“In Pasadena last week, a man stepped out of his unmarked vehicle at an intersection, unholstered his pistol and aimed it at a group of pedestrians before returning to his car… That incident left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.”
Discussions of democratic erosion in US rely heavily on comparisons to other countries like Hungary but—from the mass killing of Native Americans to Jim Crow to Japanese Incarceration—we don’t have to look abroad. Our long tradition of racial authoritarianism begins at home.
Paths right the fuck back into Dixie.
Despite relentlessly grim news, one reason I’m modestly optimistic about future is that, for research, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to “inhabit” the recent past. America’s history of racial authoritarianism is also grim but, with struggle, Jim Crow was beaten once and will be defeated again.
Interview old people. smart ones hold a whole lotta information
It took 80 years to overthrow. I don’t have that kind of patience, to throw four generations to the wolves
Some battles, we don't get to pick.
There’s hope to be found in the work of Mamie Till, Ella Baker, John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer and many others. bsky.app/profile/owas...
yes and the security regime is morphing. Civilian tech bros were just made high-ranking army officers: Shyam Sankar, CTO Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, CTO Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer OpenAI; Bob McGrew, advisor at Thinking Machines Lab and former Chief Research Officer OpenAI.
Wtaf?
we need to draw on but reimagine the models of past resistance
Tech bros co-opted into the military? What moron thinks this is going to end well?
Yes, the works of those you named and countless others cannot ever be understated. There is, however, a saying about hope....that it is for those who can afford it. Inspiration, foresight, willpower...those are the things I get from those iconic people. I don't think I can quite pony up for hope yet
or?
(fine fine fine. i wouldn't have even needed to scroll very far to see even more of these. i'm leaving it though!)
The police depts around the country should be outraged that these thugs have police vests and they are not police-can you imagine if our police wore masks? A man posing as an officer killed a member of Congress and her husband. Where did he get his police vests? This is so wrong
If they aren’t uniformed it’s a fucking crime.
Sounds like it’s both
I'll say it now and again. They probably aren't actual agents, just contractors cosplaying as federal agents. They could be anyone.
If only "police" had any "power" to make people identify themselves...
It was a crime even if it was part of a federal raid. These “agents” are criminals themselves. This country is at war with its own people.
They’re militia members. Untrained, unfit, and high on their newfound power.
“We were able to determine that to the best of our estimation he was an ICE agent. ... We will not look into it any deeper than that,” Brah, WTF. That tells me they did or started to and were told to piss off.
👇 bsky.app/profile/cweb...
They are the same clowns that dressed up in khaki pants, blue shirts and white baseball hats that were piled in the back of U-Haul trucks and marching around claiming to be American Patriots. When in reality, there are a traitors to the constitution and they’ve been hired under project 2025.
I'm not a lawyer or trained in the law in any way but I'm going to go with "it's a crime" because I'm neither a cynic or an idiot.
Crime
It should be a crime to aim a gun at unarmed pedestrians whether it is part of a “federal raid” or not…
Show your faces you fucking cowards.
… a crime or a crime under color of law…?
A 9 year old can buy a badge & labels that say Police. These guys are just robbing people.
It says a lot that the two possibilities are considered mutually exclusive.
这是犯罪集团在作案
they are wearing the plates low, bye bye
How long before ICE agents start getting shot?
Soon. That is what Trump and Miller are planning on. The question is why are these rent-a-cops willing to martyr themselves for Trump's fascist escalation?
Someone make it easy for him. It was a crime.
I guess it's either a rapist, robber, murderer, Iranian terrorist dressed as "ICE", white supremacist terrorist, or actual ICE Gestapo. Nobody knows. People just disappear.
Exactly no one knows who is who
It’s a crime by the Feds!
The police are confused about whether they should be enforcing the law or not? Perhaps they should get jobs that don't confuse them.
They are just jealous they can't join in
Where are the state + local police throughout the country?! Why aren’t they fulfilling their role to serve & protect the public?! Who really are these masked + armed vigilantes?!
“Local police have no insight…” Well, it does not require genius-level intellect to be on the lookout for these criminals and arrest them. Unless you're complicit.
