🚨NEW
@IJ
CASE🚨
On Christmas Eve 2022, Jennifer Heath Box was arrested while getting off a cruise ship.
But cops ignored obvious evidence they were arresting the wrong person. Still, she spent 3 days in jail and missed Christmas with her kids.
Today, we sued🧵
A cop in Buffalo nearly ran over two people in a crosswalk with his lights off
R. Anthony Rupp yelled "turn your lights on, asshole"
Police arrested & cited Rupp
Now, a federal appeals court ruled the officers aren't entitled to qualified immunity👏
Cops in Mobile, Alabama took $300,000 from someone during a traffic stop where they looking for drugs.
They found NO drugs and did not make ANY arrests. But, naturally, they kept the money.
Civil. Forfeiture. Is. Legalized. Theft.
Turning Danny Green, Deandre Jordan and Paul Millsap into Deanthony Melton, PJ Tucker and Danuel House is a massive win for the Sixers.
That's an injured, aging 3-and-D guy and two unplayable bigs turned into a versatile guard and two playable wings.
“I’m going to use the heavy hand of the government to break up your company because none of your senior executives voted for my party” is a pretty authoritarian approach for a self-proclaimed proponent of limited government,
@TedCruz
.
@tedcruz
: Of the senior executives at Google, do you know a single one that voted for Donald Trump?
*Terse exchange
Google: I don't know.
Cruz: In 2016, Google employees gave
@HillaryClinton
$1.315 Mil. Any idea what they gave Trump?
Google: No.
Cruz: Zero. not a penny.
New Jersey's new craft brewery regulations just went into effect, and my god, they SUCK:
- No food trucks allowed
- On-site special events capped at 25
- Brewers can only participate in 12 off-site events
- Tours are limited
In Alabama:
- Cops only have to show a "preponderance of the evidence," tying the cash to a crime.
- Property owners have the burden of proof to show the money wasn't tied to crime.
- Cops have a profit motive, because they get to keep 100% of forfeited funds.
Mobile County's Sheriff says his department only conducts civil forfeiture "within the laws that are provided."
Here's the problem: Alabama's civil forfeiture laws are SO BAD that
@IJ
gave them a "D-minus" rating in our Policing for Profit report.
In Newton, Iowa, town officials arrested a citizen for calling them “fascist” during a town board meeting.
Because nothing says “I’m not fascist” like arresting political opponents.
And while so many folks are here, it's worth pointing out that we at
@IJ
have a similar case before
#SCOTUS
next month.
In that case, we're asking the Supreme Court to overturn QI for local officials in Texas who arrested a woman for criticizing them.
Retaliation by government officials is sadly common.
In Parksley, Virginia, town officials routinely harassed food truck owners, threatened them with jail time & told them to "go back to your own country" all for criticizing a proposed food truck ban
Police departments routinely use school shootings, hostage situations, etc. as reasons for "needing" SWAT units, then fail to adequately use them to stop such situations.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of SWAT deployments are to serve search warrants, often no-knocks, for drugs.
Riggleman warned about the possibility of a riot the day before 1/6, and he has a background in intelligence.
He'd be a great pick for the Select Committee.
Former Virginia GOP Congressman Denver Riggleman is on Capitol Hill (just spotted)
Riggleman has been reportedly under consideration to help the US House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th
City officials in Newton, Iowa arrested a resident for calling the mayor a “fascist.” (Because nothing proves you’re not a fascist quite like arresting your political opponents.)
Today,
@IJ
sued over this retaliatory arrest.
The principal of all of these cases, which the appeals court in the Buffalo case acknowledged, and which we're hoping
#SCOTUS
will acknowledge next month is simple:
The government can't punish you for criticizing them and then hide behind immunity when you seek accountability.
In East Cleveland, Ohio, the city weaponized its police and used ordinances it had never before used to punish a man who had the nerve to support the mayor's opponent in the upcoming election.
Last July, a SWAT team destroyed Vicki Baker's home while pursuing a fugitive. Every window was busted, the furniture was destroyed, her daughter's dog was left blind and deaf. The city refused to pay.
Yesterday a judge said her case can move forward
@IJ
.
