Originally published at: Trump’s Immigration Forces Are Recklessly Deploying ‘Less Lethal’ Weapons. Protesters Are Getting Maimed. - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This story is part of a collaboration between FRONTLINE and ProPublica that includes an upcoming documentary. As the Trump administration’s immigration dragnet intensified in June, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, left work one midafternoon and drove to a nearby detention facility to voice his opposition. Federal agents had set off smoke grenades, driving away many protesters at…
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ICE and CBP personnel “are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and themselves,” the statement said. “Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”
Our right-wing militia hires, who are too out of shape to pass a physical fitness test, too violent to pass a psychological evaluation, and have rap sheets a mile long, can be trusted with these deadly weapons. That’s why we’re shortening their training to the bare minimum and giving open-book tests on proper procedure. If you’re a law-abiding American citizen, you’ll only have your car windows smashed, be thrown to the ground, and held in detainment at an unknown location for hours or days while we process your probably fake government ID.
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From AI:
The term “normalization of fascism” refers to the process by which fascist ideas, rhetoric, and tactics become accepted as mainstream or ordinary within a society, often through media portrayal, political alliances, and the gradual erosion of democratic norms. This process makes once-intolerable actions and beliefs seem less extreme or even legitimate.
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I love the reporting that comes from A.C. Thompson. I’ve been following his work for a decade and a half. It is all top notch. Now the US government is using devices to beat up the citizens. Didn’t the Nazis start out this way?
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As I have noted in this space before, some years ago Boston PD fired pepper balls into a crowd of sportsball revelers, fatally injuring a college student.
Someone is going to die, and the dotard is going to try to pardon a murderer or two. One can only hope that a local jurisdiction can prosecute on state charges.
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How do ICE thugs breathe in all that gear?
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- Ruben Salazar, well know journalist killed while sitting in a bar when a tear gas grenade was fire into the bar, striking him in the head.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Salazar
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“You would figure they would be trained to de-escalate situations, right? Instead of going straight for using some kind of weapon to assault somebody,” the pastor said.
Training, if they ever received any, likely focused on how to put down their targets down as fast as possible. Call it the Bovino way.
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Just read Josh’s rumination on anti AI polling where he reminds us that many Americans have a passing acquaintance with the news… How do we get Americans still sleeping to see what is happening?
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“Less lethal” still has the word “lethal” in it. They are not “non-lethal” weapons. When used properly is key. They may be trained, but they are not following their training and there are no consequences.
This has already been extensively studied. Published 1/23/25 to the Congressional record, which should tell you how much attention it will never get.
Law Enforcement Use of Less-than-Lethal Weapons: Considerations for Congress
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TikTok, Instagram, YT. Basically, put the abuses all across social media.
Given the algorithms bias towards engagement, it shouldn’t be hard to spread.
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Don’t forget the ICE/CPB guys are all wearing masks.
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If the Democrats don’t hold Nuhremburg trials for these motherfuckers, then the Democratic party needs to end up on the ash heap of history along with the fucking Republicans. Enough of this bullshit.
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BOOM!!@×#@!!!@!!!
Goes the nuke in an American city. That would wake the sleepers up.
Or making the US dollar near worthless.
At a lone guy with a bullhorn. The lawsuits directly against the individual agents for violations of civil rights can’t come soon enough.
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While many Americans take the reasoned, mature attitude that everyone in this country, legal or not, citizen or not, has the rights given by the US Constitution and deserves due process, there are still a lot of us whose first reaction comes directly from the brainstem.
Yeah! Hit em! Harder!! They’re bad guys! They deserve it! Criminal rapists and murderers! Pedos!
The trick for Democrats and other sane Americans is to successfully remind everyone of the shared humanity of immigrants, regardless of how “brown” or how weird their religion may be. For what it’s worth, Americans have always, always had a hard time figuring this out. Just ask the Chinese. The Japanese. The irish. The Italians. And the list goes on. Then we wonder why new immigrants tend to settle in communities of “their own kind.”
Oh, and did I mention the economic value of immigrants? How they have improved the food selections available? Added hollidays?
Sorry for the Monday rant. Here’s a cat. (via youtube)
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Heather Cox Richardson today, about paragraph 14: “There is a growing sense that an elite group of wealthy people is running the world without accountability to the law, and that the Trump administration is protecting and even advancing the people in that group. That sense is key to popular anger at the administration’s refusal to release the FBI files about its investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” Her report today is an especially good read.
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Trump told everyone what his intentions were as to immigration enforcement during the Presidential campaign. And the nation elected him. We’ve earned our lot in life. We demanded it.
If I’ve read it before, I don’t recall. What is the rationale that permits ICE and CBP officers to act in ways that other federal, state, and local law enforcement officers cannot. No uniform, no badge or ID, face masks to conceal identity, use of personal vehicles. Limited training. Use of unreasonable force and damage to personal property that would be excessive and punishable if any other officers did it. Lax warrant and due process requirements. Stop and detain without probable cause or ID of the victim. Violent conduct toward journalists, peaceful protesters and bystanders. Violence against women and children. Why is the law different for them? I know they’re allowed to profile based on race and language because Bret Kavanaugh says so. Why does the law permit them to do these things, even before Trump 2.0 weaponized the weapon that is law enforcement.
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Look at that photo, does that look like someone who wants to use a less lethal weapon?
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