I'm not a lawyer, and I don't work in law enforcement. But it seems to me that if ICE doesn't coordinate with local LE, then fuck 'em. Public safety demands local LE arrest anyone threatening/kidnapping people off the street. If the kidnappers turn out to be feds, sort that out at the jail.
This is where we are now- unmarked cars and masked men cosplay law enforcement. Online buys whatever you want--
i really don't know what these bozos expect to happen when they roll around drawing guns on randos and refusing to identify themselves, while elsewhere randos are wearing the same kit and shooting legislators in their homes.
Exactly, part of all of this may just be the cover it offers their “deputies” to commit crimes.
😪
It was a crime either way
Those are not mutually exclusive. A federal raid can be a crime.
In this event, we need one SWAT team to take this gentleman and his compatriots into custody, interrogate them as to who they are, what authority they’re working under, and publicly release the results.
That is a huge problem with these goons. Once it becomes normal for masked men to jump out of unmarked cars and abduct people, every predator out there will have free rein. 
Already happening
👍
It can be both part of the ICE raids and a crime.....these are not mutually exclusive categories.
For a moment I read “Chief resigned” and then, nope.
How would we know the difference?
Resigned to... Why? Pulling a gun without good reason should be a crime whether a rando or a LEO does it.
Hey LAPD, start arresting these mofos for pretending to be police. They will either get the F*** out of LA or stop hiding their faces.
Why the fuck isn't every police chief in the country demanding that ICE agents are properly identifiable, and issued with legitimate warrant cards? I suspect the majority of those paramilitary goons parading as ICE are fake. The point is, there is no way of knowing. Crazy!
WTF, OF COURSE ITS A CRIME. I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU, IN PHILLY, YOU POINT A GUN AT PEDESTRIANS, YOU'RE ARRESTED.
ICE is the American gestapo, and it sounds like they have lone "admirers" who emulate them. It's just a matter of time before there are shootings and people die because of this toxic masculinity
This is a classic false dichotomy!
Meanwhile “limited govt, constitutional conservatives” are tying themselves into knots to support our new secret police…
Jfc there should never, ever be a question of it!
Let me help here. It was a crime.
The article doesn’t say whether it was a white man.
Likely the criminals (Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Q…) who Trump pardoned & let out of prison to do this very job, the kidnapping of citizens.They work for Trump. Another quid pro quo.
What if... and hear me out on this... what if it was possible for law enforcement agents to break the law as well? 😲
I think LAPD & LA county sheriff's department should start taking the masked thugs off the streets.
¿Porque no los dos?
The call is coming from inside the house…
👆😶🌫️
Icelist.info
Time for states like California to open up internment facilities and mobilise people to arrest these thugs and place them in detention.
Anyone can impersonate a cop, agent, militia, etc. Not hard to get a Vest that says, Police on it. So where does this all stop? Everyone needs to be identified and checked.
Fight back then !
Has anybody seen the Bundy Clan recently? Who is to say that these masked kidnappers aren't militia members?
insert why not both dot gif
Spoilers: It could be both
In such cases, shouldn’t the police confront the gun brandisher and make him prove his right to do that?
Why are local and state Law Enforcement Depts letting all these vehicles operate on public streets??? Has ICE or DHS threatened them -- or bribed them -- to let them repeatedly violate motor-vehicle safety and accountability?
@mayor.lacity.gov, why don't you ask your Chief of Police about this?
At the next budget meeting would be one possibility....
@governor.ca.gov
because cops don't actually consider it their job to protect and serve the public
Right? Shoot a car? They’re all over it. Shoot a pedestrian? “They were at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Ooopsies!”
Because they are allies
This is a rhetorical question, right? They're on the same side. That's why. It's as simple as that.
"...left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.” Makes it sound like he felt put out to do his job.
Sounds like a crime.
Are these folks really law enforcement or are they hired militia……going over budget makes on think they are hired militia without badges, without uniforms
Both would be crimes.
It's a crime even if a police officer does it. Is it legal for officers to give terroristic threats to civilians simply walking across the street at a crosswalk?
