Leslie Rangel
@iamleslierangel.bsky.social
✍🏽Sr. Editor of Investigations
📰 @TheBarbedWire.bsky.social
🎥 Emmy Nominated + UN Recognized Journalist
🧠 Emotional Health Coach + Yoga/Meditation Teacher
🐶Rescue Pug Mom
🇲🇽🇬🇹Daughter of Immigrants
📰 @TheBarbedWire.bsky.social
🎥 Emmy Nominated + UN Recognized Journalist
🧠 Emotional Health Coach + Yoga/Meditation Teacher
🐶Rescue Pug Mom
🇲🇽🇬🇹Daughter of Immigrants
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Leslie Rangel: @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
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The 19th: @19thnews.org
The Barbed Wire: @thebarbedwire.com
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The 19th: @19thnews.org
The Barbed Wire: @thebarbedwire.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Leslie Rangel: @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
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The 19th: @19thnews.org
The Barbed Wire: @thebarbedwire.com
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The 19th: @19thnews.org
The Barbed Wire: @thebarbedwire.com
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
At the University of Texas, in journalism school, is where @iamleslierangel.bsky.social learned about La Matanza, or the “The Massacre,” a brutal period of violence against Mexicans in Texas from 1910 to 1920. U.S. Army soldiers and the Texas Rangers lynched hundreds Mexicans during La Matanza.
September 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
At the University of Texas, in journalism school, is where @iamleslierangel.bsky.social learned about La Matanza, or the “The Massacre,” a brutal period of violence against Mexicans in Texas from 1910 to 1920. U.S. Army soldiers and the Texas Rangers lynched hundreds Mexicans during La Matanza.
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Beautiful essay from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social about the pressure to assimilate in the Dallas suburbs, about the whitewashed version of history taught in Texas classrooms — and about how journalism let’s us evolve.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/16/j...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/16/j...
I Learned a Whitewashed Version of Texas History in School. Journalism Taught Me the Stories That Got Left Out.
As a Latina and a child of immigrants, a college journalism class taught me there was more to being Texan than the myths we tell ourselves.
thebarbedwire.com
September 17, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Beautiful essay from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social about the pressure to assimilate in the Dallas suburbs, about the whitewashed version of history taught in Texas classrooms — and about how journalism let’s us evolve.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/16/j...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/16/j...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
love editing @iamleslierangel.bsky.social because there is always a chance that one of us or @oliviamesser.bsky.social will cry. which we did here. because journalism matters, our words matter, and who writes them matters. we will keep taking that seriously at @thebarbedwire.com
"The reality is living in Texas is truly heartbreaking, but it’s also the place where communities are resisting," writes @iamleslierangel.bsky.social at the link.
Journalism can help fight the myths and half-truths Texans are taught in classrooms. Help us do more of it.
Journalism can help fight the myths and half-truths Texans are taught in classrooms. Help us do more of it.
How Journalism Helped Me Fight Against the White-Washed Texas I Grew up In
As a Latina and a child of immigrants, a college journalism class taught me there was more to being Texan than the myths we tell ourselves.
thebarbedwire.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:12 PM
love editing @iamleslierangel.bsky.social because there is always a chance that one of us or @oliviamesser.bsky.social will cry. which we did here. because journalism matters, our words matter, and who writes them matters. we will keep taking that seriously at @thebarbedwire.com
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Hands down, the best piece on the swirl of events around Rep. Nicole Collier, the threat to arrest her, and the wellspring of support that has emerged.
From @thebarbedwire.com's @oliviamesser.bsky.social and @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
From @thebarbedwire.com's @oliviamesser.bsky.social and @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
New from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social and me:
Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night held hostage in the Texas House. Then four enraged women — many of them mothers — refused to leave her side overnight. The slept in jail; are banned from Capitol grounds for a year.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/19/h...
Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night held hostage in the Texas House. Then four enraged women — many of them mothers — refused to leave her side overnight. The slept in jail; are banned from Capitol grounds for a year.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/19/h...
‘Women Have Always Been on the Front Lines.’ How Five Women at the Texas Capitol Stood Up to ‘Fascism.’
Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, spent the night held hostage in the Texas House. Four enraged women refused to leave her side.
thebarbedwire.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hands down, the best piece on the swirl of events around Rep. Nicole Collier, the threat to arrest her, and the wellspring of support that has emerged.
From @thebarbedwire.com's @oliviamesser.bsky.social and @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
From @thebarbedwire.com's @oliviamesser.bsky.social and @iamleslierangel.bsky.social
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Latest from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social —
The new ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss is the largest in U.S. history. It’s also one of five sites where Texas held detainees of Japanese descent — including American-born civilians — during World War II.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/18/t...
The new ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss is the largest in U.S. history. It’s also one of five sites where Texas held detainees of Japanese descent — including American-born civilians — during World War II.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/18/t...
A ‘Shameful’ Legacy: Texas Has Officially Opened an ICE Detention Facility at Site of WWII Internment Camp
Camp East Montana is now the largest immigrant detention facility in U.S. history, but it’s just one of 19 sites that will add a total of 37,649 new beds for ICE detainment — a 105% increase in the st...
thebarbedwire.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Latest from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social —
The new ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss is the largest in U.S. history. It’s also one of five sites where Texas held detainees of Japanese descent — including American-born civilians — during World War II.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/18/t...
The new ICE detention facility at Fort Bliss is the largest in U.S. history. It’s also one of five sites where Texas held detainees of Japanese descent — including American-born civilians — during World War II.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/18/t...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Chilling story from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social about the Texas families living in fear as they head back to school.
~15% of K-12 students in Texas — or 890,000 children — have at least one undocumented parent, and an estimated 111,000 Texas kids are undocumented
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/14/m...
~15% of K-12 students in Texas — or 890,000 children — have at least one undocumented parent, and an estimated 111,000 Texas kids are undocumented
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/14/m...
Nearly a Million Texas Students Have an Undocumented Parent. Who Will Protect Them When ICE Comes?
Kindergarteners and college freshman alike are heading back to school as ICE agents disappear undocumented families.
thebarbedwire.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Chilling story from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social about the Texas families living in fear as they head back to school.
~15% of K-12 students in Texas — or 890,000 children — have at least one undocumented parent, and an estimated 111,000 Texas kids are undocumented
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/14/m...
~15% of K-12 students in Texas — or 890,000 children — have at least one undocumented parent, and an estimated 111,000 Texas kids are undocumented
thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/14/m...
Wow. This complement made my year. Late to it bc I’m mostly on threads these days but appreciate the shoutout 🙏🏽
Here’s some of my work: thebarbedwire.com/author/leslie/
Here’s some of my work: thebarbedwire.com/author/leslie/
August 15, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Wow. This complement made my year. Late to it bc I’m mostly on threads these days but appreciate the shoutout 🙏🏽
Here’s some of my work: thebarbedwire.com/author/leslie/
Here’s some of my work: thebarbedwire.com/author/leslie/
📣 TX Journos:Want to join our @thebarbedwire.com email list for pitch calls? We’re looking for hot takes, enterprise, investigative and culture stories others don’t deem “their target audience.” (I’m looking at you, journalists of color) DM me!
CC: @oliviamesser.bsky.social @carakelly.bsky.social
CC: @oliviamesser.bsky.social @carakelly.bsky.social
July 29, 2025 at 2:35 PM
📣 TX Journos:Want to join our @thebarbedwire.com email list for pitch calls? We’re looking for hot takes, enterprise, investigative and culture stories others don’t deem “their target audience.” (I’m looking at you, journalists of color) DM me!
CC: @oliviamesser.bsky.social @carakelly.bsky.social
CC: @oliviamesser.bsky.social @carakelly.bsky.social
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
The Texas House just gave a big yeehaw to banning all consumable hemp products that contain THC, because nothing says “freedom” like government micromanaging your gummies.
Texas is About to Ban All THC. Buy Your Gummies Now
In a bold stand, Texas lawmakers decide that pain relief is just too fun to be legal.
thebarbedwire.com
May 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The Texas House just gave a big yeehaw to banning all consumable hemp products that contain THC, because nothing says “freedom” like government micromanaging your gummies.
