Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

Synopsis

A Wall Street Journal investigation reveals that the Trump administration has systematically accused American citizens — many of them bystanders and protesters near immigration operations — of assaulting federal officers, then publicized their names and mugshots on official government social media accounts before any conviction. Of the 181 U.S. citizens accused online, nearly half were never charged, and the cases that did go to court largely collapsed — with three separate grand juries refusing to indict one woman whose phone accidentally recorded agents debating how to describe her alleged assault. Federal prosecutors tell the Journal they faced intense pressure to file charges even when video evidence contradicted officers' accounts and when the conduct wouldn't normally warrant federal prosecution. The pattern amounts to a documented government strategy to chill First Amendment activity: even acquitted citizens remain publicly branded as rioters and terrorists, making them less likely to protest or speak out again.

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