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Sam Levin

@samtlevin.bsky.social
19K followers 647 following 230 posts

Guardian senior reporter, based in Los Angeles. Sam.Levin@theguardian [dot] com. www.theguardian.com/profile/sam-lev…

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Reposted by Sam Levin
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Here's the best report — from @samtlevin.bsky.social at the Guardian — on Frank Strada, the Tennessee Department of Correction chief who Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee announced this morning is resigning following this week's failed execution of Christa Pike. Strada will leave by the end of October.
theguardian.com
Outgoing prison chief in Christa Pike case oversaw five ‘botched’ executions, lawyers say
Frank Strada will leave role next month after uproar over execution attempt sent Pike to hospital in critical condition
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Thanks for sharing, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
NEW: FBI warned law enforcement across the US that women with fake "tradwife" profiles were luring ICE agents on dating sites to "dox" + "embarrass" them. FBI didn't provide evidence, but the internal memo is one of many raising alarms about anti-ICE activist "threats." w/ @propertyofthepeople.org
theguardian.com
FBI warned ICE agents could be targeted by fake ‘tradwife’ dating profiles, memo reveals
Exclusive: Internal FBI memo, reviewed by the Guardian, said women wanted to dox and ‘embarrass’ agents, but provided few details
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Reposted by Sam Levin
Maanvi Singh @maanvisingh.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
NEW: ICE is arresting and detaining a record number of pregnant women and teens. At the same time, it has lost count of how many had miscarriages, according to a Guardian review of internal ICE documents. w/ @amyqin.bsky.social, @wcraft.bsky.social and Flávio Pessoa
theguardian.com
Revealed: ICE lost count of miscarriages, while detaining a record number of pregnant women
ICE says it has no updated information on the number of miscarriages after 3 October 2025. Lawmakers, advocates and immigration attorneys have raised alarms that pregnant detainees are not receiving b...
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Reposted by Sam Levin
juliacurlee.bsky.social @juliacurlee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
They spent $200 million demonizing trans people. But faced with one officer who briefed this president, 25 years of service, and a name? They can't. Saying it means admitting they needed a trans person. With @samtlevin.bsky.social at The Guardian on how the White House has weakened America.
theguardian.com
The trans CIA official ousted by Trump: ‘We’re a government crippled by its own decisions’
Julia Curlee, a former senior CIA officer, speaks on Trump administration’s purge of national security staff, attacks on DEI and failures in Iran war
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
For a year, California's largest ICE facility has barred all detained residents from hugging loved ones. The policy has sparked so much fury that residents have launched campaigns across dorms demanding contact visits In my latest, see video from one detained organizer + how CoreCivic has responded
theguardian.com
ICE bans hugging inside California’s largest detention center. Families are fighting back
In the California City facility, ‘contact visits’ are strictly forbidden – but detained residents aren’t staying quiet. Are officials listening?
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
written by my colleague @samrlevine.bsky.social :)
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
NEW: records reveal how undercover US agents spied on ICE protesters in Minnesota, posing as concerned citizens in community meetings and Signal chats + getting directly involved in organizing. Here are photos an agent took during their investigation. FULL STORY: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
screenshot of internal DHS report of an undercover agent's photo of a table of books, including Coloring Our Socialism, Climate Solutions, and Shackled and Chainedscreenshot of internal DHS report showing an undercover agent's photo of a protester writing Chinga La Migra in chalkphoto of an undercover agent's photo of a poster saying JD VANCE IN MINNESOTA, featuring an edited image of the vice president with heavy eye makeup.
