Jonathon Booth
@jboothhistory.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law, CU Boulder
Current projects: The Legal Architecture of Emancipation
Studying Policing from a Law and Political Economy Perspective
jonathonbooth.com
Current projects: The Legal Architecture of Emancipation
Studying Policing from a Law and Political Economy Perspective
jonathonbooth.com
Pinned
Jonathon Booth
@jboothhistory.bsky.social
· Jan 14
So happy that my article about the origins and first decades of the Atlanta Police is finally out!
It traces the institutional development of the department, the discourses of Black criminality that underlaid racist policing, and protest against the police.
lawreview.colorado.edu/print/volume...
It traces the institutional development of the department, the discourses of Black criminality that underlaid racist policing, and protest against the police.
lawreview.colorado.edu/print/volume...
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
👀Fitzpatrick said Halligan made two apparent "fundamental misstatements of law" to the grand jury that could threaten the case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 17, 2025 at 4:17 PM
👀Fitzpatrick said Halligan made two apparent "fundamental misstatements of law" to the grand jury that could threaten the case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The bullet theoretical would be a good name for a math rock band
I regret to inform you that Olivia Nuzzi's book appears to be Perfect
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
November 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The bullet theoretical would be a good name for a math rock band
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
reminded of eric williams's observation about britain's relationship to its history with slavery. "British historians wrote almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it."
holy shit: “Among the 2,000 UK adults surveyed, 85% were unaware that Britain forcibly transported more than 3 million Africans to the Caribbean, 89% did not know that Britain enslaved people in the Caribbean for more than 300 years” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Caribbean reparations leaders in ‘historic’ first UK visit to press for justice
CRC mission will seek to deepen public understanding of Britain’s colonial legacy and its lasting impact
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 11:11 PM
reminded of eric williams's observation about britain's relationship to its history with slavery. "British historians wrote almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it."
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
November 16, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
FWIW, I've reached out to the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — groups that have long touted their support for religious freedom — about things such as the treatment of clergy, alleged inability of ICE detainees to access religious rites, etc.
No response yet.
No response yet.
The Christian right for decades has fear-mongered that federal agents (under Dem presidents) would "criminalize" Christianity and literally prevent them from worshipping.
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Now that Trump's stormtroopers are doing it ... crickets
Here’s a story for every national news outlet:
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
In N.C., churchgoers are literally running into the woods as federal agents descend on the property.
“Inside the church, women and children sobbed as they wondered whether their loved ones had been taken.”
www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politic...
November 16, 2025 at 6:36 PM
FWIW, I've reached out to the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — groups that have long touted their support for religious freedom — about things such as the treatment of clergy, alleged inability of ICE detainees to access religious rites, etc.
No response yet.
No response yet.
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter in a massive show of force. Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building.
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 16, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter in a massive show of force. Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building.
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social & @blockclubchi.bsky.social
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The 2025 Pfizer Award, awarded annually for an outstanding book in the history of science, is given to Adrian Johns for The Science of Reading: Information, Media & Mind in Modern America.
(Apparently he wrote the entire book in ~8 months during COVID!)
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... #HSS2025
(Apparently he wrote the entire book in ~8 months during COVID!)
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... #HSS2025
November 16, 2025 at 12:28 AM
The 2025 Pfizer Award, awarded annually for an outstanding book in the history of science, is given to Adrian Johns for The Science of Reading: Information, Media & Mind in Modern America.
(Apparently he wrote the entire book in ~8 months during COVID!)
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... #HSS2025
(Apparently he wrote the entire book in ~8 months during COVID!)
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo... #HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Kristin Johnson received the 2025 Watson, helen, Audrey & Miles Davis Prize for her book Darwin's Falling Sparrow: Victorian Evolutionists and the Meaning of Suffering. (One of her students is accepting the prize on her behalf.) #HSS2025
www.amazon.com/Darwins-Fall...
www.amazon.com/Darwins-Fall...
November 16, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Kristin Johnson received the 2025 Watson, helen, Audrey & Miles Davis Prize for her book Darwin's Falling Sparrow: Victorian Evolutionists and the Meaning of Suffering. (One of her students is accepting the prize on her behalf.) #HSS2025
www.amazon.com/Darwins-Fall...
www.amazon.com/Darwins-Fall...
