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Kyle Barry

@kylecbarry.bsky.social
2.5K followers 1.3K following 636 posts

Executive Director, State Law Research Initiative (SLRI) state-law-research.org & adjunct, USF Law; formerly @theappeal.bsky.social, NAACP LDF. I write about state courts & dismantling mass incarceration. open.substack.com/pub/slri

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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Awkward bsky.app/profile/theb...
Then Rep. and now DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that Biden's student loan forgiveness policy was an attempt to buy votes before the midterms.
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Peter @plawman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I recently tried a felony murder case in NY. The idea that our laws can punish any participant - even one unarmed far from the scene - in a felony leading to an unintentional homicide with a life sentence no differently than if they'd intentionally killed someone in cold blood is manifestly unjust.
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Since becoming president again, Trump has promised: -$5000 stimulus checks via "DOGE dividend" -$2000 stimulus checks via "tariff dividend" -$1000+ checks via "savings" from expiring ACA subsidies -$5000 "dividend" if Rs win midterms No checks have been issued www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-magi...
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
In which ghoulish prosecutors openly admit that the ‘felony murder’ rule exists only so that they can threaten & punish people for things they didn’t do, prosecute crimes they can’t prove, and trick juries to convict when they otherwise wouldn’t. www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Then the Wayne County prosecutor charged Matlock with felony murder. If convicted, he'd go to prison for life.
"How could they do that?" Matlock remembers asking his lawyer. "They know I ain't kill nobody."
The lawyer tried to explain: Matlock was on trial for the murder of Brandon Collins. But the jury wouldn't be asked to decide whether Matlock had killed him. Instead, they'd decide whether Matlock had participated in the robbery that led to Collins' death.Becker said that even when pursuing premeditated murder charges, he sometimes charges felony murder "as a backup," to avoid jurors' concerns about sending someone to prison for life. Although felony murder carries the same mandatory sentence, Becker said, "they don't necessarily know that."Securing mandatory life, Becker said, "just seems easier when a felony is attached."
Lucido said it's up to state lawmakers to decide if the felony murder law is fair. But, he said, prosecuting violent crimes "may be more difficult" without it.
"Because now you're trying to peer through the eyes and the mind of the accused, and I don't want to have to do that every time." Lucido said.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
In which ghoulish prosecutors openly admit that the ‘felony murder’ rule exists only so that they can threaten & punish people for things they didn’t do, prosecute crimes they can’t prove, and trick juries to convict when they otherwise wouldn’t. www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-jus...
Then the Wayne County prosecutor charged Matlock with felony murder. If convicted, he'd go to prison for life.
"How could they do that?" Matlock remembers asking his lawyer. "They know I ain't kill nobody."
The lawyer tried to explain: Matlock was on trial for the murder of Brandon Collins. But the jury wouldn't be asked to decide whether Matlock had killed him. Instead, they'd decide whether Matlock had participated in the robbery that led to Collins' death.Becker said that even when pursuing premeditated murder charges, he sometimes charges felony murder "as a backup," to avoid jurors' concerns about sending someone to prison for life. Although felony murder carries the same mandatory sentence, Becker said, "they don't necessarily know that."Securing mandatory life, Becker said, "just seems easier when a felony is attached."
Lucido said it's up to state lawmakers to decide if the felony murder law is fair. But, he said, prosecuting violent crimes "may be more difficult" without it.
"Because now you're trying to peer through the eyes and the mind of the accused, and I don't want to have to do that every time." Lucido said.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
30 incarcerated men presented a $4,267 donation to a northwest Kansas school district to pay down the district's unsettled lunch debt The donation was to be "utilized to help local children fuel their day and stay focused and energized this school year"
actionnews5.com
Prison inmates help to pay down school lunch debt
A school district's unsettled lunch debt was substantially paid down by a group of inmates.
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 07/09/2026
Possibly the most American news of all time
local12.com
Prison inmates donate more than $4,000 to pay children's school lunch debt
Residents at the prison contributed $3,810 of their own money, while Kansas Department of Corrections employees added another $457.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 06/09/2026
right now, the best hegseth can hope for is to be remembered as a staggeringly incompetent defense secretary who gutted military leadership, tried to reimpose segregation in the highest ranks, and led the military to its worst strategic defeat in at least a generation.
nytimes.com
The Battle to Save General Donahue From Hegseth’s Army Purge
Gen. Christopher T. Donahue’s vision for fighting future wars won him powerful supporters around the world. Could they save his career?