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
*content warning - graphic injury photos* An ICE arrest left a Virginia man with a brain injury, black eyes + bruises all over his body. ICE says he fled a stop + agents "used necessary force to gain control of the situation” For days, José Mejía Hernandez couldn't get an MRI due to ankle monitor
theguardian.com
Man suffered brain injury and severe bruising after ICE arrest in Virginia, records show
José Mejía Hernandez, 45, who was hospitalized for his injuries, was then transferred to an ICE office and fitted with an ankle monitor
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Inside DHS' "mass spying campaign" targeting leftist groups + ICE protesters: -undercover agents posed as protesters at meetings + secretly recorded -agents infiltrated Signal chats + encouraged others to do "direct action" -DHS got financial records of major groups, incl SEIU + Sunrise Movement
theguardian.com
US conducted ‘mass spying campaign’ against leftwing groups and anti-ICE protesters, records reveal
DHS sent undercover agents to meetings and infiltrated chats of groups opposing Trump’s immigration crackdown
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A Minnesota religious studies professor is facing six years in prison, with the DOJ saying he is part of an "antifa" conspiracy against ICE Erik Davis speaks out about his prosecution, largely based on a handful of his comments in Signal chats. He's not accused of any violence “It’s petty revenge"
theguardian.com
The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case: ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’
Erik Davis is accused by the government of a ‘conspiracy’ to obstruct ICE – experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
We reviewed DHS' list of immigrants + protesters who "weaponized" their vehicles to "assault" ICE agents. Nearly all claims have been debunked or dropped, with only one of 26 cases ending in an assault conviction. Inside the govt's stunning failure to prove DHS' claims of violence against agents:
theguardian.com
ICE keeps accusing immigrants of ‘weaponizing’ vehicles. Most claims fall apart
Nearly all car ‘assault’ cases promoted by DHS in press releases have been disproven or dropped, a Guardian analysis of court records reveals
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Reposted by Sam Levin
Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Such a good episode of the Guardian’s new podcast, featuring @samtlevin.bsky.social, @chasestrangio.bsky.social and some of the trans kids who just want to play sports
podcasts.apple.com
'Gratuitously cruel': Chase Strangio on how trans youth became political targets
Podcast Episode · Stateside with Kai and Carter · July 8 · 39m · Video
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
NEW: We obtained bodycam footage showing ICE violently arresting farm workers in Oregon and using a facial recognition app to try to ID them. The officers later admitted they had no warrants and no idea who the people were when they stopped them. Four of the workers were later deported.
theguardian.com
Video shows ICE violently arresting Oregon farm workers and using facial recognition
Exclusive: Body-cam footage shared with the Guardian shows agents forced workers out of a van in what a judge has called ‘unlawful’ arrest
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
NEW: ICE violently arrested a US citizen, filmed high-res videos of the operation + made viral social media content out of him Christian Cerna, LA native, speaks out about his arrest at gunpoint while driving his baby + toddler and the turmoil in his life that followed "They tried to humiliate me"
theguardian.com
ICE violently arrested a US citizen and filmed it ‘like a documentary’, videos reveal
Exclusive: DHS made social media posts out of a protester’s arrest at gunpoint. Christian Cerna speaks out about the lengthy prosecution that derailed his life
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Reposted by Sam Levin
Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
This is probably the best story I have read on Oregon's public defense crisis. People don't realize how much the laggard bureaucracy around this grinds up the people actually caught in the system.
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Thank you, Ryan!
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
NEW: Corshelle Jenkins was falsely charged with a crime + a warrant issued for her arrest. It was clear mistaken identity but a judge said there were no available lawyers for her. The charge would stay + she had no way to fight it She's 1 of 1000s in Oregon trapped in criminal cases without lawyers
theguardian.com
Falsely charged with a crime, no way to fight it: inside Oregon’s court crisis
An attorney shortage has left thousands trapped in criminal cases without lawyers. One wrongfully accused woman had no choice but to wait
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
NEW: Law enforcement + city officials across the US have privately worried ICE operations are interfering with police work + public safety Internal memos reveal growing concerns people might misidentify local cops as ICE. Records obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org, shared with @us.theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Police across the US worry officers are being misidentified as ICE, records show
Exclusive: Emails and internal memos reveal concerns immigration enforcement is interfering with police work
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
DOJ prosecutes a California man who was shot in the face by ICE agents DOJ/DHS say Carlos, 36, "assaulted" officers with his car, but video doesn't show his car hitting officers + officials haven't claimed an agent was injured. FBI's complaint says it has "not been able" to interview key ICE agents
theguardian.com
FBI arrests California man shot by ICE on ‘assault’ charges
DHS accused of false and misleading statements about Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez who was shot in face
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
ICE pulled over a man in Patterson, CA + shot him 6 times, hitting his face. ICE now says he is part of a gang in LA – a city he has no connection to. Carlos Mendoza Hernandez, 36, now in ICU, says he's "never ever been in a gang" + was shot without justification www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
handout photo of Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, wearing a white button down, with flowers behind him.
