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FBI Agents Visit Anti-ICE Protester: "Your name was brought up."
- duxup 1y ago>When you see the signs, and they’re all made out of a beautiful, beautiful paper. Beautiful, nice, stiff, very expensive paper with beautiful wood handles all the same. All the same color. They come from very expensive printing machines. These are are people that write out their signs in a basement, that believe in something. These are paid anarchists. -Trump This man is a child with questionable critical thinking skills. Now we have agents out running around chasing his imagination because he thinks nice paper and printing is hard to come by.
- hiddencost 1y agoOr one of the most accomplished liars in history intent on turning one of the most powerful democracies in history into a dictatorship...
- cluckindan 1y agoVery passive choices of words considering the turning has already happened.
- rdiddly 1y agoIt's more like an admission that they fund astroturf campaigns themselves.
- dionian 1y ago[flagged]
- oceansky 1y agoWhat the hell is an "immigration radical"? Is FBI being instructed that protesting ice is antifa terrorism? This is super concerning.
- elAhmo 1y agoThere is no such thing as antifa
- Krasnol 1y agoSure there is but it's not an organisation.
- westmeal 1y ago[flagged]
- mosburger 1y agoThere is, but it's an adjective, not a noun.
- rufus_foreman 1y ago>> There is no such thing as antifa That's like saying there is no such thing as communism. There is such a thing as communism, it is an ideology, not an organization. The Communist Party USA is an organization, not an ideology. You can fill in the rest.
- elAhmo 1y agoAnti-fascism exists, similarly as communism. Antifa, in the US context, is used to describe an organization that doesn't exist. People were protesting various causes, but very vocal right-wing extremists started using that label to imply there is an organization which they can blame for alleged violence.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- duxup 1y agoEverything that isn't in lock step with the administration is "radical" or a similar verb.
- mickle00 1y ago[dead]
- jmspring 1y ago[flagged]
- krapp 1y ago[flagged]
- dr-smooth 1y agoA greasy KFC bucket of deplorables
- Jordan-117 1y agoGod, I hated that phrase. Not because it was wrong, but because it was so weirdly soft and indirect. A bundle of ignobles! An assortment of the unseemly! They're gleefully cruel fascist bigots.
- dec0dedab0de 1y agoThe agents may not have learned anything from Serafini, but the visit — which took place one day before the No Kings protest — did accomplish one thing: Serafini decided against going to No Kings. He was spooked. That is exactly the chilling effect on speech that the FBI investigating political matters risks creating. Ugh, I might have to start caring about politics again, this is unacceptable.
- kiernanmcgowan 1y agoYou may not care about politics, but politics cares about you.
- zerosizedweasle 1y agoThe hour is fucking late now. Do it while you still can. People too busy pumping the stock market to see they are losing their right.
- cluckindan 1y agoYou are now on a list.
- rolandog 1y agoThat says more about the list makers.
- rolandog 1y agoYou should! We shouldn't let ourselves be dragged silently into the dark times. In my opinion, it's our obligation to try to understand the landscape and to make sure that everyone — across the different political beliefs — is well off... Only then do you get a system that rewards merit, instead of whatever the heck you want to call what is being dropped on us.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- AnimalMuppet 1y agoWell, let's see. There were 7 million people at No Kings. I don't think one-on-one FBI visits is a scalable tactic to try to reduce the numbers. So maybe this particular visit was not just about "chilling effect"?
- cluckindan 1y agoWhen you protest against the abuses of Gestapo, the SS will come for you.
- Vortigaunt 1y ago[flagged]
- slg 1y agoCurrently, number 1 on the front page. I expect it to drop in minutes. EDIT: 3 minutes. That is how long it lasted after my comment before it was flag killed. I truly wonder what the line will be for all the technolibertarians and the "I don't care about politics" folks here to wake up to what is currently going on in this country.
- westmeal 1y agodurr this isn't about vibe coding or web frameworks people will forget in 2 years why is this on my frontpage etc etc
- afavour 1y agoCensored is perhaps strong. But yes, it’ll likely get flagged for being off topic or get downranked because of arguing. Which I understand to an extent but I also feel like we’re approaching five alarm fire for democracy levels. When it’s too late a whole lot of people are going to look up from their terminals and say “huh? What’s going on? You know, I try to avoid anything too political.” EDIT: and it’s gone
- xrd 1y agoI'm going to upvote everyone here, but beyond that, I don't really know what to do that I haven't already done.
