curated citations to news sources
Justin Glawe: Crime is down. But Trump’s authoritarian power grabs are escalating.
Random street crimes are being used as pretexts for repression.
The White House has seized on two unrelated incidents of street crime as a pretext for a federal government power grab at a time when violent crime has in fact dropped across the country.
The attempted carjacking of Edward “Big Balls” Coristine in Washington DC and a street brawl in Cincinnati are the latest cause célebrè on the American right, which has long supported Donald Trump’s plans for military and law enforcement crackdowns in largely Democratic cities. Both incidents are being used as anecdotal evidence of out-of-control crime across the country — a narrative that is necessary for Trump and Republicans to maintain their grip of fear on their MAGA base.
And it’s worked: a Gallup poll in October found that 64 percent of Americans believed crime had gone up in 2024, but new data from the FBI shows that is not the case. In fact, 2024 saw the lowest levels of violent crime since 1969, with violent crime down 4.5 percent across the country, including a 14.9 percent drop in murders.
(Justin Glawe more…)
LAWdork: Trump takes on D.C., sort of, in a rambling news conference full of lies
It’s bad. But there are limits to the steps Trump actually took on Monday — and reasons why he could take these steps — that are worth noting.
many more DC citations at bottom
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – August 11, 2025
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If that was Trump’s big announcement, the big story seems to have been something different.Trump’s performance at the press conference—an event for which his handlers would have made sure he was at the top of his game—made it clear that his mental deterioration is moving rapidly. He let Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI director Kash Patel explain the actual plan, taking the microphone himself to describe a fake world in which he plays the role of hero, solving five wars, creating a booming economy, solving the border security others couldn’t, protecting Americans from a hellscape that exists only in his rhetoric.
The administration’s seizure of power is anything but imaginary. As Stengel noted, “Throughout history, autocrats use a false pretext to impose government control over local law enforcement as a prelude to a more national takeover. That’s far more dangerous than the situation he says he is fixing.” …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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James Eagle: Trump’s Gold Bar Fiasco
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When a Swiss refiner asked US Customs whether kilogram gold bars would be exempt from Trump’s 39% Swiss tariffs, they got an answer so idiotic it sent shockwaves through global markets. Because Swiss gold bars have serial numbers stamped on them, Customs ruled they’re “too processed” to qualify for exemption.Gold futures on COMEX in New York immediately spiked $100 above London prices. Swiss refineries halted US shipments. Banks faced billions in potential losses. The White House, caught completely off guard, desperately promised an executive order to override their own agency while calling the ruling “misinformation.”
The somewhat farcical response suggests that the misinformation was provided by the US government. Otherwise, why else would the market react so vehemently?
(James Eagle more…)
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Conversation: How RFK Jr is systematically undermining vaccines around the world
(Conversation more…)arsTECHNICA: RFK Jr. posted fishing pics as CDC reeled from shooting linked to vaccine disinfo
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Ruth Ann Crystal MD: COVID & Medical News, 8/11/25
(Ruth Ann Crystal MD more…)
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Rebecca Solnit: Resistance from Sea to Shining Sea
(Rebecca Solnit more…)
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Sarah Jones: Ohio Protest Against Trump Stretches 8 Miles
Ohio showed up for a protest against the cruelty of Trump in general and against many of his policies, with one attendee saying, “Today is about democracy over a dictatorship.”
(Sarah Jones more…)
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Texas Tribune: In redistricting clash, Texas GOP flexes power to shut down Democrats’ last tool of resistance
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
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engadget: Intel’s CEO has successfully wooed President Trump
Trump said Lip-Bu Tan’s ‘success and rise is an amazing story.’
Register: Trump does a 180 on Intel chief following White House meeting
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Crooks & Liars: Trump’s Gross Gold White House Makeover Is Likely Illegal
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Register: California [man] is so furious about forced Windows 11 upgrade, he’s suing Microsoft
He wants Microsoft to keep supporting Windows 10 until its market share drops below 10%
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Allison Gill: I Have Ghislaine Maxwell’s Security Score, Custody Level, Transfer Code, and Sex Offender Waiver
I have reviewed an electronic file that includes some of the information Senator Whitehouse is demanding from the Bureau of Prisons.
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emptywheel: Kash Patel and John Solomon Declare Their Own Sources and Methods Illegal
more DC citations
Steve Vladeck: “Federalizing” D.C.