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
I brought this slack msg to an AU dean in June. she knew I filed a Title IX report for Olivia & the researcher. I begged her to shut it down, told her sexual assaults had happened after drinks. she told me there was nothing she could do. it was sent to 9 female interns. www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...
May 21, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I brought this slack msg to an AU dean in June. she knew I filed a Title IX report for Olivia & the researcher. I begged her to shut it down, told her sexual assaults had happened after drinks. she told me there was nothing she could do. it was sent to 9 female interns. www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
and on that note… someone please ask @washingtonpost.com why they cut Olivia out of their version of this story hours before they published? they had all the same reporting. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Star journalist Wesley Lowery faced Title IX complaints before leaving American University
Lowery resigned after allegations that he made inappropriate sexual comments in meetings with students and unwanted sexual advances toward journalists, records show.
www.washingtonpost.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:39 PM
and on that note… someone please ask @washingtonpost.com why they cut Olivia out of their version of this story hours before they published? they had all the same reporting. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...
Thank you to these women who spoke up. Proud to call some of them my friends ❤️🩹😔
Some of y’all noticed I’ve been uncharacteristically offline. This is why, and I remain on leave for a few weeks to handle a PTSD relapse. CJR was dogged in its pursuit of my story. Because of what I do and who I am, I felt that I had to answer their questions honestly.
www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...
www.cjr.org/feature-2/we...
Journalists Attest to Experiences of Sexual Misconduct with Wesley Lowery
Lowery rose to prominence as a reporter and media thinker. Women in the industry say he engaged in sexual harassment and assault.
www.cjr.org
May 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Thank you to these women who spoke up. Proud to call some of them my friends ❤️🩹😔
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Last week, Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit wore a skirt listing the names of pastors accused of sexual assault to the Texas Capitol to testify against a ban on drag story hours. Now, she’s using what she’s learned in political activism to teach audiences the legislative process via drag.
This Texas Drag Queen Wants to Teach You About ‘LegiSLAYtion’
Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit hosts ‘LegiSLAYtion & Liberation’ every Tuesday night to teach people about the legislative process.
thebarbedwire.com
May 13, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Last week, Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit wore a skirt listing the names of pastors accused of sexual assault to the Texas Capitol to testify against a ban on drag story hours. Now, she’s using what she’s learned in political activism to teach audiences the legislative process via drag.
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
NEW: The Texas Senate passed SB 2880, the widest-ranging abortion pill crackdown in the country, last night.
Sen. Bryan Hughes says it will protect women & "unborn children." Dems slammed it as a "bounty hunter bonanza" that violates separation of powers. #txlege www.statesman.com/story/news/p...
Sen. Bryan Hughes says it will protect women & "unborn children." Dems slammed it as a "bounty hunter bonanza" that violates separation of powers. #txlege www.statesman.com/story/news/p...
Texas Senate passes sweeping bill targeting out-of-state abortion pill providers
SB 2880 would make it a felony to pay for abortion costs and allow private citizens to sue pill distributors, prescribers and payment platforms.
www.statesman.com
May 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
NEW: The Texas Senate passed SB 2880, the widest-ranging abortion pill crackdown in the country, last night.
Sen. Bryan Hughes says it will protect women & "unborn children." Dems slammed it as a "bounty hunter bonanza" that violates separation of powers. #txlege www.statesman.com/story/news/p...
Sen. Bryan Hughes says it will protect women & "unborn children." Dems slammed it as a "bounty hunter bonanza" that violates separation of powers. #txlege www.statesman.com/story/news/p...
As of this morning #SB31 was in the House.
A bipartisan effort to help clean up the mess of Texas’ abortion bans passed the Texas Senate. Of course, it doesn’t make any exemptions for rape, incest, teen pregnancies and fatal fetal abnormalities. #txlege #texas
thebarbedwire.com/2025/04/29/t...
