Civil liberties thread

[neoplacebo]

Do the magats still profess that they and trump are not fascists?

[Vrede too]

Do the magats still profess that they and trump are not fascists?

Some of them embrace it.
https://www.blueridgedebate.com/viewtop ... 46#p208146

[Vrede too]

Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests

Permanent resident with a green card - revoked

Trump administration cancels $400M in grants and contracts with Columbia University

Zionism wins another couple of rounds. Academic freedom, the 1A and Palestine lose.

[Vrede too]

Yep, even uber-RW, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant Ann Coulter thinks this is a bridge too far.
Article

... The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) tweeted a letter sent to DHS, the Department of Justice, ICE, and the State Department “requesting answers to the questions surrounding Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and detention.” In the tweet, FIRE added:

The government hasn’t stated the legal basis for its actions, and it has put out statements suggesting Mr. Khalil is being targeted because of his constitutionally protected speech.

This is America. The administration must not use immigration enforcement to punish and filter out ideas disfavored by the government or deny due process to anyone facing arrest and detention.

The government must also be transparent about the basis for its actions to avoid chilling protected speech.

To be clear, demonstrations on Columbia’s campus since Oct. 7, 2023, have included both constitutionally protected speech and unlawful conduct. But the government has not clarified the factual or legal basis for Mr. Khalil’s arrest.

The lack of clarity is chilling protected expression, as other permanent residents cannot know whether their lawful speech could be deemed to “align” with a terrorist organization and jeopardize their immigration status.

FIRE’s letter demands answers:

What was the specific legal and factual basis for Mr. Khalil’s arrest on March 8?

What is the specific legal and factual basis for Mr. Khalil’s detention?

What is the specific legal and factual basis on which the government is seeking revocation of Mr. Khalil’s green card?

Will Mr. Khalil be afforded the due process protections required by U.S. law?

Is it the government’s intention to seek the revocation of lawful immigration status on the basis of speech protected by the First Amendment?

PINO and his MAGAts despise the Constitution. For example:

‘Send Them to Jail’: Sen. Tuberville Demands Pro-Palestine Demonstrators Be Locked Up

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said people who protest Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza should be jailed....

Cementing his rep as the dumbest Senator.

[Vrede too]

Top Trump Official Can’t Justify Effort To Deport Mahmoud Khalil In Fiery Interview
Deputy DHS Secretary Troy Edgar hemmed and hawed for five straight minutes in an interview with NPR.

... The interview followed a pattern for Donald Trump’s administration, which has refused — or been unable — to give any specific examples of Khalil engaging in violent behavior or otherwise doing anything that might justify the revocation of his permanent residency.

Instead, they’ve alleged that he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization” or that he “distributed pro-Hamas propaganda” — all impossibly vague allegations that could serve to suppress the free speech of countless others....

While green card holders can be deported for committing immigration violations or crimes — such as violent crime or fraud — everyone in the United States, including permanent residents and visa holders, is covered by the U.S. Constitution and its First Amendment protections. The effort to deport Khalil will be a major legal test of Trump’s efforts to crack down on what he calls “anti-American activity.” ...

Will Constitution-hating Zionism and MAGA win?

[Vrede too]

Zionism is more important than our Constitution:

Florida Theater Faces Closure for Showing Palestinian Film 'No Other Land'

An arthouse theater in Miami Beach is facing closure for screening the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land after the city's mayor, Steven Meiner, described the film as antisemitic....

Why It Matters

... Authorities in Gaza said in early February that the death toll has risen to 61,709. Some 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced since the war began following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Amnesty International.

What To Know

The documentary film No Other Land was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, and it focuses on the displacement of the Palestinian people in the West Bank, and recently took home the Oscar for Best Documentary.

The New York Times described the film as "audacious and devastating," and said that "its subject—the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—couldn't be more consequential, and its approach, which includes a directorial team of two Israelis and two Palestinians, feels genuinely daring and bold."

Does Mayor Meiner think the Israeli producers, The New York Times and the Academy Awards are "antisemitic"? That's stupid.

Despite the critical acclaim the film has received, it is yet to find a distributor in the U.S.

Voluntary censorship.

... In a letter sent to the cinema, Meiner wrote: "The film director's comments at the Oscars prove the antisemitic nature of the film, using Jew-hatred propaganda and lies such as 'ethnic cleansing.'"