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
California residents are now being sent to prison for shoplifting. In the first year of Prop 36, shoplifters have been charged with felonies + imprisoned for stealing diapers, hygiene supplies, a $13 belt, groceries and soda. DAs filed 15,000+ felonies for thefts previously treated as misdemeanors
theguardian.com
California arrests thousands on minor drug charges, but few get treatment
Exclusive: Drug users face felonies and prison under Prop 36, with analysis showing racial disparities and little help
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
NEW: California DAs have charged nearly 20,000 people with drug possession *felonies* under Prop 36, a new tough-on-crime law. Despite promises for "mass treatment," only 57 of those people have successfully gone into treatment + had their cases dismissed in the first year. Others face prison time.
theguardian.com
California’s new ‘war on drugs’: thousands arrested, few get treatment, data shows
Exclusive: Drug users face felonies and prison under Prop 36, with analysis showing racial disparities and little help
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Under oath, ICE agents in Oregon revealed: -quota of eight arrests a day per team, equaling roughly 50 arrests a day in OR -agents use a special app to choose areas + ppl to surveil -agents have followed, stopped + arrested ppl without probable cause, warrants or basic info about their targets.
theguardian.com
ICE agents reveal daily arrest quotas and surveillance app in rare court testimony
Under oath, officers said they were told to make eight arrests a day and given special tech to help choose ‘targets’
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
NEW: Judge orders ICE to release a Minneapolis man and asylum seeker unlawfully detained for 50 days. In January, Elvis Joel TE + his 2-year-old were arrested without a warrant + flown to Texas despite an order barring their transfer. The girl was later released, but he remain jailed until today.
theguardian.com
Judge orders ICE to release Minneapolis man after 50 days of unlawful detention
Arrest of asylum seeker Elvis Joel TE and his two-year-old, without a warrant, had sparked widespread outrage
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I met with Juanita + her daughter Emely (who filmed the encounter) after the arrest became part of a court case that won a major victory for immigrants’ rights in Oregon. A judge ordered ICE to end warrantless arrests, saying officers had been “brutal and violent” + widely violated people's rights.
theguardian.com
ICE arrested an Oregon shop owner who had her green card in her pocket: ‘They didn’t care’
Juanita Avila later helped expose ICE’s ‘arrest first, justify later’ tactics in a lawsuit that won a major victory for immigrants’ rights
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
NEW: ICE tackled + arrested Juanita Avila, an Oregon shop owner who is a legal permanent resident and had her green card in her pocket. When she asked through sobs why they didn't believe her, one masked agent replied: “Because they lie all the time.” Video + interview with her and her daughter:
theguardian.com
ICE arrested an Oregon shop owner who had her green card in her pocket: ‘They didn’t care’
Juanita Avila later helped expose ICE’s ‘arrest first, justify later’ tactics in a lawsuit that won a major victory for immigrants’ rights
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
A MN protester accused of assaulting ICE officer had case dropped after vids showed no assault. LA protester accused of assaulting ICE w/ “hat” had case dropped; judge said govt acted in “bad faith” In Chicago, 92 ppl were arrested for assault/impeding ICE; 0 convicted DOJ keeps lying and losing:
theguardian.com
DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court
String of embarrassing defeats for prosecutors as experts condemn DoJ effort to cast people as ‘violent perpetrators’
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Reposted by Sam Levin
Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
NEW: Jeffrey Epstein cultivated relationships with CBP officers at the airports he frequented. Epstein emailed and texted with six CBP officers, invited them to his island, visited with them at the airport, and frequently sought to determine who was going to be on duty when he was traveling
theguardian.com
Revealed: Epstein cultivated relationship with CBP officer, causing US investigation
Guardian review of US justice department files reveals Epstein interacted with six CBP officers. The officer investigated denied any knowledge of trafficking underage girls
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
NEW: Two women incarcerated in a CA prison have come forward to report sexual assaults by a staff cook while they were working in the kitchen, paid 12¢/hr. They told me he threatened discipline if they spoke up. The prison concluded abuse occurred, a very rare outcome, but he hasn't faced charges.