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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 04/09/2026
Maryland voters will get to decide in November on a congressional redistricting amendment being pushed by Democrats as part of a nationwide battle for control of the U.S. House in future elections.
nbcnews.to
Maryland’s top court allows Democratic-backed congressional redistricting measure on November ballot
The decision is a notable victory for Democrats, who are trying to counter a Republican redistricting movement pushed by President Donald Trump.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
If the @nytimes.com wants to cover weddings like they are news, then it should issue a correction whenever the couple gets divorced. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/s...
nytimes.com
Third Time Was the Charm for a Founder of Meet Cutes NYC
Aaron Feinberg, who is popular on social media for documenting people’s love stories, can now put that advice into practice with Ali Parsons.
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Congressman Wesley Bell @repwesleybellmo.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🚨Democracy scored a major victory in Missouri today. Our Supreme Court blocked the Trump-backed gerrymandering efforts, ruling 7-0 that the power belongs where it always should: with the voters! Over 305,000 Missourians demanded a say, and now they'll get one. apnews.com/article/redi...
apnews.com
Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map and orders it to be put to a vote
The Missouri Supreme Court has blocked a new U.S. House map backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I feel like the Foxconn scandal, which very much remains ongoing, should be a bigger part of anti-Trump messaging. Like, massive public investment in exchange for a promised 13,000 jobs turned into 1,000 jobs and maybe a data center. It’s so insane and blatant. www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/w...
nbcchicago.com
What happened to Foxconn? A look at the $1.2 billion spent and where it all went
In 2018, President Donald Trump came to southeast Wisconsin to proclaim the coming of “the eighth wonder of the world.” But what actually happened?
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Ardent opponent of civil rights and racial justice to leave state supreme court bsky.app/profile/chri...
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 01/09/2026
I would like ask JD Vance about Pierre Damas Bel.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Funny how the standing analysis came out so differently when states who had lost absolutely nothing sued to block Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. bsky.app/profile/kels...
NBC NEWS
SUBSCRIBE
The legal challenge was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that the president did not have unilateral authority to proceed with construction.
In the unsigned ruling, the court said that the trust likely does not have legal standing to bring the underlying lawsuit. The court did not reach any conclusion on whether Trump has authority to carry out construction without congressional approval.
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Tim Grierson @timgrierson.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Don’t let a single Republican, especially the president, get away with offering their condolences.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 27/08/2026
West Sacramento has suspended work on its riverfront streetcar project… in part because the Trump Administration has failed to advance funding for it. The Trump DOT has not signed a single full grant agreement for a new transit project since it entered office. Zero projects funded.
onsiteobserver.com
West Sacramento pauses work on long-planned riverfront streetcar project
West Sacramento has suspended additional work and spending on the long-planned Downtown Riverfront Streetcar project
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Insane, yes, but also typical. Creating crime where none exists is a well-worn strategy of American policing. bsky.app/profile/futu...
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
And here's another unfathomably cruel prosecution, this one from Florida, that uses the arcane "felony murder" doctrine to turn a tragic accident into murder --a must read from the great @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/florid...
huffpost.com
She Forgot The Baby In A Hot Car. Every Moment Since Has Been Hell.
The case against Rhonda Jewell threatens to upend a foundational principle of the U.S. legal system.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
And here's another unfathomably cruel prosecution, this one from Florida, that uses the arcane "felony murder" doctrine to turn a tragic accident into murder --a must read from the great @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social www.huffpost.com/entry/florid...
huffpost.com
She Forgot The Baby In A Hot Car. Every Moment Since Has Been Hell.
The case against Rhonda Jewell threatens to upend a foundational principle of the U.S. legal system.
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Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
In 2023, Rhonda Jewell accidentally left 10-month-old Ariya in a hot car, resulting in the baby's death. Rhonda was acquitted of manslaughter — which would have required a finding of culpable negligence — but convicted of third-degree felony murder www.huffpost.com/entry/florid...
huffpost.com
A Baby Died In A Tragic Accident. Why Was It Treated As Murder?
The case against Rhonda Jewell threatens to upend a foundational principle of the U.S. legal system.
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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
It’s weird how stays that benefit Trump are always kept in place and stays that stop him are always lifted. It’s almost as if there’s some of pattern behind legal procedure at work….
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r o o @jakepaulsartre.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
found out Larry David just starts verbally abusing Alan Dershowitz whenever he sees him, this is very good
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pdx law grrrl @pdxlawgrrrl.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Maine and Vermont are the whitest states in America. They also have never stripped the right to vote from people with felony convictions. It's not a coincidence. "The Maine model ain't happening in Louisiana."
boltsmag.org
Maine Prisoners Organize to Protect Their Rare Right to Vote - Bolts
Maine is one of the only places in the country where prisoners keep their right to vote. But logistical barriers to voting still contribute to their larger exclusion from the political process.
