Robert Downen
@robertdownen.bsky.social
Texas Monthly writer focused on the far right, Christian nationalism and the billionaires funding them. Helped expose the Southern Baptist abuse crisis. Fan of Hip Hop and loud guitars. DAEAC#E evangelist. Send me good music.
Reposted by Robert Downen
A Berwyn family was driving with their 1-year-old child Saturday when they were pepper-sprayed by federal agents, a video taken by the family shows. The action appears to violate a judge’s restriction on use of force.
1-year-old pepper-sprayed by federal agent in Cicero: 'My daughter didn't have to go through this'
chicago.suntimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 AM
A Berwyn family was driving with their 1-year-old child Saturday when they were pepper-sprayed by federal agents, a video taken by the family shows. The action appears to violate a judge’s restriction on use of force.
Reposted by Robert Downen
NEW: Jan 6 riot defendant arrested outside a Burger King in Cicero, Illinois.
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
High-profile Jan. 6 defendant facing charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting woman
John Banuelos' case was unique among Capitol riot prosecutions because he was the only defendant accused of pulling and firing a gun while on Capitol grounds.
www.cbsnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:56 AM
NEW: Jan 6 riot defendant arrested outside a Burger King in Cicero, Illinois.
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
Prosecutors allege a DNA test in August linked him to 2018 kidnapping and sex assault
Just filed:
www.cbsnews.com/news/high-pr...
Reposted by Robert Downen
New:
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
![STEWART RHODES (FOUNDER, OATH KEEPERS): And one other thing I want to say is that President Trump, as commander in chief, always has absolute authority to call all of us up as the militia because every one of us — in federal statues defining the militia, it's every able-bodied male from age 17-45. And for us veterans, it goes up to age 64 because of our prior training and experience.
Right now, under federal statutes, President Trump can call us up as the militia if he sees it necessary, especially for three purposes: to repel invasions, to suppress insurrections, and to execute the laws of the union. And right now, we see all three of those in play.
...
And the militia is all of us. So the National Guard is part of the militia, which is why it's completely lawful for him to use the National Guard as he has, and he should do more of that, I think, across the country.
...
He could just say given the circumstances of an invasion, insurrection, and resistance against federal law being being enforced, I'm calling up the militia, ordering all the men to come together [in] every county, put the veterans in charge of training and organizing all the other men and just have them stand too and await his orders. He can do that and I think he should do that. And so that's what I'll be advocating for from him. So from the bottom, from down the rank and file, we can let President Trump know that we're ready to serve, encourage him to do that, call us up as a militia, order us all to come together in our counties under his command, which gives you complete legal sanction to do what you're doing.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:af7tqcetuyt352aolf3znlxe/bafkreialm4skuozqobejpd6vx4m6kuwsgtidxmmxvj3ftcff6otiuyohiy@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
New:
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
Reposted by Robert Downen
Astonishing: Bovino and his agents showed up at the Bean this morning to pose for pictures. While Border Patrol snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” The neighborhood where they are least welcome and most acutely felt. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Border Patrol Agents Pose At 'The Bean' For Apparent Photo Op
The photo op came after agents tear-gassed a Little Village street and were spotted in the area numerous times. At the Bean, one agent shouted, "Everyone say, Little Village!"
blockclubchicago.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Astonishing: Bovino and his agents showed up at the Bean this morning to pose for pictures. While Border Patrol snapped photos, one agent shouted, “Everyone say, ‘Little Village!’” The neighborhood where they are least welcome and most acutely felt. blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Reposted by Robert Downen
Reposted by Robert Downen
"I'm not going to say that we're not cooperating with ICE, because that's frankly not true," Whitmire said. bit.ly/49c0spe
November 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
"I'm not going to say that we're not cooperating with ICE, because that's frankly not true," Whitmire said. bit.ly/49c0spe
Reposted by Robert Downen
Ypsilanti, Michigan has officially decided to fight against the construction of a 'high-performance computing facility' that would service a nuclear weapons laboratory 1,500 miles away.
A Small Town Is Fighting a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter for America's Nuclear Weapon Scientists
Ypsilanti, Michigan has officially decided to fight against the construction of a 'high-performance computing facility' that would service a nuclear weapons laboratory 1,500 miles away.
www.404media.co
November 10, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Ypsilanti, Michigan has officially decided to fight against the construction of a 'high-performance computing facility' that would service a nuclear weapons laboratory 1,500 miles away.
A Trump family friend who was pardoned in the end of Trumps first term is now facing a five-year prison sentences for alleged sexual assault and bilking small businesses via loans.
