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Peter Sterne
@petersterne.com
18K followers 1.1K following 4.9K posts
State Editor at cityandstateny.bsky.social. Previously @nysfocus.bsky.social, @freedom.press and @politico.com. He/him.

Email: [email protected]

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Peter Sterne @petersterne.com · 25d
Here's a list of all the congressional and state legislative seats that NYC-DSA is targeting next year: www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...
Here are the NYC seats DSA is eyeing in 2026
Nepo babies, Eric Adams allies, representatives of lefty districts, beware.
www.cityandstateny.com
petersterne.com
DSA’s Electoral Working Group has unsurprisingly voted to recommend endorsing Assembly Member Claire Valdez over Antonio Reynoso for NY-7:

Claire Valdez - 94%
Antonio Reynoso - 3%
No endorsement - 3%
On January 14th, the Electoral Working Group held our seventh endorsement forum of the 2026 cycle. We deliberated on Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for NY-7, and Samantha Kattan for AD-37. After voting for a 48-hour period, the results are as follows: "Should NYC-DSA's Electoral Working Group recommend Antonio Reynoso, Claire Valdez, or no candidate for endorsement in New York Congressional District 7?" Antonio Reynoso: 3%, Claire Valdez: 94%, No candidate: 3%. "In the event that Assembly District 37 is vacated by the incumbent, should NYC-DSA's Electoral Working Group recommend Samantha Kattan for endorsement in that district?" YES - 94.5%, NO - 3.5%, Abstain - 2% The next step in our chapter's endorsement process is for the geographic branches that overlap with the given districts (Queens and North Brooklyn) to hold their endorsement meetings. If a candidate receives 60% support from their branches, chapter leadership will conduct a chapterwide poll next week, followed by NYC-DSA's City Leadership Committee vote on 1/22/26, both using the same 60% approval threshold.
January 17, 2026 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
jcollins.bsky.social
Anna Brauch said an ICE agent grabbed her by handcuffs, and used all his strength to yank her repeatedly around the car.

She told him: “You're breaking my hands, you’re breaking my hands.”

He told her: “I don’t fucking care. Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up.” (6) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Fear factor: Intimidation becomes a calling card as Twin Cities ICE surge widens
Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, observers say there are signs that federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citiz...
www.mprnews.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
jcollins.bsky.social
Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities, observers say federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citizens and noncitizens alike. (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Fear factor: Intimidation becomes a calling card as Twin Cities ICE surge widens
Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, observers say there are signs that federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citiz...
www.mprnews.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
craigipedia.bsky.social
Democratic politicians facing frivolous criminal investigations from Trump:

Kat Abughazaleh
Elissa Slotkin
Jason Crow
Tim Walz
Jacob Frey
Letitia James
Lisa Cook
Mark Kelly
Eric Swalwell
Adam Schiff
governorwalz.mn.gov Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 19h
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.

The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 20h
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
January 17, 2026 at 12:28 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
djamiempls.meatjacker.social
🙃

This FB post is public.
My husband was kidnapped tonight by ICE. He is a born and raised Willmar, Minnesotan. Officers rushed his car. He gave his ID and complied. Without running his license, he was thrown in a vehicle and taken. They must have finally ran his ID 1/4 mile down the road, because they pulled in a parking lot, uncuffed him, threw him out of the car and threw his ID at him and took off. He then had to walk back to his car to drive back to work. This is wrong. This is terrifying. This is completely unjust. I am full of rage and terror. This must stop. ICE does not care what you look like. They are taking everyone and asking questions after kidnapping. Stay safe people. Protect your loved ones to the best of your abilities.
January 16, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
radleybalko.bsky.social
They nearly killed this woman. Then they went on national TV and tried to smear her.
clancyny.bsky.social Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 1d
Woman Seen Pulled from Car Speaks Out: 'Lucky to be alive'

Aliya Rahman "said she was driving to an appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when the incident occurred."