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Robert Komaniecki @komaniecki.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
How do I explain to small business owners that the menu on the left is one billion times more appealing than the one on the right
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The @colorofchange.bsky.social endorsed Gwinnett County DA, Patsy Austin-Gatson, has turned this tragedy into a murder prosecution against a grieving mom who fled abuse while facing poverty & rasing kids w severe health needs. Unconscionable. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
What happened in the case?
Deja Coleman drove her three sons, ages 6, 4 and 1, to their daycare center the morning of July 29 from the shelter where they had been living. Then, she drove to the hospital where she worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Hours later, a bystander called police to report an unresponsive baby inside a locked car.What happened in the case?
Deja Coleman drove her three sons, ages 6, 4 and 1, to their daycare center the morning of July 29 from the shelter where they had been living. Then, she drove to the hospital where she worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Hours later, a bystander called police to report an unresponsive baby inside a locked car.Defense attorney Tom Ford said that Coleman was experiencing "medical grade" sleep deprivation. She and her boys were living at a protective shelter after she was allegedly abused by her husband, Ford and Rollins said.
Her oldest child is autistic and nonspeaking, and needs significant attention and care, and the baby had been teething and not sleeping well.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The @colorofchange.bsky.social endorsed Gwinnett County DA, Patsy Austin-Gatson, has turned this tragedy into a murder prosecution against a grieving mom who fled abuse while facing poverty & rasing kids w severe health needs. Unconscionable. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
What happened in the case?
Deja Coleman drove her three sons, ages 6, 4 and 1, to their daycare center the morning of July 29 from the shelter where they had been living. Then, she drove to the hospital where she worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Hours later, a bystander called police to report an unresponsive baby inside a locked car.What happened in the case?
Deja Coleman drove her three sons, ages 6, 4 and 1, to their daycare center the morning of July 29 from the shelter where they had been living. Then, she drove to the hospital where she worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Hours later, a bystander called police to report an unresponsive baby inside a locked car.Defense attorney Tom Ford said that Coleman was experiencing "medical grade" sleep deprivation. She and her boys were living at a protective shelter after she was allegedly abused by her husband, Ford and Rollins said.
Her oldest child is autistic and nonspeaking, and needs significant attention and care, and the baby had been teething and not sleeping well.
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Sam Ulmschneider @samulmschneider.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Normally I just appreciatively read @jamellebouie.net 's columns-sharable video content just isn't my bag. But this is a very, very, very trenchant piece of commentary that captures a lot of how I increasingly understand the disjunction between the commentary environment and on-the-ground politics.
youtube.com
The pundits have completely lost the plot
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
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Tim Grierson @timgrierson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Update: After watching her Outside Lands set, I'm convinced the MUSIC, FASHION, FILM material is better live. Rocks harder, hits deeper, feels way more urgent. And the BRAT songs aren't losing any of their luster, either.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In CA, 86% (!!!) of people < age 26 sentenced to LWOP are people of color. Today SLRI & MacArthur Justice Center filed a brief arguing that this discriminatory and counterproductive sentencing practice violates CA’s constitution—a holding long overdue. state-law-research.org/wp-content/u...
Given longstanding precedent, the current neuroscientific
consensus on brain development, and California's own standards
of decency, sentencing youth offenders under age 26 to die in
prison is no longer constitutionally tenable. Other state courts
have recognized their state constitutional obligation to expand
rights for young people, and "In]ow is the time" for California
"court[s] to grapple with these important considerations" under
Section 17. (People v. Powell (Feb. 23, 2024, A167066 [nonpub.
opn.], review den. June 12, 2024, S284418) (dis. stmt. of Evans,
J.).)
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In CA, 86% (!!!) of people < age 26 sentenced to LWOP are people of color. Today SLRI & MacArthur Justice Center filed a brief arguing that this discriminatory and counterproductive sentencing practice violates CA’s constitution—a holding long overdue. state-law-research.org/wp-content/u...
Given longstanding precedent, the current neuroscientific
consensus on brain development, and California's own standards
of decency, sentencing youth offenders under age 26 to die in
prison is no longer constitutionally tenable. Other state courts
have recognized their state constitutional obligation to expand
rights for young people, and "In]ow is the time" for California
"court[s] to grapple with these important considerations" under
Section 17. (People v. Powell (Feb. 23, 2024, A167066 [nonpub.
opn.], review den. June 12, 2024, S284418) (dis. stmt. of Evans,
J.).)
