#federal-law-enforcement

#federal-law-enforcement

Pretti was trying to help a woman whom federal agents shoved violently to the ground. A fellow ICE observer, the woman flew a few feet through the air and landed hard; it had to hurt. "Are you OK?" Pretti asked her, according to bystanders. Those were his last known words. He kept trying to help the woman, and the agents kept trying to stop him, finally shooting him in the head at close range, execution-style, and then at least nine more times.

DHS claimed in their statement about the event that the man had been armed and acted as a threat to agents who were conducting an operation in the area. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots, they said.

After the shooting, bystanders gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them "cowards" and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: "Boo hoo." Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. On Friday, thousands of demonstrators protesting against the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city's streets in sub-zero temperatures, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.

Kristi Noem first denied that federal agents were using chemical agents against protesters, then after being shown video footage turned to blaming the protesters themselves, as tensions continued to run high amid the Trump administration's surge of federal officers into Minneapolis. The head of homeland security, who has acted as spearhead for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city known as Operation Metro Surge told the CBS show Face the Nation on Sunday that her department had not used pepper spray against crowds.

If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State. Thank you for you attention to this matter! President DJT

Scarcely a week ago, U.S. warplanes and drones were streaking across the Caracas night sky to deliver a swift end to the reign of the Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. The extraordinary display of kinetic violence delivered a stunning reminder about the reach of the world's most powerful military-and symbolized the start of a new chapter for the man who commands it.

Prosecutors in Oregon are warning the US justice department to rein in federal agents who've repeatedly used excessive force on protesters, immigrants and even local police. A joint letter from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and district attorneys from Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties, demands the US Department of Justice "immediately halt unlawful and reckless actions by federal officers operating in Oregon."

Yet federal agents are responding with increased force. Federal police unleashed a volley of weapons and chemical agents on anti-ICE protesters and journalists on Saturday, October 11. It was a notable escalation in the response to protests at the Portland immigration processing facility that led to violent arrests, a photojournalist getting shot with a pepper ball, and a large group being sprayed indiscriminately with tear gas.

In the U.S., the annual area burned by wildfires has more than doubled over the past 20 years. In addition to the lost carbon storage, wildfires cost lives, create harmful smoke pollution, and make it more expensive to insure and rebuild our communities. The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act ( HR 471) can help. The bill includes provisions to increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, restore forest health and build fire-safety defenses for communities in high-risk areas.

Every time I visit my family near Yosemite, it's sad to see acres of dead trees from recent fires. In the U.S., the annual area burned by wildfires has more than doubled over the past 20 years. In addition to the lost carbon storage, wildfires cost lives, create harmful smoke pollution, and make it more expensive to insure and rebuild our communities.

Since September, at least six unhoused Chicagoans have been abducted by federal agents. That number is likely higher, but the social invisibility and isolation already faced by people experiencing homelessness make their disappearances harder to track. "While we have heard several reports that we are working to verify, we don't have an exhaustive list or count of all incidents involving people experiencing homelessness," wrote Melissa West, staff attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow with the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness (CCH), over email Monday.

It is hard to say when, exactly, the militarization of American life began. Troops have marched through towns and cities for centuries, called upon, at various points, to menace civilians or violently suppress protests. Fifty-five years ago, National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed college students at Kent State University; the troops had arrived to choke off protests against the Vietnam War.

Vera wrote that federal officers "unleashed crowd control weapons indiscriminately and with surprising savagery." "Indeed, under the guise of protecting the public, federal agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protestors, legal observers, and journalists - as well as the public that relies on them to hold their government accountable," Vera wrote in the 45-page opinion. "The First Amendment demands better." Vera wrote that he expected federal authorities to disseminate the order to their officers and agents in the field.

Firefighters who spoke to the Times did so based on the condition of anonymity because they fear retaliation by the federal government. You risked your life out here to save the community, one firefighter said. This is how they treat us. While waiting for their supervisor to arrive on Wednesday morning, the crews were confronted by federal law enforcement around 9:30 a.m. One of the firefighters told the Times they were instructed not to take video as they were asked to line up and present their IDs.

"We're in this moment where it's like uncharted waters. But your rights are your rights regardless of your citizenship status."