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Mike Ludwig

@mludwig.bsky.social
7.1K followers 99 following 171 posts

Muckraker. Senior staff reporter at Truthout.org.

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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
See the moment when Border Patrol and militarized police cut down the sacred Grandmother Tree, a more than 200-year-old Cottonwood on private property and Indigenous territory. The tree sitter and many others are have been arrested, according to activists @ Tierra Libre anti-border wall camp
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Border Patrol and militarized police have made "many arrests" at the Tierra Libre camp, including the tree sitter, and cut down the sacred grandmother tree that the protesters were defending from border wall construction on Indigenous land. Livestream: www.instagram.com/tierralibre_...
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Right before announcing retirement, an admin judge ruled Trump and Rubio can deport Salah Sarsour. But the fight's not over yet. A member of American Muslims for Palestine, Sarsour was arrested by ICE in March 2025, when Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil were also arrested for fascist spectacle.
truthout.org
A Judge Ruled Trump Can Deport Salah Sarsour. But the Fight Is Not Over Yet.
Legal experts say far right groups conspired with the Trump administration in an effort to deport Palestine activists.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The death penalty is absolutely disgusting. A botched execution, absolutely horrifying. Torture. Abuse. I hope "law and order" conservatives who call themselves "pro-life" Christians and still support this crap realize they are f*cking idiots
youtube.com
"The court delay was just the tip of the iceberg" — A brief timeline of Christa Pike's execution
YouTube video by WBIR Channel 10
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
After reviewing the brutal invasions of US metro areas, Amnesty International now officially calls for abolishing ICE. While the grassroots has said #AbolishICE for years, support from the global human rights org signals a significant momentum shift as public support for mass deportations plummets
truthout.org
The Movement to Abolish ICE Is Gaining Momentum
As activists rally around federal legislation to dismantle ICE, Amnesty International joins the call for abolition.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Being jailed for no reason jail sucks, idc who you are. The backlash and grassroots action against Flock cameras and the surveillance state is amazing, but I hope people realize it's not just Flock that's the problem when people are stalked, wrongly jailed for crimes, etc. It's the police.
youtube.com
‘It wasn’t my fault…’: Witness’ heartbreaking testimony on how Flock cams led to her wrongful arrest
YouTube video by The Economic Times
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It's finally being reported that Trump made over $2 billion during his first year in office, and he is still sending out scammy fundraising emails on a daily basis, in hopes that MAGA grandma hasn't heard about it yet and is willing to fork over another $15 of her retirement to help him out
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Rep. Lee has constantly voted anti-war (and introduced her own bills) ever since.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Trump Wants “Model Cities” With High-Tech Police. New Orleans Just Said “No.” It's $300 million to put Flock cameras on every corner, the tip of the spear for Trump's authoritarian impulses. NOLA's in a budget crisis and needs the & but ultimately said "nope," joining Charlotte NC and Billings WY
truthout.org
Trump Wants “Model Cities” With High-Tech Police. New Orleans Just Said “No.”
New Orleans is the latest to refuse a $300 million grant program that critics say would build Trump’s police state.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Voting Rights Groups Are Preparing to Confront ICE at the Polls Trusted figures such as firefighters and clergy will protect key Black, Latino, Asian precincts that could become targets. “What we asked ourselves is, what would Stephen Miller do?" - Mary Corcoran, @saveamericamvmt.bsky.social
truthout.org
Voting Rights Groups Are Preparing to Confront ICE at the Polls
Trusted figures such as firefighters and clergy will protect Black, Latino, and Asian precincts that could be targets.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Free Speech Groups Sound Alarm on “Red Scare” Repression of ICE Watch Activists Even right-leaning groups are freaked out by Trump's assault on Twin Cities and the Minnesota 15. They asked a court to reveal more details on DHS surveillance of churches, schools, and libraries ICE is weaponized...
truthout.org
Free Speech Groups Sound Alarm on “Red Scare” Repression of ICE Watch Activists
Advocates asked a court to unseal more details on Trump’s surveillance of churches, schools, and libraries in Minnesota.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The UN and Red Cross Are Calling for Restrictions on AI Drones and Killer Robots “The same technology that brings you an Uber kills somebody in Palestine, and people really need know that and consider that." - Lisa Ling, U.S. veteran who worked at the Pentagon’s drone program prior to 2012
