iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Last night, @ij.org won a jury trial against a Texas sheriff’s office using ALPRs to flag cars for pretextual stops and K9s to falsely alert. ij.org/press-releas...

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•1 ? •
• INSTITUTI I for TUSTICH
five steps: First, surveillance cameras across the state and
country recorded license plates and logged when and where cars went.
Second, analysts and anonymous tipsters flagged ordinary travel, like driving toward the border and back, as suspicious. Third, Bexar County sheriff's deputies invented a traffic violation to justify pulling over the flagged driver. Fourth, deputies pulled drivers into their front seats, interrogated them and asked consent to search their car. Finally,
fifth, if the driver refused to consent to a search, a K-9 alert from a manipulated dog supplied the probable cause to search
ij.org
anyway. This practice happened for

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1 X
& LUSTITE®
三
The tip reached Bexar County through a group chat on WhatsApp, a private messaging app, called the
"Northwest Highway Group."
Deputy Babb testified the information came from a man he knew only as "Kiki," who Babb believed worked at a federal fusion
center in Laredo. To make the stop, Deputy Babb parked on the shoulder, waited for the truck, followed it, and eventually stopped it. Babb said the reason for the stop was that Alek had drifted across the fog line on the road. Evidence shown at the trial showed Schott
never veered outside the lines.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I went on the Consequential Actions podcast to talk about the legal theory behind some of my cases and our efforts to get SCOTUS to incorporate the Seventh Amendment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-YL...

youtube.com

Humboldt County's Cannabis Fines & the Civil Jury | Jared McClain, Institute for Justice

YouTube video by Jeff Kellick

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The corrosive effect is real. On Monday, the chief district judge in southern Alabama, a Trump appointee, ruled DHS construction site raids are unconstitutional in 3 ways. Almost all the comments in response have said DHS won’t listen and SCOTUS won’t make them. That’s really bad for society.

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404 Media @404media.co · 24/09/2026

Cops followed EJ Carrion home and arrested him in his drive way one week after he said 'bullshit' at a county meeting in Texas. Here is that body cam footage. @mjgault.bsky.social reports: www.404media.co/watch-body-c...

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

My colleague Alasdair Whitney testified at the Senate hearing on Flock today about how it’s bad for the government to monitor all our movements.

Photo of five witnesses being sworn into today’s hearing

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

My colleague Alasdair Whitney testified at the Senate hearing on Flock today about how it’s bad for the government to monitor all our movements.

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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Pretty significant news, especially getting a preliminary injunction in a state like Alabama. Comes from the lawsuit filed by Leonardo Garcia Venegas, the U.S. citizen and Alabama resident detained three times by immigration agents. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

propublica.org

Why Have Immigration Agents Detained This American Citizen Three Times?

Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen whose prior detentions went viral and were detailed by ProPublica, was recently detained for a third time — and shackled. “I just want to live in peace,” he say...

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daily dose of estragon @craigburley.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Just finished reviewing Jared's incredible response to DHS's reply to his motion. I honestly think this injunction was won 100% on the back of good lawyering. A systematic destruction of DHS's positions that the judge followed like Ariadne's thread. (Made it public on Courtistener.)

storage.courtlistener.com

Reply – #99 in Venegas v. Homan (S.D. Ala., 1:25-cv-00397) – CourtListener.com

REPLY to 30 MOTION for Preliminary Injunction (Supplemental Reply in Support) filed by Leonardo Garcia Venegas. (McClain, Jared) (Entered: 06/10/2026)

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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Very important case for immigration enforcement. 3 policies central to numerous ICE abductions are stayed. Decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock, Southern District of Alabama.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Last year, we detailed how immigration agents profiled and grabbed one citizen not once but twice. Then, they did it *again.* Now, a federal court has ordered agents to back the eff up. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

NEW: Leo Garcia Venegas, detained three times by DHS, just won a major victory in his case. The court stayed three DHS policies: Immigration agents can no longer raid construction sites without a warrant, round up workers based on how they look, and refuse to let them go after they show a REAL ID.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Now that we settled against Humboldt, I can finally post my favorite part of discovery. Their code enforcement officer kept saying he'd go in every Monday to 50 voicemails from people they fined. His attorney tried to get him to say 50 was an exaggeration. Turned out it was an enforcement quota:

Transcript from deposition. Opposing counsel asks if 50 voicemails on Monday was hyperbole, and the witness responds "No, it was generated based on the fact that management wanted us to post 50 notices a week." Opposing counsel just says, "Oh, I see."

