The more we hear about what the FBI did and has been doing when it comes to January 6th the more we question how this could possibly be happening in the United States of America. It just seems unreal.
Especially reading through this thread from Michael Tracey about a ‘modern-day general warrant used to seize the personal data of thousands of people.
Take a look:
Federal public defender convincingly argues that the FBI used an unprecedented "modern-day general warrant" to seize personal data of anyone who "could have been" in the approximate vicinity of the Capitol on Jan 6. "Defending democracy" by obliterating bedrock civil liberties pic.twitter.com/wjuyG4lrsO
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
What the heck is a ‘modern-day general warrant’? And REALLY, they used it to seize personal data on anyone who COULD HAVE BEEN in the approximate vicinity of the Capitol on January 6. No, they weren’t definitely there but they could have been there so that was enough to seize their personal data.
Holy crap.
Keep going.
The warrant was "fatally over-broad and devoid of particularity, and therefore impermissible under the Fourth Amendment." There was never any particularized probable cause cited by FBI — making it certain that searches were conducted on people who committed no crime whatsoever pic.twitter.com/5MWnL3VKeY
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
Scary.
But wait, there’s more.
Rather than establishing any basis for probable cause that subjects of the search had committed a crime, the government relied on hypothesis and conjecture that merely "equated presence at the Capitol with criminal activity" — bizarrely invoking "the pandemic" in its reasoning pic.twitter.com/0nwnkiyUx2
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
We got nothin’.
In other words, to obtain its general warrant and seize the personal data of thousands of people without establishing any particularized probable cause that they had engaged in criminal activity, the government simply "equated presence to criminality" pic.twitter.com/1MfcspVlDE
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
Equated presence to criminality.
In America.
But because this Jan 6 investigation is the most important in the history of human civilization or something, and Democracy™ as we know it hangs in the balance, expect these brazen, precedent-setting abrogations of the Fourth Amendment to be largely ignored — or cheered
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
Cheered. We’ll see them cheered because people are immensely stupid and clueless about what all of this could mean for ALL OF US down the road.
Rebecca Fish — Assistant Federal Public Defender in Tacoma, WA — did an excellent, thorough job on this motion. Well worth reading https://t.co/Din7vb2Mw4
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
As recently as November 3, a brand new Jan 6 defendant was arrested. FBI agent writes that he/she attempted to use the same "geofence warrant" (general warrant) to establish this suspect's criminality, but failed. Then tried facial recognition software, and failed. But pressed on pic.twitter.com/xVEp2MrI9h
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
But. Pressed. On.
The suspect's criminal conduct is alleged to be that he walked into the Capitol at 2:50pm, took a selfie with his wife (who was also arrested), and then walked out at 3:00pm. These were the fruits of an extensive investigation by an agent in the FBI's "Joint Terrorism Task Force" pic.twitter.com/zGKhMGygu7
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 29, 2022
Arrested, for taking a selfie.
In the Capitol.
This just gets worse and worse, you guys.
That we’re seeing behavior from our government … no words.
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Related:
Joy Behar’s attempt to backpedal on her disgusting Amy Coney Barrett LIE does NOT go well, at all
Fort Worth NewsGuild social justice reporter’s thread about journos ON STRIKE accidentally HILARIOUS
DeSantis calls down the THUNDER on Apple for threatening Elon Musk over free speech (watch)
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