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
"If the government may simply seize *someone* without due process, there is no check on its ability to seize *anyone*."
Perhaps the most fundamental check against tyranny. And it is gravely threatened.
Perhaps the most fundamental check against tyranny. And it is gravely threatened.
BONUS RULING: Judge Thomas Johnston, a George W. Bush appoiintee in West Virginia, used a recent ruling to warn of the dangers of defying due process for immigrants because of what it could also mean for Americans. It's worth a read.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 10, 2026 at 1:40 PM
"If the government may simply seize *someone* without due process, there is no check on its ability to seize *anyone*."
Perhaps the most fundamental check against tyranny. And it is gravely threatened.
Perhaps the most fundamental check against tyranny. And it is gravely threatened.
Reposted by Radley Balko
this is incredibly frustrating. By framing this as a policy demand Dems are aiding a disinformation campaign that is intended to confuse the public about what is constitutionally required.
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 10, 2026 at 2:11 PM
this is incredibly frustrating. By framing this as a policy demand Dems are aiding a disinformation campaign that is intended to confuse the public about what is constitutionally required.
Reposted by Radley Balko
“What are you doing about the reverse vampire problem”
It will surprise y’all to hear that there are no “Muslims taking over the state” and there is no “sharia law” in Texas that threatens anyone.
This is genuinely disgusting.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
This is genuinely disgusting.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
February 10, 2026 at 1:30 PM
“What are you doing about the reverse vampire problem”
Reposted by Radley Balko
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
Wherever government does something helpful, the regime wants to kill it.
www.publicnotice.co
February 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 10, 2026 at 3:18 AM
This is literally what CURRENT LAW requires. It’s in the Constitution! www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Radley Balko
They terrorized this woman for nothing.
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk
The Turkish national had been arrested by plainclothes federal officers outside her apartment.
on.wsj.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:28 PM
They terrorized this woman for nothing.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Reposted by Radley Balko
And here's a fine PBS report on the Dilley concentration camp.
Doing the work so no one can say, "We didn't know."
Doing the work so no one can say, "We didn't know."
February 10, 2026 at 12:20 PM
And here's a fine PBS report on the Dilley concentration camp.
Doing the work so no one can say, "We didn't know."
Doing the work so no one can say, "We didn't know."
Reposted by Radley Balko
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 1:11 AM
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.
Reposted by Radley Balko
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
February 10, 2026 at 1:30 AM
AOC on DHS Warehouses: I think every American should be alarmed. They are building—and have built—a black box system that disappears people, both immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Tomorrow I will testify before subcommittee of House Judiciary Committee against the proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act," which would authorize exclusion/deportation of all or most non-citizen Muslim immigrants. My written testimony posted here: reason.com/wp-content/u...
reason.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:25 PM
Tomorrow I will testify before subcommittee of House Judiciary Committee against the proposed "Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act," which would authorize exclusion/deportation of all or most non-citizen Muslim immigrants. My written testimony posted here: reason.com/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is torture. The US is torturing children. Children whose words and whose art contain infinitely more humanity than the people keeping them detained.
5/ “I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals…going to the doctor and that the only thing they tell you is to drink more water and the worst thing is that it seems like the water is what makes people sick here…”
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
From 12-year-old Ender, detained 60+ days
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 PM
This is torture. The US is torturing children. Children whose words and whose art contain infinitely more humanity than the people keeping them detained.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Amongst other things, this again highlights the core point about due process. It’s bad enough to be in a “show me your papers” situation, but your precious citizen/non-citizen, “legal”/“illegal” distinctions are meaningless when you can’t prove anything to authorities because they don’t give a shit.
And here is my story: ‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Amongst other things, this again highlights the core point about due process. It’s bad enough to be in a “show me your papers” situation, but your precious citizen/non-citizen, “legal”/“illegal” distinctions are meaningless when you can’t prove anything to authorities because they don’t give a shit.
Someone should start writing the same “how the left made me leave X” hot take over and over, but sub in a different city each time. See how many times you can get published before someone catches on.
That trope is catnip for heterodox opinion mills.
That trope is catnip for heterodox opinion mills.
Bari Weiss bravely invites us to focus on the real fascism in Minneapolis
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
February 10, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Someone should start writing the same “how the left made me leave X” hot take over and over, but sub in a different city each time. See how many times you can get published before someone catches on.