A bipartisan effort to help clean up the mess of Texas’ abortion bans passed the Texas Senate. Of course, it doesn’t make any exemptions for rape, incest, teen pregnancies and fatal fetal abnormalities. #txlege #texas
thebarbedwire.com/2025/04/29/t...
Texas Politicians Are So Excited to Tell Us Doctors Won’t Go to Jail for Saving Women’s Lives, Except for the Times They Still Might
A bipartisan effort to clean up the mess of Texas’ abortion bans passed the Senate. It doesn’t make exemptions for rape or fatal fetal abnormalities.
thebarbedwire.com
April 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
As of this morning #SB31 was in the House.
A bipartisan effort to help clean up the mess of Texas’ abortion bans passed the Texas Senate. Of course, it doesn’t make any exemptions for rape, incest, teen pregnancies and fatal fetal abnormalities. #txlege #texas
thebarbedwire.com/2025/04/29/t...
A bipartisan effort to help clean up the mess of Texas’ abortion bans passed the Texas Senate. Of course, it doesn’t make any exemptions for rape, incest, teen pregnancies and fatal fetal abnormalities. #txlege #texas
thebarbedwire.com/2025/04/29/t...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
At the Cowboy Carter tour kickoff, Beyoncé didn’t just put on a show, she made a statement.
She’s been iced out of country music, dragged for not being “country enough,” and hit with racist vitriol—but still, she’s that girl.
@iamleslierangel.bsky.social breaks down the moment here:
She’s been iced out of country music, dragged for not being “country enough,” and hit with racist vitriol—but still, she’s that girl.
@iamleslierangel.bsky.social breaks down the moment here:
The Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Act Two Tour is Putting Texas Where it Belongs: Everywhere
Bey’s Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit, comes to Houston in June. Opening night tells us, she’s making sure the world knows what it means to be Texan.
thebarbedwire.com
April 29, 2025 at 9:39 PM
At the Cowboy Carter tour kickoff, Beyoncé didn’t just put on a show, she made a statement.
She’s been iced out of country music, dragged for not being “country enough,” and hit with racist vitriol—but still, she’s that girl.
@iamleslierangel.bsky.social breaks down the moment here:
She’s been iced out of country music, dragged for not being “country enough,” and hit with racist vitriol—but still, she’s that girl.
@iamleslierangel.bsky.social breaks down the moment here:
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Elon Musk tried livestreaming as he (badly) played “Path of Exile 2” from his private jet using Starlink, and got roasted into logging off. Trolls flooded the chat with gems like: “You ruined the country just like you ruined all your marriages.”
Elon Musk Was Mercilessly Trolled on Video Game Livestream, Then He Rage Quit
If there is one dark joy these days, it’s still being able to laugh at the world’s richest man, who consistently exhibits the aura of a divorced dad showing up at the skate park. Over the weekend, zil...
thebarbedwire.com
April 8, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Elon Musk tried livestreaming as he (badly) played “Path of Exile 2” from his private jet using Starlink, and got roasted into logging off. Trolls flooded the chat with gems like: “You ruined the country just like you ruined all your marriages.”
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
As the Texas Legislature debates bills on exemptions to abortion bans, and other regulations on reproductive healthcare, we asked doctors how they’re navigating pregnancy talk with patients, and what to consider if you need life-saving abortion care.
Read our must-read guide:
Read our must-read guide:
So You Want To Get Pregnant in Texas? How To Navigate Abortion Bans and Rising Maternal Mortality Rates
Texas doctors say here’s how to navigate pregnancy, miscarriage, complications, and what to consider if you need life-saving abortion care.
thebarbedwire.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM
As the Texas Legislature debates bills on exemptions to abortion bans, and other regulations on reproductive healthcare, we asked doctors how they’re navigating pregnancy talk with patients, and what to consider if you need life-saving abortion care.
Read our must-read guide:
Read our must-read guide:
“Texans, you may never want an abortion, but you may find yourself in my situation. You may need one to save yourself or to save a healthy, wanted baby,” Lauren Miller, a Texas mother said.
