A Court security guard at the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence, Rhode Island noticed a masked man taking photographs inside the courtroom. The guard approached the man and asked asked him to identify himself. He said he was working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The guard told him to stop taking photographs inside the courthouse.
A few minutes later, ICE agents arrested a high school-age boy outside the courthouse and placed him in handcuffs. Security recognized the teenager and reported the arrest to Superior Court Judge Joseph McBurney, who came outside and told the ICE agents they’d made a mistake and had arrested his high school intern. A heated argument ensued between the judge and men from ICE. After reviewing the boy’s identification, ICE admitted they’d arrested the wrong person and released the student.
Disturbed by the arrest, the boy asked the Judge if he could go home for the day. The judge agreed and offered to drive him. At that point, the ICE agents returned, surrounded the judge’s car, told them to get out and
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A Court security guard at the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence, Rhode Island noticed a masked man taking photographs inside the courtroom. The guard approached the man and asked asked him to identify himself. He said he was working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The guard told him to stop taking photographs inside the courthouse.
A few minutes later, ICE agents arrested a high school-age boy outside the courthouse and placed him in handcuffs. Security recognized the teenager and reported the arrest to Superior Court Judge Joseph McBurney, who came outside and told the ICE agents they’d made a mistake and had arrested his high school intern. A heated argument ensued between the judge and men from ICE. After reviewing the boy’s identification, ICE admitted they’d arrested the wrong person and released the student.
Disturbed by the arrest, the boy asked the Judge if he could go home for the day. The judge agreed and offered to drive him. At that point, the ICE agents returned, surrounded the judge’s car, told them to get out and threatened to smash the car windows if they didn’t comply. At that point, the Head of Security Operations for the R.I. Superior Court, Dana Smith, approached the car and told the Judge and the boy to remain in the vehicle. Then Smith confronted the ICE agents, who eventually left the scene without making an arrest.
“This egregious incident underscores both the community’s and the Judiciary’s concerns about how ICE is conducting its operations in Rhode Island,” said R.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell.
We are a Black-led abolitionist community defense hub centering all Black lives at risk for state-sanctioned violence in the Greater Washington, DC area.
Seeing comments from cranks outside DC applauding Trump's takeover without the slightest idea what's actually going on here or any understanding of the District. For one thing, there's a misconception that DC lives and runs off federal money, so it's only right that Congress and Trump dictate how the city is run.
In fact, DC runs on LOCAL money, raised through local property, sales and other taxes paid by us DC residents. We ... not you, my fellow Americans ... pay for DC's streets, streetlights, the police, the fire department, the schools, etc., etc., etc.
These local taxes are set by the city council and mayor we elect.
At the same time, DC residents pay the same federal taxes as every other American.
In fact, DC residents pay more in federal taxes per capita than residents of any other state, and more total federal income tax than 19 other states.
And yet we have no voting representation in Congress, which sets federal taxes and meddles in our local affairs.
This is why our license plates read, "Taxation without Representation."
The current leading statehood proposal for DC, which is making even more sense these days, would shrink the federal district to the area roughly around the Capitol complex, the National Mall and the White House. The rest of DC would become Douglass Commonwealth (after Frederick Douglass).
Trump could then fill the shrunken federal enclave shoulder-to-shoulder with armed soldiers if he likes.
Friends outside DC, if you hear friends, family or whoever cheering on the occupation of DC, I and my neighbors sure would appreciate it if you help us set the record straight ... and help us fight for the right to govern ourselves, like other Americans.
Tadonic the Flautulent
in reply to Tadonic the Flautulent • •2/2