Phoebe Petrovic
@phoebepetrovic.bsky.social
now: researcher chronicling threats to democracy @ Documented. then: investigative reporter @ Wisconsin Watch & ProPublica fellow. send me tips about the anti-LGBTQ movement on signal: phoebe.411
Pinned
always send the thank you email! to reporters, scholars you admire. it’s so valuable!!!
February 19, 2026 at 6:24 PM
always send the thank you email! to reporters, scholars you admire. it’s so valuable!!!
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
In an April meeting, “police officials outlined a plan to trade 2.5 million mugshots for two free licenses with the company Biometrica. The company’s technology, called Umbra, would allow police to search a database of mugshot for matches on an uploaded photo.”
Milwaukee Police had big plans for facial recognition tech. Then the community found out
It was a rocky 10-month effort by the Milwaukee police who attempted to convince the public getting facial recognition was a positive.
www.jsonline.com
February 19, 2026 at 2:46 PM
In an April meeting, “police officials outlined a plan to trade 2.5 million mugshots for two free licenses with the company Biometrica. The company’s technology, called Umbra, would allow police to search a database of mugshot for matches on an uploaded photo.”
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Never in a million years did I ever fathom when I resurrected the Epstein story in 2018 that it would lead to first arrest of a British Royal in four centuries. Not since King Charles I was arrested in 1647.
open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
Prince Andrew's Arrest
Across the pond in Britain, justice and accountability is a serious matter
open.substack.com
February 19, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Never in a million years did I ever fathom when I resurrected the Epstein story in 2018 that it would lead to first arrest of a British Royal in four centuries. Not since King Charles I was arrested in 1647.
open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
More than 50 hours of newly obtained footage from a joint operation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE has revived questions about whether drivers were racially profiled as officers made more than 100 immigration arrests. (Part of a collab now publishing) 1/ www.newschannel5.com/news/newscha...
'Guilty until proven innocent?' Video from Nashville THP/ICE stops revives questions of racial profiling
More than 50 hours of newly obtained footage has revived questions about whether drivers were racially profiled as officers made more than 100 immigration arrests.
www.newschannel5.com
February 19, 2026 at 1:57 PM
More than 50 hours of newly obtained footage from a joint operation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE has revived questions about whether drivers were racially profiled as officers made more than 100 immigration arrests. (Part of a collab now publishing) 1/ www.newschannel5.com/news/newscha...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
My latest in @texasobserver.org
The ‘Antifa Scare’ Goes on Trial in North Texas: As nine of the "Prairieland 19" face their days in court, the broader constitutional rights of left-wing activists may hang in the balance.
www.texasobserver.org/antifa-scare...
The ‘Antifa Scare’ Goes on Trial in North Texas: As nine of the "Prairieland 19" face their days in court, the broader constitutional rights of left-wing activists may hang in the balance.
www.texasobserver.org/antifa-scare...
The ‘Antifa Scare’ Goes on Trial in North Texas
As nine of the "Prairieland 19" face their days in court, the broader constitutional rights of left-wing activists may hang in the balance.
www.texasobserver.org
February 17, 2026 at 6:18 PM
My latest in @texasobserver.org
The ‘Antifa Scare’ Goes on Trial in North Texas: As nine of the "Prairieland 19" face their days in court, the broader constitutional rights of left-wing activists may hang in the balance.
www.texasobserver.org/antifa-scare...
The ‘Antifa Scare’ Goes on Trial in North Texas: As nine of the "Prairieland 19" face their days in court, the broader constitutional rights of left-wing activists may hang in the balance.
www.texasobserver.org/antifa-scare...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
In America you can get shot dead by a person with a gun if you go to school, go to the grocery store, go to a concert, go to the movies, go to your office, go to the mall, go to a high school hockey game. A young girl was killed today. And so many, too many to count, before her.