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The winner of the 2025 Pauly Prize, awarded for the best first book on the history of science in the Americas, is Jeannie Shinozuka for her book Biotic Borders: Transpacific Plant and Insect Migration and the Rise of Anti-Asian Racism in America, 1890-1950 #HSS2025 press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
November 16, 2025 at 12:21 AM
The winner of the 2025 Pauly Prize, awarded for the best first book on the history of science in the Americas, is Jeannie Shinozuka for her book Biotic Borders: Transpacific Plant and Insect Migration and the Rise of Anti-Asian Racism in America, 1890-1950 #HSS2025 press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The 2025 Nathan Reingold Prize, which is awarded annually to the best graduate student paper in the history of science & its cultural influences, is awarded to Xinyue Zhang for her paper "making USeful Time: Local Technologies & Time Coordination in Wartime China, 1937-1945" #HSS2025
November 16, 2025 at 12:18 AM
The 2025 Nathan Reingold Prize, which is awarded annually to the best graduate student paper in the history of science & its cultural influences, is awarded to Xinyue Zhang for her paper "making USeful Time: Local Technologies & Time Coordination in Wartime China, 1937-1945" #HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The 2025 Murdoch Prize, which honors the best original graduate student essay examining ancient or medieval ideas in science is awarded to Samantha Pellegrino. #HSS2025
November 16, 2025 at 12:15 AM
The 2025 Murdoch Prize, which honors the best original graduate student essay examining ancient or medieval ideas in science is awarded to Samantha Pellegrino. #HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The 2025 Margaret Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize goest o Alison M. Downham Moore for her book, The French Invention of Menopause and the Medicalisation of Women's Aging.
global.oup.com/academic/pro... #HSS2025
global.oup.com/academic/pro... #HSS2025
November 16, 2025 at 12:13 AM
The 2025 Margaret Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize goest o Alison M. Downham Moore for her book, The French Invention of Menopause and the Medicalisation of Women's Aging.
global.oup.com/academic/pro... #HSS2025
global.oup.com/academic/pro... #HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The 2025 Joseph Hazen Education Prize is awarded to Peter Heering.
The 2025 Ronald Rainger Early Career Award in History of the Earth & Environmental Science goes to Sachael Pandey-Geeta Mantraraj for his co-authored article on Dams & the Deep Earth. academic.oup.com/past/article... #HSS2025
The 2025 Ronald Rainger Early Career Award in History of the Earth & Environmental Science goes to Sachael Pandey-Geeta Mantraraj for his co-authored article on Dams & the Deep Earth. academic.oup.com/past/article... #HSS2025
November 16, 2025 at 12:11 AM
The 2025 Joseph Hazen Education Prize is awarded to Peter Heering.
The 2025 Ronald Rainger Early Career Award in History of the Earth & Environmental Science goes to Sachael Pandey-Geeta Mantraraj for his co-authored article on Dams & the Deep Earth. academic.oup.com/past/article... #HSS2025
The 2025 Ronald Rainger Early Career Award in History of the Earth & Environmental Science goes to Sachael Pandey-Geeta Mantraraj for his co-authored article on Dams & the Deep Earth. academic.oup.com/past/article... #HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
The Derek Price/Rod Webster Prize for an excellent @isisjournal.bsky.social article goes to Sayori Ghoshal, author of "Experts of Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Science in India, 1910s-1940s"
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
#HSS2025
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
#HSS2025
Experts of Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Science in India, 1910s–1940s | Isis: Vol 115, No 1
Abstract During 1910s–1940s, Indian intellectuals developed physical anthropology as a modern nationalist discipline for the subcontinent. Through their contributions, they sought to construct themsel...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 16, 2025 at 12:08 AM
The Derek Price/Rod Webster Prize for an excellent @isisjournal.bsky.social article goes to Sayori Ghoshal, author of "Experts of Identity: Race, Ethnicity, and Science in India, 1910s-1940s"
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
#HSS2025
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
#HSS2025
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
I'm seeing people wonder why ICE is going after Charlotte.
ICE has been at war with Charlotte's sheriff ever since he won in 2018.
We'd covered this at Bolts back in the day; this quote is from that sheriff:
ICE has been at war with Charlotte's sheriff ever since he won in 2018.
