After 12 days of silence about the deployment of troops in #Illinois, #SCOTUS justices are now asking “whether the term ‘regular forces’ refers to the regular forces of the #UnitedStates #military, &, if so, how that interpretation affects the operation” of the #law.

#Trump #Chicago #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Dictatorship #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2025/10/29/as-supreme-court-requests-more-information-national-guard-deployment-remains-on-hold

No ruling imminent as #SupremeCourt asks for more briefs in #Trump #Illinois #NationalGuard deployment case

#SCOTUS on Wednesday asked for more briefing in the ongoing fight over Trump’s ability to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois, signaling that the court’s highly anticipated ruling is still weeks away.

#Chicago #law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #fascism #Tyranny #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/29/no-ruling-supreme-court-national-guard/

Border Patrol’s #Bovino agrees to return to court daily, as he & federal judge talk #BodyCams, #TearGas, IDs

The top #US #BorderPatrol commander spent an hour on the stand Tuesday, responding to US District Judge Sara Ellis’ concerns about how federal agents have handled themselves, people they’ve detained, #protesters & #journalists.

#Trump #Chicago #law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #fascism #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/28/border-patrol-gregory-bovino-federal-court

#Trump Says He Is Prepared to Send ‘More Than the #NationalGuard’ Into US #Cities

In a speech to American #troops assembled in Japan on Tuesday, Trump said he would escalate his orders to active duty branches of the #military if he decides it is appropriate.

#law #immigration #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Dictatorship #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #MilitaryState #MartialLaw #PosseComitatusAct
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/us/politics/trump-japan-national-guard-us-cities.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

As previously reported, the #EEOC even moved to dismiss its own active lawsuits against companies that had been credibly accused of discriminating against #trans & #nonbinary workers. Seawright’s complaint says that the EEOC’s internal non-discrimination & inclusion policy regarding gender identity & sexual orientation, which has existed since at least 2009, was also rescinded by Lucas.

#Trump #law #LaborLaw #CivilRights #LGBTQ #discrimination

“The conditions of my employment have continued to deteriorate & I expect they will become worse as Acting Chair Lucas takes further steps to discriminate against #transgender employees,” his complaint said.

Meanwhile, elsewhere at the agency, #EEOC staff were instructed to stop processing complaints from workers alleging #LBGTQ+ #discrimination.

#Trump #law #LaborLaw #CivilRights

Seawright’s complaint is not only about what he was instructed to do at work, but also about what he was prevented from doing amid the #EEOC’s efforts to “marginalize me & my role.” Among other things, he says he was booted from network systems he needed to do his job & left off meeting invitations about initiatives he was supposed to be leading.

#Trump #law #LaborLaw #CivilRights #LGBTQ #discrimination

The same month, #EEOC staff were instructed that any recognition of #transgender & #nonbinary people needed to be “systematically erased” in both the EEOC’s internal & external materials, Seawright explained in a formal complaint against the agency in March, before his resignation.

“What made it more disturbing,” he wrote, “was my forced involvement in making it happen.”

#Trump #law #LaborLaw #CivilRights #LGBTQ #discrimination

Seawright, who identifies as a queer trans man, has also served as an employee-elected board leader of the agency’s #LGBTQ+ employee resource group; that is, until the #Trump adminn’s newly appointed #EEOC chair, Andrea Lucas, disbanded it in January.

#law #LaborLaw #CivilRights

Before his resignation, the information technology specialist had spent the last 8 years working on projects that enabled the #EEOC to carry out its core mission: preventing & fighting workplace #discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy status, disability, & genetic information….

#law #LaborLaw #CivilRights

Under #Trump, Federal #Workplace Anti-Discrimination Agency Engaged in…Workplace #Discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (#EEOC) was established by the 1964 #CivilRights Act to enforce anti-discrimination laws in workplaces across the country. But under Trump, the federal agency tasked with helping workers who experienced hostile work environments became a hostile work environment itself, acc/to one judge’s recent ruling.