That trope is catnip for heterodox opinion mills.
That trope is catnip for heterodox opinion mills.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Bari Weiss bravely invites us to focus on the real fascism in Minneapolis
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
February 9, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Bari Weiss bravely invites us to focus on the real fascism in Minneapolis
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
www.thefp.com/p/mob-rule-c...
Reposted by Radley Balko
DISTURBING: "Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer...Kurt Olsen—now a temporary government employee in the White House."
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer probing 2020 election fraud has access to sensitive US intel
Top U.S. intelligence agencies are cooperating with Kurt Olsen, who worked with Trump to undermine the results of the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:02 PM
DISTURBING: "Trump has directed top U.S. spy agencies to share sensitive intelligence about the 2020 election with his former campaign lawyer...Kurt Olsen—now a temporary government employee in the White House."
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
This asshole is case study in aptronym theory.
Chasing rageclicks in the culture war has caused the cheese to slide completely off these people’s crackers.
This is unhinged.
adampiggott.substack.com/p/the-woman-...
This is unhinged.
adampiggott.substack.com/p/the-woman-...
The Woman Problem
The historical moment when feminism got shot in the face.
adampiggott.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:06 AM
This asshole is case study in aptronym theory.
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is part of a pattern that is impeachable: Trump cuts previously appropriated Congressional funds, but only to states led by Democrats (California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota).
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 9, 2026 at 11:12 PM
This is part of a pattern that is impeachable: Trump cuts previously appropriated Congressional funds, but only to states led by Democrats (California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota).
Reposted by Radley Balko
February 9, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Radley Balko
"Kristi Noem & the FBI "initially dismissed reports of children being zip-tied and hit with rubber bullets as “completely false,” though the F.B.I. later amended its statement to say no “young children” were bound. Several hundred people were detained for four hours." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
A Raid in a Small Town Brings Trump’s Deportations to Deep-Red Idaho
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:08 PM
"Kristi Noem & the FBI "initially dismissed reports of children being zip-tied and hit with rubber bullets as “completely false,” though the F.B.I. later amended its statement to say no “young children” were bound. Several hundred people were detained for four hours." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
Reposted by Radley Balko
“Lying in feces, throw up, urine… like animals in a cage at the zoo.”
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
February 9, 2026 at 1:41 PM
“Lying in feces, throw up, urine… like animals in a cage at the zoo.”
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
A whistleblower recounts the horrific ICE detention center conditions in Baltimore — a similar story everywhere.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Hundreds of millions spent on human misery
In the last month ICE has bought warehouses in:
- Hagerstown, MD: $102 million
- Surprise, AZ: $70 million
- Hamburg, PA: $87 million
- Tremont, PA: $120 million
- San Antonio, TX: $82 million
- El Paso, TX: $123 million
- Social Circle, GA: price unknown
This is unprecedented.
- Hagerstown, MD: $102 million
- Surprise, AZ: $70 million
- Hamburg, PA: $87 million
- Tremont, PA: $120 million
- San Antonio, TX: $82 million
- El Paso, TX: $123 million
- Social Circle, GA: price unknown
This is unprecedented.
February 9, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Hundreds of millions spent on human misery
Reposted by Radley Balko
I feel like a really unfun fun fact the general public should be aware of: when you reach out to ICE with media inquiries or for statements, they usually just respond with a list of mugshots of people they’ve arrested.
February 8, 2026 at 1:52 PM
I feel like a really unfun fun fact the general public should be aware of: when you reach out to ICE with media inquiries or for statements, they usually just respond with a list of mugshots of people they’ve arrested.
Reposted by Radley Balko
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
www.ajc.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is such an embarrassing interview. Good for CNBC for asking the most straightforward questions.
REP. STEIL: Some Dems demands put at risk the safety of members of law enforcement
CNBC: You mean like taking off their masks and having a badge that shows who they are?
STEIL: Well, they're known to their supervisors
CNBC: No other law enforcement officials in the US are allowed to wear masks
CNBC: You mean like taking off their masks and having a badge that shows who they are?
STEIL: Well, they're known to their supervisors
CNBC: No other law enforcement officials in the US are allowed to wear masks
February 9, 2026 at 5:25 PM
This is such an embarrassing interview. Good for CNBC for asking the most straightforward questions.