theguardian.com
Women in California prison accuse staff cook of rape and urge criminal charges
Exclusive: After investigators concluded an abuse incident occurred, women speak out for first time – ‘I was so scared to tell anybody’
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
NEW: Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, a 36-year-old LA protester, spent six months in jail accused of assaulting a federal officer with a *cloth hat.* A judge tossed out the DOJ’s case, accusing govt of acting in “bad faith” and engaging in “prosecutorial harassment“ that could “chill lawful protest”
theguardian.com
Case dismissed against LA protester accused of assaulting federal officer with cloth hat
Judge says US government acted in ‘bad faith’ in case of Jonathon Redondo-Rosales, 36, who spent six months in jail
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
More than 1,400 pending criminal cases in Oregon must be dismissed due to a huge shortage of public defenders, state supreme court ruled. Many defendants have waited months or years to get a lawyer, a constitutional violation leaving them unable to fight charges, indefinitely derailing their lives.
theguardian.com
Oregon must dismiss more than 1,400 criminal cases due to attorney shortage, court rules
Severe lack of public defenders has meant people charged with crimes have been routinely unable to fight their cases
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Elizabeth’s case was assigned to US judge Fred Biery, who had ordered Liam Ramos' release. Biery gave the govt 5 days to respond to Elizabeth's family's petition and hadn't yet ordered release but ICE released her + mom anyway. Tim Walz + school officials had held a press conf demanding her release.
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
“I’m just excited to see Elizabeth come back to school. Im extremely relieved + we have to continue advocating for other people to come home" -Carolina Gutierrez, secretary at Highland Elementary supporting the family. "When she was flown to Texas, she thought her dreams of being a doctor were over"
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Elizabeth, a 10-year-old Minnesota girl, spent a month detained at the ICE facility in Dilley, TX before her release last night w/ her mom. Dilley now has a measles outbreak and hundreds of other kids remain detained. Elizabeth has flu-like symptoms and her mom has hives, a school official told me
theguardian.com
Minnesota girl, 10, released from ICE custody after a month in detention
Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother released from Texas facility to head back to Minnesota to reunite with her father
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
After Border Patrol shot two people in Portland, DHS claimed they were "vicious gang members" tied to a past shooting. But records I obtained reveal a US prosecutor has since directly contradicted DHS, saying, "We're not suggesting he is a gang member." My dive into how DHS' claims have collapsed:
theguardian.com
DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’
Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
“Liam’s release is an important development + we hope it will lead to positive developments for other families incl our other four students held at Dilley in Texas. We want all children to be released from detention centers and hope for the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated“
theguardian.com
Five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father released from Texas detention center
Boy and his father back in Minneapolis after being detained by ICE and held in immigration facility for more than a week
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Liam, 5, has been freed, but four other students from his school district remain detained in Texas. Two boys from his elementary school were taken Thurs “This isn’t something we are prepared or trained for. We’ve dedicated our lives to protecting + educating children,” school superintendent told me
theguardian.com
ICE detains two more students from Liam Ramos’s school, officials say
The brothers’ mother was taken by ICE and Minnesota educators were forced to bring the children to her
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Liam is one of four Columbia Heights, MN school district students who have been taken by ICE in the last two weeks, the school district said. Liam's teacher: “He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He ... just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”
smiling portrait of Liam, age 5, in a school picturewitness photo, courtesy of the school district, showing Liam outside his front door with a masked agent by his side.
