A Minnesota religious studies professor is facing six years in prison, with the DOJ saying he is part of an "antifa" conspiracy against ICE Erik Davis speaks out about his prosecution, largely based on a handful of his comments in Signal chats. He's not accused of any violence “It’s petty revenge"

The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case: ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’

Erik Davis is accused by the government of a ‘conspiracy’ to obstruct ICE – experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives

theguardian.com

Police murdered a Black man in the street in Madison WI today. Shot point blank in the head while on the ground, tased, and surrounded by four cops. It looks like an execution. Multiple videos circulating online. Things are about to get very bad here.

They made so few mistakes in Minnesota that two people were murdered, the ICE head was let go, and the agency has been sued numerous times for its crimes. Other than that? Flawless.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Homan: "All the mistakes they say happened in Minnesota -- the mistakes them claim in Minnesota, a lot of them I don't think were mistakes."

With funding cuts to mental health and addiction treatment services... I've been thinking a lot about the future of 988. All the data points to there's still a demand for it... www.kff.org/mental-healt...

988 Enters Its Fourth Year as Demand Grows and the Mental Health and Substance Use Landscape Shifts | KFF

Data as of March 2026 show that demand for 988 continues to rise, with the volume of calls, texts, and chats 15% higher than a year earlier and nearly 50% higher than two years ago. States are also an...

kff.org

I just renamed the document "Books to Buy -- Winter 2024" that I have been continuously editing (but not apparently buying fast enough) to "Books to Buy -- Running list" 😂 I am going to bury myself in books eventually

Did you write your comment yet on the OMB rules on federally funded science yet? No? Don’t worry, you can do it this weekend. Here are some resources that can help you get started.

While the phrase “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.

The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst” - Dissent Magazine

While the “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.

dissentmagazine.org

NEW: The Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to Minnesota led to widespread human rights violations. In a new report, HRW documents how the US government’s “Operation Metro Surge” caused a human rights crisis in Minnesota. Learn more: https://bit.ly/44dMOht

🎁Opinion by Will Bunch Gift Article Link in Replies/Comments The ‘Minneapolis 15’ ICE-protester indictments are meant to shut you up An outrageous federal conspiracy case against 15 anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota really seeks to silence all dissent. @willbunch.bsky.social

The Minneapolis 15 ICE-protester indictments are meant to shut you up | Will Bunch

An outrageous federal conspiracy case against 15 anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota really seeks to silence all dissent.

share.inquirer.com

Jason P. Steed@profsteed.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Important. Must read.

Now in #paperback, The Minneapolis Reckoning by @michellesphelps.bsky.social is an urgent account of why it’s so difficult to reform the police. Read a free preview & save 30% with code PUP30: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... #Sociology

Honoring the man convicted of murdering George Floyd the week of the anniversary is frankly shocking. Chauvin was convicted by a jury of his peers and was affirmed through every appeal. It shows cruelty to the Floyd family and disrespect to our courts and all Minnesotans. No one is above the law.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo ago

Minnesota GOP Party Chair Alex Plechash defends MNGOP's moment of silence for Chauvin at their convention: "There are a lot of people I think that believe Derek Chauvin was improperly convicted & not treated well & those people wanted to have a moment of silence in recognition bc they felt that way"

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis...

taylr@taylordahlin.com · 2mo ago

BREAKING: brian o'hara has resigned as the chief of the minneapolis police department o'hara was due to face the city council next month for a confirmation hearing to reappoint him, the same process community safety commissioner toddrick barnette has now failed twice

Check out @taylordahlin.com for coverage of the Rise and Remember Festival at George Floyd Square.

Six years. Reflecting again today on learning the right lessons from summer 2020.

Two book recs for today: Excellent work on George Floyd’s life & ancestry before it was taken by Chauvin & the MPD. And then @michellesphelps.bsky.social book about the failures of the City of Minneapolis in the wake of his death.

