Sign in

Nathan Rouse

@nathanrouse.bsky.social
412 followers 310 following 274 posts

Public defender. End cash bail. Abolish ICE. Commentary on the criminal legal system, local politics, housing, transit, and cycling infrastructure. All opinions my own.

PostsRepliesMedia
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
wtaf
060
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Silly to pose this question to the CEO of a for-profit company that just went out of business. Of course this is going to be their answer.
seattletimes.com
Is Seattle’s homelessness fix going backward? This homebuilder says so
The head of Everett-based homebuilder Pallet says she sees "troublesome and concerning" changes, and chaos, in the response to homelessness.
150
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Inflicting a brain injury by poisoning a person is unquestionably cruel and unusual punishment, even under the milquetoast interpretation afforded to the 8th Amendment. It‘s bonkers to me that, under that same interpretation, it’s not cruel and usual if the poisoning was meant to execute the person.
150
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As if the government rushing a person to the hospital for life-saving medical care after deliberately trying to kill them weren’t unfathomable enough, just wait for the part where they try to kill her again in a few months.
020
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Nashville Banner reporter Steven Hale, describing how prison officials kept drawing the curtain to hide how badly they were botching this: “A lot of this execution — or attempted execution, whatever it was — happened when we could not see what was going on.”
691715606
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
🏢 David L 🚎 @davidl206.city · 01/10/2026
There is no possible articulable reason for this decision except sheer bloodthirstiness. Something has gone deeply, deeply wrong with the basic moral structure of the American right wing.
001
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Within the next 3 hours, the State is planning to kill Christa Pike as punishment for something awful she did when she was 18 years old. The death penalty is cruel and inhumane. Abolish it now.
cnn.com
Supreme Court allows execution of Christa Gail Pike in Tennessee to go forward | CNN
The US Supreme Court is allowing the execution of Christa Gail Pike to go forward, overturning a last-minute stay on Wednesday that was issued by an appeals court hours earlier.
141
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
In San Francisco, Lurie's RV ban—on which Dan Strauss' similar proposed ban in Seattle appears to be modeled—hasn't gotten people into shelter, but it has pushed them outside city limits, often after losing their RVs and becoming unsheltered. Is this what "success" will look like here?
missionlocal.org
S.F. cracked down on RV dwellers. A year later, many have left the city altogether.
Data shows that a year after San Francisco's RV ban, 1/3 of RV dwellers using city aid have moved outside city limits.
1327080
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A big failure. The argument about streaming the traffic cameras into the real-time crime center was that all the feeds were publicly available anyway, a fact that we now know to be untrue. That this happened at all erodes public trust in city government, and in surveillance cameras specifically.
17427
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
To be clear, Kettle is suggesting Seattle reduce its overall funding for affordable housing in order to fund more police.
24014
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
bluesky does not seem to really be talking about this but today Stevie Wonder unleased 4 songs that didn't make "Songs in the Key of Life." music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
music.youtube.com
Songs In The Key Of Life - The EP
EP • Stevie Wonder
542054655
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Sahat English @sahatenglish.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Days after the NFL fined him for wearing Hind Rajab’s name, Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair returned to the field with another Palestinian child on his eye black: 8-year-old Wafaa Akila. Wafaa was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on September 6 — her first day of school.
81344325
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
jane c. hu @janehu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
the triumvirate (2026)
a woman stands with hands on her hips after driving a red SUV up train tracks into Seattle's Mt Baker light rail stationa white sedan drives on Seattle's I-90 pedestrian trail as a woman in a green shirt walks in front of ita black SUV stopped after driving down a flight of stairs at Seattle's Post Alley
24628150
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Me too
081
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I genreally resist reveling in schadenfreude, but this one is testing me.
apnews.com
Far-right British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos arrested by US immigration enforcement
Immigration officials have arrested British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos in New Orleans. The Department of Homeland Security says he was detained at Louis Armstrong New Orleans Internationa...
062
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Andrew Engelson @andyengelson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
History will not look kindly on what King County allowed to happen at Boeing Field. @girmayzahilay.bsky.social
13716
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Rachael @r343l.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A fair few of my neighbors in North Beacon Hill who live in houses park their RVs on the street. They don't have room to park them off street and hardly move them. Guessing this law won't be enforced fairly.
0101
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
My latest on a proposed legislative package in Seattle about people living in RVs, including instituting a new one-time permitting program.
23611
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
CM Strauss’s proposed RV legislation, aka ”A thinly veiled trap for the government to seize shelter from vulnerable people and force them to accept services they didn’t ask for.”
theurbanist.org
Strauss Proposes Program Phasing Out Street Parking for RVs
RVs have been a safety valve for people experiencing homelessness, but Councilmember Dan Strauss is proposing to add a RV safe lot and phase out street parking for them across Seattle.
083
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Wow. Hopefully ”interim“ is the end of the road for Chief Sayles at SPD.
ericacbarnett.substack.com
Interim Police Chief Sayles Filed Complaint Against Hate Crimes Detective for Speaking At Pro-LGBTQ Rally
"Any further investigation would violate [the detective's] constitutional rights and open the city to a lawsuit," an investigator concluded when dismissing Sayles' complaint.
150