truthout.org
The UN and Red Cross Are Calling for Restrictions on AI Drones and Killer Robots
In a world where autonomous weapons can choose targets on their own, data can put us all at risk, a US veteran warns.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
60 bus driver vacancies...I don't know what the situation is in Prince George, but nationally bus drivers are scarce and very underpaid
epi.org
The school bus driver shortage remains severe, and bus driver pay is getting worse
As the school year got underway in August and September, school districts throughout the country once again faced a daunting challenge: severe bus driver shortages. For instance, the St. Louis Public ...
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Trump Is Destroying Pristine Public Lands to Build His Border Wall — Again Destruction has begun near sacred springs, endangered species; the Tohono O’odham Nation put up “no trespassing” signs to ward off the contractors in the Sonoran Desert. Protests underway. Big Bend TX is also under threat.
truthout.org
Trump Is Destroying Pristine Public Lands to Build His Border Wall — Again
Contractors damaged federally protected habitats in Big Bend National Park and areas near sacred springs in Arizona.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
What DeFlock? A Week of Action Confronts the AI Surveillance State After Cameron Ashworth wrote an op-ed critical of local police, a public records request revealed the cops we're following him with Flock-style cameras. Taxpayers are demanding accountability across the country and cops hate it!
truthout.org
What DeFlock? A Week of Action Confronts the AI Surveillance State
A Kansas activist discovered that police tracked him with Flock-style cameras after he wrote an op-ed criticizing them.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
To understand how much danger we are currently face from the microplastics in drinking water that carry hazardous chemicals directly into our internal organs, we need to test the water. But not under Trump. Test for microplastics and we might have to do something about it, so no testing for us!
truthout.org
EPA Punts Microplastics Monitoring as Scientists Warn of Health Impacts
Trump’s administration omitted microplastics from a list of pollutants for local utilities to monitor in drinking water.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
First Came the Flock Cameras. Now Local Cops Want Autonomous Drones. Hundreds of cop shops have federal waivers to launch advanced drones that navigate with AI, according to @eff.org. Drones that can peer into windows, follow you across town, and even carry weapons. But resistence is growing...
truthout.org
First Came the Flock Cameras. Now Local Cops Want Autonomous Drones.
Hundreds of local police departments have received waivers to fly surveillance drones that navigate with AI.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Trump’s Federal Trade Commission Is Threatening to Punish Big Tech for “Woke AI” Free speech groups sound alarm about a proposal from Trump's FTC to jawbone companies into training AI models on white nationalist narratives and undermine state laws. Meanwhile, Elon Musk wants his nude deepfakes...
truthout.org
Trump’s FTC Is Threatening to Punish Big Tech for “Woke AI”
As Elon Musk defends nude deepfakes, the FTC is moving to censor AI models trained to recognize historical injustices.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Republicans Are Trying to Give Big Oil Immunity for Causing Climate Chaos Forgot to share this before I took a break! But it's really important. Big Oil is trying to wriggle out of paying for climate damages, leaving the rest of us on the hook as heat waves and disasters intensify.
truthout.org
Republicans Are Trying to Give Big Oil Immunity for Causing Climate Chaos
A new report further links fossil fuel emissions to extreme weather events. States are trying to make polluters pay.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
People Keep Dying in ICE Custody. 13 Democrats Back a Bill to Abolish the Agency. Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva's sister says his family begged ICE to let him takes his meds to detention. He died on July 13. Meanwhile, ICE is on a killing spree. Which Dems will cross the Rubicon and say, abolish ICE?
truthout.org
People Keep Dying in ICE Custody. 13 Democrats Back a Bill to Abolish the Agency.
At least 53 people have died in ICE custody since President Donald Trump’s return to office.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Amazing follow-up ya'll. I'll never forget being handed a CD with "Berlusconi's Mousetrap" in like 2007 www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpW1...
youtube.com
Berlusconi's Mousetrap Part 1 Intro
YouTube video by BrutusCass
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Reposted by Mike Ludwig
CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective @crimethinc.com · 21/07/2026
What happened to the cop who murdered Carlo Giuliani? These are his words about his life today. Even if you are prepared to murder for the ruling class, they will use you to protect their privileges, then throw you away. They're using you to kill because they don't value life—yours or anyone's.
A screenshot of text translated from  