We'd covered this at Bolts back in the day; this quote is from that sheriff:
“When the 8 African American sheriffs took over the largest counties in North Carolina, it became a threat to the good ol’ boy system,” says the sheriff of Charlotte. These new sheriffs broke ties with ICE.
But GOP lawmakers cracked down this week, overbidding the governor’s veto to adopt this law:
But GOP lawmakers cracked down this week, overbidding the governor’s veto to adopt this law:
North Carolina GOP Is Cracking Down on the Black Sheriffs Who Stood Up to ICE
Boosted by new supermajorities, Republicans are closing in on legislation to mandate more collaboration with ICE and preempt local policies hard-won by immigrants’ rights advocates.
boltsmag.org
November 15, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I'm seeing people wonder why ICE is going after Charlotte.
ICE has been at war with Charlotte's sheriff ever since he won in 2018.
We'd covered this at Bolts back in the day; this quote is from that sheriff:
ICE has been at war with Charlotte's sheriff ever since he won in 2018.
We'd covered this at Bolts back in the day; this quote is from that sheriff:
Interesting that they didn't charge him with any crime that rely on Habba's purported status as US Attorney
Law enforcement officials said on Saturday that they had arrested a man who earlier this week brought a bat to the office of Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
Man Arrested After Appearing at Alina Habba’s Office With Bat, U.S. Says
Authorities said Keith Michael Lisa had a bat when he showed up at the office of the U.S. attorney for New Jersey on Wednesday. He was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility.
nyti.ms
November 15, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Interesting that they didn't charge him with any crime that rely on Habba's purported status as US Attorney
Still seriously considering applying for an NEH grant about my rural policing project... "This project highlights the underappreciated contributions of our nation's sheriffs and rural police officers...."
Trump's minions have turned the NEH into a slush fund for conservative ideological groups. Trump corrupts everything in his grasp.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/a...
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Still seriously considering applying for an NEH grant about my rural policing project... "This project highlights the underappreciated contributions of our nation's sheriffs and rural police officers...."
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Something I wish got challenged more often in this “men in crisis” discourse is the blithe assumption (or sometimes outright assertion!) that everyone’s boss is a woman now. “Women now dominate white collar work and corporate management roles.” No they don’t. That just isn’t true.
Really thankful for this, from @winterjessica.bsky.social—a long-overdue corrective to an exhausting discourse. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
What Did Men Do to Deserve This?
Changes in the economy and in the culture seem to have hit them hard. Scott Galloway believes they need an “aspirational vision of masculinity.”
www.newyorker.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Something I wish got challenged more often in this “men in crisis” discourse is the blithe assumption (or sometimes outright assertion!) that everyone’s boss is a woman now. “Women now dominate white collar work and corporate management roles.” No they don’t. That just isn’t true.
I highly recommend this quite easy and delicious side
November 15, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I highly recommend this quite easy and delicious side
It would have been much more shocking of Patel turned out to the good at the job!
It's hard to overstate what a disaster Kash Patel is. See the many disturbing details here, from @vermontgmg.bsky.social, an expert on the FBI. "The longer this chaos continues," he writes, "the more likely we’re going to face a catastrophic intelligence failure." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Kash Patel, the FBI's agent of chaos
The biggest little scandal in Washington right now is how bad Patel is at being FBI director.
www.motherjones.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
It would have been much more shocking of Patel turned out to the good at the job!
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this
November 15, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Alan Dershowitz is one of those claiming Epstein was not a pedophile because he pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17-year-and-10-month-old person. "That’s not a pedophile." See this important response from Julia Brown, the brave reporter who broke the news on this
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
Imagine you're a sovereign citizen and you see this
November 14, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Imagine you're a sovereign citizen and you see this
Reposted by Jonathon Booth
Once again, any U.S. attack on Venezuela would be patently illegal.
Breaking news: High-level discussions over whether to attack Venezuela — and how — have been underway for days.
It remains unclear if President Trump has decided to pursue such an escalation.
It remains unclear if President Trump has decided to pursue such an escalation.
Trump weighs Venezuela strikes as U.S. forces prepare for attack order
High-level discussions, underway for days, have explored a variety of potential military options, people familiar with the matter said.
wapo.st
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Once again, any U.S. attack on Venezuela would be patently illegal.