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“I call them made-up, fake, wannabe law enforcement. Because what they do is against not only legal law, but the moral law.” —Sheriff Rochelle Bilal
I love people who tell it like it is. I love authenticity. Too many public officials posture for the cameras; take squishy, focus-grouped positions; play defense on cable news; and tiptoe around issues out of fear of political blowback. I can’t do that. Maybe that made me a terrible politician. But I can’t help it. With me, what you see is what you get.
So I really respect people who stand up and take a courageous position, and in the process, remind us what public service is really supposed to look like. That’s exactly what Sheriff Rochelle Bilal of Philadelphia did. After the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good at the hands of a federal ICE agent in Minneapolis, she didn’t offer a sanitized statement from a carefully curated teleprompter script.
Sheriff Bilal delivered one of the most candid, fearless rebukes of federal overreach we’ve seen from any law enforcement official in the country. Her now-viral warning to ICE if they try something similar in her city—“You don’t want this smoke”—was a declaration that law enforcement is accountable to the people it exists to protect. In return, Sheriff Bilal is taking heat in the form of death threats and calls for her resignation. But that’s what real leadership looks like: putting your job and safety on the line to call it like it is.
Sheriff Bilal’s actions are a reminder that public servants are supposed to serve the public—not the sadistic whims of a tyrant in Washington, D.C. In an era of cynical, self-serving, spineless public service, her boldness is worth acknowledging and emulating. Every Democrat at every level in the country should take notes.
No badge, no agency, no level of government is above accountability. America doesn’t need safe statements about ICE needing “better training.” It just needs more Rochelle Bilals.
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This Past Week
My Substack Lives are open to all subscribers, unless noted. Click below if you missed any of my conversations from the past week!
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We’ve built a “know your rights” app for our immigrant neighbors to lawfully protect them against ICE. It’s called PAXIS. We’re crowdfunding it for two reasons: 1) we don’t want Big Tech to have access to our data, and 2) there’s strength in numbers. The more of us who work together to build PAXIS, the more support our immigrant brothers and sisters know they can count on from Americans like you and me.
Thank you for helping us reach over $50,000 in funding for this one-of-a-kind tool! We’re in Stage 3 of funding, with a goal of $75,000, and we’re so close! Won’t you please help us make PAXIS available to every immigrant and ally who needs it?
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Amid the daily onslaught of infuriating news, we have to acknowledge the heroes among us. The list continues to grow, as more and more of us stand up to the tyrant and his fascist regime. Courage is infectious. Be brave!
MINNESOTA. Minnesota is under attack. Federal agents are pouring in to patrol in unmarked vehicles and go door to door interrogating residents. They are also attacking their fellow Americans with unrestricted violence: videos show car windows smashed and chemical agents sprayed into people’s faces. One woman was dragged from her car by masked agents. Another resident was shot in the leg. And in the face of this violence, Minnesotans are fighting back. They’ve shown up to protest and called out ICE to their faces. Minnesota and the Twin Cities are taking the administration to court for violating their constitutional rights. They are teaching Donald Trump an important lesson: when you try to break America, America fights back.
T.J. SABULA. Minnesotans weren’t the only ones defying Trump this week. As he toured a Ford facility, a worker named T.J. Sabula shouted, “Pedophile protector!” at him. Never one to be the bigger person, Trump flipped him off while mouthing, “Fuck you.” Sabula has been suspended from his job, but he says he has “no regrets.” His union says it will fight to protect his rights as an employee. “Workers should never be subjected to vulgar language or behavior by anyone,” they said, “including the President of the United States.” And they’re damn right.
JEROME POWELL. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration is on a political crusade against the Fed chair for the simple crime of doing his job. Even as the administration hides behind allegations of misconduct in Fed building renovations, Powell has made it crystal clear that the investigation is in reaction to his refusal to comply with a Trump order. Specifically, Trump is enraged because Powell (investment banker and eight-year successful Fed leader) refused to lower interest rates when Trump (proud owner of six bankruptcies) thought it was a good idea. Powell says he’s always followed economic evidence rather than political pressure, and he’ll continue to do so. Right on, Chairman.
THE JUDICIARY. The judiciary has had yet another heroic week. Last Monday, federal District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that the Department of Energy’s grant cancellations predominantly in blue states are unconstitutional and ordered it to restore $27.6 million of them. Another federal judge blocked the DOJ’s attempt to obtain sensitive voter roll data from California, saying that it would “have a chilling effect on voter registration” and turnout. Judge William G. Young ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “have failed in their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution” for detaining and deporting non-citizen, pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. college campuses. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez ruled that ICE agents can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when they are observing the agents. The Trump Administration is not above the law. These judges delivered a well-needed reminder.
STEVE KERR. The Golden State Warriors’ head coach this week spoke out against the Trump Administration’s claims about the murder of Renee Nicole Good. He called them out for their lies and called their behavior “shameful.” He also praised the Minnesota Timberwolves for acknowledging the tragedy. Thank you for telling it like it is, Coach.
Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way!
Good Reads for This Week
The Goon Squad —The Dispatch
The Real Purpose of ICE —Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum
Fox News Predicts Mass Suicide by ICE —Decoding Fox News
ICE’s Deadly Professionalism Deficit —The Dispatch
The Insurrection Act, Explained —Brennan Center
The Power of Being Watched —The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa
They Want Us To Be Afraid —America, America
Murdering Politics: They Don’t Care What You Think Anymore —MindWar: The Psychological War on Democracy
Beware the New Americanism —The Dispatch
Picking a Fight With Denmark While Confronting Iran Is Strategic Insanity —Adam Kinzinger
Trump Believes Europe Will Fold Over Greenland. He’s Wrong —The Banter Newsletter
On the Most Prescient Thing I Ever Wrote —The Inside Outsider
I’m Suing the Secretary of Defense —Senator’s Substack
Trump Wishes He Seized Ballots in 2020. What Does That Mean for 2026? —Democracy Docket
Dem Leadership is Afraid to Really Fight—Here’s Why —Feed After Midnight
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