https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2021-07-19/g8-genova-mario-placanica-sprai-carlo-giuliani-prigione-infinita-13316957/

...reading:

"I live thrown away like an abandoned thing"

"I've been dead since that day, like Giuliani. I'm a 40-year-old man living a wasted life, like something abandoned. Without friends, I search for them on Facebook but I can't find their names anymore. Without a job. Without opportunities."

Reached by phone by AGI at his home in Catanzaro, Placanica apologizes for his hoarse voice, which, when he talks about his current condition, turns to tears: "I smoked all night because I couldn't sleep. These are even more difficult days."
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Trump Under Fire for Diverting Disaster Relief Workers to Immigration Policing A report from a House Dem found the Trump admin diverted FEMA workers from disaster relief to assist ICE with the logistics of mass detention and deportation last year. The admin denies — but no-showed a House hearing
truthout.org
Trump Under Fire for Diverting Disaster Relief Workers to Immigration Policing
Trump administration officials were notably absent from a House hearing on reforming FEMA this week.
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Reposted by Mike Ludwig
Truthout @truthout.org · 16/07/2026
A doctor at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz in southern Iran emphasized that the children being treated at the facility when the US military attacked the area on Wednesday were suffering serious illnesses, and had to be urgently evacuated while on ventilators and receiving chemotherapy.
truthout.org
Kids Forced to Evacuate Hospital as US Ramps Up Attacks on Iran’s Civilian Areas
“This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent,” said a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
ICE embracing body cams for its undertrained agents tells you all you need to know about body cams as a "police accountability" tool. In fact, police of all kinds view body cams as a tool for surveillance and legal protection. That's why cams were adopted so fast. www.axios.com/2026/07/16/i...
axios.com
ICE says all its offices will have body cams in 60 days
Calls for all agents to be outfitted with cameras have accelerated amid a series of fatal shootings.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Marco Rubio, the new strongman leaders of Venezuela, has no patience for petty international human rights laws
thehill.com
Rubio vows diplomatic campaign to ‘dismantle’ ICC in escalating row
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday issued a new broadside in the U.S. fight with the International Criminal Court (ICC), announcing a diplomatic effort by the Trump administration to dismantl…
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
SCOTUS Ruling Could Be Bad News for Flock — But Won’t Stop Mass Surveillance It will take more than a favorable Supreme Court on data privacy to dismantle the surveillance state -- but momentum is building! Is there a campaign to take down automatic license plate reading cameras where you live?
truthout.org
SCOTUS Ruling Could Be Bad News for Flock — But Won’t Stop Mass Surveillance
Organizers across the country are using every tool in their arsenal against Flock surveillance cameras.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
To cover tax breaks for the rich, Trump slashed food stamps, shifting the costs of preventing starvation onto states and counties. It's not going well. 700,000 kids lost assistance, housing costs keep rising, food banks say they can't fill the gap. And that means higher costs for everyone else.
truthout.org
Trump’s SNAP Cuts Leave States and Counties Facing Spiraling Hunger Crisis
Food banks are struggling to fill the gap in Arizona, where more than half of recipients lost federal assistance.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Oh no, I just think they are indicative of it
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
It is tearing itself apart rn and maybe I should take more pleasure in watching the mega church apocalypse, this revelation of the rot
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Damning reports about abuse and neglect in ICE jails are nothing new, but I've never seen so many die. So ICE decides to stop counting. You can wait 6 months to see a judge and have a heart attack in an ICE camp, but if you're released and die at hospital, ICE won't report it to Congress anymore.
truthout.org
ICE Says 51 People Died in Custody Under Trump. Experts Say That’s an Undercount.
Immigrants are jailed in unsanitary, overcrowded jails and camps as part of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
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Reposted by Mike Ludwig
CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective @crimethinc.com · 22/06/2026
One of the 15 defendants in Minnesota indicted on "Antifa" charges for allegedly standing up to ICE is simply accused of writing an article we published about the murder of Renee Good. The author describes an ICE agent shooting a pepper ball at his eye, point-blank. You can read the article here:
crimethinc.com
Minneapolis Responds to ICE Committing Murder
On January 7, 2026, an ICE agent murdered Renee Good. This is an account from a participant in the protests that broke out on scene of the murder.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Right? I wrote this way back in 2018 but still think about it
truthout.org
Other Countries Have High-Speed Trains. We Have Deadly Accidents and Crumbling Infrastructure
All eyes are on Trump’s infrastructure plan.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The Iran war costs families $300 in gas so far Trump wants biggest military budget ever -- $1.5 trillion Iran gets $300 billion reconstruction fund Defense contractors get $350 billion windfall replacing missiles at $1.6 million each This is why we can't have nice things... like Medicaid...
truthout.org
Trump May Be Drawing Down Iran War, But He’s Demanding Billions More for Bombs
The GOP is souring on Trump’s $1.5 trillion military budget as the president pushes for yet another reconciliation bill.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