She asked for a doctor and was taken to a detention center where she lost consciousness.
abcnews.go.com/US/live-upda...
ABC News v @ABC • 15h A woman who was caught on video getting forcibly pulled from a vehicle by agents in Minneapolis on Tuesday said she feels "lucky to be alive." Read more: abcnews.link/7eOVovJ NI "Lucky to be alive." A woman forcibly removed from her vehicle by federal agents in Minneapolis said in a statement she was shackled "like an animal, even after I told them that I was disabled."
January 17, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Criminal investigations for nothing but speech; the administration’s contempt for the First Amendment could not be more clear.
The subpoenas suggest that the Justice Department is examining whether Walz's and Frey's public statements disparaging the surge of officers and federal actions have amounted to criminal interference in law enforcement work. The law under which they are investigating the two officials, a federal statute on conspiracy to impede a federal investigation, is similar to the charges filed against protesters whom federal officials allege have attempted to block immigration officers as they do their work.
January 16, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
esqueer.net
Establishment Dems need to realize no amount of compliance or appeals to this administration's better angels will work. They will still come after you. At least make them do it for actually doing something to protect your community.
January 16, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
esqueer.net
How did that appeal work out for you?

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 16, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
washingtonpost.com
Breaking news: The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that they are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state.
Justice Dept. launches criminal investigation of Minnesota governor
The Justice Department has issued subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation into impeding law enforcement.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 16, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
adashtra.bsky.social
Breaks my heart to share this, but today is my last day at The Verge and I am looking for work! I'd really like to stay in video games, preferably in some kind of journalistic capacity but I can do PR/Marketing and maybe even a lil Narrative Design. Please get in touch!
www.ashparrish.com
Ash Parrish
www.ashparrish.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Publishing the names of protesters and contacting their employers to have them fired for exercising their rights is a tactic straight out of the White Citizens Councils.
digby56.bsky.social digby @digby56.bsky.social · 1d
They're going to start using the Kirk witch hunt strategy.
Homan: We're going to create a database. Those people that are interfering, we're going to make them famous and put their face on TV. We're going to let their employers and their neighborhoods and their schools know who these people are. I bet you a lot of their employers don’t know what they are doing.
January 16, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
utopia-defer.red
I find it necessary these days to affirm the obvious because the descent into fascism is mostly a continuous, not discrete, process so here it goes:

these are internal checkpoints by secret police for what is routine freedom of movement.
normcharlatan.bsky.social Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 1d
It’s been reported locally, but I’m not sure how much national notice this has gotten. As part of this invasion by shithead goons, they are putting ICE agents in jetbridges and other parts of the airport at Minneapolis-Saint Paul. If you are flying Delta via MSP, you are putting yourself at risk.
ICE agents to begin checking documents at MSP airport, patrol jet bridges - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will begin checking documents of travelers and workers at MSP airport, with patrols inside jet bridges.
www.bizjournals.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
sorayanadiamcdonald.com
Free to read, no subscription or sign in required
What to Do if ICE Invades Your Neighborhood
With federal agents storming the streets of American communities, there’s no single right way to approach this dangerous moment. But there are steps you can take to stay safe—and have an impact.
www.wired.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
digby56.bsky.social
They're going to start using the Kirk witch hunt strategy.
Homan: We're going to create a database. Those people that are interfering, we're going to make them famous and put their face on TV. We're going to let their employers and their neighborhoods and their schools know who these people are. I bet you a lot of their employers don’t know what they are doing.
January 16, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
rowanzeoli.bsky.social
NYC Journalist Friends:

Daily Press, a cafe and community space in Ocean Hill, was blindsided with closure from its absentee owner. The workers are currently fundraising to keep the cafe open long enough to try and acquire it.

If you'd be interested in covering this story, message me
January 16, 2026 at 4:17 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
rincewind.run
this is fucking incredible
After 48 hours of torture, Dr. Christie wrote a forced confession - “the best thing I ever wrote,” he later told the BBC, noting that he had made sure the confession included “all my recommendations to the African National Congress” about the best way to sabotage Koeberg and other facilities. “And, gloriously, the judge read it out in court,” Dr. Christie added. “So my recommendations went from the judge’s mouth” straight to the A.N.C. Two years later, in December 1982, Korberg was bombed by white A.N.C. operatives who had gotten jobs at the facility. They followed Dr. Christie’s instructions to the letter.
January 15, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
nicolecarpenter.bsky.social
Last week, I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, on a publication I don't write for. It sent me down a very strange rabbit hole involving a mysterious content publisher. There's a lot I don't understand, but here's what I know:

aftermath.site/nicole-carpe...
I'm Not That Nicole Carpenter
I got a corrections request for a story I didn't write, and it pulled me down a journalism rabbit hole.
aftermath.site
January 15, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
katz.theracket.news
Was just going over some old issues of The Racket and found this. I wrote it in July 2024, just after the Republican convention.
R THE RACKET And don't be confused about this: Rounding up 20, or even 10 or 5, million people is a project that will touch every aspect of life in the United States. It will mean checkpoints and random raids at workplaces and in neighborhoods; it will mean mistakes, wrongful detentions and deportations, racial profiling and state violence at an unprecedented scale. I can tell you from having covered past threatened mass expulsions, particularly in the Dominican Republic, that even when the full extent of the government's threat is not realized, in practice it is an exercise in terror and a virtual carte blanche for violence against the targeted minority, up to and including outright lynching. The Times wrote that "consensus among immigration experts and former homeland security officials is that logistical, legal,
January 16, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
mrdanzak.com
Stunning photos from Minneapolis, including this one by John Locher for the Associated Press. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...
A family member reacts after a federal immigration officer used a battering ram to break down a door before making an arrest on January 11, 2026, in Minneapolis.
January 15, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
murshedz.bsky.social
Just got this forwarded. Here are the talking points Schumer's team just emailed out to their allies TODAY - this afternoon.

The words "Minnesota" or "ICE" don't appear anywhere here.
Schumer Remarks and Talkers on Democrats’ Plans to Address the Affordability Crisis as Trump and Republicans Send Costs Skyrocketing and Create Chaos in the Economy Unlike Republicans, Democrats are laser-focused on lowering costs for the American people and will roll out precisely how a Democratic majority will lower costs for everyday Americans, starting today with housing. Today, Leader Schumer rolled out a new housing agenda, Opportunity Starts at Home – Democrats’ new vision to tackle the housing crisis and lower housing costs for every single American. For millions of Americans, owning a home is the most important part of the American dream, it builds equity and a future for Americans. But the median price of a home is up 55% since Covid, and rent is up by one-third. The average American homebuyer is now 40 years old, a record high. Donald Trump’s tariffs have raised construction costs by $17,500 per home. He’s proposed 50-year mortgages, an idea so unserious it was ridiculed by everyone, left, right, and center. Trump is launching a criminal investigation against the Chair of the Federal Reserve, making it more likely interest rates will go up and stay up. The only decent idea Trump has floated on housing he stole from Democrats – calling for an end to institutional investors buying up homes. Every Democrat voted to get it done last year, but Congressional Republicans blocked it. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture offered the administration’s solution to grocery costs, which boils down to “eat less and spend less.” The Trump administration is filled with a bunch of out-of-touch people living in a bubble. And this is what Trump’s so-called Golden Age looks like – get by with less, and stop complaining about affordability. A Democratic majority will tackle the housing affordability crisis by working to reduce rent, boost homeownership, stop predatory corporations, supercharge construction, and provide housing security for all Americans. Democrat…
January 15, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
atrupar.com
Schumer as a major American metro is being brutally occupied by Trump goons: "The affordability crisis will be our focus throughout 2026 because that's what the American people are demanding"
January 15, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
ericlevitz.bsky.social
The president is all-but encouraging pogroms against specific Somali-owned businesses, on the grounds that they serve customers who pay in food stamps (much like countless Walmarts in heavily Republican rural areas)
January 15, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
melissagiragrant.com
Ahead of time, you first have to turn on full encryption on your devices, it’s not that cumbersome—a good guide here:
January 15, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Peter Sterne
robinsonmeyer.bsky.social
NEW: A federal judge has lifted Trump’s stop-work order for New York’s Empire Wind project, allowing construction to continue and dealing yet another legal blow to the president’s war on offshore wind

@jael.bsky.social reports:

heatmap.news/sparks/new-y...
New York’s Empire Wind Project May Resume Construction, Judge Says
The decision marks the Trump administration’s second offshore wind defeat this week.
heatmap.news
January 15, 2026 at 5:41 PM