The FBI took Linda Martin's life savings, which she was planning to use for a down payment on a house, out of her safe deposit box
She was never accused of crime and the FBI notice didn't say why the money was taken
She's teamed up w/
@IJ
to fight back
Last November, the DEA took Kermit's life savings without EVER arresting him or charging him with a crime.
@IJ
stepped in to defend Kermit, and now the government has dismissed its case, meaning Kermit will finally get his money back! 👏
Today I’m announcing that the Port of LA will begin operating around the clock 24/7 to make sure Americans can get the goods they need.
My Administration is working around the clock to move more goods faster and strengthen the resiliency of our supply chains.
Houston just passed a law that would require business owners to install surveillance cameras at their own cost, keep them on 24/7 and turn footage over to police without a warrant.
@IJ
is calling on the city council to repeal this Orwellian law.
One family wanted to rebuild their 1,250 sq. foot home after it burned down. The town told them no, because a new ordinance bans homes under 1,800 sq. feet. They had to move out of town.
@IJ
is calling for an end to this ban on modest homes.
One officer admitted that seizing money from undocumented immigrants has been "standard operating procedure" as long as he's been employed, even if the individual committed no state crime.
End. Civil. Forfeiture.
"Qualified immunity isn’t in the Constitution. It isn’t in the U.S. Code. It is judge-made law. It is judicial activism, by any definition of the term."
Good deep dive into the ugly origins of qualified immunity by
@RadleyBalko
.
An off-duty cop who chases someone home in a fit of road rage, boxes them into their driveway and points a loaded gun at them should not get qualified immunity!
This morning,
@IJ
's Marie Miller will make that argument to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals:
Disappointing news.
The 7th Circuit has dismissed
@IJ
's lawsuit challenging a Granite City, Ill. law that was used to make hundreds of people homeless.
The city requires landlords to evict 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 households if 𝒐𝒏𝒆 person is charged w/ a felony.
@ConLawWarrior
@DanAlban
But Clark, without so many former prosecutors in the judiciary who would protect cops who are doing very reasonable things like ... recklessly driving and almost running over two people???
The FBI took the money Linda Martin was planning to use to purchase a home from her secure deposit box. She was never even accused of a crime.
Today, she teamed up with
@IJ
to file a class action suit against the FBI.
More on the case from
@WSJ
:
New from me: The data show a 22% decrease in officer killings in cities that ban neck restraints, and no increase in violent crime.
It's time to pass
@RepJeffries
' bill to outlaw neck restraints nationwide.
@Ne0liberal
@ExponentsMag
@Hakeem_Jeffries
As many of you have pointed out, these changes were made largely because established restaurants lobbied against food trucks.
But as our study points out, food trucks pose no threat to established restaurants:
Police in Brookside, AL have been pulling over innocent people, towing their cars w/o justification, leaving them on the side of the road & saddling them w/ fines & fees.
The money has been used to buy a tank & pad salaries.
Check out
@IJ
's newest video:
"You won't get into my house without a search warrant."
"Oh, yeah I will."
A judge led a warrantless search through
@IJ
client Matt Gibson's home & threatened to arrest him for recording.
Now, she wants judicial immunity for violating Matt's rights.
2015, when Obergefell was decided: "It's Congress' job to legislate these things, not the court's."
2022: "Legislating these things is a stupid waste of time."
Yeah, America was sooooo much freer when I couldn't get married, women couldn't vote, public schools were segregated by race, Jim Crow was in place and child mortality was higher. Those were the good ole days! 🙄
🚨BIG civil forfeiture news.
Today, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a markup on the FAIR Act, a bill from
@RepRaskin
&
@RepWalberg
that would make major reforms to the federal forfeiture process.
@IJ
A 🧵on what these reforms would mean
What customers need to know for 4th of July …
✅Reduced 🚇 available for service, capacity will be less
✅Customers should be prepared for longer wait times, up to 60 min
✅Delay post 🎇travel if possible to allow crowds to disperse
More at
#wmata
Think the NRA will speak up in defense of a person who lawfully possessed a gun and thought someone was breaking into his home?
What about him, or say Philando Castille, would stop them from doing so??🤔🤔
Austin Petersen - who said Gary Johnson wasn’t libertarian because he said we should have driver’s licenses and that Christians should bake gay wedding cakes - is all in for Trump, who is projected to add more the debt than any president ever?