that's exactly how it's been in Louisiana since Reconstruction. And arguably the rest of the Deep South too. Here's some of the history, white supremacy was literally written into the state constitution. I reported from new orleans for over a decade, it's real pro.stateaffairs.com/la/justice-c...
pro.stateaffairs.com
Here's why Louisiana's 1898 constitution still matters
On May 12, 1898, delegates adopted a new Louisiana constitution that was designed to codify white supremacy.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
May 26: a giant tank at a paper will in Washington implodes, releasing a wave of deadly chemicals and killing 11 workers. It was the 2nd deadly spill in the US since mid-April. Trump is pushing eliminate the Chemical Safety Board / weaken rules meant to reduce the risk of spills near communities.
truthout.org
Trump Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11
New polling shows even 82 percent of Trump supporters want stronger federal protections from toxic pollution.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Were followers of Jesus class conscious? Yes of course, you can see it in their discourse. Collectivist rebels. Calling Jesus a "socialist" is a historical anachronism; such ideology did not exist yet. But if we are using modern terms, I agree with Tolstoy that Jesus would be a pacifist anarchist.
biblicalarchaeology.org
Were Early Christians Class Conscious?
Were early Christians class conscious? How does archaeology reveal the role of wealth, patronage, and social hierarchy in late antique churches?
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Bombing drug dealers is stupid policy that doesn't work. But we should not forget that killing people who have not been charged with a crime or stood trial or literally anything of the sort is known simply as "murder"
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Reposted by Mike Ludwig
W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The US is now spending more on data center construction than on public transportation infrastructure
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The Trump admin does not protect children. It locks them in concentration camps and leaves them with abusers to die.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Judge Upholds Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison in LA “They still don’t want to let go of it. They are holding on to this slavery replica, because that really all it is — it’s just a model of slavery they are holding on to.” - Terrance Winn, former Angola prisoner @promiseofjustice.bsky.social
truthout.org
Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison
The judge’s ruling rejected a request to end the prison’s use of grueling farm labor as a disciplinary measure.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Resistance to Flock Cameras and Police Surveillance Is Exploding In at least 16 recent cases, police lost their jobs after accessing license plate reader data to stalk ex-partners or other romantic interests. Lawsuits are filed. DeFlock network's “week of action against ALPRs” begins on August 16
truthout.org
Resistance to Flock Cameras and Police Surveillance Is Exploding
Backlash to Flock cameras and AI systems is exploding after scandals, including police using the tech to stalk women.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I was just thinking, they may have knew a scandal was coming, or expected one
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
video is from the flotilla, reporting sexual assault. Explains why Israeli officials finally slammed Gvir "please take to the streets"
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I've covered students resisting attempts at silencing Black history and anything queer, but it goes so much deeper. Gaza made me realize the right doesn't want to talk about the recent history of anywhere unless it's some perverted white hero worship. History's brutal + they are defending the spoils
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Are you working on this stuff? I'm also looking at ALPRs. We should catch up sometime!
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
UPDATE: More Details Emerge of Trump’s Secret Use of ICE to Spy on Critics! Big Tech firms such as Meta and Google are under pressure from ICE to identify anon users who dissent. House Dems want answers about Israeli spyware and promise investigations into Trump's surveillance dragnet if they win.
truthout.org
More Details Emerge of Trump’s Secret Use of ICE to Spy on Critics
Privacy groups are pushing Big Tech to notify users about federal surveillance after anonymous ICE critics were exposed.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Afghans Stranded in Qatar Express Betrayal at Trump’s Push to Send Them to DRC It's a ruse. “Many of our friends and family members died doing what America asked. We have been told, over and over, for 20 years, that America does not forget its friends.” Asked about it, Trump said he didn't know.
truthout.org
Afghans Stranded in Qatar Express Betrayal at Trump’s Push to Send Them to DRC
Trump’s assault on refugees is coming for Afghans left stranded in Qatar since the 2021 US withdrawal.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
I don't want Salah Sarsour to get lost in all the noise. Born in the West Bank, Sarsour was jailed by Israeli occupiers at 15, supporters say he was tortured. Just like today. After 30 years in the US, Sarsour is now sits ICE jail after being doxxed by Canary Mission and targeted by Marco Rubio
truthout.org
Locked Up by Israel at 15, Palestine Activist Is Now Jailed by ICE
Doxxed by Canary Mission and jailed by ICE, Salah Sarsour calls on his Wisconsin community to challenge injustice.
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Mike Ludwig @mludwig.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
US voters can now smell the weaponizing of antisemitism from a mile away and are sick of it. For years students, teachers, faith leaders and journalists organized around BDS boldly faced this down IRL, including by going to jail. They still are. Don't let the rage grifters drown out their voices
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