John Patrick Pullen
@jppullen.com
Founding editor of @longlead.com, an award winning journalism studio publishing features that make an impact. Formerly: @Fortune.com, and @TIME.com. Yup, they call me JPP.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
"Who brings guns to a protest?!"
It's a question that was asked when Trump supporters brought guns to anti-lockdown protests in 2020 and is now being asked again in reference to protesters bringing guns to anti ICE protests.
It's a question that was asked when Trump supporters brought guns to anti-lockdown protests in 2020 and is now being asked again in reference to protesters bringing guns to anti ICE protests.
![Screenshot from LONG SHADOW: RISE OF THE AMERICAN FAR RIGHT season finale "January 6: Day of the Rope" transcript:
Just four weeks after he’d recommended social distancing, Trump sent out a series of tweets. “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” said one. “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” said the second. “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, AND SAVE YOUR GREAT 2ND AMENDMENT. IT IS UNDER SIEGE!” said the third.
[protest audio]
Over the next couple of weeks, anti-lockdown protests quickly spread to 30 states, and heavily armed far-right militias showed up to a lot of them.
[Protester: Who brings guns to a protest?!]
Graff: And so did a group called the Proud Boys…
[Proud Boys: USA USA.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vuaryrq6kxestqlaedvqtog/bafkreifrbc7rji47blr353ixjamcvz72fq6gbikuknwzoi73gbfbxxgo2y@jpeg)
January 26, 2026 at 9:49 PM
"Who brings guns to a protest?!"
It's a question that was asked when Trump supporters brought guns to anti-lockdown protests in 2020 and is now being asked again in reference to protesters bringing guns to anti ICE protests.
It's a question that was asked when Trump supporters brought guns to anti-lockdown protests in 2020 and is now being asked again in reference to protesters bringing guns to anti ICE protests.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
While in 2020, Trump encouraged guns at protests sharing in a tweet “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, AND SAVE YOUR GREAT 2ND AMENDMENT. IT IS UNDER SIEGE!”, following the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents, influential leaders blamed the victim, saying he shouldn't have brought a gun to a protest.
January 26, 2026 at 9:50 PM
While in 2020, Trump encouraged guns at protests sharing in a tweet “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, AND SAVE YOUR GREAT 2ND AMENDMENT. IT IS UNDER SIEGE!”, following the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents, influential leaders blamed the victim, saying he shouldn't have brought a gun to a protest.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
During World War II, over 125,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated by the U.S. government. They brought with them the belongings they could carry and were taken in dark trains to new towns across the United States to start lives of incarceration.
January 24, 2026 at 10:00 PM
During World War II, over 125,000 Japanese Americans were unjustly incarcerated by the U.S. government. They brought with them the belongings they could carry and were taken in dark trains to new towns across the United States to start lives of incarceration.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
During World War II, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and forced to live in incarceration camps with only what they could carry from home. Most of them were American citizens.
If ICE’s expansion plans are realized, the immigration detention system will triple in size — detaining 120,000-150,000 people at any given time, mirroring the scale of Japanese American internment during WWII.
January 23, 2026 at 7:22 PM
During World War II, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and forced to live in incarceration camps with only what they could carry from home. Most of them were American citizens.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
For Long Lead's THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, the last survivors of the incarceration camps share their stories of the injustice of being imprisoned by their own government.
Learn more: age-of-incarceration.longlead.com
Learn more: age-of-incarceration.longlead.com
Japanese American Incarceration Survivors Remember What the US Forgot
During WWII, President Roosevelt invoked the Alien Enemies Act and incarcerated 125,000 Japanese Americans. Eighty years later, some of the camps’ last survivors reflect on lives scarred by injustice.
age-of-incarceration.longlead.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:23 PM
For Long Lead's THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, the last survivors of the incarceration camps share their stories of the injustice of being imprisoned by their own government.
Learn more: age-of-incarceration.longlead.com
Learn more: age-of-incarceration.longlead.com
This is no coincidence. I finally got around to canceling my Paramount+ last night. Surely they read my reason for unsubscribing and this is in response. I’m sure of it.
NEWS: Bari Weiss will hold an all-hands meeting to discuss the future of CBS News tomorrow, per note that just went out to employees.
January 26, 2026 at 4:29 PM
This is no coincidence. I finally got around to canceling my Paramount+ last night. Surely they read my reason for unsubscribing and this is in response. I’m sure of it.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
"ICE 101" — How Trump changed ICE and CBP into a fascist secret police
ICE and CBP are fatally flawed products of the post-9/11 War on Terror — now Trump has weaponized those very flaws to occupy America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
January 25, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
Journalists need to ask, “What made Pettri a ‘suspect’?” He was ‘seized’ under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which requires *probable cause that he was committing a crime*
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
BASH: Where did he assault an officer? It looked to us that he was approached by them when he was helping another individual who was pushed down
BOVINO: We don't need a suspect's help in a law enforcement scene
BASH: So when somebody is pushed down, you stand back?
