Rebekah Tromble
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rebekahtromble.bsky.social
Rebekah Tromble
@rebekahtromble.bsky.social
Dir. of Global Partnerships, Inst. for Information, the Internet & Democracy, NEU | Union of Concerned Scientists 2024 Defender of Science |
Co-founder: https://researchersupport.org/
https://expertvoicestogether.org/
https://independenttechresearch.org/
Pinned
The worst happened. We were DOGE’d. Our NSF funding is gone.

So now there’s nothing stopping me from sharing Expert Voices Together, a crisis response system for US-based researchers and journalists facing harassment.

It's a true passion project. 🧵 1/

expertvoicestogether.org
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
My constituent, Wilmer, was mauled by an ICE attack dog despite the fact that, as he has consistently explained, he was not resisting arrest or trying to flee—his wife and young children, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as Wilmer was violently attacked and dragged away.
December 6, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
“Traumatized, humiliated, degraded.”

The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.

It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.

Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Exclusive: Woman detained by feds in Keys says she was following agents’ orders
“This is not the America that I grew up in, and this is not the America that we represent.”
www.miamiherald.com
December 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Rep. Grijalva says she was pepper-sprayed by ICE
December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
This really is grotesque: they went through years-long citizenship processes and are now being denied simply because if the country they are from. It’s formalized bigotry.
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”

www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Don't fall for the manipulative "censorship" framing of EU's fines against X for DSA violations. The EU is trying to enforce their laws. X is breaking them. And the U.S. government is defending big tech, billionaries, & bullshitters rather than protecting users. www.linkedin.com/posts/daphne...
Don't let anyone tell you that the Commission's DSA enforcement against X is about speech or censorship. https://lnkd.in/g3Cyeeyk That would, indeed, be interesting! But this is just the EU… ...
Don't let anyone tell you that the Commission's DSA enforcement against X is about speech or censorship. https://lnkd.in/g3Cyeeyk That would, indeed, be interesting! But this is just the EU enforcing...
www.linkedin.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
X is free to appeal this decision in the European courts. A right it has because it *operates in the EU market.*

And of course if X doesn’t want to follow the EU’s laws at all, it’s free to withdraw from that market at any time.
What an absurd claim.

This is not a tax on Americans.

The EU creates laws to protect its citizens, in this case from fraud and deception. X operates in the EU market and must therefore follow its laws, including by reducing fraud and deception. X hasn’t done that. And so it’s being fined.
December 5, 2025 at 4:46 PM
What an absurd claim.

This is not a tax on Americans.

The EU creates laws to protect its citizens, in this case from fraud and deception. X operates in the EU market and must therefore follow its laws, including by reducing fraud and deception. X hasn’t done that. And so it’s being fined.
December 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Don't let anyone tell you that the Commission's DSA enforcement against X is about speech or censorship.

That would, indeed, be interesting. But this is just the EU enforcing some normal, boring laws that would get bipartisan support in the U.S. (I bet similar bills *have* had that support.) 1/
December 5, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The European Commissision announced its first non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act, fining X €120 million for deceptive practices and lack of transparency. 1/

ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Commission fines X €120 million under the Digital Services Act
Today, the Commission has issued a fine of €120 million to X for breaching its transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
ec.europa.eu
December 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
american reporters, you've got to call bullshit on this. vance, purveyor of hate/propaganda, wants the public to believe rules on, for instance, transparency in advertising and forms of deception on X are censorship.

don't fall for it.
December 4, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
And, if you are a non-US citizen who did this work, you and your entire family will be banned from the United States. (I know this is incredible, but read the order—that’s what it says!)
If you were a tech company employee who moderated content overseas — say, trying to prevent a repeat of the Myanmar genocide! or maybe policing CSAM! Or hate speech illegal in your country! — you are a “censor” under the definitions of the Republicans in power.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.
www.reuters.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
DOJ says immigration judges, as "inferior officers," may be fired on the basis of sex, religion, race, or national origin. Leaving aside the law, it's *politically* remarkable they're taking this position.
washingtonlitigationgroup.org/news/former-...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
December 1, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
I’m struggling with my focus today. So I wrote out everything I’ve done this year, long hand and in a proper notebook.

I decided that the problem may be that I’ve done enough.
December 1, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
schmitt’s derisive mention of “color revolution” is a good clue as to the nature of his information environment
Sen. Eric Schmitt: "This is the language of a color revolution where you're calling on military men and women to disobey orders."
December 1, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Imagine how much contempt you must have—for the rule of law, for human life, for your fellow citizens—to respond in this way
FOX: You said the follow up strike was lawful. What law is it that allows no survivors?

LEAVITT: The strike was conducted in self defense to protect Americans
December 1, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
President Hernandez was serving 45 years in prison for a plot to distribute 400 tons of cocaine before Trump pardoned him. Meanwhile, Trump is murdering fishermen in small boats for allegedly smuggling far smaller amounts.
“Additionally, I Will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that | greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly.”
November 29, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
In case you’re wondering why Pete Hegseth is freaking out about a congressional video reminding the military not to participate in illegal orders:
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing

"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."

Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
You're not seeing the defense and international conflict experts disagreeing because if the facts are true, it's one of the most basic things in the law of armed conflict: You cannot kill people who are "hors de combat," taken out of the game by injury or attack. This is Geneva 101 stuff.
I follower a few defense experts.

Seeing them all straight-up declare this a war crime without any him-and-hawing is uhm

Disconcerting.

Pete Hegseth must resign, as does Stephen Miller. Donald Trump should be subpoenaed before Congress to answer for HIS policy.
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
👀 when it comes to "harassment" and student protest, northwestern has given the trump administration what appears to be a veto over changes in policy: "Northwestern shall not revise or modify these policies and procedures without the consent of the Assistant Attorney General".

horrible.
You've heard of the Friday night news dump. Here's the Friday night of Thanksgiving wknd dump. For special circumstances, like when the faculty assembly votes 595-4 against paying to end a shakedown and you do it anyway. Link to agreement here: bulkmail.northwestern.edu/trk/click?re...
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university

Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Greg Bovino calls NANCY SINATRA "a main cause of violence"
November 29, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Or the laws of armed conflict. Or the Geneva conventions. You cannot kill people who have been rendered hors de combat in a military action.
Decent answer, but this is why CNN needs experts on the law of the sea on, instead of the usual political commentators. They could easily explain why this violates maritime rules.
Stephen Miller’s Wife @katiemiller : “Can you cite the statute that makes the boat bombings illegal?”

@bakarisellers.bsky.social : “The due process
clause in the constitution.”
November 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Former US military lawyers speak out:

"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."

Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes

1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Today in life under competitive authoritarianism

It doesn’t get anymore textbook than this:
November 30, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
How it started / How it’s going
November 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Reposted by Rebekah Tromble
Restoring liberalism after illiberalism is no easy task: Leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure. Worse, their illiberal opponents stand to benefit either way.
Democracy After Illiberalism: A Warning from Poland | Journal of Democracy
Restoring liberalism after illiberalism is no easy task: Leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure. Worse…
www.journalofdemocracy.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM