Nikki Baszynski
@ntbaszynski.bsky.social
Attorney and former public defender working to shrink carceral systems and create real safety
Now: Wren Collective
Then: OJPC, TJC, OPD
Signal: ntb.28
*Opinions are my own*
Now: Wren Collective
Then: OJPC, TJC, OPD
Signal: ntb.28
*Opinions are my own*
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
On Monday afternoon, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told Hell Gate that the NYPD infiltrating and spying on courtwatch groups would not be acceptable under his administration.
Mayor-Elect Mamdani Says NYPD Spying on ICE Courtwatch Group Under Commissioner Tisch Is 'Deeply Troubling'
Mamdani said he will be speaking with Tisch, whom he is retaining in his administration, about the investigation.
hellgatenyc.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:16 PM
On Monday afternoon, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told Hell Gate that the NYPD infiltrating and spying on courtwatch groups would not be acceptable under his administration.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
November 25, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
“The more that marginalized voices disappear from legacy outlets, the more it matters to fight for our corner instead of abandoning it.
It matters to have places in journalism, in media, where we belong and where we can see ourselves.”
It matters to have places in journalism, in media, where we belong and where we can see ourselves.”
“Texas desperately needs a place where we can tell our stories, where we can be ourselves, mourn our losses, and celebrate our victories,” writes @kitoconnell.com.
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
Meet our newest newsletter writer and contributor, who’ll be spearheading our queer coverage 💕
thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/25/t...
I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters.
My name is Kit O’Connell. I’ll be covering queer and trans life in Texas for Big & Bright — The Barbed Wire’s first underwritten vertical.
thebarbedwire.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
“The more that marginalized voices disappear from legacy outlets, the more it matters to fight for our corner instead of abandoning it.
It matters to have places in journalism, in media, where we belong and where we can see ourselves.”
It matters to have places in journalism, in media, where we belong and where we can see ourselves.”
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
BREAKING: Judge rules Lindsey Halligan's appointment was not valid, thus, she had no authority to present the James Comey or Letitia James indictments and the indictments are dismissed without prejudice.
November 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
BREAKING: Judge rules Lindsey Halligan's appointment was not valid, thus, she had no authority to present the James Comey or Letitia James indictments and the indictments are dismissed without prejudice.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
"$1,000 a month as part of a state program experimenting with giving homeless youths cash payments for two years with no strings attached."
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees staggering reduction in homelessness
The state program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years. At the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
www.streetroots.org
November 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
"$1,000 a month as part of a state program experimenting with giving homeless youths cash payments for two years with no strings attached."
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
The Trump admin submitted a sworn declaration under oath that Costa Rica had changed its mind and would no longer take Mr. Abrego.
Costa Rica has now said publicly that that this is false, that they have not changed their position at all, and that they will still take him.
Costa Rica has now said publicly that that this is false, that they have not changed their position at all, and that they will still take him.
Unpacked:
In Aug., Govt said if Abrego pled guilty he could go to Costa Rica, where he's okay with going. Abrego said no to plea. Govt now wants to send him to Liberia. Why not Costa Rica? Govt told judge Thurs that Costa Rica wouldn’t take him anymore. @mariasacchetti exposed them.
In Aug., Govt said if Abrego pled guilty he could go to Costa Rica, where he's okay with going. Abrego said no to plea. Govt now wants to send him to Liberia. Why not Costa Rica? Govt told judge Thurs that Costa Rica wouldn’t take him anymore. @mariasacchetti exposed them.
Costa Rica will accept Abrego, per @washingtonpost.com .
If true, DOJ, DHS, and Dept of State caused lies to be disseminated to Judge Xinis all day Thursday, where an ICE official testified about info sent him by Dept of State, claiming Costa Rica wouldn't take Abrego.
1/2
If true, DOJ, DHS, and Dept of State caused lies to be disseminated to Judge Xinis all day Thursday, where an ICE official testified about info sent him by Dept of State, claiming Costa Rica wouldn't take Abrego.
1/2
November 23, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The Trump admin submitted a sworn declaration under oath that Costa Rica had changed its mind and would no longer take Mr. Abrego.