Two people are dead, multiple with ‘extremely serious’ injuries following shooting at Rhode Island ice rink
Two people are dead, multiple with 'extremely serious' injuries following shooting at Rhode Island ice rink
A shooter is “down” and several people are injured after a shooting at Dennis Lynch Arena, an ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, authorities say.
www.ms.now
February 16, 2026 at 9:39 PM
In America you can get shot dead by a person with a gun if you go to school, go to the grocery store, go to a concert, go to the movies, go to your office, go to the mall, go to a high school hockey game. A young girl was killed today. And so many, too many to count, before her.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
„Being able to see their emails makes something very clear: The “anti-woke” movement was not a genteel intellectual inquiry, made by disinterested parties who cared deeply about free speech. It is a social circle of powerful people who feel threatened by # MeToo.“
www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo
The emails show the “anti-woke” crusaders are afraid of accountability.
www.theverge.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:04 PM
„Being able to see their emails makes something very clear: The “anti-woke” movement was not a genteel intellectual inquiry, made by disinterested parties who cared deeply about free speech. It is a social circle of powerful people who feel threatened by # MeToo.“
www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
www.theverge.com/tech/874721/...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
The @bostonglobe.com opinion page this morning is headlined by white supremacist Richard Hanania, whose racist views have been smoothed over in recent months by centrists
February 15, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The @bostonglobe.com opinion page this morning is headlined by white supremacist Richard Hanania, whose racist views have been smoothed over in recent months by centrists
Vance co-founded a donor network fueled by VC money whose other leaders have talked openly of seeking to create an “aristocracy,” their words. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
February 15, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Vance co-founded a donor network fueled by VC money whose other leaders have talked openly of seeking to create an “aristocracy,” their words. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
The acting director of ICE told Congress, under oath, that local law enforcement in Colorado leaked raid plans, allowing gang members to escape.
After 9NEWS questioned ICE's claim and its timeline, ICE deleted the claim from its social media platforms.
After 9NEWS questioned ICE's claim and its timeline, ICE deleted the claim from its social media platforms.
February 15, 2026 at 4:58 PM
The acting director of ICE told Congress, under oath, that local law enforcement in Colorado leaked raid plans, allowing gang members to escape.
After 9NEWS questioned ICE's claim and its timeline, ICE deleted the claim from its social media platforms.
After 9NEWS questioned ICE's claim and its timeline, ICE deleted the claim from its social media platforms.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Again, not once has the media asked “Can we afford ICE?” the way they obsessed about affordability with Biden’s student loan debt relief or Obama’s health care plan. And the media surely isn’t going to ask “Can we afford this?” about this crazy military spending increase 🤔🤷♂️
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
We do not need a $1.5 trillion dollar defense budget.
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
50% increase in one year?!?
breakingdefense.com/2026/02/excl...
EXCLUSIVE: HASC chair seeking $450B for defense in reconciliation - Breaking Defense
Mike Roger, the House Armed Services Committee chief, wants to use reconciliation for a massive increase in defense spending.
breakingdefense.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Again, not once has the media asked “Can we afford ICE?” the way they obsessed about affordability with Biden’s student loan debt relief or Obama’s health care plan. And the media surely isn’t going to ask “Can we afford this?” about this crazy military spending increase 🤔🤷♂️
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
First ad on my Reddit app today is a hiring notice for US Border Patrol offering $60k hiring incentives.
February 15, 2026 at 1:52 PM
First ad on my Reddit app today is a hiring notice for US Border Patrol offering $60k hiring incentives.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
SCOTUS effectively OK’ed third-country removals as the Trump admin is using them on the shadow docket, staying lower court orders reining them in. Further, the specific questions raised here — about refoulement — have come up before, like in this case: www.lawdork.com/p/ghana-refo...
NYT: Trump secretly deported 9 migrants despite court orders to not remove them to their home nations. So, he sent them to prison in Cameroon: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...
U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:04 AM
SCOTUS effectively OK’ed third-country removals as the Trump admin is using them on the shadow docket, staying lower court orders reining them in. Further, the specific questions raised here — about refoulement — have come up before, like in this case: www.lawdork.com/p/ghana-refo...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
We built Jikipedia, a new wiki that compiles Jmail data into exhaustive reports on key figures in the Epstein scandal.
It lists all recorded visits to Epstein's estates, each person's possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes and laws that they may have violated.
It lists all recorded visits to Epstein's estates, each person's possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes and laws that they may have violated.