Law-abiding citizens are allowed under the US Constitution to form armed militias to protect their state, city or town. I suggest we organize now, form armed militias and use force as necessary to protect the people.
Didn't actual Nazis do this kinda shit during their rise to power?
Yes!
Local police should be stopping these masked men in tactical gear and demanding ID, badge, and warrants. Arrest if bogus!
"whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid. How about "BOTH"? ”JFC!!!
This is such b.s. How can these people let this happen? Thanks Republicans. Great job!
It’s both
hint, its a crime!
It’s certainly a crime.
It's a CRIME, no matter what!!!!
Sheriffs hold elected office. Like ‘em or not, they are accountable to We The People. As elected representatives these law enforcement officers should begin supporting and protecting local opposition to ICE abductions.
Brown shirts
Simple way for the police chief to handle this. Just arrest the assholes
Insanity reigns
“That incident left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.” Resigned!?! I want the police chief to be left eager to figure out whether it was a crime…
It was likely both
fucking arm yourself and stand your ground. they aren't law enforcement until they show their papers
📌
Funny how they do NOT do this in open carry or legal concealed weapon states!!!!!!!!
Not sure that's right: www.mysanantonio.com/news/south-t...
IF I posted something untrue, PLEASE link it to me and I will try and delete it...I do NOT want to post misinformation anywhere and thank you for reaching out!
Thank your sanctuary mayor and Governor for the local police not knowing where the ice agents are going to be because they’ve been told local police been told not to help agents.
Hint - almost all the federal raids are crimes.
We live in a lawless #PoliceState now.
How about this: it was both.
It's hard to believe the United States has fallen so far as to not be able to tell the difference between a criminal and somebody that supposedly had the government behind them.
THEY'RE ALL BAD. ALL military clad persons with NO IDs, who mask their faces are BAD. They should be arrested. It's lawlessness in plain sight. IT'S NOT NORMAL. None of it is acceptable.
Yeah maybe he should check that out. Might be something untoward going on there
They are trumps gang of bounty hunter goons!
They should identify and arrest that guy regardless
I mean I know it won't happen and my expectations for them were already pretty low but I'm honestly upset that LAPD and sheriffs aren't intervening to protect us from these guys.
LAPD and LASD are too busy assaulting college students against genocide and trampling peaceful protestors with horses.
Probably find a bunch of them are moonlighting as bounty hunters in their free time.
LAPD and LASD don’t give a shit about us or anyone.
They never really did but I had hopes they'd have a little local pride and not just be a bunch of sub federal bitches
High expectations, and it’s good of you to wish that, but they’re not as good as you.
Clearly
You don't think there are 🍊🤡 in the dumb and dumber units who are cheering for 🍦?
The small-dick energy men who hold their guns sideways - like they see on TV - aren't ICE or military. They are pathetic couch potatoes who are trying so desparately to be manly. Instead, they are breaking the law by kidnapping innocent people off the street.
Then we need to start shooting them. If there is no legal recourse, then the 2nd Amendment will suffice. Don’t want to get shot? Identify yourself properly as LEO. Gonna wear a mask and no ID? I’m going to assume you’re a kidnapper and turn you into Swiss cheese
Nobody healthy wants violence but self defense is a human right.
Our country is UN-FUCKING-RECOGNIZABLE.
Fdt terrorists
Or possibly an Iranian “sleeper cell” 😛
While I doubt Iran has sleepers, I think it is very likely that they will soon have agents 'joining' ICE. No better way to become a domestic terrorist, than when the local government encourages it.
They don’t need to join, there is no oversight or regulation. All they need is an Amazon account and they can buy all the costume they need to look just like “ice”. The idea that Iran specifically has sleepers is irrelevant. Terrorist fight on ideological beliefs that transcend borders and Iran has
sponsored many terrorists groups, even russia 🤷🏼♀️
😞😞😞
READ THEORY (Tom Clancy's "Executive Orders") lol
My God…
Can’t be both?
Narrator: It was BOTH.