BOVINO: Follow directions
BOVINO: We don't need a suspect's help in a law enforcement scene
BASH: So when somebody is pushed down, you stand back?
BOVINO: Follow directions
January 25, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Journalists need to ask, “What made Pettri a ‘suspect’?” He was ‘seized’ under the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, which requires *probable cause that he was committing a crime*
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
MAKE THEM ARTICULATE THE BASIS FOR THE SEIZURE
Walker is such a softee, which is why they talk to her.
They have Ben “working on this” for a year, not 7 days a week.
And there’s no “artificial deadline” — there’s an actual one, required by law, and it’s long since passed.
No mention of those points. No follow up.
They have Ben “working on this” for a year, not 7 days a week.
And there’s no “artificial deadline” — there’s an actual one, required by law, and it’s long since passed.
No mention of those points. No follow up.
WELKER: When will all Epstein files be released?
BLANCHE: Look, we've been working literally 7 days a week to go through them, but there is nothing more important than protecting the victims. We will not rush that process.
WELKER: How soon?
BLANCHE: I'm not going to create an artificial deadline
BLANCHE: Look, we've been working literally 7 days a week to go through them, but there is nothing more important than protecting the victims. We will not rush that process.
WELKER: How soon?
BLANCHE: I'm not going to create an artificial deadline
January 25, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Walker is such a softee, which is why they talk to her.
They have Ben “working on this” for a year, not 7 days a week.
And there’s no “artificial deadline” — there’s an actual one, required by law, and it’s long since passed.
No mention of those points. No follow up.
They have Ben “working on this” for a year, not 7 days a week.
And there’s no “artificial deadline” — there’s an actual one, required by law, and it’s long since passed.
No mention of those points. No follow up.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
“How did we get here?” is something @vermontgmg.bsky.social frequently asks on LONG SHADOW. Well, here’s how we got to today’s horrors:
January 24, 2026 at 7:32 PM
“How did we get here?” is something @vermontgmg.bsky.social frequently asks on LONG SHADOW. Well, here’s how we got to today’s horrors:
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
Powerful new statement on MN from GOP Vermont Governor Phil Scott (1/3):
“Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations ...
“Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations ...
January 25, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Powerful new statement on MN from GOP Vermont Governor Phil Scott (1/3):
“Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations ...
“Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations ...
Why is the Assistant Attorney General defending DHS?
THAT IS NOT HIS JOB.
THAT IS NOT HIS JOB.
WELKER: What is your response to Mr Pretti's family?
BLANCHE: We have nothing but sympathy for the family of him, but ...
BLANCHE: We have nothing but sympathy for the family of him, but ...
January 25, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Why is the Assistant Attorney General defending DHS?
THAT IS NOT HIS JOB.
THAT IS NOT HIS JOB.
Question: Do you tell them that when they are pepper spraying your face, or after?
Chip Roy: "As someone who carries a weapon in TX, if I'm in front of law enforcement or if I get stopped, I tell them that. I tell them that I've got a concealed carry permit. I show them my ID. I tell them where the weapon is bc that's what we're supposed to do. That's not what I think I saw here"
January 25, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Question: Do you tell them that when they are pepper spraying your face, or after?
America’s bravest heroes are everyday people holding cameras.
January 24, 2026 at 11:04 PM
America’s bravest heroes are everyday people holding cameras.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
The term martyr means “witness.” The man was murdered for bearing witness, literally bearing it, not arms but a camera. Murdered for seeing.
January 24, 2026 at 9:45 PM
The term martyr means “witness.” The man was murdered for bearing witness, literally bearing it, not arms but a camera. Murdered for seeing.
“How did we get here?” is something @vermontgmg.bsky.social frequently asks on LONG SHADOW. Well, here’s how we got to today’s horrors:
January 24, 2026 at 7:32 PM
“How did we get here?” is something @vermontgmg.bsky.social frequently asks on LONG SHADOW. Well, here’s how we got to today’s horrors:
Another day, another “Boston Massacre” in Minneapolis. But there’s a key difference:
There will be no John Adams to defend these killers when the long arc of history eventually bends toward justice.
There will be no John Adams to defend these killers when the long arc of history eventually bends toward justice.
Live updates: Federal officers shot and killed a man in Minneapolis
Protests over ICE in Minneapolis have grown after federal officers supporting the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns shot and killed a man on Saturday.
apnews.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Another day, another “Boston Massacre” in Minneapolis. But there’s a key difference:
There will be no John Adams to defend these killers when the long arc of history eventually bends toward justice.