Felon Freed by Trump Is Set to Be Sentenced Again in Brooklyn
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
A Trump family friend who was pardoned in the end of Trumps first term is now facing a five-year prison sentences for alleged sexual assault and bilking small businesses via loans.
Reposted by Robert Downen
Immigration judges with prior immigrant defense work make up the largest share of those fired by the Trump admin. NPR identified 70 fired immigration judges. The changes have at least shifted perception of fairness in these courts
My latest investigation: www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g...
My latest investigation: www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g...
The DOJ has been firing judges with immigrant defense backgrounds
NPR's data analysis shows that the DOJ has tended to fire judges with immigrant defense backgrounds in its recent rounds of dismissals.
www.npr.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Immigration judges with prior immigrant defense work make up the largest share of those fired by the Trump admin. NPR identified 70 fired immigration judges. The changes have at least shifted perception of fairness in these courts
My latest investigation: www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g...
My latest investigation: www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g...
Reposted by Robert Downen
Jake Lahut, a Wired reporter who from the Nancy Mace airport story last week, was among those fired.
During the incident, CN's HR chief asked staff not to congregate outside his office. Lahut asked "what's your definition of congregating?" and was let go later on Wednesday.
During the incident, CN's HR chief asked staff not to congregate outside his office. Lahut asked "what's your definition of congregating?" and was let go later on Wednesday.
November 6, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Jake Lahut, a Wired reporter who from the Nancy Mace airport story last week, was among those fired.
During the incident, CN's HR chief asked staff not to congregate outside his office. Lahut asked "what's your definition of congregating?" and was let go later on Wednesday.
During the incident, CN's HR chief asked staff not to congregate outside his office. Lahut asked "what's your definition of congregating?" and was let go later on Wednesday.
Reposted by Robert Downen
In response, Conde has filed a charge with the NLRB against the NewsGuild of New York over the union's "repeated and egregious disregard of our collective bargaining agreement."
November 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
In response, Conde has filed a charge with the NLRB against the NewsGuild of New York over the union's "repeated and egregious disregard of our collective bargaining agreement."
One thing on this thats more clear from reporting: I said Jen Hall was allied with Tim Dunn, but most everyone I’ve talked to has said her loyalty is far more to the party than to any of its factions (including it’s Dunn-funded current leaders). Which makes her sudden exit all the more perplexing.
WOAH. Texas GOP Executive Director Jen Hall and another top party official just resigned. In her letter to party Chair Abraham George, Hall said she "cannot in good conscience continue to work this way" but doesn't elaborate. Hall and George are both longtime Tim Dunn allies. This is...interesting.
November 6, 2025 at 6:34 PM
One thing on this thats more clear from reporting: I said Jen Hall was allied with Tim Dunn, but most everyone I’ve talked to has said her loyalty is far more to the party than to any of its factions (including it’s Dunn-funded current leaders). Which makes her sudden exit all the more perplexing.
The cost of the ongoing deployment of Texas and Illinois Guard troops to Chicago — where they remain blocked by court orders from doing much of anything — is expected to reach $12 million by the end of November.
Cost of Texas and Illinois Guard deployment could top $12M by next month
About 200 Texas troops were still in Illinois as of Tuesday, as the Trump administration fights in court to dispatch them onto the streets of Chicago.
www.expressnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The cost of the ongoing deployment of Texas and Illinois Guard troops to Chicago — where they remain blocked by court orders from doing much of anything — is expected to reach $12 million by the end of November.
Reposted by Robert Downen
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 5:49 PM
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
Reposted by Robert Downen
Join our editors this month at the 30th annual Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival’s Open Congress for panels on Texas culture, politics, true crime, and storytelling. https://www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/texas-monthly-editors-2025-texas-book-festival-and-texas-tribune-festival/
Texas Monthly Editors Take the Stage at Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival
This November, join us for a live experience featuring the engaging stories and insightful discussions that define Texas Monthly. The magazine's
www.texasmonthly.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Join our editors this month at the 30th annual Texas Book Festival and Texas Tribune Festival’s Open Congress for panels on Texas culture, politics, true crime, and storytelling. https://www.texasmonthly.com/press-room/texas-monthly-editors-2025-texas-book-festival-and-texas-tribune-festival/
Brad Johnson at The Texan did the cost-per-vote math on this:
Rehmet: $1.16
Wambsganns: $43.39
Huffman: $167.61
Rehmet: $1.16
Wambsganns: $43.39
Huffman: $167.61
Wow. Democrat Taylor Rehmet heading to a runoff with Wambsganss after getting 47.5% of the vote in a +18 Trump district. More than $4 million was spent by/in support of her two GOP opponents, with big checks from Miriam Adelson and billionaire Tim Dunn.