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Leo’s lawsuit against DHS can go forward to discovery. He challenges the warrantless raids of construction sites, mass roundups of Latino workers, and refusal to credit government IDs. The court ruled from the bench and denied the government’s motion to dismiss. ij.org/press-releas...

ij.org

US Citizen and Construction Worker Wins First Round in His Lawsuit Over Repeated Unconstitutional Detentions - Institute for Justice

MOBILE, Ala.—A judge in Alabama granted Leo Garcia Venegas, an American citizen and construction worker, a first-round victory in his federal lawsuit aimed at stopping unconstitutional raids […]

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

ij.org

US Citizen and Construction Worker Wins First Round in His Lawsuit Over Repeated Unconstitutional Detentions - Institute for Justice

MOBILE, Ala.—A judge in Alabama granted Leo Garcia Venegas, an American citizen and construction worker, a first-round victory in his federal lawsuit aimed at stopping unconstitutional raids […]

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Short Circuit @shortcircuitij.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The latest from Bound By Oath! In 1966, a man faced prison for handing out leaflets protesting a fatal police shooting. Today, we know the case as Younger v. Harris, which kicked off Younger abstention, the bane of many a civil rights plaintiff. W/ Fred Smith of Stanford Law! ij.org/podcasts/bou...

ij.org

Younger abstention | Season 4, Ep. 4 - Institute for Justice

In 1966, Los Angeles officials tried to put a man in prison for handing out leaflets in protest of a fatal police shooting. Today, we […]

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Have to think the Ninth Circuit responding to Humboldt’s argument with these looks played a role in their decision to settle.

Panel expressing skepticism to Humboldt’s attorney during oral argument

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

After four years, we've settled our case against Humboldt County. The County must: -Drop our clients' fines, -Amend its ordinances to dismantle its unconstitutional code-enforcement regime that forced innocent people to settle, -Publicly retract its allegations against our clients, and -Pay $350k

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Horrible Second Circuit decision shows our rights are meaningless. Do you have a 1A right to record police? Yes. Can police demand your ID without reasonable suspicion? No. But if you record the police at dusk (scary!) then that's suspicious, so police can arrest you if you don't produce your ID.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

A SWAT team raided an innocent family’s home b/c stolen AirPods pinged in the neighborhood & they (like the suspect) drove a Nissan. The federal court just denied qualified immunity on our 4A claims & let our “novel” Takings claims proceed based on the damage to the home. ij.org/press-releas...

ij.org

Court Rules North Carolina Family's Lawsuit Can Move Forward After SWAT Team Raided, Damaged Wrong Home - Institute for Justice

WILMINGTON, N.C.—On Thursday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina denied qualified immunity for officers who raided an innocent family’s Pender County home in [...

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Kevin @kevinllong.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We simply must hold law enforcement to a higher standard, and that means removing or severely weakening QI claims. Kudos to these attorneys 👏🏼

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

ij.org

Court Rules North Carolina Family's Lawsuit Can Move Forward After SWAT Team Raided, Damaged Wrong Home - Institute for Justice

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

During the “Midway Blitz” last October, a clip from Ring camera footage went viral of ICE agents hopping a fence and trying to pull construction workers through a window. @ij.org just filed a lawsuit on behalf of the homeowner, Leo Feler, over the warrantless search. youtu.be/_bOgsyaZjlQ?...

youtu.be

Federal Agents Raided His Home—Live on Ring

YouTube video by Institute for Justice

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

youtu.be

Federal Agents Raided His Home—Live on Ring

YouTube video by Institute for Justice

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

If anyone knows any good civil rights lawyers in MN, I’ve got a good potential case against ICE with a lot of research done that I can’t take. It’s got novel legal issues with a minimal payday. Pls lmk if anyone has any recs for that type of thing.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

We just got our third grant for next Term. This one asks whether the state can confiscate a pilot’s plane for bringing a pack of beer to a dry town.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We’re always looking for an excuse to talk about the time @danielahorwitz.bsky.social sued all the federal judges in the Middle District of Tennessee. With the court’s gag rule for attorneys out of the way, Daniel is back to giving interviews about the many problems with CoreCivic.

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Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

2 more thoughts on birthright: 1. The movement to overturn Roe and Humphrey's Executor was built over decades. It took an enormous amount of effort to manufacture that sense of scholarly viability (see: Teles, Hollis-Brusky). The right got 5-4 on birthright with a sloppy last-minute scramble

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Listen to John Ross’s wonderful podcast that explains why today’s boring doctrinal decision really sucks and hurts civil rights plaintiffs.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Listen to John Ross’s wonderful podcast that explains why today’s boring doctrinal decision really sucks and hurts civil rights plaintiffs.

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dr. rich traditions, JD @helldude.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

it says right on the tin that this is a fucking republic. as a purely technical matter we are supposedly in charge of this fucking thing. we cannot continue to allow the worst elements of human society to turn their worst impulses into global policy. this is a matter of human self preservation

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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

New: Regretful cities are literally covering their Flock cameras with black trash bags because they cannot figure out how to immediately exit their surveillance contracts or get the cameras taken down: www.404media.co/cities-are-c...