#law #LaborLaw #LGBTQ
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/under-trump-eeoc-discriminated-against-trans-man-marc-seawright/

Of course they would

#ICE would need more #money to expand use of #bodycams in #Chicago crackdown, official says
Many federal officers assigned to #immigration enforcement in the Chicago area have body cameras but #Congress would have to allocate more funds to expand their use, officials testified Monday at a hearing about the violent tactics agents are using in #Trump admin’s crackdown.

#law #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #PoliceBrutality #Gestapo
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-crackdown-chicago-bodycam-9aea34c3a48bc63cfb9d128159c5fdc9

In the dispute over the #NationalGuard, US District Judge April Perry said she found no substantial evidence that a “danger of rebellion” is brewing in #Illinois during the #Trump #immigration crackdown.

#Chicago #law #SCOTUS #ActivistCourt #immigration #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #DueProcess #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #PosseComitatusAct #MartialLaw #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy

#ICE purchased #spyware in recent weeks that enables it to remotely hack into #smartphones & extract #data, even if phones are locked or communication is encrypted. One of them, developed by #Paragon, has drawn considerable concern from #CivilRights groups due to its use by other govts to monitor #dissidents & #journalists. ICE’s initial $2M contract for the spyware was suspended by #Biden due to those ethical concerns, but the contract was reactivated Aug 29.

#Trump #law #surveillance

But Democratic lawmakers, #CivilRights watchdogs & fmr officials have expressed concern that #ICE now has a green light not only to monitor immigrant communities, but also to carry out broad #surveillance of Americans exercising their #FirstAmendment right to oppose government action.

#Trump #law #privacy #immigration #tech #SurveillanceState #MilitaryState #fascism #tyranny #NoKings

Ultimately, the judge asked Skedzielewski to work out a modified order with the plaintiffs’ lawyers. And, she said, “if everybody kind of follows what’s outlined in this [temporary restraining order], conforms their decisions & behavior to what the #Constitution demands, then, you know, all copacetic.”

#Trump #law #judiciary #Chicago #immigration #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #WhiteSupremacy

But Skedzielewski said #BodyCameras have not been rolled out for #ICE officers in the #Chicago area, & he complained about the logistics of sorting through those videos every time an alleged incident occurs.

Ellis told him, “there’s, you know, a simple way to not have to do that though, right?”

After a long pause, Skedzielewski insisted that, “I think we’re going to enforce federal law.” [Which sounds a lot like a threat]

#Trump #law #judiciary #RightToProtest #CivilRights #PoliceBrutality

The judge went on to explain that the use of #BodyCameras by agents would help sort out any confusion about what happened. Unlike cell phone cameras that are often whipped out after something occurs, body cameras “pick up events before the triggering event happens,” she said.

#Trump #law #judiciary #Chicago #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #WhiteSupremacy

But Ellis then asked about the incident on the Southeast Side, in which local security cameras captured agents intentionally crashing into a car in a risky maneuver restricted by some #police departments nationwide.

Ellis told Skedzielewski, “We’re not on the #border. We are in an #urban, densely populated area.” And, she said, “There’s a reason the #Chicago Police Department has policies.”

#Trump #law #judiciary #RecklessEndangerment #PoliceBrutality #RightToProtest #CivilRights #ICE #CBP

The plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in a court filing late Wednesday that “officers appear to be using #violence, #TearGas, & other #munitions against #protesters & journalists. Young #children & even #babies appear to have been subjected to the indiscriminate use of tear gas” by federal officers.

#Trump #law #judiciary #Chicago #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #WhiteSupremacy

In both instances, a crowd of onlookers gathered to #protest the agents.

Plaintiffs in the case include #media orgs such as the #Chicago Headline Club, Block Club Chicago, & the Chicago Newspaper Guild, which represents #journalists who work at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Case page:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71559589/chicago-headline-club-v-noem/

#Trump #law #judiciary #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #WhiteSupremacy

Then Judge Ellis insisted that Russell Hott, director of ICE’s #Chicago field office, appear in her courtroom Monday to clarify what’s going on.