Mara Abolish I.C.E.@mauratwit.bsky.social · 2y ago

Ran the gauntlet that is hwy 55 & Lake Street to get to Moon Palace books. Picked up @michellesphelps.bsky.social new book about MPD and the Uprising after they killed George Floyd. *Deep Breaths * My memories are foggy from that time. Guess I’m ready to revisit 2020 &the backlash of 2021.

Now in #paperback, The Minneapolis Reckoning by @michellesphelps.bsky.social is an urgent account of why it’s so difficult to reform the police. Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

NEW FREE HELL! @michellesphelps.bsky.social on "The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America" (@princetonupress.bsky.social). "If you don't change culture, no policy reform, training or even accountability is going to fix it." www.patreon.com/posts/new-fr...

NEW FREE HELL! "Culture Eats Policy for Breakfast" | This Is Hell!

NEW FREE HELL! "Culture Eats Policy for Breakfast" by This Is Hell! on Patreon. Join This Is Hell!'s community for exclusive content and updates.

patreon.com

I understand the frustration that charges for the killers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti haven't been filed yet, but good work takes time and that's even when the Feds aren't doing everything they can to obstruct the process. Hopefully the case for the people who shot Julio Sosa-Celis is instructive

Minnesota Star Tribune@startribune.com · 3mo ago

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office issued a nationwide arrest warrant on Monday for the ICE agent who allegedly shot a Venezuelan immigrant in north Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge and then lied about the circumstances that led to the shooting.

Tues.: @ineteconomics.bsky.social' Arjun Jayadev on “Against Money," (@uchicagopress.bsky.social). Weds.: @michellesphelps.bsky.social, author of, "The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America" (@princetonupress.bsky.social). www.patreon.com/posts/this-w...

This Week in Hell!

This Week in Hell!

patreon.com

Spoke recently to a friend of mine who runs a lab. This administration is profoundly, maybe irreversibly, undermining the foundations of scientific research in the US. We won't feel the effects right away but they're coming

Ted Pavlic (he/him/his)@tedpavlic.bsky.social · 3mo ago

MIT announces “the number of grad students will be 20 percent less than it was in 2024 — about 500 fewer students” www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Every year, the remembrance around George Floyd's murder grows quieter and right-wing attempts to retcon the meaning and significance of those massive protests grows louder. Apparently we've now reached the racist joke stage of that process. It's v grim.

My two fave typos from today's grading -- "pirate universities" [PRIVATE universities) and "killing as they wait" [killing TIME as they wait]. Just a delight. (At least it's not the other "public")

Back in the day physicists used to write spoof papers to prank social science journals. Now they just need to throw in some chatbot prompts. Progress!

Per Engzell@pengzell.bsky.social · 3mo ago

What can we learn from automating an entire quantitative social science paper, from prompt to finished product? Thread about ongoing work with @natewilmers.bsky.social 1/12 Paper: osf.io/preprints/so...

Few organizations I've worked alongside for as long as, and respect as much as #Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC). And few states have been at the center of this work the way Minnesota has been—for years. Check out this incredible conversation from the MNJRC about the future of their work.

Advancing Justice in Minnesota: A Forward-Looking Discussion with MNJRC (Recording - February 2026)

YouTube video by Minnesota Justice Research Center

youtu.be

Yessss!! Academia would be better if the incentives were such that people read more and published less.

Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 3mo ago

FWIW, I don’t think the major problem in my field, or related ones, is that people need to move faster & produce more. I read a lot of papers as part of the job, and I’m increasingly convinced we’d benefit from fewer papers and better ones, not more mediocre work produced ever more “efficiently.”

Linked In's no doubt AI-fueled jobs tab just suggested I apply to work as Adjunct Instructor at the university where I'm a full professor. 😂 So the good news is I don't think the robots are *quite* ready for their takeover.

Happy May Day! I fucking love it here

As @mcopelov.bsky.social reminds me, I'm going to have to update my voting rights timeline...

Re the Voting Rights Act: I've used this graph a lot to illustrate how the VRA largely ended the historic pattern of blocking and burdening Black voters in the south. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...