Peter Beck
@pwbeck.bsky.social
associate editor @lawfaremedia.org law nerd @courtwatch.bsky.social dc by way of sc
Should have @'d @pwbeck.bsky.social below!
Roger Parloff@rparloff.bsky.social · 2d agoIf you want to know what the first public hearing ever in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court was like, it went *exactly* like @Lawfare's Peter Beck describes here. Standout dispatch: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/disp...
On July 29, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court convened for the first time. @pwbeck.bsky.social sat through the first hearing of this court and reports on what occurred:
Dispatch: Setting Up Secret Courts
The first public hearing of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its stumbles.
lawfaremedia.org
Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. @pwbeck.bsky.social and @seamushughes.bsky.social explain why Justice Department officials decided to bring a case now and why the court laid inactive for so long.
The Rip Van Winkle Court
Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. We dive into DOJ’s awakening of a controversial court.
lawfaremedia.org
“For this piece, we spoke with half a dozen legal experts and attorneys, reviewed far too many academic journals and law briefs, and almost convinced a judge on the court to talk to us about process.” Our Sunday deep dive on the Alien Terrorist Removal Court www.courtwatch.news/p/the-rabbit...
The Rabbit Hole: The Rip Van Winkle Court
Last week, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its first case in 30 years. We dive into DOJ’s awakening of a controversial court.
courtwatch.news
Really interesting and important @lawfaremedia.org deep-dive by @pwbeck.bsky.social, Troy Edwards, Alexandra Hughes, and Barry Jonas, looking at critical new limitations in our legal counterterrorism toolkit against homegrown, "lone wolf" terrorists.
U.S. v. Ullah and the Problem With the ‘Lone Wolf’
A federal appellate court limited a key asset in the Department of Justice’s counterterrorism toolkit.
lawfaremedia.org
On April 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the life sentence of the 2017 attempted NYC subway suicide bomber, but overturned the material support conviction. @pwbeck.bsky.social, Troy Edwards, Alexandra Hughes, and Barry Jonas explain the potential ramifications of this decision.
U.S. v. Ullah and the Problem With the ‘Lone Wolf’
A federal appellate court limited a key asset in the Department of Justice’s counterterrorism toolkit.
lawfaremedia.org
The Trump administration's counterterrorism strategy nevers mentions the far-right and trades an accurate assessment of the threat landscape for political rhetoric, write @pwbeck.bsky.social and @jacobware.bsky.social.
At a Mosque in San Diego, Trump’s Counterterrorism Strategy Falls Flat
The administration’s strategy trades an accurate assessment of the threat landscape for political rhetoric.
lawfaremedia.org
“Shifting resources and attention to unfounded threats to appease the administration’s partisan ideology will undermine efforts to deter actual threats.” With @pwbeck.bsky.social for @lawfaremedia.org.
At a Mosque in San Diego, Trump’s Counterterrorism Strategy Falls Flat
The administration’s strategy trades an accurate assessment of the threat landscape for political rhetoric.
lawfaremedia.org
The Trump administration's national counterterrorism strategy does not mention the far right. Two weeks later, two teens citing Great Replacement theory allegedly killed 3 at a San Diego mosque. @pwbeck.bsky.social and @jacobware.bsky.social explain the implications of the strategy's blind spots.
At a Mosque in San Diego, Trump’s Counterterrorism Strategy Falls Flat
The administration’s strategy trades an accurate assessment of the threat landscape for political rhetoric.
lawfaremedia.org
NEW: The Trump administration's counterterrorism strategy ignores far-right terrorism. And given America's long-standing experience with white supremacy, the administration's oversight is likely to cost lives. With my friend @pwbeck.bsky.social for @lawfaremedia.org.
At a Mosque in San Diego, Trump’s Counterterrorism Strategy Falls Flat
The administration’s strategy trades an accurate assessment of the threat landscape for political rhetoric.
lawfaremedia.org
So grateful to @pwbeck.bsky.social and @courtwatch.bsky.social for covering this era-defining question: “Are A.I. companies complicit in a string of violence that began online?” @seamushughes.bsky.social
The Rabbit Hole: When A.I. Helps Kill.
Thwarted Terror Attacks. Attempted School Shootings. Suicides. Are A.I. companies complicit in a string of violence that began online?
courtwatch.news
Representing yourself is a lonely but occasionally noble endeavor. This morning we examine the rise of legal deserts in America, what happens when you take your concerns on your own to the U.S. Courts, and the innumerable ways the deck is stacked against you. www.courtwatch.news/p/the-rabbit...
The Rabbit Hole: Taking on the Courts, Alone.