There will be no John Adams to defend these killers when the long arc of history eventually bends toward justice.
I have always known the words to U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” but now I truly understand them.
I can’t believe the news today. I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.
How long? How long must we sing this song?
I can’t believe the news today. I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.
How long? How long must we sing this song?
January 24, 2026 at 5:01 PM
I have always known the words to U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” but now I truly understand them.
I can’t believe the news today. I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.
How long? How long must we sing this song?
I can’t believe the news today. I can’t close my eyes and make it go away.
How long? How long must we sing this song?
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US. www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US.
www.wired.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:32 PM
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US. www.wired.com/story/tiktok...
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
Have you listened LONG SHADOW with @vermontgmg.bsky.social? With these Ambie noms, it's now won or been a finalist for:
• A Peabody Award*
• An RFK Human Rights Prize
• An Edward R. Murrow Award
• An International Documentary Association Award*
• 8 Signal Awards
• A Webby Award
• More
*Finalist
• A Peabody Award*
• An RFK Human Rights Prize
• An Edward R. Murrow Award
• An International Documentary Association Award*
• 8 Signal Awards
• A Webby Award
• More
*Finalist
Long Lead is honored to share that LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET is a finalist for the 2026 Ambies Awards in the categories of Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast, Best News & Politics Podcast, and Best Scriptwriting, Non-Fiction.
January 22, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Have you listened LONG SHADOW with @vermontgmg.bsky.social? With these Ambie noms, it's now won or been a finalist for:
• A Peabody Award*
• An RFK Human Rights Prize
• An Edward R. Murrow Award
• An International Documentary Association Award*
• 8 Signal Awards
• A Webby Award
• More
*Finalist
• A Peabody Award*
• An RFK Human Rights Prize
• An Edward R. Murrow Award
• An International Documentary Association Award*
• 8 Signal Awards
• A Webby Award
• More
*Finalist
"People are talking" is nearly identical to Trump's go-to for a heterodox take: "People are saying."
Worth noting, he's telling this to Jack Posobiec, famous for insisting a pizza parlor locked kids in the basement and let patrons order sex with them using codewords like "cheese."
This isn't real.
Worth noting, he's telling this to Jack Posobiec, famous for insisting a pizza parlor locked kids in the basement and let patrons order sex with them using codewords like "cheese."
This isn't real.
Bessent pushes Albertan independence from Canada: "Albertans are very independent people. There's a rumor they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not. People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the US has got."
January 23, 2026 at 4:36 PM
"People are talking" is nearly identical to Trump's go-to for a heterodox take: "People are saying."
Worth noting, he's telling this to Jack Posobiec, famous for insisting a pizza parlor locked kids in the basement and let patrons order sex with them using codewords like "cheese."
This isn't real.
Worth noting, he's telling this to Jack Posobiec, famous for insisting a pizza parlor locked kids in the basement and let patrons order sex with them using codewords like "cheese."
This isn't real.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
REMINDER: As of yesterday, Larry Ellison has officially taken control of TikTok in the US.
January 23, 2026 at 2:23 PM
REMINDER: As of yesterday, Larry Ellison has officially taken control of TikTok in the US.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
War reporter Ben Anderson has risked his life toggling between print and film in his pursuit of truth in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. With the baffling geopolitical events over the last few months, Anderson seems uniquely qualified to assess the advantages and dangers of the events.
January 22, 2026 at 7:32 PM
War reporter Ben Anderson has risked his life toggling between print and film in his pursuit of truth in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. With the baffling geopolitical events over the last few months, Anderson seems uniquely qualified to assess the advantages and dangers of the events.
Reposted by John Patrick Pullen
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified on Thursday about Trump criminal investigations.
Across two seasons of Long Lead's Edward R. Murrow-winning podcast LONG SHADOW, host Garrett Graff has tracked how Trump came into power and how social media algorithms helped spread political conspiracies
Across two seasons of Long Lead's Edward R. Murrow-winning podcast LONG SHADOW, host Garrett Graff has tracked how Trump came into power and how social media algorithms helped spread political conspiracies
Long Shadow Podcast
Long Shadow is a limited-series history podcast produced by Long Lead and hosted by Garrett Graff.
longshadowpodcast.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified on Thursday about Trump criminal investigations.
Across two seasons of Long Lead's Edward R. Murrow-winning podcast LONG SHADOW, host Garrett Graff has tracked how Trump came into power and how social media algorithms helped spread political conspiracies
Across two seasons of Long Lead's Edward R. Murrow-winning podcast LONG SHADOW, host Garrett Graff has tracked how Trump came into power and how social media algorithms helped spread political conspiracies