404media.co

Cities Are Covering Flock Cameras With Trash Bags

Regretful cities aren't sure how to cancel their surveillance contracts, so they are literally covering their cameras.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Yesterday, we had a mini trial in Leo’s case against ICE raids. A DHS official and his attys at DOJ all said they don’t need warrants for construction sites and that REAL IDs are unreliable. Two pretty incredible positions to take imho ij.org/case/alabama...

Court steps interview after the preliminary injunction hearing in Garcia Venegas v. Homan

Leo speaking to reporters outside the courthouse after our preliminary injunction hearing.

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Prosecutors should not get absolute immunity for anything because they don’t represent an infallible king. But they really shouldn’t get it for their misuse of grand juries. My case challenging that just got to the Eleventh Circuit: youtu.be/Xiio00O_gPg?...

youtu.be

Senior Citizens Jailed for Exposing Corruption

YouTube video by Institute for Justice

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

youtu.be

Senior Citizens Jailed for Exposing Corruption

YouTube video by Institute for Justice

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

@ij.org just put together a fun(?) little flowchart that goes through all the steps someone must take to sue when a federal official violates their rights. It shouldn't be this difficult. ij.org/issues/proje...

ij.org

Barriers to Holding Federal Agents Accountable - Institute for Justice

A right without a remedy is no right at all. But when federal officers violate the Constitution, a slew of unjustified barriers prevent victims from […]

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Good news for Leo: The court ruled he has standing & set an evidentiary hearing for next Wednesday. The court agreed we showed the DHS policies exist and that, despite Kavanaugh’s concurrence in Perdomo, Leo is likely to be injured by these policies again. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71498...

A. Plaintiff has sufficiently established the DHS policies exist
According to the Government, Plaintit has not shown that he faces an imminent injury
from any policy, pattern or practice implemented by the Federal Defendants" because "no such
policies exist." (Doc. 46). For support, the government relies on the Declaration of Philip Lavoie
(Docs. 44-1). (Id.) In response, Plaintit argues the policies exist based on Plaintitt's declarations
deschoine nis two previous encounters with uns and the encounters or two orners ne personally
witnessed. Plaintiff has also relied on public statements, news reports, and
declarations.
To show an actionable "policy, pattern, or practice," plaintiffs must identify conduct that
is systemic and widespread, not merely the result of isolated or sporadic incidents. Thus, to establish standing, Plaintiff must
show that the policy, in tact, exists and that it requires federal Otcials to take the challenged
actions.
The Court is not compelled by the Government's position that no policies exist tor several
reasons. First, treating the allegations in the Complaint as true, it is beyond question that Plaintiff
has alleged the three subiect policies exist. Plaintiff has additionally put forth factual support that
the policies exist. Second, a declaraton, like the one submitted by the Government, does not -
at this stage-override what a olaint has clearly alleged. Ihird. even it the decaranon were
dispositive, the Court is unsatisfied that it conclusively negates that such policies exist. Rather, at
best, Mr. Lavoie has contrmed he is not aware or such policies. Fourth
in addition to the court's determination that the Government's supporting documentation is not
compelling, the Court also finds that the totality of Plaintiff's supporting documentation when
considered along with the well pled allegations of the Complaint, support the conclusion that the
policies exist for purposes of Article III standing.

The Government's alternative position based on Lyons is equally unconvincing.
…
Here, Lyons and Noem do not support the outcome Defendants seek. More specifically,
the facts here plainly establish that Plaintiff's exposure to the alleged policies are not limited to a
single isolated incident in the past. Rather, at the time the Complaint was filed, Plaintiff had
already been on the receiving end of the policies twice. Since the litigation has been pending.
Plaintiff has been stopped a third time. These facts establish what the Plaintiff in Lyons could not.
Moreover, even if Plaintiff here had not been stopped numerous times already, the nature of the
policies here and factual allegations are distinguishable from the policies at issue in Lyons, given
that the policies in this action a will subject an individual to future encounters when he/she is
simply going about his life. Accordingly, the Court finds the instant case more analogous to Church
because Plaintiff "is unable to avoid repeating the conduct that led to the original injury at the

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Leo was one of the people Nicole highlighted in her original story chronicling citizen detentions by ICE. Now that he’s been detained for a third time, she has a new (characteristically detailed) piece worth everyone’s time.

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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

The same week top officials denied ICE/CBP was mistakenly arresting citizens, immigration agents were filmed doing that very thing. Twice. One Alabama man was detained for the 3rd time in a year, even though he's actively suing for his last arrest I spoke to him for my latest @propublica.org story

propublica.org

Why Have Immigration Agents Detained This American Citizen Three Times?

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Jared @jaredmcclain.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

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Dan King🇺🇦 @kinger-dc.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Sunday marks 4 years since the city of Pasadena, Texas agreed to let @ij.org client Oz Sepulveda open his auto shop w/o adding 23 parking spots he can't afford & doesn't need. Since then the city has been using delay tactics to keep him closed. But that may FINALLY be changing.🧵

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