As the Texas Legislature debates bills on exemptions to abortion bans, and other regulations on reproductive healthcare, we asked doctors how they’re navigating pregnancy talk with patients, and what to consider if you need life-saving abortion care.
Read our must-read guide:
Read our must-read guide:
So You Want To Get Pregnant in Texas? How To Navigate Abortion Bans and Rising Maternal Mortality Rates
Texas doctors say here’s how to navigate pregnancy, miscarriage, complications, and what to consider if you need life-saving abortion care.
thebarbedwire.com
April 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
“Texans, you may never want an abortion, but you may find yourself in my situation. You may need one to save yourself or to save a healthy, wanted baby,” Lauren Miller, a Texas mother said.
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Congressman Sylvester Turner, who was just two months into his first term representing the 18th Congressional District of Texas, died on Tuesday, according to The Texas Tribune. He was 70 years old.
Congressman and Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Dies at 70
Turner, a Democrat, represented Texas’ 18th Congressional District after the passing of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
thebarbedwire.com
March 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Congressman Sylvester Turner, who was just two months into his first term representing the 18th Congressional District of Texas, died on Tuesday, according to The Texas Tribune. He was 70 years old.
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
This story from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social could truly be a movie: When her daughter was a toddler, Melissa Rojas’ husband impregnated another woman and left. Moving back to the Rio Grande Valley felt like defeat, but raising her daughter inspired a new dream.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/27/c...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/27/c...
She Lost Her Job, Then Her Husband Cheated and Left. ‘Chasing Camilla’ Saved Her.
When her daughter was a toddler, Melissa Rojas’ husband told her: “I'm not in love with you anymore.” Moving back to the Rio Grande Valley felt like defeat at first, but raising her daughter and recon...
thebarbedwire.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
This story from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social could truly be a movie: When her daughter was a toddler, Melissa Rojas’ husband impregnated another woman and left. Moving back to the Rio Grande Valley felt like defeat, but raising her daughter inspired a new dream.
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/27/c...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/27/c...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Texas oligarch & DOGE-in-chief Elon Musk has basically staged a coup-from-the-top. Historians and German philosophers are waving red flags, calling it textbook fascism. So… what’s next?
Musk and Trump Are Marching Us Into a ‘New Fascism’
Historians and German philosophers warn that Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s takeover of the federal government has all the hallmarks of fascism. What now?
thebarbedwire.com
February 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Texas oligarch & DOGE-in-chief Elon Musk has basically staged a coup-from-the-top. Historians and German philosophers are waving red flags, calling it textbook fascism. So… what’s next?
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Send this to your uncle who thinks Trump is “good for the economy.” Beer’s Going to Cost More, from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social for @thebarbedwire.bsky.social
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/11/t...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/11/t...
Beer’s Going to Cost More. Thanks, Trump.
Thanks to Trump’s tariffs, beer companies are preparing to tack another $2 onto the price of beer cans.
thebarbedwire.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Send this to your uncle who thinks Trump is “good for the economy.” Beer’s Going to Cost More, from @iamleslierangel.bsky.social for @thebarbedwire.bsky.social
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/11/t...
thebarbedwire.com/2025/02/11/t...
Reposted by Leslie Rangel
Texas lawmakers are back at it—pushing bathroom bounties and genetic testing for student athletes instead of fixing, you know, actual problems.
Here’s a look at the bills LGBTQIA+ organizations in Texas are keeping an eye on. #TXLege
Here’s a look at the bills LGBTQIA+ organizations in Texas are keeping an eye on. #TXLege
50+ Bills Attacking Trans Texans Have Been Filed in the Legislature. Here Are the Ones to Watch.
Bounty bills, bathroom bills, and genetic testing of high schoolers are all on the table as Republicans renew their attacks on trans people in Texas for the 2025 legislative session.
thebarbedwire.com
February 12, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Texas lawmakers are back at it—pushing bathroom bounties and genetic testing for student athletes instead of fixing, you know, actual problems.
Here’s a look at the bills LGBTQIA+ organizations in Texas are keeping an eye on. #TXLege
Here’s a look at the bills LGBTQIA+ organizations in Texas are keeping an eye on. #TXLege