Athul K. Acharya
@athul.acharya.cc
Civil-rights lawyer
Executive Director of @pubaccountability.org
https://pubaccountability.org/athul-k-acharya
Executive Director of @pubaccountability.org
https://pubaccountability.org/athul-k-acharya
Pinned
Athul K. Acharya
@athul.acharya.cc
· Mar 6
“Journalism is not a crime ... it’s the only profession that’s explicitly mentioned in the Bill of Rights,” an attorney told the City Council Wednesday. The city will pay $938K to journalists and legal observers targeted and attacked by police while covering the 2020 racial justice protests.
Portland Settles Lawsuit With Journalists, Legal Observers Targeted By Police During Protests
The city of Portland will pay out $938,330 to settle a lawsuit from journalists and legal observers who were attacked and threatened with arrest for covering the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Po...
www.portlandmercury.com
Oh hey, that attorney was me, and the journalists and legal observers were my clients
The people who did this should suffer the basest, most vile torture imaginable. Stuff that, once done, corrupts the doer irrevocably. Find Charles Graner and Lynndie England and give them a new assignment.
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer
Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...
www.mprnews.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:20 AM
The people who did this should suffer the basest, most vile torture imaginable. Stuff that, once done, corrupts the doer irrevocably. Find Charles Graner and Lynndie England and give them a new assignment.
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
Every single person that was involved in any way with what was done to this child - including the talking heads that lied about what was done and how he was used - should be burned at the stake.
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer
Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...
www.mprnews.org
February 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
Every single person that was involved in any way with what was done to this child - including the talking heads that lied about what was done and how he was used - should be burned at the stake.
Then again, with “please put in the paper that I got mad,” Blackman is two-thirds the way to an own hat trick
February 10, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Then again, with “please put in the paper that I got mad,” Blackman is two-thirds the way to an own hat trick
Honestly, NYT should’ve just published this rather than save Blackman from a hilarious own goal
Josh Blackman has self-published his letter to the editor to the New York times (which they declined to publish) and GUYS
February 10, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Honestly, NYT should’ve just published this rather than save Blackman from a hilarious own goal
I would have immediately retracted my hand and gone to the nearest restroom to wash it.
February 10, 2026 at 12:42 AM
I would have immediately retracted my hand and gone to the nearest restroom to wash it.
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
Prediction: adding voting burdens will depress turnout more among those least excited to vote, which is clearly Republicans right now. I don’t support making it harder for anyone to vote, but this could backfire spectacularly
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., tells me Senate Republicans are having a "big meeting tomorrow" to discuss the path forward for SAVE Act. He predicts the Senate won't nuke the filibuster but adds that he's "willing to listen" to ideas on how to proceed.
February 9, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Prediction: adding voting burdens will depress turnout more among those least excited to vote, which is clearly Republicans right now. I don’t support making it harder for anyone to vote, but this could backfire spectacularly
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
the purpose of shit like this is to kill people who didn't vote for him. blue states are conquered territory, not fellow citizens.
The Trump administration plans to rescind $600 million in public health funds from four states led by Democrats because it finds the grants “inconsistent with agency priorities,” according to documents reviewed by the NYT
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/h...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/h...
Trump Administration to Cut $600 Million in Health Funding From Four States
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:07 AM
the purpose of shit like this is to kill people who didn't vote for him. blue states are conquered territory, not fellow citizens.
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
Yeah I’m basically with him too (although I do think “the Indians” is meaningfully different from “American Indians” in the same way “the Blacks” is meaningfully different from “Black people”) but he’s just so temperamentally committed to being disagreeable
February 9, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Yeah I’m basically with him too (although I do think “the Indians” is meaningfully different from “American Indians” in the same way “the Blacks” is meaningfully different from “Black people”) but he’s just so temperamentally committed to being disagreeable
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
Very excited that @gelbach.bsky.social & I will be publishing "Bruen's Tenth Amendment Problem" in the @uchilrev.bsky.social!
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 9, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Very excited that @gelbach.bsky.social & I will be publishing "Bruen's Tenth Amendment Problem" in the @uchilrev.bsky.social!
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Athul K. Acharya
This paper looks to be an exemplar of the "argument that seems self-evident but only after someone else thought of it and wrote it out" genre. It's not that the argument is obvious (derogatory) but so powerful and intuitive that you slap your forehead after reading it (laudatory). Excited to dig in!
Very excited that @gelbach.bsky.social & I will be publishing "Bruen's Tenth Amendment Problem" in the @uchilrev.bsky.social!
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Our central arg is that Bruen's erasure of unexercised powers violates the 10th Am's preservation of existing State power. Comments welcome!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
February 9, 2026 at 6:40 PM
This paper looks to be an exemplar of the "argument that seems self-evident but only after someone else thought of it and wrote it out" genre. It's not that the argument is obvious (derogatory) but so powerful and intuitive that you slap your forehead after reading it (laudatory). Excited to dig in!