Costa Rica has now said publicly that that this is false, that they have not changed their position at all, and that they will still take him.
Costa Rica has now said publicly that that this is false, that they have not changed their position at all, and that they will still take him.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
“Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true. Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for," writes Olsen. Story via @thenation.com.
How Washington State Discriminates Against Incarcerated Immigrants
People with immigration detainers want to build a better life, but state policies make it difficult or impossible.
www.thenation.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:16 PM
“Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true. Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for," writes Olsen. Story via @thenation.com.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Tomorrow morning, the DC Circuit will consider whether Trump violated the First Amendment by ejecting @apnews.com from the White House press pool after it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. Very glad that the AP is fighting this. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-fig...
November 23, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Tomorrow morning, the DC Circuit will consider whether Trump violated the First Amendment by ejecting @apnews.com from the White House press pool after it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. Very glad that the AP is fighting this. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-fig...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
"[C]aste system in prison."
"Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true."
"Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for."
#Washington #USA #Education #Incarceration #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
"Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true."
"Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for."
#Washington #USA #Education #Incarceration #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
How Washington State Discriminates Against Incarcerated Immigrants
If incarcerated noncitizens want to get a college degree, as Nguyen longed to do for years, they must do something no other prisoners in the state have to in order to receive that opportunity: They need to pay for it themselves.
www.typeinvestigations.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"[C]aste system in prison."
"Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true."
"Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for."
#Washington #USA #Education #Incarceration #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
"Being able to help others while serving my prison sentence was a dream come true."
"Then I learned that my ICE hold disqualified me from accessing the same college classes I tutored others for."
#Washington #USA #Education #Incarceration #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Beginning sometime in the first quarter of 2026, The Tribune’s reporting will be free to access online.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11/21/newsmakers-2025-gala-salt-lake
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11/21/newsmakers-2025-gala-salt-lake
November 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Beginning sometime in the first quarter of 2026, The Tribune’s reporting will be free to access online.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11/21/newsmakers-2025-gala-salt-lake
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11/21/newsmakers-2025-gala-salt-lake
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
When judges get Kavanaugh stopped #KavanaughStop
“ICE agents then surrounded (Superior Court Judge McBurney’s) car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply.”
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
November 21, 2025 at 5:49 PM
When judges get Kavanaugh stopped #KavanaughStop
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
This is seismic news. It's hard to overstate how big the implications are for both future prosecutions and wrongful convictions. This NJ decision could reshape how courts across the country treat shaken-baby expert testimony.
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
NJ Bans ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Evidence in Nationwide First (1)
Criminal prosecutors can’t build murder cases on medical diagnoses that the mere shaking of a baby, without further evidence of trauma, resulted in a child’s death, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled ...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
This is seismic news. It's hard to overstate how big the implications are for both future prosecutions and wrongful convictions. This NJ decision could reshape how courts across the country treat shaken-baby expert testimony.
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/n...
Remember the Ohio judge who incarcerated two kids because they refused to visit their estranged father? The Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision today suspending Judge Timothy Grendell for 18 months (12 months stayed if no further misconduct). He will be immediately removed from the bench.
Geauga County Judge Suspended for Detaining Two Teens Who Refused To Visit Their Father: Court Dismisses Charges Relating to First Amendment Protected Activities
www.courtnewsohio.gov
November 21, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Remember the Ohio judge who incarcerated two kids because they refused to visit their estranged father? The Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision today suspending Judge Timothy Grendell for 18 months (12 months stayed if no further misconduct). He will be immediately removed from the bench.
