Radley Balko
@radleybalko.bsky.social
Journalist. Quattrone Center journalism fellow.
Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop.
Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist.
New podcast: Collateral Damage
Substack: radleybalko.substack.com
Signal: radleybalko.52
Author: Rise of the Warrior Cop.
Co-author: The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist.
New podcast: Collateral Damage
Substack: radleybalko.substack.com
Signal: radleybalko.52
Drove 9 hours to talk to someone this week. He was on death row for 27 years.
But thanks for the advice.
But thanks for the advice.
December 13, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Drove 9 hours to talk to someone this week. He was on death row for 27 years.
But thanks for the advice.
But thanks for the advice.
Reposted by Radley Balko
To give you a sense of how big a departure this year, the government doesn't do this for wanted criminals.
SCOOP: The Trump administration is providing the names of all travelers passing through U.S. airports to immigration officials in search of people with deportation orders, a substantial expansion of government efforts to draw on data to hunt down immigrants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:19 PM
To give you a sense of how big a departure this year, the government doesn't do this for wanted criminals.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Trumpers envisioned the torment of Abrego Garcia as a showcase for their lawlessness and assault on constitutional protections, and a demonstration that resistance was futile
But due to the efforts of advocates, legislators and lawyers -- and resolute adherence to the law by judges -- they've failed
But due to the efforts of advocates, legislators and lawyers -- and resolute adherence to the law by judges -- they've failed
Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Abrego Garcia Case
Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.
newrepublic.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Trumpers envisioned the torment of Abrego Garcia as a showcase for their lawlessness and assault on constitutional protections, and a demonstration that resistance was futile
But due to the efforts of advocates, legislators and lawyers -- and resolute adherence to the law by judges -- they've failed
But due to the efforts of advocates, legislators and lawyers -- and resolute adherence to the law by judges -- they've failed
Reposted by Radley Balko
A racist goon and CBP agent unmasked. www.thedailybeast.com/gun-toting-b...
Gun-Toting Border Patrol Goon Unmasked as Racist Online Troll
An agent criticized for his role in a violent arrest boosted racist and anti-LGBT posts on his X account.
www.thedailybeast.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:17 PM
A racist goon and CBP agent unmasked. www.thedailybeast.com/gun-toting-b...
Reposted by Radley Balko
It was genuinely an honor to meet Mr. Chavarria at Tuesday's hearing. His story is incredible; grew up in a refugee camp in Honduras, graduated as a valedictorian at 15, got scholarships in the US, met his husband here, became a US citizen, and is now a school superintendent in Vermont.
Chavarria, a U.S. citizen, was held at the airport "for more than four hours and released only after he finally agreed to let the agents search his smartphone, tablet, and laptop computer. The agents...informed him that he had no Fourth Amendment right to resist." @pacificlegal.bsky.social is suing.
CBP agents held this U.S. citizen for hours until he agreed to let them search his electronic devices
A federal lawsuit argues that perusing travelers' personal data without a warrant or probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment.
reason.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:11 PM
It was genuinely an honor to meet Mr. Chavarria at Tuesday's hearing. His story is incredible; grew up in a refugee camp in Honduras, graduated as a valedictorian at 15, got scholarships in the US, met his husband here, became a US citizen, and is now a school superintendent in Vermont.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Wow. Be sure to read Mitch Daniel's celebration of the Indiana GOP's slap back at Trump, and particularly the passage where he compares Trump and his senior team to World War II area Soviet political commissars shooting Russian soldiers in the back. It's quite something. wapo.st/3Yp5lV7
Opinion | Hooray for Hoosiers, cynical GOP redistricting fails
Despite a White House intimidation, Indiana legislators defeated an unfair gerrymandering ploy.
wapo.st
December 12, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Wow. Be sure to read Mitch Daniel's celebration of the Indiana GOP's slap back at Trump, and particularly the passage where he compares Trump and his senior team to World War II area Soviet political commissars shooting Russian soldiers in the back. It's quite something. wapo.st/3Yp5lV7
Reposted by Radley Balko
LOL... Pentagon released a new AI military chatbot and it immediately pointed out that Pete Hegseth is a war criminal.
abovethelaw.com/2025/12/pent...
abovethelaw.com/2025/12/pent...
Pentagon Unveils New GenAI Platform, It Immediately Starts Flagging Pete Hegseth's War Crimes - Above the Law
The Defense Department's new ChatJAG turned out to be better than the human chain of command.
abovethelaw.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:00 PM
LOL... Pentagon released a new AI military chatbot and it immediately pointed out that Pete Hegseth is a war criminal.
abovethelaw.com/2025/12/pent...
abovethelaw.com/2025/12/pent...
Reposted by Radley Balko
this is a general warrant and it's specifically the kind of warrant the framers passed the 4th amendment to outlaw
WOW. @haleaziz.bsky.social with a new scoop: ICE now gets a running list of every person who is going to be taking a domestic flight inside the United States from the TSA and runs it through their database looking for targets. This explains the Babson College student's arrest.
Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:35 PM
this is a general warrant and it's specifically the kind of warrant the framers passed the 4th amendment to outlaw
Now that an administration that has broken the "willing to shamelessly and repeatedly lie to the federal courts" barrier, I don't see how the courts as an institution recover* short of severe, career-ending sanctions for this sort of behavior.
(*Yes, I know. Things weren't exactly great before.)
(*Yes, I know. Things weren't exactly great before.)
How the Trump Administration’s Most Wanted Man Finally Went Free
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody on Thursday.
slate.com
December 12, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Now that an administration that has broken the "willing to shamelessly and repeatedly lie to the federal courts" barrier, I don't see how the courts as an institution recover* short of severe, career-ending sanctions for this sort of behavior.
(*Yes, I know. Things weren't exactly great before.)
(*Yes, I know. Things weren't exactly great before.)
Reposted by Radley Balko
It is hard to overstate how shallow and embarrassing the Washington Post Editorial Board's analysis is whenver it tries to write about the law. They don't make arguments so much as they crank out half-assed jumbles of buzzwords that they hope will make Jeff Bezos happy. Don't care for it at all!
The Washington Post Editorial Board Is Spectacularly Awful at Legal Analysis
Since Bezos overhauled the board earlier this year, it has been very good at cranking out billionaire-friendly propaganda. It is quite bad at everything else.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 12, 2025 at 9:05 PM
It is hard to overstate how shallow and embarrassing the Washington Post Editorial Board's analysis is whenver it tries to write about the law. They don't make arguments so much as they crank out half-assed jumbles of buzzwords that they hope will make Jeff Bezos happy. Don't care for it at all!
Reposted by Radley Balko
Breaking News: The Trump administration is sharing all air travelers’ names with ICE officials to find people with deportation orders.
Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort
The Transportation Security Administration is providing passenger lists to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to identify and detain travelers subject to deportation orders.
nyti.ms
December 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Breaking News: The Trump administration is sharing all air travelers’ names with ICE officials to find people with deportation orders.
“Homicide victims are disproportionately black” is pretty much the faux right-wing argument for more aggressive policing in black neighborhoods, no?
We’re a car dependent society. Punitive measures (as opposed to calming/engineering) are always going to disproportionately hit low-income people.
We’re a car dependent society. Punitive measures (as opposed to calming/engineering) are always going to disproportionately hit low-income people.
See also: debates about speed cameras.
There's a problematic reflex among some progressive reformers to move from "conventional criminal legal responses are bad" to something too close to "accountability in general is bad."
I think (as Jamelle argues here) it's rooted in not thinking abt victims.
There's a problematic reflex among some progressive reformers to move from "conventional criminal legal responses are bad" to something too close to "accountability in general is bad."
I think (as Jamelle argues here) it's rooted in not thinking abt victims.
someone tell the California ACLU who is disproportionately more likely to be killed in traffic accidents including those involving people under the influence
December 12, 2025 at 8:55 PM
“Homicide victims are disproportionately black” is pretty much the faux right-wing argument for more aggressive policing in black neighborhoods, no?
We’re a car dependent society. Punitive measures (as opposed to calming/engineering) are always going to disproportionately hit low-income people.
We’re a car dependent society. Punitive measures (as opposed to calming/engineering) are always going to disproportionately hit low-income people.
Reposted by Radley Balko
The party full of sexual predators is actively finding new ways to endanger children.
One under-appreciated part of this: note the bit below about “and their dependents.”
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
From the US Embassy in London today.
December 12, 2025 at 3:25 AM
The party full of sexual predators is actively finding new ways to endanger children.
Really makes you think
December 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Really makes you think
I think it was a huge mistake to make our society so car-dependent. But man. The Discourse today is a good reminder that when it comes to roadways policy, otherwise progressive anti-car people quickly become some of the most pro-carceral, anti-civil liberties people on the planet.
December 12, 2025 at 8:45 PM
I think it was a huge mistake to make our society so car-dependent. But man. The Discourse today is a good reminder that when it comes to roadways policy, otherwise progressive anti-car people quickly become some of the most pro-carceral, anti-civil liberties people on the planet.
Reposted by Radley Balko
White House Refuses to Rule Out Summary Executions of People on Its Secret Domestic Terrorist List
The Trump administration ignored questions about whether it would order the killings of those on its NSPM-7 list — even while answering our other queries.
theintercept.com/2025/12/12/t...
The Trump administration ignored questions about whether it would order the killings of those on its NSPM-7 list — even while answering our other queries.
theintercept.com/2025/12/12/t...