- Judgmentality 1y agoIf you're American, go on strike. Nobody gives a shit about people holding signs and protesting peacefully. If you can't do anything to make the opposition care about you, don't expect them to do anything other than ignore you.
- xrd 1y agoOk. I'm a contractor. I live in Florida with zero protections. I have three kids. I'm 51 and have had a hell of a time finding work the last few years. I'm pretty scared of doing this, honestly.
- Judgmentality 1y agoI'm not telling you how to live your life. I'm pointing out that peaceful protest is pointless. And a strike without organization is also pointless. There are no easy answers here. If you want change, expect to fight for it.
- xrd 1y agoI totally get it and appreciate your words. When I step back I realize I have a lot of privilege and many others face much worse prospects and are much more courageous than I am.
- exit 1y agopeaceful protest is not pointless, no. peacefully expressing opposition is enormously powerful. there is still hope that it will be the path out of this worsening nightmare.
- Judgmentality 1y ago
- mitchbob 1y agoAs predicted by Orwell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_in_Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Ministry_of_Love https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministries_in_Nineteen_Eighty-...
- ohhai 1y agoAn hour long interrogation? Not a lawyer, but I would advise anyone in a similar situation to exercise their right to tell these goons to fuck off. You always have the right to remain silent.
- duxup 1y agoI suspect this person was curious what they would ask, I would be too. But legally I agree with the advice.
- rodrodrod 1y agoIt's Friday, a timely reminder that you have a right to STFU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTurSi0LhJs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTurSi0LhJs Or for a longer form explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
- aredox 1y ago[dead]
- aredox 1y ago[dead]
- mycodendral 1y ago[flagged]
- bakies 1y agowhat if i call unlawful arrests (see 4th amendment) kidnappings and the state treats me like an adversary?
- mycodendral 1y ago[flagged]
- slg 1y agoThis is the side that claims to be the champions of free speech?
- mycodendral 1y ago[flagged]
- slg 1y agoYou specifically said "If you call lawful arrests 'kidnappings'". You're either excusing or endorsing the government sending armed goons to people's homes in response for saying something you/they don't like.
- mycodendral 1y ago[flagged]
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 1y ago> They're investigating a crime Source?
- 1y ago
- flipgimble 1y agoI grew up in communist Poland before the fall of the wall in 1989 is just one story among many from this year that sounds like an echo of what my parent's told me they had to grow up with. That so many Americans, in the self proclaimed land of the free, voted for this reality under the delusion they were against "socialism" is the most historically illiterate thing ever.
- gmueckl 1y agoLook at the places in the US that are favoring Trump and correlate that with the places that have the worst school systems in that country. Also have a look at which party dominated the politics in those areas in the last couple of decades and how they treated their respective school systems. There is a pattern there that is, in a way, self-supporting.
- cluckindan 1y agoThe continuation to that pattern is a ballroom putsch.
- Waterluvian 1y agoDo we ever learn why these posts get censored or is it just going to keep fuelling conspiracies? Unless fuelling conspiracies is actually less bad for the offender because there _is_ a conspiracy!
- slater 1y agoNot technically censored, just off-topic.
- Waterluvian 1y agoI mean, yeah, that’s one of those subjective things. I think freedom of speech topics are pretty closely embedded with tech and entrepreneurship whether we like it or not. But I appreciate if that’s not how moderators see it. As long as that kind of choice moderation made consistently. I feel like I see far more off topic posts live longer. And for sensitive topics, a short explanation might be worth it. Moderation at scale, even HN scale, is hard!