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Scenes from a personalist regime; The President”s personal lawyer is sworn into high office by another of the Presidents’s personal lawyers, now a judge
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
New state constitutional rights against LWOP, de facto life terms, sex offense registration, double jeopardy prosecutions, and police searches … all in the last three weeks. Think the Warren Court was cool? Look what the Michigan Supreme Court is doing slri.substack.com/p/the-michig...
HED: The Michigan Supreme Court Continues To Show How It's Done
DEK: Five new state constitutional rulings expand rights and shrink the criminal legal system
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
New state constitutional rights against LWOP, de facto life terms, sex offense registration, double jeopardy prosecutions, and police searches … all in the last three weeks. Think the Warren Court was cool? Look what the Michigan Supreme Court is doing slri.substack.com/p/the-michig...
HED: The Michigan Supreme Court Continues To Show How It's Done
DEK: Five new state constitutional rulings expand rights and shrink the criminal legal system
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Re-up: My heavily-documented cases for Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy as spineless, whimpering cowards who have allowed untold death and destruction because they're terrified of a senile old man. radleybalko.substack.com/p/profiles-i... radleybalko.substack.com/p/profiles-i...
radleybalko.substack.com
Profiles in poltroonery: Senator Bill Cassidy
The Louisiana senator and physician could have stopped the world's worst antivaxer from taking over the regulation of vaccines. He didn't. And now we're paying for it.
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Charlie Nelson Keever @charliechaya.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Proud to join my colleagues at USF in standing up for the rule of law and the integrity of the legal system. Read our full statement here: sites.google.com/view/usfca-l...
sites.google.com
Home
A Statement from Faculty at the University of San Francisco School of Law
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Babe wake up new Justice Eddins just dropped bsky.app/profile/kyle...
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New from the SLRI newsletter: Drop What You’re Doing And Bask In This State Supreme Court Justice’s Latest Broadside Against The U.S. Supreme Court open.substack.com/pub/slri/p/d...
"The Court overrides what Congress passed.
It overrides what the people chose. All to serve its own ends. What this Court has done to constitutional rights, democratic institutions, and the rule of law explains why Hawaii's Constitution takes no instruction from it," Eddins wrote. A Supreme Court
"that systematically dismantles democratic safeguards, steamrolls constitutional liberties, and tramples human dignity," he said, "does not chart the course for the Hawaii Constitution."
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
NEW: It's not something you see everyday nowadays: A state run by Republicans has expanded voting rights. Missouri adopted a law last week that rolls back felony disenfranchisement, restoring voting rights to tens of thousands of people who are currently on probation and parole. Learn more:
boltsmag.org
GOP-Run Missouri Becomes Latest State to Roll Back Felony Disenfranchisement - Bolts
A new law will restore voting rights for tens of thousands of people on probation and parole. It’s a departure from other GOP bills this session to restrict democracy.
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
JD Vance appears in this several times, and right after it came out Ross Douthat interviewed Vance at length for the @nytimes.com during which he asked not one question about these highly-detailed allegations or Vance’s and his administration’s direct support of the Tates. bsky.app/profile/anna...
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
If you haven’t read this in full it’s a gutwrenching account of both the sickening serial rape allegations against them and how many friends they have in the Trump administration: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse
How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.
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Pacific Antifascist Research Collective @pacantifa.is · 08/01/2026
A thread of ICE and CBP sex offenders and credibly accused sex pasts. Content-warning descriptions of abuse Yuma Sector CBP agent Ramon Marquez, 31, was arrested in May 2025 and has been charged with 15 felonies including 14 counts of sexual conduct with a 16-year-old between Dec 2024 and Apr 2025.
Ramon Marquez mug shotRamon Marquez in his CBP Honor Guard uniform
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
They aren't claiming the officer feared for his life, but "feared for public safety" when Guerrero attempted to flee. But he was not the target of the warrant. Which means they had no reason to think he was dangerous. Fleeing an immigration stop does not make you a threat to public safety.
cnn.com
DHS breaks hours of silence on deadly ICE shooting in Maine, saying officer was ‘fearing for public safety’ | CNN
The man in the fatal shooting was identified by his neighbor as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero from Colombia.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 14/07/2026
this is the closest ICE has ever come to saying "yeah we just murdered a guy"
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
JUST IN: 13th straight rejection of DOJ's legal effort to compel states to turn over their voter rolls. George W. Bush-appointed Judge Thomas Johnston wonders what DOJ is really driving at. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Barry @kylecbarry.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
If the New York State Bar wants my $375 next March then it better fucking disbar Todd Blanche bsky.app/profile/coun...
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