Like any federal enclave, the federal government has plenary power over the District of Columbia. But Congress has delegated most of that power to local officials; it would take new laws to undo that.
Mary Geddry: From D.C. to Alaska: Trump’s Blueprint for Chaos
Federal takeovers, foreign policy faceplants, DOJ purges, and tech-bro meltdowns all in one sweltering, chart-waving morning.
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Between grievances, Trump wandered into his greatest hits set list, “men playing in women’s sports,” the “disaster” of cashless bail, and the obligatory self-pity over not yet having a Nobel Peace Prize. As he spoke, Bondi and Hegseth scanned the crowd like Secret Service for ideological purity, Patel stood at parade rest, and Pirro’s glassy gaze suggested she was already crafting the chyron for tonight’s segment.In a Freudian flourish, Trump even tripped over his own Putin diplomacy, referring to his upcoming meeting in Alaska as “going to Russia.” …
(Mary Geddry more…)Jay Kuo: The Posse Comitatus Trial
Our Republic reaches a crossroads as the power of the White House to militarize our cities comes under judiciary scrutiny.
Boing Boing: ‘This will go further.’ Trump says D.C. is just the start — NYC and Baltimore are next (video)
Fred Wellman: Eager to attack fellow Americans
The D.C. police takeover and National Guard deployment made Pete Hegseth so excited because he can’t wait to see Americans cower for him
Ken Klippenstein: Trump’s DC Deployment Order
Read the National Guard order sending troops to our nation’s capital
Lev Parnas: Trump Declares “Liberation Day” — Sends Troops Into D.C. as Secret Putin Oil Deal Emerges
Exclusive insider intel on the Nord Stream 2 backchannel, Project 2025’s plan to militarize U.S. cities, and Trump’s plot to pressure Ukraine into surrendering land.
Noah Berlatsky: Trump’s Invasion of DC Is Not A Distraction
Fascists build power by targeting the powerless.
Since Trump’s “reasons” are racist gibberish, people have been speculating on what may have actually motivated the move. One popular explanation is that Trump is invading DC in order to distract from “the massive Epstein files cover up” as the Lincoln Project (and Lincoln Project chief of staff Ryan Wiggins) posted on Bluesky.
I think that calling the invasion of DC a “distraction” is a fundamental misunderstanding of fascist goals and fascist tactics.
(Noah Berlatsky more…)AXIOS: Inside Trump’s takeover
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump’s move “unprecedented” and “unsettling” in a city where crime rates actually are declining. But her response was far more muted than many of her fellow Democrats.
NY Times: For Trump, Cities Like Washington Are Real Estate in Need of Fixing Up
“It’s a natural instinct as a real estate person,” he said in announcing his federal takeover of the capital’s police, despite falling crime.
Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, and Noel Sims: Calling crime data “fake news,” Trump seizes DC police
Lies, manipulated data, unsubstantiated allegations, and an unprecedented federal takeover.
Radley Balko: Trump’s trial run at a police state
Normalizing military intervention for domestic policing is the beginning of the end of American democracy
CNN: Trump declared federal control of DC police and is deploying the National Guard. Here’s how he is able to do it
Jay Kuo: King of the Sandbox
Trump made a big deal of his “takeover” of D.C. yesterday. But what does it actually reveal?
So, am I freaking out over Trump’s “takeover” of D.C.?
While his announcement is a troubling development, it’s also rather pathetic. To me, the move signals weakness instead of strength, desperation instead of confidence.
Trump wants us all to freak out, but I’m not here to oblige. Take a breath, keep an open mind, and I’ll explain what I mean.
…- Trump is probably acting within his powers
- Trump’s decree has an expiration date
- A nothing burger?
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Trump put Pam Bondi in charge of the commandeered MPD. Bondi has no real experience in policing and no clue how to actually reduce crime in the city. So expect a lot of performative nonsense. Perhaps we’ll get another “MacArthur Park” display of force that scares a bunch of kids and makes the military even more humiliated at being forced to act like local cops.
(Jay Kuo more…)Sarah Jones: Trump Nanny State: Troops Warn Man Smoking Cigarette Outside His Residence in DC
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Borowitz: DC Mayor Says Best Way for Trump to Empty Streets is by Throwing Another Birthday Parade
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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