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
No one is proposing old-timey cop-on-your-block foot patrols. Seattle is meeting its 7-minute 911 goal. We already prohibit "camping" and sweep people pointlessly from place to place. And crime is down. But if you ask people leading questions that imply lack of action, you get the result you want.
publicsafetysurvey2026.seattlechamber.com
Seattle Public Safety Survey - Voters Want Action Now
75% back public safety cameras, 90% want patrols where problems persist, 86% want a measurable 100-day plan - but only 34% are confident the City has an effective plan. A Seattle Metro Chamber & Chall...
913428
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I hope that one day we'll look back on the hysterical derangement with which the mainstream press targeted a young female mayor and feel deep embarrassment mynorthwest.com/mynorthwest-...
mynorthwest.com
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's 'impromptu boogie' with Seattle rapper draws public safety criticism - MyNorthwest.com
You may have seen the video on Instagram, originally posted by Seattle rapper Y2K. Wilson stands next to him at a sports field and bobs to his anthemic track "SEA."
1627941
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
carlfnelson.bsky.social @carlfnelson.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The Mayor looks joyous and authentic here. You're an absolute anhedonic ghoul if you think there's anything bad about this. Again, the criticisms (she pays for childcare!) reveal a group of bitter, bad-faith losers who are furious they don't have a rich guy on speed dial in that office anymore.
26115
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
100% agree.
030
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Jay @jayspeidell.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Seattle cameras connect to the SPD Real Time Crime Center, which is Axon Fusus, a direct competitor to Flock. This makes the cameras in the stadium district effectively worse than the mass surveillance ALPR "Flock" cameras everyone worries about.
2121
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Seattle Department of Transportation @transportation.seattle.gov · 17/08/2026
There is still work to be done on this project. Expect to see bike lane buffer curbs installed here.
141
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Crucially, the Seattle Times did not cover this story until *after* a Superior Court Judge ruled the recall could proceed...something that has not yet happened and likely won't, given the substance of the petition.
116915
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Literally nothing. Aside from the fact idiots are willing to file baseless recall charges. GTFOOH.
seattletimes.com
Charges were filed to recall Mayor Wilson. What does that mean?
The charge filing is the first of multiple steps required before a recall effort reaches a petition stage and qualifies for a ballot.
0130
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Vivian McCall @vivmccall.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
This is awful thing to say, for many reasons, but I'll say this: Coming out as trans is economically devastating to most of the trans people I have met, and if you look at any statistic on the economic standing of trans Americans, you will see they are poor.
38316
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
BEST NEWS EVER 😍😍😍
060
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Post a perfect album from the 90s.
060
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Guy Oron @guyoron.net · 16/02/2026
A supposedly blue county in Washington State is criminalizing immigrants who may be working in precarious or even coercive informal economy jobs. This is happening amid ICE’s violent crackdown on immigrants. Instead of going after those who exploit, the county finds it easier to attack the victims.
0184
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Lex Vaughn @lex.vaughn.theneedling.com · 05/02/2026
Despite wide public support for the Millionaire's Tax, 30k people have signed CON on this legislation getting its first hearing this Friday, outnumbering those in the PRO column four to one. It's really easy to sign PRO - do it now!
78770
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
In the coming days you might well hear arguments that surveillance is the answer to the tragedy of gun violence, and therefore Seattle shouldn't turn off SPD's cameras. I urge you to interrogate this framing.
29941199
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Alex Wakeman Rouse @awakerouse.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
And for those who are in Washington and think things might be better here, please learn about how we don’t have parole in our state and haven’t for years. And yet, as the ACLU states, we aren’t safer for taking parole away. www.aclu-wa.org/news/no-seco... 2/
aclu-wa.org
No second chances - ACLU of Washington
How Washington abolished parole and its failure to make communities safer
132
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Alex Wakeman Rouse @awakerouse.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
You need to watch The Alabama Solution. The bravery of these incarcerated men is beyond, esp. given how abhorrently they are treated. Solitary for years. Beaten or killed by guards. No medical staff, no protection. Retaliation for exposing the truth. The carceral state is rotten to its core. 1/
151
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
emi koyama @eminism.org · 28/01/2026
They say you can't make sex work safe so the only option is to abolish it. I say you can't make police and prisons and borders safe so the only option is…?
1135
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
emi koyama @eminism.org · 28/01/2026
i spoke out against KCPAO’s exploitative and gratuitous use of a series of photos of brutalized and bloodied women survivors in my public comment before the presentation even started, because I saw them posted on the city’s website before the meeting. i thought perhaps …
254
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
funky nat king cole medina @notmylinkedin.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Great thread from an absolutely astounding morning at Seattle City Council. It appears that losing allies on the council has not made Bob Kettle or Maritza Rivera behave in more normal ways.
0122
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
emi koyama @eminism.org · 27/01/2026
My public comment to the Seattle Public Safety Committee this morning before the pornified KCPAO presentation.
My name is Emi Koyama and I am the director of Coalition for Rights & Safety for People in the Sex Trade and a co-founder/co-director of Aileen’s, a peer-led community space, street outreach, and leadership development project by and for women working along the Pacific Highway in south King County. We reach about 100 mostly homeless, majority Black and indigenous women. I am testifying to provide an alternative perspective in anticipation of KCPAO’s presentation on sex trafficking.

Prosecutors operate within an adversarial criminal justice system, which focuses on winning convictions and cutting plea deals rather than truth-seeking, genuine remorse and contrition, and restoration of survivor and community wholeness. They also bring this adversarial approach to policymaking, which does disservice to our city and its residents.In the slides KCPAO has prepared for the committee, you will see prosecutors throw any and all arguments to see what sticks, regardless of representativeness or soundness of their sources. They use a mix of images including stock photos, screen capture from a fictional drama film, image provided by surveillance data analytics vendor Palantir that provides a faulty special app for ICE agents to geolocate and recognize faces of citizens and immigrants, photo stolen from online advertisement of someone who still works as an escort, and a series of photos of brutalized, bloodied women that show their faces, in complete disregard for their safety, privacy, or dignity.They instrumentalize Black and Indigenous women’s particular vulnerabilities to abuse and exploitation without offering any remedies addressing socioeconomic conditions that produce those vulnerabilities. They selectively quote and weaponize survivor testimonies that are useful in ceding further power for the law enforcement, while neglecting how the law enforcement is also a source of violence in the lives of many women we know. They silence voices of survivors who do not agree with the prosecutors’ ideas of how we protect and empower the most vulnerable among us.
Policymaking should not be adversarial. Efforts should be made to gather those most impacted by any given issue whether they align with the law enforcement or not, and amplify the voices of the most vulnerable without preconceived agenda. Prosecutors have a role to play in these conversations, but their dominance is unwarranted and disrespects survivors.
0297
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
He's turning an actual debate into a moral issue, chastising people like me and actual experts on sex work like Emi Koyoma for suggesting that aggressive prosecution and pointless, potentially violence-inciting "john letters" are stupid, wrong, and have "psychological problems."
18910
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Kettle is also criticizing people in chambers - today, longtime sex worker advocate Emi Koyoma - who argue against the carceral state and the "john letters" the police send to men. He says "the people who come in here and yell at us" are being hypocrites on Epstein.
2784
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The King County Prosecutor's Office is currently doing an exceptionally exploitative presentation about sex trafficking to the Seattle City Council that includes slides of identifiable bloodied, brutalized women and identifiable women who are nude or nearly nude.
1629485
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
GOAT
020
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Terrorism.
020
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Good journalism from the Seattle Times about a disturbing practice that’s deliberately hidden from the public. As an attorney who’s worked in this particular hospital, I’m not the least bit surprised.
seattletimes.com
When medical workers cover patients’ heads with hoods, no one is watching
Many medical facilities across the U.S. use hoods on psychiatric patients to block them from spitting. Experts say the practice is traumatic and can be dangerous.
040
Nathan Rouse @nathanrouse.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Shut down the government, tank the economy, who tf cares. Not another cent to DHS. Abolish ICE, abolish CBP, tear it all apart. Leadership right now is civil disobedience, zero complicity, no bargains.
0151
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Brett Hamil @bretthamil.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
This should be a top legislative priority
17012
Reposted by Nathan Rouse
Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 25/01/2026
BTW when I say abolish ICE, I mean abolish it entirely and replace it with exactly nothing. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That's it.
26101442814