“The field director is going to explain to me why I am seeing images of #TearGas being deployed & reading reports that there were no warnings given before it was deployed,” Ellis said.

#Trump #law #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #PoliceBrutality #ICE #CBP #Gestapo #Sturmabteilung

That same judge took the bench early Thursday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, where she told one of Trump’s lawyers, bluntly, “I’m not blind.”

US District Judge Sara Ellis cited reports in the #Chicago Sun-Times & other media that have given her “serious concerns” about whether the #Trump admin has followed her #CourtOrder in recent days.

#law #judiciary #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #PoliceBrutality #ICE #CBP #Gestapo

Judge hauling #ICE official into court as aggressive tactics continue despite her #CourtOrder: 'I'm not blind'

A week ago, a federal judge forbade agents from using #TearGas & other “riot control” weapons without warning in #Chicago as they carried out #Trump’s #deportation blitz.

#law #judiciary #immigration #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #fascism #Tyranny #PoliceBrutality #CBP #Gestapo
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/16/judge-hauling-ice-official-into-court-as-aggressive-tactics-continue-despite-her-order-im-not-blind

“I’m getting images and seeing images on the news, in the paper, reading reports where I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” the judge said.

Sean Skedzielewski, an attorney representing the government, [lying] laid blame with “one-sided & selectively edited media reports.”

#Trump #Chicago #law #judiciary #immigration #Constitution #FreedomOfAssembly #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #Tyranny #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo

US District Judge Sara Ellis said she was a “little startled” after seeing TV images of clashes between agents & the public during #Trump’s #immigration crackdown.

“I live in #Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” she said. “And I’m not blind, right?”

Ellis last week said agents in the area must wear badges, & she banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful #protesters & #journalists.

#law #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #PoliceBrutality #ICE #CBP #Gestapo

Judge orders agents in #Chicago area to wear body cameras after violent clashes

Federal #immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear #BodyCameras, a judge ordered Thursday after seeing #TearGas & other aggressive steps used against #protesters.

#Trump #law #Constitution #RightToProtest #CivilRights #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #PoliceBrutality #MilitaryState #ICE #CBP #Gestapo
https://apnews.com/article/chicago-immigration-crackdown-judge-d5414dffbbd9380f95211c2c18d653d2?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-16-Breaking+News

@Nonilex

"“The #Constitution does not tolerate this system of of government-mandated racial balancing,” Aguiñaga said."

It should be pointed out that conservatives' beloved #Constitution did not include anyone but white male Anglo-Saxon Christians as citizens in the first place

A minor detail that conservatives always seem to miss

#SCOTUS #Law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#SCOTUS is hearing arguments Wednesday over a core provision of the #VotingRightsAct that is designed to protect racial minorities.

Lawyers for #Louisiana & the #Trump admin [the first admin ever to challenge the law] will try to persuade the justices to wipe away the state’s 2nd majority Black congressional district & make it much harder, if not impossible, to take account of #race in #redistricting.

#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy
https://apnews.com/live/supreme-court-voting-rights-arguments-updates?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-15-Live+updates

Roberts & #Kavanaugh are the ones to watch

Along with the three liberal justices, #JohnRoberts & Brett Kavanaugh were part of a surprising decision two years ago that required #Alabama to redraw its congressional districts to benefit Black voters and led to the new map in #Louisiana as well.

The outcome likely will be different if either justice votes differently this time around.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

4 lawyers will present arguments to the court

But only one is defending the #Louisiana congressional map with 2 majority #Black districts.

That will be #CivilRights lawyer Janai Nelson, representing the Black voters who sued when the state initially produced a map with just one majority Black district.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

The other lawyers are the #Trump administration’s deputy solicitor general, Hashim Mooppan, #Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga & Edward Greim, the lawyer for the #white voters who sued over the map with 2 majority #Black districts.

Louisiana switched sides after the court ordered new arguments.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Arguments underway in #SCOTUS #VotingRightsAct case

#JohnRoberts first called on Janai Nelson of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to present her argument. Nelson is representing Press Robinson & other #Black #Louisiana voters.

