Radley Balko
@radleybalko.bsky.social
Journalist. Quattrone Center journalism fellow.
Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop.
Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist.
New podcast: Collateral Damage
Substack: radleybalko.substack.com
Signal: radleybalko.52
Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop.
Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist.
New podcast: Collateral Damage
Substack: radleybalko.substack.com
Signal: radleybalko.52
Reposted by Radley Balko
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
February 11, 2026 at 10:58 PM
So DOD risked civilian airspace to obliterate some fucking balloons; when FAA found out and asked them to stop they refused; FAA did what it had to keep people safe; when the public rightly freaked out, DOD relented, lied, and blamed the FAA.
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Sounds like Hegseth!
www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/u...
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Goldman: "Will the survivors and victims who are here please stand up one more time. By show of hands, how many of you or your loved ones actually have met with the DOJ? None ... How many of you were ignored by the DOJ? All of them." (Bondi responds by smearing Goldman.)
February 11, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Goldman: "Will the survivors and victims who are here please stand up one more time. By show of hands, how many of you or your loved ones actually have met with the DOJ? None ... How many of you were ignored by the DOJ? All of them." (Bondi responds by smearing Goldman.)
Reposted by Radley Balko
Baltimore's crime rate has dropped dramatically under Moore. The homicide rate last year was a 50-year low.
February 11, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Baltimore's crime rate has dropped dramatically under Moore. The homicide rate last year was a 50-year low.
Reposted by Radley Balko
So they can sue for $10 billion now, right?
Internal Revenue Service improperly shared confidential tax information of thousands of individuals with immigration enforcement officials, according to three people familiar with the situation, appearing to breach a legal fire wall intended to protect taxpayer data.
IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax data to DHS
The tax agency only recently discovered it improperly disclosed tax information on thousands of the wrong people to immigration enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:50 PM
So they can sue for $10 billion now, right?
Reposted by Radley Balko
JUST IN: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot Chicago's Marimar Martinez, "was placed on administrative leave":
February 11, 2026 at 10:27 PM
JUST IN: U.S. Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, who shot Chicago's Marimar Martinez, "was placed on administrative leave":
Reposted by Radley Balko
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local government thugs stop, harass priests, cardinal intervenes”
February 11, 2026 at 12:41 AM
I can’t believe we’re back to medieval level conflicts like “local government thugs stop, harass priests, cardinal intervenes”
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 4:46 PM
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
Reposted by Radley Balko
He got out after 3 months in an ICE gulag.
My electrician is a green card holder who's been here since he was a kid. He got married to a citizen, applied for citizenship, went to court for the papers and when he got there ICE kidnapped him and he's been locked up for a month.
February 11, 2026 at 6:56 PM
He got out after 3 months in an ICE gulag.
Reposted by Radley Balko
February 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Radley Balko
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is what ICE calls a "violent criminal." A Missouri grandma and lawful resident spent months in detention for a decade-old misdemeanor, underscoring the massive scope of the administration’s deportation efforts. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
She bounced a $25 check in 2014. ICE tried to deport her.
A Missouri grandma and lawful resident spent months in detention for a decade-old misdemeanor, underscoring the massive scope of the administration’s deportation efforts.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:11 PM
This is what ICE calls a "violent criminal." A Missouri grandma and lawful resident spent months in detention for a decade-old misdemeanor, underscoring the massive scope of the administration’s deportation efforts. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
Reposted by Radley Balko
NEW: CBP signs a new deal with Clearview AI to access its scraped image database for "tactical targeting," including efforts to “disrupt, degrade, and dismantle” networks of people labeled security threats.
CBP Signs Clearview AI Deal to Use Face Recognition for ‘Tactical Targeting’
US Border Patrol intelligence units will gain access to a face recognition tool built on billions of images scraped from the internet.
www.wired.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:37 PM
NEW: CBP signs a new deal with Clearview AI to access its scraped image database for "tactical targeting," including efforts to “disrupt, degrade, and dismantle” networks of people labeled security threats.
Coming soon: “The Unconstitutional Grand Jury,” by Randy Barnett and Ilan Wurman, published in the spring edition of the Prager University Journal of Law, Podcasting, and Race Science/MAHA Roadkill Cookbook.
February 11, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Coming soon: “The Unconstitutional Grand Jury,” by Randy Barnett and Ilan Wurman, published in the spring edition of the Prager University Journal of Law, Podcasting, and Race Science/MAHA Roadkill Cookbook.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Shot, and one-hell-of-a-chaser.
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Shot, and one-hell-of-a-chaser.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Career communications staff at the Dept of Labor were ignored and many resigned when a 21 year old starting posting white nationalist meme. Now he is going to DHS. This is who prospers under the clicktatorship.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
Homeland Security Hires Labor Dept. Aide Whose Posts Raised Alarms
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Career communications staff at the Dept of Labor were ignored and many resigned when a 21 year old starting posting white nationalist meme. Now he is going to DHS. This is who prospers under the clicktatorship.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
Raskin is good at this.
February 11, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Raskin is good at this.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Under marching orders from Trump, Pam Bondi has been aggressively seeking death sentences, trying to undo decisions where Biden's DOJ previously chose not to seek the death penalty against specific defendants. My latest @theintercept.com:
Pam Bondi Is Pushing Death Sentences for People Spared By Her Predecessor
Trump’s AG is ramping up death penalty prosecutions, targeting defendants previously told they wouldn’t face execution.
theintercept.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Under marching orders from Trump, Pam Bondi has been aggressively seeking death sentences, trying to undo decisions where Biden's DOJ previously chose not to seek the death penalty against specific defendants. My latest @theintercept.com:
Reposted by Radley Balko
All federalized National Guard troops have been withdrawn from LA, Chicago, and Portland per WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
February 11, 2026 at 4:24 PM
All federalized National Guard troops have been withdrawn from LA, Chicago, and Portland per WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Radley Balko
We’ve all had days where we’ve woken up, forgotten to brush our teeth, and closed all El Paso airspace for an hour instead.
February 11, 2026 at 2:21 PM
We’ve all had days where we’ve woken up, forgotten to brush our teeth, and closed all El Paso airspace for an hour instead.
In response to a measured question from Rep. Lofgren about DOJ refusing to cooperate with local police trying to investigate the Good and Pretti killings, Bondi declared Trump the greatest president of all time and asked about campaign donations from Reid Hoffman.
February 11, 2026 at 4:15 PM
In response to a measured question from Rep. Lofgren about DOJ refusing to cooperate with local police trying to investigate the Good and Pretti killings, Bondi declared Trump the greatest president of all time and asked about campaign donations from Reid Hoffman.
Reposted by Radley Balko
No grand jurors found the Trump DOJ met low probable cause threshold in failed indictment of Democratic lawmakers
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
No grand jurors found the Trump DOJ met low probable cause threshold in failed indictment of Democratic lawmakers
None of the D.C. grand jurors who heard the Trump administration’s pitch on why they should indict Democratic lawmakers over a video urging members of the
www.nbcnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:46 PM
No grand jurors found the Trump DOJ met low probable cause threshold in failed indictment of Democratic lawmakers
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Asked to apologize to rape victims for failing to redact their personal information, the attorney general instead demanded that members of Congress apologize to the president for impeaching him, boasted about the stock market, and declared him the most transparent president in U.S. history.
February 11, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Asked to apologize to rape victims for failing to redact their personal information, the attorney general instead demanded that members of Congress apologize to the president for impeaching him, boasted about the stock market, and declared him the most transparent president in U.S. history.