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
ICE detained a 5-year-old Minnesota boy coming home from school + took him and his dad to Texas, school officials say. The family has an active asylum case + entered the US at a port of entry. "They’re taking children. They're not violent criminals. They're little kids," the superintendent told me.
theguardian.com
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy as he came home, say school officials
Superintendent says Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway and sent to Texas
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
The Supreme Court is focused on bans in West Virginia and Idaho, but the outcome could be hugely consequential for trans rights and LGBTQ+ equality more broadly. Experts here breakdown what's at stake:
theguardian.com
How the US supreme court case on trans athletes could unravel LGBTQ+ rights
If bans on trans youth athletes are upheld, more girls could face ‘invasive sex testing’ and trans people could broadly lose civil rights protections
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
These teenage athletes have faced death threats, attacks by the president + people in their community pushing to ban them. They've also been embraced by teammates, coaches + competitors and say they just want to keep doing what they love. “I’m just a kid that wants to play sports with my friends"
theguardian.com
The trans youth athletes in the US fighting for their rights: ‘Playing is an act of resistance’
As the US supreme court weighs bans on trans athletes, five students speak about the joy of sports and toll of exclusion
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
As the Supreme Court considers state laws banning trans girls from sports, hear from three youth directly about the joy of athletics and the impact of the efforts to kick them off their teams. “Playing sports and loving being out there on the field is in its own beautiful way an act of resistance.”
youtube.com
We asked trans youth athletes what school sports mean to them
YouTube video by The Guardian
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
NEW: Five trans youth athletes speak out about what school sports means to them + the toll of exclusion. "Sports is my escape" -Lina, 14-yr-old tennis + track athlete. "We’re just kids. We’re just trying to have fun…We’re not trying to be monsters. We’re just trying to find connection + community."
theguardian.com
The trans youth athletes in the US fighting for their rights: ‘Playing is an act of resistance’
As the US supreme court weighs bans on trans athletes, five students speak about the joy of sports and toll of exclusion
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The new FBI report is coming to light after we revealed last month that the FBI and NYPD have spied on a Signal group of NYC court watch activists who monitor public proceedings, labeling the volunteers “anarchist violent extremists." From earlier records unearthed by @propertyofthepeople.org:
theguardian.com
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
FBI cited two violent cases: Dallas ICE office shooting by gunman w/ unclear political beliefs who killed 2 detainees; + shooting at Alvarado ICE jail. In Alvarado, DOJ accused 15 ppl of being in an "antifa cell" but my colleague @samrlevine.bsky.social dug into it + raised qs about govt's narrative
theguardian.com
Inside DoJ’s controversial prosecution of a Texas ‘antifa cell’ charged with terrorism
DoJ says a group of protesters at an ICE detention center was part of a terror cell; legal experts say case is an effort to crack down on leftwing groups and deter protesters
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Hina Shamsi, ACLU: “The FBI report is infused w/ vague + overbroad language. Ppl entirely innocent of wrongdoing can be subjected to surveillance or investigations...No matter what NSPM-7 says, the Constitution constrains federal agencies if they seek to punish ppl for exercising free speech rights"
theguardian.com
Revealed: FBI opened domestic terrorism investigations into anti-ICE activity across US
Internal report shared with Guardian shows FBI has launched cases in 23 regions, some linked to Trump memo on thwarting ‘terroristic activities’
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
“At its core, the war on antifa is a war on dissent, a war on free speech” -@rshapiro.bsky.social @propertyofthepeople.org. The docs “strongly suggest one of the primary functions of NSPM-7 is to serve as a vehicle for targeting anti-ICE organizing broadly as an anarchist violent extremist threat"
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Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The FBI report reveals: -criminal + domestic terrorism investigations into "anti-ICE threats" in 23 regions. -NSPM-7 "domestic terrorism" cases in 27 states. -High volume of cases in Chicago, Dallas + Portland -continued efforts to investigate "funders" + "organizations" that "aid" terrorism
theguardian.com
Revealed: FBI opened domestic terrorism investigations into anti-ICE activity across US
Internal report shared with Guardian shows FBI has launched cases in 23 regions, some linked to Trump memo on thwarting ‘terroristic activities’
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