"(Chuck Modiano) -When the night comes, it is not just the National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a jumpy police department walking the streets. In an otherwise eerily quiet city, the people are present as well. Armed only with cell phones, medical kits, and the confidence to assert their dwindling rights, groups of local residents trail and record Trump's occupation forces. They're known as the night patrols."
"There is no centralized night-patrol planning committee. People in different groups don't necessarily know each other, but everyone with whom we spoke was either experienced in this kind of work through previous cop-watch trainings or are compelled by what is happening to play their part in making sure the foot soldiers of the surveillance state know they too are being surveilled."
Night patrols of local residents follow and record National Guard, ICE, and police at night, armed with cell phones and medical kits to protect people from state violence, false arrest, abduction, and harassment. The patrols aim to document constitutional violations and brutality, producing viral footage that counters mainstream media portrayals of public approval. There is no centralized planning; groups often operate independently and frequently include participants trained in cop-watch tactics or individuals compelled to act. Federal judges' angry reactions to recent cases indicate numerous unconstitutional jailings and dangerously amateurish conduct by occupation forces. DC's law-enforcement response is characterized as incompetent and militarized.
Read at The Nation
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