Rehmet spent $68,000.
Rehmet spent $68,000.
In Texas 9th SD, Democrat Taylor Rehmet is leading three candidates-including Leigh Wambsganss, a well-known Christian nationalist activist who was supported by Trump, Texas GOP leaders and far-right donor Tim Dunn. The district includes Tarrant County, a +5% Trump county + bellwether for the state.
November 5, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Brad Johnson at The Texan did the cost-per-vote math on this:
Rehmet: $1.16
Wambsganns: $43.39
Huffman: $167.61
Rehmet: $1.16
Wambsganns: $43.39
Huffman: $167.61
Reposted by Robert Downen
Texas thread:
WOAH. Texas GOP Executive Director Jen Hall and another top party official just resigned. In her letter to party Chair Abraham George, Hall said she "cannot in good conscience continue to work this way" but doesn't elaborate. Hall and George are both longtime Tim Dunn allies. This is...interesting.
November 5, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Texas thread:
Reposted by Robert Downen
Zohran Mamdani's focus on public transportation - and on affordability in general - paid off in a big way. Lots of fascinating insights in this map (free link)
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 5, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Zohran Mamdani's focus on public transportation - and on affordability in general - paid off in a big way. Lots of fascinating insights in this map (free link)
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Robert Downen
Texas forever.
Vibe check: Here's how former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is reacting to the news.
November 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Texas forever.
ICYMI: Last night was a massive W for Beelzebub PAC.
How Christian Nationalist school board members in Texas campaigned vs. how they did
November 5, 2025 at 4:27 PM
ICYMI: Last night was a massive W for Beelzebub PAC.
WOAH. Texas GOP Executive Director Jen Hall and another top party official just resigned. In her letter to party Chair Abraham George, Hall said she "cannot in good conscience continue to work this way" but doesn't elaborate. Hall and George are both longtime Tim Dunn allies. This is...interesting.
November 5, 2025 at 3:21 PM
WOAH. Texas GOP Executive Director Jen Hall and another top party official just resigned. In her letter to party Chair Abraham George, Hall said she "cannot in good conscience continue to work this way" but doesn't elaborate. Hall and George are both longtime Tim Dunn allies. This is...interesting.
Reposted by Robert Downen
Yass is also the guy with a huge stake in TikTok and was reportedly on the phone with Trump just before he pulled a 180 on banning the app.
MEANWHILE: Bari Weiss' "anti-woke" University of Austin just announced a $100 million donation from Jeff Yass, the Pennsylvania billionaire who recently funded the Gov. Greg Abbott's school voucher push in Texas. UAustin says they will no longer charge tuition or accept government money.
November 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Yass is also the guy with a huge stake in TikTok and was reportedly on the phone with Trump just before he pulled a 180 on banning the app.
MEANWHILE: Bari Weiss' "anti-woke" University of Austin just announced a $100 million donation from Jeff Yass, the Pennsylvania billionaire who recently funded the Gov. Greg Abbott's school voucher push in Texas. UAustin says they will no longer charge tuition or accept government money.
November 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
MEANWHILE: Bari Weiss' "anti-woke" University of Austin just announced a $100 million donation from Jeff Yass, the Pennsylvania billionaire who recently funded the Gov. Greg Abbott's school voucher push in Texas. UAustin says they will no longer charge tuition or accept government money.
Reposted by Robert Downen
It is officially time for the Democratic Party to stop wasting money on their out of touch consultant class, and start paying for insights from Bluesky posters named "<--- kill me" and "Kicked In The Farm Parts"
November 5, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It is officially time for the Democratic Party to stop wasting money on their out of touch consultant class, and start paying for insights from Bluesky posters named "<--- kill me" and "Kicked In The Farm Parts"
And yes, for those wondering, this race did involve a scandal over something called the Taj Mahal of Pickleball.
Wow. Democrat Taylor Rehmet heading to a runoff with Wambsganss after getting 47.5% of the vote in a +18 Trump district. More than $4 million was spent by/in support of her two GOP opponents, with big checks from Miriam Adelson and billionaire Tim Dunn.
Rehmet spent $68,000.
Rehmet spent $68,000.
In Texas 9th SD, Democrat Taylor Rehmet is leading three candidates-including Leigh Wambsganss, a well-known Christian nationalist activist who was supported by Trump, Texas GOP leaders and far-right donor Tim Dunn. The district includes Tarrant County, a +5% Trump county + bellwether for the state.
November 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM
And yes, for those wondering, this race did involve a scandal over something called the Taj Mahal of Pickleball.