February 15, 2026 at 7:14 AM
We built Jikipedia, a new wiki that compiles Jmail data into exhaustive reports on key figures in the Epstein scandal.
It lists all recorded visits to Epstein's estates, each person's possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes and laws that they may have violated.
It lists all recorded visits to Epstein's estates, each person's possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes and laws that they may have violated.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Our story @chicagotribune.com: Chicago teen Ofelia Torres, whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer, dies. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...
February 15, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Our story @chicagotribune.com: Chicago teen Ofelia Torres, whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer, dies. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Part 3: "The astronomical rise in stories about trans people that I’d collected over the previous year told a different story. This massive, messy dataset was brimming with increasingly vile headlines that only seemed to metastasize with time. ... two years later we know how the story turns out."
Welcome to the anti-trans outrage factory — Jessica Kant
When I first wrote Anatomy of a moral panic in February 2024, I had only a faint glimmer of what was to come.The astronomical rise in stories about trans people that I’d collected over the previous ye...
jessk.org
February 8, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Part 3: "The astronomical rise in stories about trans people that I’d collected over the previous year told a different story. This massive, messy dataset was brimming with increasingly vile headlines that only seemed to metastasize with time. ... two years later we know how the story turns out."
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Just as ICE and CBP have no legitimate role in "election security" neither does the head of DHS. The mere existence of this press conference should be a scandal, much less this tone-deaf comment.
Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
February 14, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Just as ICE and CBP have no legitimate role in "election security" neither does the head of DHS. The mere existence of this press conference should be a scandal, much less this tone-deaf comment.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
Democracy is when voters choose their leaders. Autocracy is when leaders choose their voters.
Kristi Noem: "When it gets to Election Day, we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country."
February 14, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Democracy is when voters choose their leaders. Autocracy is when leaders choose their voters.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
I may say more later but part of what some of us need to understand is that the right has built an entirely distinct civic society, with its own hierarchy and (mostly networked) cultural institutions. That includes celebrity.
“The convergence of influencer culture and venture capital is part of a broader shift reshaping America’s institutions.”
Jake Paul may have gotten his jaw broken on Netflix, but he and his $65 million fortune are laughing their way into Silicon Valley boardrooms | Fortune
“We’re going to do amazing things in 2026,” said Steve Han, a partner at Paul's Anti Fund, told Fortune. “And then hopefully we'll show it over YouTube.”
fortune.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I may say more later but part of what some of us need to understand is that the right has built an entirely distinct civic society, with its own hierarchy and (mostly networked) cultural institutions. That includes celebrity.
Reposted by Phoebe Petrovic
legend @philinvestigates.com gushes abt my book!
"Incredibly well-written" w/ "edge-of-your-seat narrative pace"
"meticulously researched & filled w/ fascinating details" sorting "fact from fiction about one of the most contentious issues of the day." www.hatecomestomainstreet.com/p/what-i-am-...
"Incredibly well-written" w/ "edge-of-your-seat narrative pace"
"meticulously researched & filled w/ fascinating details" sorting "fact from fiction about one of the most contentious issues of the day." www.hatecomestomainstreet.com/p/what-i-am-...
What I Am Reading - To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right
Incredibly well-written with an edge-of-your-seat narrative pace, To Catch a Fascist taps into interviews with some 60 anti-fascist activists to sort fact from fiction."
www.hatecomestomainstreet.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:42 PM
legend @philinvestigates.com gushes abt my book!
"Incredibly well-written" w/ "edge-of-your-seat narrative pace"
"meticulously researched & filled w/ fascinating details" sorting "fact from fiction about one of the most contentious issues of the day." www.hatecomestomainstreet.com/p/what-i-am-...
"Incredibly well-written" w/ "edge-of-your-seat narrative pace"
"meticulously researched & filled w/ fascinating details" sorting "fact from fiction about one of the most contentious issues of the day." www.hatecomestomainstreet.com/p/what-i-am-...
this isn’t the point but I did just learn there’s a conservative lawyer out there who choreographed a modern dance called “originalism” based on Scalia
February 14, 2026 at 1:14 AM
this isn’t the point but I did just learn there’s a conservative lawyer out there who choreographed a modern dance called “originalism” based on Scalia