I still remember a time when people getting kidnapped by unidentified, masked men was a crime NO ONE IS SAFE
It's up to the cops to stop this crap. Masked unidentified thugs CANNOT be tolerated.
It doesn't matter if it was part of a federal raid, it was still a crime. Those so-called "ICE agents" are ramping things up until people start shooting them on sight.
The legality of it matters less than the morality, which is abhorrent.
Not sure if it applies nationwide, but most of these goons are deputized COs living out their failed police officer fantasies
Cops are confused because of how awkward they will feel when they go to have beers with the guys later. 💔
Um.... why not both?
It is a crime either way? No? @allenorr.bsky.social @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov
Find him, put him in cuffs, and let the DA worry about that.
I believe that the common vernacular for these masked men with guns is “assholes”.
If these people showed up at a CVS or a Walgreens & took merchandise, they would know it was a crime, but because they are taking people, they have to stop to wonder?
Both. The answer is likely that it was both. And the sooner local cops figure that out, the better.
Seems like it should be a crime no matter who it was if the pedestrians weren’t attacking someone.
I'd think that federal agencies would HAVE to give notice to local governments whenever they conduct operations. They're a constant danger to public safety if they don't. How is that even a question?
This regime's federal raids are a crime. No figuring that out. Give ICE due process. Arrest their fake asses.
A crime or part of a federal raid? How about both? More proof that these aren't trained agents. They're cosplaying, overgrown children. My son knew not to point a gun at anything he didn't intend to kill when he was 8.
When you enter into a position of public trust you should lose your right to anonymity. Stop whining about being doxed. We deserve to know who you are. If you can't accept that, go work at 7/11. Masked police are unacceptable in a democracy. They are an active danger to it.
Your sure those aren't Iranian sleeper cells?
bsky.app/profile/iwil...
"Is this a crime or did a fascist I align with do it? In which case it's good and normal."
If he had done that to someone in a car, the person in the car should’ve run him over.
“We were able to determine that to the best of our estimation he was an ICE agent. ... We will not look into it any deeper than that,” he said. Any civilian would be charged with assault with a firearm. Why do violent ICE criminals get immunity while deporting children and working parents?
"to the best of our estimation?" Are they admitting wholesale inadequacy at their jobs, or what???
“I mean, the guy said he was ICE ….”
They are AWFULLY afraid of people knowing who they are. Only a matter of time before one gets lost and has to go to 'lost and found'. THEN we will find out who the parents are.
If the police were really interested in protecting the public, they would treat these guys the way they treat criminals who carjack people or human-traffick people. Because we don’t know that’s not what they’re doing.
Even if it was a federal raid, shouldn't pointing a gun at someone for no good reason still be a crime???
It is a crime either way...
We know who they are, they are MAGA in disguise, with their new KKK hoods?
bsky.app/profile/tipp...
“That incident left the police chief of Pasadena resigned to figure out whether it was a crime or part of a federal raid.” Seems like it’s both to me.
How could one guy getting out of his car to point a gun at people, then get back in and drive away, be considered a federal raid!? Raid on what? What enforcement was that!? It's definitely a crime and in no way a raid
....only a matter of time....& then what....
Both.
It sounds like the answer is “BOTH.” It is both things
At what point does this thuggery trespass law? Do police NOT have grounds for arrests for these violations of civil rights? (Perhaps naive but maybe ICE agents, et al, should be required to register with local law enforcement - no one seems to know who the *hell* is who.)
Ugh
In Was A Crime
Something tells me masked Black men do this and they get shot, not asking if this is a crime or a Federal raid. Here's a thought, shoot them, I bet the masks come of rather quickly. 😠
Folks welcome to Trump/Stephen Miller's America.
That’s a crime whether it’s a federal raid or not
Exactly.
Reactionary extremism in either case.
If they are hiding their faces, not showing ID, and don't have warrants - they are not part of an official anything. They are kidnapping and threatening people. THEY are the illegals. And police departments ought to start treating them as such.
How long before one of these MAGAts gets clapped
It’s a crime.
"Who are these people?" Finally the press asks the obvious fucking question.