- CharlesW 1y agoAbsolutely, but the mods here are great and I trust their opinion. The panopticon is built on the technology and culture at the center of HN, so hopefully they have sympathy for my not being able to predict that the post would be flagged. I think it's important to understand and discuss the escalating technology-based erosion of our privacy and rights, but I'll guess we'll just do that at the monthly Antifa meetings. /s
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- mostlysimilar 1y ago> I think freedom of speech topics are pretty closely embedded with tech and entrepreneurship whether we like it or not. That's a useful fiction, useful until it's not. This post[1] was on the front page briefly today. These people aren't obscure or powerless, they're billionaires, embedded in the current administration, etc. > Then I started noticing something I couldn’t ignore. Smart people I respected—especially in cryptocurrency—were casually discussing feudalism. Not as history or provocation, but as serious proposals for organizing society. “Democracy and freedom are incompatible.” “Most people aren’t capable of self-governance.” “Elite overproduction is the problem—we educated too many people above their station.” > These weren’t fringe cranks. Peter Thiel writing that democracy and freedom are incompatible. Curtis Yarvin publishing blueprints for corporate monarchy. An entire neo-reactionary apparatus in Silicon Valley while I optimized payment systems. And they were explicit: the democratic experiment failed, constitutional constraints prevent necessary action, most people should accept subordinate roles, the intelligent few should rule. [1] https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/the-coming-clash-of-civilizations https://www.notesfromthecircus.com/p/the-coming-clash-of-civ...
- JakeStone 1y agoI've not had that kind of experience in over 30 years. I'm a bit older now, and I would hope that my response would be something similar to: Me: "Am I under arrest?" No: "I would like my attorney present before starting this discussion. Please provide me some contact information so we can schedule this." Yes: "I wish to have my attorney present. I will not be answering any questions or discussing this matter." Now, I don't know if I'm actually that brave, but I've at least got a plan.
- cluckindan 1y agoThem: ”Have it your way”, handcuffs, car ride to black site, jumpsuit, seat in a military-leased civilian airplane, flight to El Salvador.
- Freedom2 1y agoThat cannot happen in the US, I'm told, as it has the greatest protections by its God-given Constitution. The most beautiful protections.
- johnnyanmac 1y agoAt this point, being a martyr as an African American whose ancestors have been on this land longer than the US existed is probably my best contribution to countering this regime. I've always wondered if I would need to put my body on the like the way my grandfather did in New Orleans.
- donkeybeer 1y agoSometimes the second amendment must be put to its real intended use.
- donkeybeer 1y agoNothing controversial about it. Many states have castle doctrine. People have killed violent intruders including cops and successfully won the case in court.
- deleted 1y ago
- atm3ga 1y agoWhen federal agents, such as the FBI, attempt to question you, it is strongly advised that you do not talk to them without a lawyer present. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees you the right to remain silent and to have an attorney. There were several instances in this account where Serafini's answers could be used to paint his involvement as not so innocent.
- FranzFerdiNaN 1y agoShame the constitution only matters when Trump or his cronies say it does. The American justice system has been broken and the cause came from within.
- 93po 1y agothis is factually not accurate, trump's actions are constantly getting legally challenged and blocked
- doom2 1y agoJust not by SCOTUS (cf. the shadow docket which has not gone against Trump since May).
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 1y agoSCOTUS actually took some of that "constantly being legally challenged and blocked" away when they took away nation-wide injunctions. Even if they're issued by federal judges against nation-wide orders which were given by a nationally-powerful elected official.
- dragonwriter 1y ago> SCOTUS actually took some of that "constantly being legally challenged and blocked" away when they took away nation-wide injunctions. Arguably, they added to it, since now nation-wide policies are instead being blocked locally by multiple district courts instead of just facing nationwide injunctions in the first place they are litigated.
- giardini 1y agoAll of this, including the video, is hearsay. That is, it is unauthenticated. Not a single part of the title is confirmed. Neither us nor the author apparently know whether the men shown were real FBI agents. Con men operate the same way - wave a badge and pretend to be someone.
- esseph 1y agoI have 0 reason to believe this didn't happen. People are jumping out of unmarked vehicles with masks on and grabbing people. We are getting closer every day to violent times.
- giardini 1y agoWe are getting closer every day to Halloween!8-))
- ThrowMeAway1618 1y ago“Never believe that anti-Semites [or in this case, fascist apologists] are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre[0] [0] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7870768-never-believe-that-anti-semites-are-completely-unaware-of-the-absurdity https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7870768-never-believe-that-...
- cosmicgadget 1y ago> According to Serafini, the two FBI agents showed him photos of himself at the protest as well as several other protesters — people he knew nothing about. All this work plus the risk of a charge of impersonating a federal agent... and they didn't ask him for money. Deep grift.
- akagusu 1y agowhy this was flagged?
- immibis 1y agoHN doesn't allow political content - it's always flagged.