Nelson argues her opponents “seek stagging reversal of precedent that would throw maps across the country into chaos.”

#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#ClarenceThomas has been questioning section 2 almost since he joined the court in 1991

The questioning begins with Thomas. His long-held view that drawing districts with #race in mind violates the #Constitution. Until now, that view has never commanded a majority of the court.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“We’re talking about racially polarized voting that is above 84%, which is more than what this court found in Thornburg v. Gingles in 1986,” Nelson said.

A bit of political/legal jargon repeatedly came up early in Wednesday’s voting rights oral arguments.

“Packing & cracking” refers to a practice by the party in power, which tries to pack Black voters into condensed areas, then divide them.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

When it comes to redrawing districts in #Louisiana, the argument by plaintiffs is that #Republicans are seeking to condense the #Black vote then dilute it by dividing them among districts.

Justice Jackson brings up a 2023 case from #Alabama where #SCOTUS upheld the #VotingRightsAct.

Nelson’s argument seems to suggest, “We not revisit the determination that we made just 2 years ago,” Jackson said.

“That is absolutely correct,” Nelson responded.

#law #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#Kavanaugh, one of the key justices to watch in this case, questions whether there might be a point where the country no longer needs to take #race into account in drawing voting districts.

“The issue, as you know, is that this court’s cases, in a variety of contexts, has said that race-based remedies are permissible for a period of time … but that they should not be indefinite & should have an end point,” he said.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years in invalidating admissions plans at Harvard & the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private & public colleges, respectively.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Now the justices will hear from J. Benjamin Aguiñaga, #Louisiana’s solicitor general. The state is no longer defending the disputed map.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#Gorsuch appeared skeptical of Nelson’s argument, pressing her on how & when race can be used in the drawing of maps. His questions cut to the heart of the questions the justices are considering today.
“You’re saying sometimes acceptable for a federal district court to order a map that intentionally discriminates on the basis of race?” he asked. The #Louisiana maps at issue today weren’t drawn by a judge, but courts can order maps re-drawn under the #VRA.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #CivilRights

Nelson pushed back. It’s not #discrimination for states to keep race in mind as they draw voting districts to comply with the #VRA & ensure representation for minority votes, she argued.

Under questioning from Justice Elena #Kagan, Nelson describes as “catastrophic” the impact of Secton 2 of the #VotingRightsAct ceasing to prevent vote dissolution, including in legislative districts beyond #Congress.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“We only have the diversity that we see across the South, for example, because of litigation that forced the creation of opportunity districts under the #VotingRightsAct,” Nelson said.

“It is an intervention that has been crucial to diversifying leadership & providing an ability of minority voters to have an equal opportunity to participate in the process, she adds.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Then an important caveat: “But it also isn’t a permanent remedy. It corrects itself over time, & it’s only triggered when those extreme conditions exist.”

Benjamin Aguiñaga is now arguing for the state. He’s the state’s solicitor general and is considered a rising star in conservative legal circles. He’s defending the states position that could bring major changes to the #VotingRightsAct.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“The #Constitution does not tolerate this system of of government-mandated racial balancing,” Aguiñaga said. “I respectfully but firmly resist the premise that this comes to the court on a finding of specific discrimination by the state.”

Questioning Aguiñaga about the role of race in #redistricting, #Sotomayor says it’s always a factor.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

@quincy may the cyberfascists realize that they'd be the ones firing the first shots if they chose that shite and that they shall not cross that line!

#sarcasm #comment #EUpol #ChatControl #Cyberfascism #SurveillanceState #PoliceState #Fascism #InfoSec #ComSec #Privacy #HumanRights #CivilRights

@mechanix @delta @randy_ @gaufff @signalapp also exempting #police, #miljtary and #politicans is inexcuseable.

Seriously, how often must #Zensursula assault #HumanRights and #CivilRights until #BVerfG bars her from public offices for her being blatantly parading unconstitutional shit takes?