Tag: police state

Florida Bills Would Hide the Names of Police Officers Who Kill People 

Bills filed in Florida would allow law enforcement agencies to hide the names of police and correctional officers who kill people.

Such legislation was widely expected after the Florida Supreme Court ruled in December that police departments could not invoke Marsy’s Law, a crime victims’ rights law adopted by Florida voters in 2018, to hide the names of officers involved in deadly shootings. The ruling was much broader than expected, though, and stripped privacy protections from civilian crime victims as well.

The legislation is one of several efforts in the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature to further insulate police in the Sunshine State—once lauded for its expansive public record laws—from scrutiny. As Reason reported yesterday, two other bills advancing through the Legislature would ban cities and counties from forming civilian police oversight boards.

State Rep. Chuck Brannan (R–Macclenny) filed House Bill 1605 and House Bill 1607 earlier this month. The former would expand the definition of “crime victims” to include “law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or correctional probation officers who use deadly force in the course and scope of their employment or official duties.” 

The latter would exempt records that could be used to identify and harass crime victims from the state’s public records law unless the victim opts to have it disclosed. “The Legislature finds that the release of any such information or records that could be used to locate or harass a crime victim or the victim’s family could subject such victims or their families to further trauma,” the bill says.

The bills have the backing of powerful police unions in the state as well. “For people to exclude police officers just because we wear the badge and we protect and serve, that’s not fair to us,” John Kazanjian, president of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, told the Tampa Bay Times. 

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Minute by gruesome minute: From his last words to the final horrifying spasm on his gurney, how America’s first nitrogen gas execution saw killer Kenneth Smith thrash around while his wife wept during grisly 22-minute death in Alabama prison

A murderer was put to death in Alabama overnight with a previously unused and untested method, in what witnesses described as a horrifying 22-minute ordeal.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was paid $1,000 to kill an Alabama woman, 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett, more than 30 years ago and was sentenced to death for the crime. He has been on death row ever since.

The state had previously attempted to execute Smith in 2022, but the lethal injection was called off at the last minute because authorities couldn’t connect an IV line.

On Thursday night, the state tried again to put him to death, this time successfully using ‘nitrogen hypoxia’ – suffocation by administering gas through a mask.

It marked the first time a new execution method was used in the US since 1982, when lethal injection was introduced and later became the most common method. 

Alabama had predicted the nitrogen gas would cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.

However, those who watched the execution at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama have said it was anything but simple.

Witnesses said Smith appeared to shake and convulse at the start, pulled against his restraints, and breathed for up to ten minutes before finally falling unconscious.

While executions are never filmed in the US, it is possible to piece together the events from witnesses testimony given by those who watched the scene unfold in the immediate aftermath of Smith’s death.

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California Bill Would Electronically Cap Vehicle Speed to 10 MPH Over Limit

Everyone wants safer roads. However, California senator Scott Wiener wants “SAFER” roads, as that’s the name of the bill he proposed, which would electronically cap a new vehicle’s top speed to 10 mph over the speed limit, among other things.

Part of the Speeding and Fatality Emergency Reduction on California Streets (SAFER California Streets) bill published Tuesday would require all vehicles built starting in 2027 to have speed governors. As proposed, they’d work using a vehicle’s GPS compared with a database of posted speed limits, though speed limit sign recognition would seem to present another method. The text of SB-961 mentions that the electronic regulator “shall only be capable of being temporarily disabled by the driver of the vehicle,” but doesn’t explain in what circumstances a driver should or will be allowed to do that.

Other road changes in the bill include side underride guards on trucks, to reduce the risk of cars and bikes being pulled underneath in a crash; improved crosswalks; and curb extensions. These new rules are designed to counter a rise in reckless driving since the pandemic. According to TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, traffic casualties in California rose 22% from 2019 to 2022, and 4,400 Californians died in traffic accidents in 2022.

“The alarming surge in road deaths is unbearable and demands an urgent response,” said Senator Wiener in a news release. “There is no reason for anyone to be going over 100 miles per hour on a public road, yet in 2020, California Highway Patrol issued over 3,000 tickets for just that offense. Preventing reckless speeding is a commonsense approach to prevent these utterly needless and heartbreaking crashes.”