White House Refuses to Rule Out Summary Executions of People on Its Secret Domestic Terrorist List
The Trump administration ignored questions about whether it would order the killings of those on its NSPM-7 list — even while answering our other queries.
theintercept.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
White House Refuses to Rule Out Summary Executions of People on Its Secret Domestic Terrorist List
The Trump administration ignored questions about whether it would order the killings of those on its NSPM-7 list — even while answering our other queries.
theintercept.com/2025/12/12/t...
The Trump administration ignored questions about whether it would order the killings of those on its NSPM-7 list — even while answering our other queries.
theintercept.com/2025/12/12/t...
Reposted by Radley Balko
The idea that others are using unfair advantages to get ahead is a core element of both Trumpism and anti-immigration rhetoric. Letting rich people and businesses ostentatiously buy U.S. residency is as explicit a shortcut as you’ll find.
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Opinion | Trump's "Gold Card" plan is a cynical immigration gimmick
Philip Bump: It’s tough to sell economic populism to the MAGA base when a million dollars lets you cut the immigration line in Trump’s America.
www.ms.now
December 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The idea that others are using unfair advantages to get ahead is a core element of both Trumpism and anti-immigration rhetoric. Letting rich people and businesses ostentatiously buy U.S. residency is as explicit a shortcut as you’ll find.
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Reposted by Radley Balko
there are pundits who will say that immigration is trump's strongest issue and that picking fights around immigration helps him on the margins. but i think this misunderstands the way public opinion works, as evidenced by trump's declining fortunes on his handling of immigration.
December 12, 2025 at 5:59 PM
there are pundits who will say that immigration is trump's strongest issue and that picking fights around immigration helps him on the margins. but i think this misunderstands the way public opinion works, as evidenced by trump's declining fortunes on his handling of immigration.
Reposted by Radley Balko
Hard to identify the best part of this 1964 ad--the obvious headline, the misspelling of Reagan's last name, or the shout out to John Stoemer's blockbuster (and howlingly inaccurate) conspiracy-ridden book "None Dare Call it Treason" about the supposedly "treasonous" thread of the US left.
December 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Hard to identify the best part of this 1964 ad--the obvious headline, the misspelling of Reagan's last name, or the shout out to John Stoemer's blockbuster (and howlingly inaccurate) conspiracy-ridden book "None Dare Call it Treason" about the supposedly "treasonous" thread of the US left.
Reposted by Radley Balko
If this is liberty, give me death now please :( (So many libertarians are such lost souls.)
December 12, 2025 at 3:48 PM
If this is liberty, give me death now please :( (So many libertarians are such lost souls.)
Reposted by Radley Balko
This is appalling — and bad for the Jews
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence that UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism
An investigation by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Education reveals how the U.S. government ignored due process to gin up its attack on the University of California.
www.propublica.org
December 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
This is appalling — and bad for the Jews
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
The point of accumulating political power ought to be to do what’s right. Otherwise you’re just hoarding power for its own sake.
Stopping the government from sending innocent people to a foreign prison where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, and tortured was the right thing to do.
Stopping the government from sending innocent people to a foreign prison where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, and tortured was the right thing to do.
December 12, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The point of accumulating political power ought to be to do what’s right. Otherwise you’re just hoarding power for its own sake.
Stopping the government from sending innocent people to a foreign prison where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, and tortured was the right thing to do.
Stopping the government from sending innocent people to a foreign prison where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, and tortured was the right thing to do.
Reposted by Radley Balko
shoutout to the crowd that insisted it was a political loser to stand up for abrego garcia’s rights
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an ordinary man, has defeated the great might of the US Government
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free. every bit of cruelty, boasting, slander, and persecution was for absolutely fucking nothing.
December 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
shoutout to the crowd that insisted it was a political loser to stand up for abrego garcia’s rights
Reposted by Radley Balko
Judge Paula Xinis just issued temporary restraining order barring Trump administration from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia when he reports to ICE this morning. ICE had demanded his appearance after judge freed him from custody yesterday.
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Judge Paula Xinis just issued temporary restraining order barring Trump administration from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia when he reports to ICE this morning. ICE had demanded his appearance after judge freed him from custody yesterday.
Reposted by Radley Balko
It's heartening the leadership firewall against any talk of impeachment is breaking down, because it's so delusionally out of touch with reality. Either you mean what you say about the current anti-constitutional crime spree or you don't, and if you do, impeachment is the unavoidable implication.
Yes, I'm taking the first step towards Noem's impeachment.
I demand a full investigation into Secretary Noem's unlawful actions and unethical behavior. The people will have accountability.
I demand a full investigation into Secretary Noem's unlawful actions and unethical behavior. The people will have accountability.
December 11, 2025 at 10:56 PM
It's heartening the leadership firewall against any talk of impeachment is breaking down, because it's so delusionally out of touch with reality. Either you mean what you say about the current anti-constitutional crime spree or you don't, and if you do, impeachment is the unavoidable implication.