“This was not a harmless mistake. It was the direct result of callous and chaotic policies by the Trump administration...ICE’s failure to exercise even a shred of due diligence is shameful and underscores just how broken and dangerous these federal policies are.” - RI Governor Dan McKee
Judge Intervenes After ICE Detains Providence Superior Court Intern | Now 93.3
The teenaged intern was taken into custody outside of the courthouse Thursday morning and placed in an unmarked SUV. A spokesperson for the court system told ICE agents they wrongfully detained the ...
now933fm.iheart.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:40 PM
“This was not a harmless mistake. It was the direct result of callous and chaotic policies by the Trump administration...ICE’s failure to exercise even a shred of due diligence is shameful and underscores just how broken and dangerous these federal policies are.” - RI Governor Dan McKee
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
ICE, which has seen its budget triple, said it did not have the resources to maintain videos of detainees
ICE’s Detention Center outside Chicago was sued on October 30 for allegedly abusing detainees. One day later, a "system crash" lost all video footage that could have shown how detainees were being treated. trib.al/QwT3aqI
November 21, 2025 at 1:40 PM
ICE, which has seen its budget triple, said it did not have the resources to maintain videos of detainees
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Just saw this today. This is a transparent attempt to KILL DUE PROCESS by lying about the job of immigration judge and stacking the deck through hiring only bloodthirsty lawyers who want to deport people.
This comes after they pushed out over 100 judges deemed too likely to grant relief.
This comes after they pushed out over 100 judges deemed too likely to grant relief.
DOJ is now recruiting for immigration judges by calling them “deportation judges.”
That’s seems really bad.
That’s seems really bad.
November 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Just saw this today. This is a transparent attempt to KILL DUE PROCESS by lying about the job of immigration judge and stacking the deck through hiring only bloodthirsty lawyers who want to deport people.
This comes after they pushed out over 100 judges deemed too likely to grant relief.
This comes after they pushed out over 100 judges deemed too likely to grant relief.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
NEW — Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies.
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates are urging Illinois residents to ‘say no’ to mail scanning in Illinois prisons • The TRiiBE
Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies. Criminal justice a...
thetriibe.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:26 PM
NEW — Illinois residents can submit comments to state leaders by Nov. 24 to oppose mail scanning, which allows prison officials to scan physical mail and reproduce it into digital copies.
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Criminal justice advocates say the practice doesn’t make prisons safer.
thetriibe.com/2025/11/crim...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Trump calls for Democratic members of Congress to be hanged
November 20, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Trump calls for Democratic members of Congress to be hanged
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
The House has passed H.R. 5214, a bill to return DC to cash bail.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
November 20, 2025 at 1:52 AM
The House has passed H.R. 5214, a bill to return DC to cash bail.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Cash bail creates two tiers of justice, one for people with money and one without. DC abolished it more than 30 years ago and crime has dropped precipitously since.
H.R. 5214 is wrong and we will continue to fight its passage.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
I just wrapped up two projects with students working on automated license plate reader tech in the context of abortion and this is still more dystopian and horrific than anything we uncovered.
The US is now a surveillance state with border patrol as the Gestapo.
apnews.com/article/immi...
The US is now a surveillance state with border patrol as the Gestapo.
apnews.com/article/immi...
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.
apnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I just wrapped up two projects with students working on automated license plate reader tech in the context of abortion and this is still more dystopian and horrific than anything we uncovered.
The US is now a surveillance state with border patrol as the Gestapo.
apnews.com/article/immi...
The US is now a surveillance state with border patrol as the Gestapo.
apnews.com/article/immi...
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
In 2018, the Supreme Court in Carpenter v US ruled that cell site location data was too invasive to use without a warrant and now ALPR tech has reached that point. Being able to surveillance everyone's movements at any time with AI driven surveillance cameras is an affront to the right to privacy.
November 20, 2025 at 1:48 PM
In 2018, the Supreme Court in Carpenter v US ruled that cell site location data was too invasive to use without a warrant and now ALPR tech has reached that point. Being able to surveillance everyone's movements at any time with AI driven surveillance cameras is an affront to the right to privacy.
Reposted by Nikki Baszynski
Next witness is @daniellefirsich.bsky.social from @ppaohio.bsky.social to testify against the bill and in support of Planned Parenthood's thousands of patients who rely on Medicaid funding for life-saving, essential healthcare.
November 4, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Next witness is @daniellefirsich.bsky.social from @ppaohio.bsky.social to testify against the bill and in support of Planned Parenthood's thousands of patients who rely on Medicaid funding for life-saving, essential healthcare.