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Government Suppressed, Censored Concerns Over Mail-In Voting In 2020: Documents

Newly released documents allege that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) knew it was wrong to censor concerns about the security of mail-in voting ahead of the 2020 election, yet it proceeded to do so anyway.

On Jan. 22, a tranche of documents published by America First Legal (AFL) alleged the Department of Homeland Security’s CISA was aware that mail-in ballots were less secure than in-person voting ahead of the 2020 election.

Nevertheless, it undertook an “unprecedented censorship campaign to mislead the American people about the truth,” according to Gene Hamilton, AFL’s vice president and general counsel.

“Common sense dictates that ballots submitted via mail are inherently less secure than verified, in-person voting by a citizen who shows identification before casting his or her ballot,” Mr. Hamilton said in a press release.

“The American people were lied to, and there must be accountability.“

AFL lawyer Michael Ding told The Epoch Times that the new documents were produced after AFL sued the CISA in November 2022.

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Watchlisted: You’re Probably Already On A Government Extremism List

“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught.”

– Hunter S. Thompson

According to the FBI, you may be an anti-government extremist if you’ve:

a) purchased a Bible or other religious materials,

b) used terms like “MAGA” and “Trump,”

c) shopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, or Bass Pro Shops,

d) purchased tickets to travel by bus, cars, or plane,

e) all of the above.

In fact, if you selected any of those options in recent years, you’re probably already on a government watchlist.

That’s how broadly the government’s net is being cast in its pursuit of domestic extremists.

We’re all fair game now, easy targets for inclusion on some FBI watch list or another.

When the FBI is asking banks and other financial institutions to carry out dragnet searches of customer transactions—warrantlessly and without probable cause—for “extremism” indicators broadly based on where you shop, what you read, and how you travel, we’re all in trouble.

Clearly, you don’t have to do anything illegal.

You don’t even have to challenge the government’s authority.

Frankly, you don’t even have to care about politics or know anything about your rights.

All you really need to do in order to be tagged as a suspicious character, flagged for surveillance, and eventually placed on a government watch list is live in the United States.

This is how easy it is to run afoul of the government’s many red flags.

In fact, all you need to do these days to end up on a government watch list or be subjected to heightened scrutiny is use certain trigger words (like cloud, pork and pirates), surf the internet, communicate using a cell phone, limp or stutter, drive a car, stay at a hotel, attend a political rally, express yourself on social media, appear mentally ill, serve in the military, disagree with a law enforcement official, call in sick to work, purchase materials at a hardware store, take flying or boating lessons, appear suspicious, appear confused or nervous, fidget or whistle or smell bad, be seen in public waving a toy gun or anything remotely resembling a gun (such as a water nozzle or a remote control or a walking cane), stare at a police officer, question government authority, or appear to be pro-gun or pro-freedom.

We’re all presumed guilty until proven innocent now.

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Feds use Wayback Machine to identify alleged Jan. 6 rioter who led calls to arrest state officials for COVID-19 rules

Jason Howland, the founder of an organization known for its protest of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, has been arrested and charged with five counts including obstructing proceedings inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Court records reviewed Thursday by Law&Crime confirm Howland was arrested in Michigan on Jan. 23 and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

Howland, the founder of the group “American Patriot Council,” is accused of storming the Capitol and in an FBI affidavit accompanying the charges, the agent notes that Howland was readily identified in a Jan. 17, 2021, post on social media site X, then Twitter, from a sedition hunter group known as Michigan Tea.

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BLM protesters who participated in 2020 riots will receive $10 million from Seattle

The city of Seattle, Washington, agreed Wednesday to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit from a group of Black Lives Matter protesters who participated in the violent and destructive 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd.

A Wednesday press release from the city revealed that Seattle is settling a complaint filed by a group of 50 protesters in September 2020 who claimed they were injured by police while participating in the demonstrations. Seattle admitted to no wrongdoing.

According to the city, the complaint involved hundreds of interactions between the protesters and local law enforcement officials, over a million pages of records, over 10,000 videos, hundreds of witness interviews, and extensive court filings.

“This decision was the best financial decision for the City considering risk, cost, and insurance,” Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said. “The case has been a significant drain on the time and resources of the City and would have continued to be so through an estimated three-month trial that was scheduled to begin in May.”

