12 p.m. EST/9 a.m. PST RSVP: freedom.press/gaza-flotillas

🔔 Join us for a conversation with journalists abducted from Gaza aid flotillas, featuring @recolston.bsky.social, Emily Wilder, and Noa Avishag Schnall, moderated by @chipgibbons.bsky.social. 🗓️ Monday, Nov. 3, 12 p.m. EST/9 a.m. PST RSVP: freedom.press/gaza-flotillas

This is bad, of course, but were reporters really going to Karoline Leavitt's office? Why? Hopefully whoever was so unsatisfied with the lies she tells at press briefings that they knocked on her office door for more lies will seek out serious people as sources instead.

Yes, everything is broken and there is plenty of reason to be cynical. But making noise when officials violate the constitution still sometimes works and we're going to keep doing it.

Hyattsville Immigration Court has lifted its ridiculous requirement for reporters to get permission from furloughed federal agents to cover hearings. We wrote to the court’s top judge yesterday about how the requirement violated the constitution. cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/31/c...

Interesting how everyone so worried about jawboning when the government pressures tech megacorporations with billions of dollars and armies of lawyers to self-censor doesn't care when the government threatens individual reporters at nonprofit outlets. When's Ted Cruz calling a hearing on that?

Maybe this explains why ICE taped bags over windows of journalist @peoplesfabric.com’s cell so he couldn’t see out when they baselessly arrested him in September.

Shutting down the government doesn't shut down the First Amendment. It's absurd to exclude reporters from immigration hearings absent government permission, especially when it's impossible to obtain permission, and especially when the current government despises First Amendment freedoms.

They've used Chicago as a testing/training ground for this roving army of BP dipshits after doing the same in LA. Feels pretty crucial that everyone not in Chicago continue paying attention to Chicago to know exactly what to expect when they move elsewhere.

🔔 Public records-based reporting belongs to the public. @404media.co and @wired.com are leading the way. Hear why this is a public service and good for business, featuring @josephcox.bsky.social and @katie-drummond.bsky.social. 🗓️ Oct. 29, 2 p.m. EDT RSVP: freedom.press/unpaywalled

What are journalists dealing with on the front lines covering DHS and ICE? @attorneynora.bsky.social @writeralejandra.bsky.social @plasticjesusart.bsky.social @mvtopic.bsky.social and I had a lot of ground to cover in this 1-hour panel hosted by @exposedbycmd.bsky.social and @acslaw.bsky.social!

📩 Read in our weekly newsletter (and subscribe): - Rights remain under attack by immigration officers - Help us fight for private prison transparency - Deported journalist speaks to @pressfreedomtracker.us from El Salvador - Plus, get to know what we're reading…

The Trump administration is keeping too many secrets and public access to reliable government information is increasingly tenuous. Journalists can combat this existential threat to democracy by making FOIA-based reporting free. This story and more in our secrecy newsletter, The Classifieds.

Incarcerated people use contraband phones to expose abuses. That's why the FCC wants to jam them - not to stop crime. Read Jeremy's article for @theintercept.com in partnership with @freedom.press. And watch The Alabama Solution on @hbo.bsky.social for more on what cell phone footage has revealed

Incarcerated people facing retaliation are confronted with "a maze of onerous procedural requirements" when they try to sue. Jeremy joined @freedom.press and @aclu.org to talk about how this broken system harms journalists -- both inside and outside prisons.

We're excited to announce our partnership with the podcast Inmate Tea with A&P. For the first episode of our collaborative series, Jeremy talks with April and Pig about his personal journey and the vital importance of amplifying incarcerated journalists: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Iq...

Yes, deleting those texts was a crime but this kind of reminds us of getting Al Capone for tax evasion. The former police chief has done a lot worse, like illegally raiding a newspaper publisher’s home, likely resulting in Joan Meyer’s death.

Figured out how they are funding the ballroom!

🔔 Public records-based reporting should be free. @404media.co and @wired.com are leading the way. Hear why this is a public service and good for business, ft. @josephcox.bsky.social, @katie-drummond.bsky.social, Caitlin Vogus, and Lauren Harper. 🗓️ Oct. 29, 2 pm EDT RSVP: freedom.press/unpaywalled

A subject near and dear to my heart! Excited for this talk.

I’ll be attending this

Great to hear a crowd of tens of thousands cheering for independent media, including @unraveledpress.com, @thetriibe.com and @blockclubchi.bsky.social. Well deserved, they’ve been doing incredible work.

Investigating LAPD-press incidents in Los Angeles on Saturday. No doubt LAPD violated court injunction. Just a question of how bad. So far I think only minor injuries to press. Still confirming. Not a passing grade regardless. Preliminary leads in blue at top. Please share evidence if you have!

I did not know it was possible for this many people to exist in one place in Evanston

Just going to work at my job as the masked guy in body armor on the roof of the kidnapping factory

"The officers at the Coast Guard station did not appear to wear any agency or personal identification. They did not speak when asked to identify themselves, while one officer moved behind a bush as a Block Club reporter took photos and videos." Not at all concerning!

There are going to be so many journalists in one spot and I love to abuse journalists, pretty please judge, let me live my best life and abuse journalists, it's an emergency, I swear.

📣 Reporters covering #NoKings protests in Chicago over the weekend may want to print this latest temporary restraining order that prohibits federal agents from using excessive force against journalists and peaceful protesters. 🖨️ storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Horrifying firsthand account. Israel did this to an American journalist. Who is Jewish. With a Jewish publication. I'm of Jewish descent. Family escaped pogroms. Survived Nazis. Fought Nazis. This is what we were taught to "never forget." "Never again" means Israel too.