Sophie Hurwitz

@hurwitz.bsky.social

reporter @motherjones.com etc | signal: @shurwitz.18, email: shurwitz@cir.org

When ISIS killed my friend James Foley on camera they put him in an orange jumpsuit as a direct reference to images of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Not fucking interested my government having a fucking propaganda CONVERSATION with tomorrow’s terrorists, thanks.

Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · 2d ago

Hard to overstate how much Hegseth's execution stream mirrors the U.S. military's traditional description of ISIS propaganda: broadcast killings designed to send a message, strike fear and create a social media spectacle. Will almost certainly be repurposed by online terror cells

NEW: Footage from Thursdays shooting shows an ICE agent in a construction vest brandishing a rifle. His name is Brenden Cuni. Federal judges have found multiple arrests involving Cuni unlawful. He has been accused of repeatedly Tasing a handcuffed man and tackling a pregnant woman in Minneapolis.

ICE Agent at NYC Shooting Has History of Alleged Violence and Illegal Arrests

Brenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court.

wired.com

In April, a veteran death penalty lawyer described the DOJ’s plans to revive the firing squad in federal capital cases as part of the administration’s “brutality trip.” This week, Trump approved the military's first firing squad execution since WWII, which the Pentagon says will be live-streamed.

The truth about Trump’s plan to bring back execution by firing squad

A veteran death penalty lawyer says it is part of the administration’s “brutality trip.”

motherjones.com

New: The family of Silverio Villegas González, who an ICE agent fatally shot last year in Franklin Park, IL, has filed a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint against the federal government. ICE shot Villegas González, a father & Chicagoland resident, at the very beginning of "Operation Midway Blitz."

Partial image text:
Claimant: Jose Villegas Gonzalez, as personal representative
of the Estate of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez
8. Basis for the Claim
ICE officers shoot and kill Silverio Villegas Gonzalez during a traffic stop.
On the morning of September 12, 2025, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez drops off his 7 year-old son at school and his 3-year-old son at daycare and heads to work. Silverio had lived
and worked in the United States for about 18 years and was working as a line cook at a local diner.
Silverio was a devoted father. His children lived with him, and he was the primary parent in their
lives. He maintained close relationships with family and was a man of faith. He took his children
to church and to visit a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. He had no criminal record and only a
few minor traffic violations.
Soon after Silverio drops off his kids that day, two ICE officers in an unmarked Jeep follow
him on Grand Avenue in Franklin Park, then turn on their emergency lights. The time is
approximately 8:48 a.m.
Silverio pulls over in the rightmost lane. The ICE agents park their Jeep in front of Silverio’s car, blocking his path forward and partially blocking the second lane of traffic. Both
officers get out of their truck and approach Silverio’s small Subaru sedan. Both officers are armed
and wearing protective vests. Neither officer is wearing a body camera, even though ICE policy in
effect at the time requires officers to activate body-worn cameras during enforcement activity.
One officer approaches the passenger-side window while the other subsequently
approaches the driver’s window. The officer on the passenger side taps on the window, and
Silverio rolls the window down. Both officers lean on the car’s window frames to speak with
Silverio. The officer on the driver’s side taps on the window and Silverio rolls the driver-side
window part-way down. Image text:
Approximately ten seconds after the first officer approaches his vehicle, Silverio puts the
car in reverse and backs away from the officers. Both officers keep their hands on the window
frames as the car begins to move. Nothing prevents them from simply stepping away from
Silverio’s car.
The officer on the passenger side of the car steps back, draws his gun and points it at
Silverio’s car. The officer on the driver’s side grabs hold of the top of the driver-side window
rather than step away from the vehicle. Silverio reverses approximately fifty feet then begins to
drive forward into the open lane of traffic.

The officer on the passenger-side runs after Silverio as he drives forward with his gun
still pointing at the car. Then he lowers his gun while continuing to run.

Approximately six seconds after the car begins moving forward, surveillance video
captures the sound of gunshots. Three seconds later, Silverio’s car is heard crashing as it strikes
the underside of a parked delivery truck. The car has traveled approximately 170 feet from the
moment it started moving forward until it crashed.
___
Accompanying the text are photos from security footage and witness video that captured the ICE shooting on 9/12/2025.Bild

Martin Soto, a Peruvian man thrown into solitary confinement after organizing a hunger and labor strike inside the notorious for-profit ICE detention facility Delaney Hall, was released from New Jersey’s Elizabeth Detention Center with an ankle monitor Tuesday night.

Martin Soto went out for diapers. He came home eight months later.

The asylum seeker, who led a hunger strike inside a for-profit ICE facility, was released with an ankle monitor late Tuesday.

motherjones.com

NEW: asylum-seeker Martin Soto, who helped organize a hunger and labor strike in ICE’s notorious Delaney Hall, was released late last night with an ankle monitor. He spent 8 consecutive months in ICE custody, much of that time in solitary confinement. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Martin Soto went out for diapers. He came home eight months later.

The asylum seeker, who led a hunger strike inside a for-profit ICE facility, was released with an ankle monitor late Tuesday.

motherjones.com

I was fortunate to get to meet Gabriela and her daughter at Delaney Hall. Her tenacity, fortitude, and devotion to freeing Martin is inspirational. It also just adds to a point that should be so obvious, those who have gone through so much to come here are stronger than most of us will ever be.

Sophie Hurwitz@hurwitz.bsky.social · 4d ago

NEW: asylum-seeker Martin Soto, who helped organize a hunger and labor strike in ICE’s notorious Delaney Hall, was released late last night with an ankle monitor. He spent 8 consecutive months in ICE custody, much of that time in solitary confinement. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NEW: asylum-seeker Martin Soto, who helped organize a hunger and labor strike in ICE’s notorious Delaney Hall, was released late last night with an ankle monitor. He spent 8 consecutive months in ICE custody, much of that time in solitary confinement. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Martin Soto went out for diapers. He came home eight months later.

The asylum seeker, who led a hunger strike inside a for-profit ICE facility, was released with an ankle monitor late Tuesday.

motherjones.com