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Florida Legislation Would Ban Civilian Police Oversight Boards

Two bills advancing through the Florida Legislature would ban cities and counties from forming civilian police oversight boards and dissolve already-existing boards.

The legislation, House Bill 601 and its companion Senate Bill 576, would make it unlawful for a county or municipal government to pass ordinances related to civilian oversight of police misconduct investigations or the handling of misconduct complaints against law enforcement officers.

Currently, the bills have passed several committees, and the Tallahassee Democrat reports they have the support of Republican majorities in both chambers, as well as influential Florida law enforcement groups.

The bill’s text says its purpose is to create a uniform process for how police departments handle misconduct complaints against officers, but it would also leave police departments to hold themselves accountable and eliminate 21 civilian police oversight boards operating throughout Florida.

Speaking on Tuesday shortly before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted to advance the legislation, state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R–Spring Hill), the bill’s sponsor, called the boards “divisive.”

“Officers have a very tough job,” Ingoglia said. “It doesn’t make sense to me that we have people second-guessing those decisions.”

There are over 100 civilian police oversight boards around the country. They vary in their scope and power, but, in general, they’re independent boards that investigate, monitor, or audit police department operations. 

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Bill banning minors under 16 from using social media passes Florida House

A bill that would ban minors under the age of 16 from using social media passed the Florida House 106-13 on Wednesday.

“We must act to protect Florida’s children from these addictive features, the mental health disorders caused by excessive use, and the risk of exposure to predatory activities,” said Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-Brevard), who sponsored the bill.

House Bill 1 would require social media platforms to terminate social media accounts of minors under the age of 16.

The bill requires that social media companies have an independent, private, third-party age verification service, that the personal data collected on minors under the age of 16 be permanently deleted, and data collected by the third party authentication must also be deleted

Parents are also empowered under the measure to bring a cause of action against social media platforms that fail to terminate a minor’s unlawful account.

Democrats argue the bill goes too far. Some Democratic members suggested less restrictive measures such as allowing parents to opt in or opt out of allowing their children to use social media.

During debate on Wednesday, several representatives spoke against the bill, with some calling it government overreach.

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Parents, Not Government, Should Control How Kids Use Social Media

It’s been 21 years since the feds “protected” us from endless telemarketer phone calls by creating a Do Not Call list. I now receive perhaps a dozen calls a day from numbers my phone identifies as “Potential Spam.”

Spammers “outwitted the government and wrecked” this system, The Washington Post reported, leaving Americans more susceptible than ever to car warranty pitches. Fortunately, my phone’s call-block system works fairly well.

Excuse my cynicism, but federal and state governments have an unimpressive record of protecting the public, especially on consumer-related issues. That hasn’t stopped them from trying. The process always is the same: Politicians spotlight a legitimate concern. They pass laws. They hold press conferences. The problem gets worse. Consumers (and manufacturers) come up with their own ways to handle it.

The latest consumer panic involves social media—specifically the ability of children to access inappropriate websites and apps. Liberal and conservative state governments are in a frenzy to pass these “protect the children” internet laws. Progressive California passed Assembly Bill 2273, which imposes an “Age Appropriate Design Code” that adopts provisions similar to those implemented by the European Union.

The legislation claims to empower parents, but it mainly empowers our state government to determine what information is acceptable for children. Specifically, the law requires tech companies to complete a “Data Protection Impact Assessment…for any online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children.” It also empowers the state attorney general to file lawsuits against companies that don’t conform to these nebulous standards.

Supporters pointed to serious mental health concerns related to cyberbullying and the like, but it mainly forces tech companies to serve as censors, gives government officials broad powers to determine appropriate speech, and hobbles U.S.-based companies while doing nothing about offshore sites that surely will proliferate. By the way, the Do Not Call List helped assure that legitimate (but still annoying) telemarketing companies would be supplanted by overseas scammers.

The California law passed by overwhelming margins because of, well, “the children.” Now conservative states are getting in on the action. Utah’s GOP Gov. Spencer Cox last year signed two such laws that require “parental consent for a minor to join a social-media platform” and prohibit “minors from using social media from the hours of 10:30 pm to 6:30 am,” per an NPR report. They also require parental access to their kids’ accounts and let the state sue companies for age-inappropriate ads.

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