First, of course it's ethnic cleansing, dummy. Pay attention.
Regardless, Meiner LIES by obfuscating opposition to Israeli policy with antisemitism. After decades of the same it gets old.

... (O cinema CEO Vivian) Marthell later told the Herald that the screening is "not a declaration of political alignment," but rather a "bold reaffirmation of our fundamental belief that every voice deserves to be heard, even, and perhaps especially, when it challenges us."

The O Cinema has screened more than 50 Jewish films, hosts a monthly Holocaust screening with the Miami Jewish Film Festival and has been the host of this festival since 2014.

Aha! I guarantee that some of those films can be perceived as Islamophobic. Meiner was silent about that.

Meiner announced a proposal to terminate the cinema's lease and discontinue around $40,000 in grant funding on Tuesday.

There it is, Miami Beach's version of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Irony.

What People Are Saying

Filmmaker Yuval Abraham in his Oscar's acceptance speech: "We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other, the atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of October 7, which must be freed. Can't you see that we're intertwined, that my people can be truly safe if Basel's people are truly free and safe. There is another way, it's not too late, for life for the living. There's no other way. Thank you."

Meiner must have missed that part.

... Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, in a statement to her constituents: "The O Cinema ... has a long-standing commitment to the Jewish community, and knee-jerk reactions that threaten its future will lead to costly legal battles that waste taxpayer dollars."

O Cinema CEO Vivian Marthell in a letter to Meiner: "The Israel-Palestine conflict is a complex, long-standing issue shaped by decades of history, politics, and hurt. We believe that it can't be and will not be solved by just watching or not watching a film. The divisions are felt not only in the region but also globally, including in our own country and community, and the discourse around it reflects this tender reality."

What Happens Next

Meiner intends to host a virtual town hall to discuss the matter and then put the resolution up to a vote.

Must be afraid of an in-person town hall, more censorship.

All screenings of the film at the O Cinema are currently sold out.

Must be an awful lot of "antisemites" in Miami Beach.

Anyhow,

[Vrede too]

Petition: Demand the Immediate Release of Palestinian Student Activist Mahmoud Khalil from DHS detention 3,510,969 Letters Sent! I signed.

Petition: Protect the First Amendment and Free Mahmoud Khalil 102,204 sent

Petition: Free Mahmoud Khalil and protect students exercising their First Amendment rights! 51,005 signatures

Petition: Free Mahmoud Khalil. Stop His Unjust Detention. 5,217 signatures

Fundraiser: Justice for Mahmoud Khalil—Urgent Support Needed $500,079 Raised! 9334 Supporters!

What People Are Saying

Per the official Chuffed.com fundraising page: "Mahmoud has dedicated his life to fighting for justice. Now, he needs us to fight for him. Let's stand together and bring him home."

The Center For Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization based in New York City, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday: "His family has started a fundraiser on Chuffed.org, where they will be posting updates and more details. Any other fundraiser is not associated with the family."

Khalil's wife said in a statement previously shared with Newsweek: "For everyone who has met Mahmoud they can attest to his incredible character, humbleness, selflessness, and his love for helping others. He is always willing to stand up for the oppressed. He is funny, kind and sometimes a little messy. He constantly puts his needs last when it comes to helping others. I always tell him that sometimes he needs to put himself first. He always responds with, 'People are made for each other, and you should always be willing to lend a helping hand.'"

An anonymous donor wrote on the official Chuffed.com fundraising page: "Donated what I could. This situation is chilling, the government arresting someone for exercising their First Amendment rights to speak out against the Israeli government for committing genocide against a whole group of people. Criticizing an unjust government's actions isn't antisemitism."

I love us. Saturday:

What People Are Saying

Hannah Priscilla Craig, communications director of The People's Forum, told Newsweek in an email Saturday: "Today, cities across the entire country are standing together to defend Mahmoud Khalil. We demand his immediate release, our right to speech and protest, and reaffirm our commitment to a free Palestine! We stand with the students who have been expelled, suspended, or had their revoked degrees revoked by Columbia University for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. While the Trump administration tries to strip us of our rights, our movement will only grow stronger. An attack on one is an attack on us all!"

Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney with American Civil Liberties Union's Center for Democracy said in a statement: "This is a clear attempt by President Trump to make an example out of Mr. Khalil and silence dissent across the country. No matter what your views are on Israel & Palestine, we should all be terrified of a government incarcerating its residents for their political opinions."