Got it.
Yesterday, a hearing officer ruled that a private railroad's effort to use eminent domain to take ancestral land from 18 properties in rural Georgia to benefit a private company is a "legitimate public purpose"
@IJ
& our clients will challenge this 🧵
We, as a society, use the term "bravery" too often.
But protesting in a country with Russia's history of poisoning dissidents and general repression of free speech is truly brave.
Pushkin Square, maybe less than 1000 meters from Red Square and the Kremlin, is the cite of a significant protest. These people know the risks of challenging the regime. They’re on the street in-spite of major personal costs.
A Kentucky cop shot and paralyzed another Kentucky cop during a standoff.
When the officer who was shot tried to sue, the other cop got qualified immunity.
I have a new op-ed about how QI even hurts cops
@heraldleader
@IJ
A new
@IJ
study of civil forfeiture cases in Philly shows:
1) Police took $50 million in cash, about 1,240 homes and other real estate, and roughly 3,530 vehicles from 2002 to 2014
2) 77% of victims where never convicted
3) 30% were never even arrested
Baltimore stopped prosecuting drug offenses, prostitution, open container, public urination and minor traffic violations.
- Incarceration went down 18%
- People entering the system down 39%
- Violent crime down 20%
- Property crime down 36%
h/t
@enbrown
🎉End your work day with some great news!🎉
An Arizona court has dismissed the civil forfeiture case against
@IJ
client Jerry Johnson with prejudice and ruled he is entitled to 9% interest on the money cops took from him in 2020.
In Byrd v. Lamb, an off-duty DHS agent threatened to shoot Kevin Byrd in the head & even pulled the trigger all because Byrd was investigating a car accident that involved the agent's son.
Thankfully the gun jammed, but the agent was still given immunity:
The Russian LP, which faces much more risk for doing so, is more willing to stand up to Putin than the American LP.
Tells you a lot about current leadership in the American LP.
@LPNational
Oh, hi!
Alexei Navalny was imprisoned for investigating the crimes of Putin and his government. He was tortured to death in prison. What exactly in this situation is a reason for laughter on your part: repression, torture, murder?
And to see the words about "illegal
🎉Good news🎉
The 8th Circuit ruled a judge who threw two children into a "cold, smelly jail cell" during their parents' divorce proceeding, and threatened them, isn't entitled to judicial immunity!
@IJ
's Tori Clark & I wrote about this case
@dcexaminer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just signed a bill that ends the practice of suspending people's licenses for non-dangerous driving offenses, and re-classifies many traffic misdemeanors
This is HUGE. Traffic violations often are a first touch point w/ the criminal justice system.
Obligatory reminder that drug-sniffing dogs are complete nonsense 4th Amendment workarounds that give false alerts more than half the time.
We should retire the use of drug-sniffing dogs.
Happy
#NationalDonutDay
🍩
Proud to be part of the
@IJ
team standing up for the First Amendment right of a small business owner to display a beautiful donut mural on his bakery.
For 6+ years, the IRS stonewalled
@IJ
when we asked for their civil forfeiture records. At one point they demanded $750,000 to get the records, which would defeat the whole point of the Freedom of Information Act.
They've finally turned over the data:
The Chinese lady at the convenience store I go to asked me “who’s gonna win - China or the us?”
Me: what sport?
Her: the economy. The trade war.
Me: oh, nobody. Nobody wins trade wars.
Her: *nods head in agreement*
I think I shop at a
@ne0liberal
convenience store.
I know a lot of people soured on Matisse, but I’ll love him for ever. Not every player DMs you and sends you a signed jersey when the one you bought gets stolen.
Thanks for everything,
@MatisseThybulle
❤️
More bad news regarding government accountability:
#SCOTUS
denied cert in two of
@IJ
's federal police immunity cases today.
Simply put, federal cops remain above the law.
🚨NEW CASE🚨
@IJ
filed a federal lawsuit challenging New Jersey's practice of collecting blood from every baby and holding onto it for 23 years w/o consent from the parents.
The blood samples can be turned over to cops or 3rd parties w/o a warrant. 🧵