this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2025
261 points (99.2% liked)

News

36994 readers
1986 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious biased sources will be removed at the mods’ discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted separately but not to the post body. Sources may be checked for reliability using Wikipedia, MBFC, AdFontes, GroundNews, etc.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source. Clickbait titles may be removed.


Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials, videos, blogs, press releases, or celebrity gossip will be allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mods may use discretion to pre-approve videos or press releases from highly credible sources that provide unique, newsworthy content not available or possible in another format.


7. No duplicate posts.


If an article has already been posted, it will be removed. Different articles reporting on the same subject are permitted. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners or news aggregators.


All posts must link to original article sources. You may include archival links in the post description. News aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, Hacker News, etc. should be avoided in favor of the original source link. Newswire services such as AP, Reuters, or AFP, are frequently republished and may be shared from other credible sources.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION is on a losing streak against some of its loudest critics, as federal cases targeting opponents of aggressive immigration enforcement fall apart in courts nationwide.

In the span of a week, prosecutors failed to bring convictions in two high-profile cases in Los Angeles federal court. In the first, a jury acquitted Bobby Nuñez, a tow-truck driver who hooked an ICE vehicle and was charged with stealing government property. In the second, a judge dismissed the case against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a TikToker who was facing assault and property damage charges after a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, due to concerns that officials had violated his civil rights. (In the October 21 confrontation, an ICE agent shot him.)

“These arrests are a form of retaliation by the government,” said Matthew Borden, an attorney representing protesters, journalists, and legal observers in a lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stemming from protests in Southern California over the past year. “When you have a real judge and a real jury looking at the evidence, it just falls apart.”

top 9 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] fpslem@lemmy.world 80 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

These defeats in court are good—necessary, even—but the protestors are still being prosecuted, put in jail, subjected to cash bond requirements and required to hire defense counsel. Yes, the Trump Admin loses a lot, but it doesn't have to win every case to chill and deter opposition. The power imbalance is still a huge threat when a would-be autocrat can bring the full force of the federal government to bear on individual citizens. I want to see more AUSAs declining to prosecute at all, they have independent obligations as officers of the court to follow the constitution.

[–] manxu@piefed.social 29 points 3 months ago

Amen to that! On the other hand, they know they are pushing uphill and they know there are plenty people that disapprove of what they are doing. Hence the masked faces of shame.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Tough because they will surely be fired if they do this. What good does that do?

The whole system needs reform at minimum to prevent this happening again.

[–] fpslem@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You're almost certainly right, they will be fired if they disobey the would-be autocrat. That's basically what happened in Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" when he wanted to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Attorney General Elliot Richadson refused and resigned immediately. So too did Deputy AG William Ruckelshaus. Then loyal fascism supporter Robert Bork did as instructed, and the story of the resignations became bigger than the firing of Cox, leading to the impeachment proceedings and a new special prosecutor.

I don't really disagree with you, the system needs significant reform, and losing good career professionals is bad for everyone. But it's worth it to fight like hell at every stage, it slows them down and sometimes the opposition shifts public sentiment.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 months ago

I'm just wondering if you can do more on the inside now. Trump has fired people left and right and it didn't really become a major news story. This level of authoritarianism has just become normal.

[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 26 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I am sorry, what? They dropped that charges against him. Okay. HE WAS FUCKING SHOT?! How about actually putting THOSE behind bars? This is REALLY not the good news you make it out to be. The fuck do they care?

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 9 points 3 months ago

Prosecutors care a lot about their conviction rates, so if they keep consistently losing in court they'll be less likely to bring the cases to court in the first place.

It's good news, not great news. Don't let perfection stand in the way of good; take the small wins when you can.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 18 points 3 months ago

“You can beat the rap but you can’t beat the ride”

…and maybe some jail time, maybe lose your job, fall into debt, etc.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 months ago

It's punishment by exprbitant legal fees. Jusges should start billing the costs of defending failed vindictive prosecutions to the government, or better yet, hold the prosecutors personally liable in those cases.