Just typical driver behavior in America.
These are the "gangs" taking over the country, not immigrants.
Do NOT allow your family, your friends, your neighbors OR completed strangers to be disappeared when you can act in multiple ways. www.justia.com/criminal/def...
I can't be the only one who think the Temu-soldier tacticool body gear these unidentifiable guys with no badges are wearing looks like explosive vests, right? No, seriously. Do they not? How would you know? If you see something, say something, as they always say.
If you can't tell whether it is a crime or part of a federal raid, then it is a crime.
If the feds haven’t claimed it then how is there a question about whether it was a crime?
The police must stop ICE
Someone's going to get shot by either a "good guy" with a gun or a masked guy in an Amazon flak jacket with a gun
Pointing a gun at someone is called assault. Yes, it is a crime.
Either way, it was a crime.
This is very concerning. I recently read about three men arrested for impersonating government agents. Also, don’t forget about the guy who committed the murders and the shooting of local elected officials. He was wearing a law enforcement uniform and driving a vehicle with police lights.
At least one rando put on an ICE-y outfit, complete with full face mask, then kidnapped and raped a woman. It's terrifying to have unnamed, heavily armed men roaming around. I thought that's what law and order was supposed to prevent. Why do our streets look like Somalia?
Yes, that was one I read about. Horrific!
As ever, we know these rapes will be under-reported by a giant margin. So for every one we hear about, 50? 100?
Imagine what the women in custody are suffering. No accountability there either.
Just read a Wired article about the number of 911 calls coming from ICE detention facilities in the US. People w head injuries, diabetic emergencies, everything you can imagine happening w 59,000 random people, in a place w zero medical facilities. One woman lost a pregnancy while on the phone.
Yeah, the facilities were already awful before trump2. Now theyre worse
ICE posing as police & FBI. Posing as Police or FBI is a crime. This level of aggression is a crime It's only a matter of time til they kill someone like George Floyd was killed How long before a shooter adopts ICE gear to shoot up a school parade concert or protest? www.reddit.com/r/MarchAgain...
They need to start arresting them all.
Treat them as if you had no idea they are supposed to be ICE agents and arrest them for illegal actions. Or just shoot the MFs, you have no problem shooting citizens if you perceive danger to yourselves, just extend that courtesy to the people who pay your wages, not the ones who sign your check.
Given that there are migrants in cities in every state, one has to wonder if Dem cities like LA and Chicago and New York are targeted because they do NOT have open carry laws.
📌
It's a crime even if part of a "legal" raid.
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This is why we need to call 911 and report these incidents whenever possible. We cannot assume they're federal employees. Most of them aren't and let's remember California is NOT an "open carry" state. @aclu-norcal.bsky.social @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov
Definitely a crime.
the funniest thing that could happen is one of these guys getting shot by local police
Inshallah.
ICE posing as police & FBI. Posing as Police or FBI is a crime. This level of aggression is a crime It's only a matter of time til they kill someone like George Floyd was killed How long before a shooter adopts ICE gear to shoot up a school parade concert or protest? www.reddit.com/r/MarchAgain...
It was unambiguously a crime, it may also have been the other thing
Very Important Addendum: “We were able to determine that to the best of our estimation he was an ICE agent. ... We will not look into it any deeper than that,” he said.
So why doesn't the locals arrest them? Masks, no ID, unmarked cars!
Chief, you should get your city in order. If you don’t know who is actively drawing down on civilians, you yourself are the problem.
#IcedGestapo
a mess of their own making
the time to act is now
there's no proof they are anything but thugs no identification (actually afraid to ID themselves) no training demonstrated no consistency in behavior other than menace and cosplay no actions worthy of trust, respect or pride just crime-ing for quotas, nappin' folks to work in for-profit gulags
Who are they? They're unemployable losers who have finally found a decent posting job as Walmart Gestapo agents.
"figure out"?... WTAF? What country is this?
Somebody get him a dart board and a blindfold
Abductions, illegal detentions and people trafficking are all criminal acts, being carried out by the fascist regime.