I am largely pro-Stancil these days but I can see how he got kicked out of the group chat
Well, I’m not sorry, just like the people attacking me are not actually offended. Let’s drop the pretense
February 9, 2026 at 7:55 PM
I am largely pro-Stancil these days but I can see how he got kicked out of the group chat
The back half is probably true without any conditional in front of it
February 9, 2026 at 12:20 PM
The back half is probably true without any conditional in front of it
If you follow me because of this post you should know I have more opinions you’ll dislike than ones you’ll like
February 9, 2026 at 12:11 PM
If you follow me because of this post you should know I have more opinions you’ll dislike than ones you’ll like
I voted for the guy in 2016 btw so yeah, fuck me as a judge of character too
February 9, 2026 at 11:31 AM
I voted for the guy in 2016 btw so yeah, fuck me as a judge of character too
Well, good thing Tulsi’s a one-off, I’m sure Bernie is otherwise an excellent judge of char—
[focuses on earpiece]
—sorry, something’s coming in about David Sirota—
[back to the earpiece]
—Briahna Joy—
[once more]
—Chakrabarti—
[focuses on earpiece]
—sorry, something’s coming in about David Sirota—
[back to the earpiece]
—Briahna Joy—
[once more]
—Chakrabarti—
Always remember that Tulsi Gabbard wouldn't have been so close to power without Bernie Sanders propping her up.
February 9, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Well, good thing Tulsi’s a one-off, I’m sure Bernie is otherwise an excellent judge of char—
[focuses on earpiece]
—sorry, something’s coming in about David Sirota—
[back to the earpiece]
—Briahna Joy—
[once more]
—Chakrabarti—
[focuses on earpiece]
—sorry, something’s coming in about David Sirota—
[back to the earpiece]
—Briahna Joy—
[once more]
—Chakrabarti—
Okay but when he’s right the snark hits so good
February 9, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Okay but when he’s right the snark hits so good
"I think 'Tuvix' is actually a pretty good episode"
February 9, 2026 at 8:26 AM
"I think 'Tuvix' is actually a pretty good episode"
Good neighborhood to be in
February 9, 2026 at 6:52 AM
Good neighborhood to be in
One more, rom personal knowledge. I do closely related civil-rights work. Without casting shade on other districts, the judges here are very favorable to civil rights. I’m not sure there’s better anywhere else in the country. So if you care about actually getting those habeas petitions granted…
February 9, 2026 at 6:47 AM
One more, rom personal knowledge. I do closely related civil-rights work. Without casting shade on other districts, the judges here are very favorable to civil rights. I’m not sure there’s better anywhere else in the country. So if you care about actually getting those habeas petitions granted…
More details—do you remember the drama around where exactly Abrego Garcia was being held? That’s because you have to file a habeas petition in the district where the detainee is. We mostly avoid that drama because we know they’re at Macadam.
February 9, 2026 at 6:47 AM
More details—do you remember the drama around where exactly Abrego Garcia was being held? That’s because you have to file a habeas petition in the district where the detainee is. We mostly avoid that drama because we know they’re at Macadam.
No idea what data would be helpful here. There aren’t going to be RCTs on how quickly you get out of Tacoma vs Macadam.
Details—for one, see below. No more setting up outside the building if the building is in Tacoma. (Maybe some Seattle lawyers would, but that presents its own problems.)
Details—for one, see below. No more setting up outside the building if the building is in Tacoma. (Maybe some Seattle lawyers would, but that presents its own problems.)
Right now, legal aid groups can set up right outside the building to help people the second they’re picked up. If operations move to a remote or hidden spot, it becomes much harder to track who is even in custody.
February 9, 2026 at 6:47 AM
No idea what data would be helpful here. There aren’t going to be RCTs on how quickly you get out of Tacoma vs Macadam.
Details—for one, see below. No more setting up outside the building if the building is in Tacoma. (Maybe some Seattle lawyers would, but that presents its own problems.)
Details—for one, see below. No more setting up outside the building if the building is in Tacoma. (Maybe some Seattle lawyers would, but that presents its own problems.)
If you’re actually being sincere, I’m not sure what’s hard to believe. Like obviously going to a checkin is harder if it’s in Tacoma, obviously seeing your Portland lawyer is harder if you’re held in Tacoma. Why don’t you read Kat’s thread I linked to and tell me what’s unconvincing.
February 9, 2026 at 4:05 AM
If you’re actually being sincere, I’m not sure what’s hard to believe. Like obviously going to a checkin is harder if it’s in Tacoma, obviously seeing your Portland lawyer is harder if you’re held in Tacoma. Why don’t you read Kat’s thread I linked to and tell me what’s unconvincing.
Of course they do; that not what I’m talking about. Either you know that and you’re just posting for sport, or you don’t know that because you refuse to read, but either way, this conversation is no longer worth my time.
February 9, 2026 at 3:55 AM
Of course they do; that not what I’m talking about. Either you know that and you’re just posting for sport, or you don’t know that because you refuse to read, but either way, this conversation is no longer worth my time.