Between the legal deserts and rising costs of lawyers, more and more Americans are attempting to represent themselves in court. For the most part, it’s not going well for them.
courtwatch.news
🚨 NEW TOOL for U.S. legal journalists ⚖️ I turned @allyjar.bsky.social's incredible crowdsourced Google doc on accessing state court records into an interactive map. Check it out and let me know about any errors, missing information, or ways I can improve this thing (link below)
On May 6, the White House released the Trump administration’s 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy. It focuses on 3 types of "terror groups”: cartels, jihadists, and left-wing extremists. Read the strategy, from @pwbeck.bsky.social.
Trump Administration Releases 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
The 16-page memo signed by President Trump reiterates the administration’s plan to pursue cartels, jihadists, and left-wing actors.
lawfaremedia.org
On Lawfare Daily, @praddenkeefe.bsky.social joined @pwbeck.bsky.social to discuss his most recent book, “London Falling," Radden Keefe’s investigation of a London teenager’s fatal plunge into the Thames and the United Kingdom’s acquiescence to foreign influence. youtu.be/0WgVleSjoDE
On March 31, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which purports to expand federal control over state-run federal elections. Read the order, from @pwbeck.bsky.social.
Trump Signs Executive Order Purporting to Restrict Mail-in Voting
The order broadens the administration’s effort to expand federal input in state and local elections.
lawfaremedia.org
"In the end, the greatest moral of Morris’s tale may lie not so much in the ills of effective altruism as in the powerful appeal of believing our own lies." @pwbeck.bsky.social reviews “Stealing the Future” by David Morris.
Sam Bankman-Fried and the Lies We Tell Ourselves
A review of David Morris, “Stealing the Future” (Repeater, 2025)
lawfaremedia.org
“Mass shooters are the cool kids.” Essential reporting by @pwbeck.bsky.social and @seamushughes.bsky.social in @courtwatch.bsky.social, covering the True Crime Community and its "attempts to normalize extreme violence as a noble goal to achieve, not a macabre urge to suppress."
The Rabbit Hole: Saints and Killers
A rising number of mass shootings can be traced back to a young and violent online community obsessed with death.
courtwatch.news
The United States has suffered four terrorist attacks since the war in #Iran broke out. Yet our counterterrorism infrastructure continues to atrophy. My thoughts on the challenges ahead, with @colinpclarke.bsky.social in the @latimes.com.
Contributor: The U.S. desperately needs functional counterterrorism
America’s defenses are divided, disorganized and under-resourced at a high-risk moment during the war against Iran.
latimes.com
Do you like cool maps? Have you ever wondered why there isn’t a Bloomberg Terminal for life? Do you sometimes have trouble suppressing an irresistible urge to “monitor the situation”? If so, my new essay in @thebaffler.com on OSINT slop and vibe coded dashboards is for you!
Great to join my friends @seamushughes.bsky.social and @pwbeck.bsky.social on the @lawfaremedia.org podcast, discussing counterterrorism challenges posed by 764, the True Crime Community, youth radicalization, and broader nihilistic violent extremism.
Lawfare Daily: Nihilistic Violent Extremism with Seamus Hughes and Jacob Ware
YouTube video by Lawfare
youtube.com
On Lawfare Daily, @pwbeck.bsky.social sat down with @seamushughes.bsky.social and @jacobware.bsky.social to discuss the FBI’s new NVE classification, the online terror group 764, challenges counterterrorism professionals face with a younger set of aspiring terrorists, and more. youtu.be/RwPAsGEz7HA
Today Anthropic sued the Department of Defense over its designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk. Read the complaint, from @pwbeck.bsky.social.
Anthropic Sues Defense Department Over Supply Chain Risk Designation
The frontier AI firm’s civil suit brings the dispute over its two ethical limitations to the Northern District of California.
lawfaremedia.org
New Piece: Court Watch commissioned @rachelweiner.bsky.social , until quite recently a journalist at the Washington Post, to write about reporting on the fastest court district in America and what is lost when there are no assigned reporters left to cover it. www.courtwatch.news/p/the-rabbit...
The Rabbit Hole: Covering the Courts from a Windowless Office
For more than a decade, Rachel Weiner, until quite recently a Washington Post journalist, chronicled the news involving the D.C. metropolitan area, which included stints at the Eastern District of Vir...
courtwatch.news
Read this.
Court Watch@courtwatch.bsky.social · 6mo agoNew Piece: Court Watch commissioned @rachelweiner.bsky.social , until quite recently a journalist at the Washington Post, to write about reporting on the fastest court district in America and what is lost when there are no assigned reporters left to cover it. www.courtwatch.news/p/the-rabbit...
Last week, @tylermcbrien.com sat down with @pwbeck.bsky.social and @seamushughes.bsky.social to discuss what happens when “dockets die in darkness" in ‘news deserts,’ that are devoid of even a single newspaper, let alone a reporter dedicated to its federal court. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFZd...
Last month, @courtwatch.bsky.social reported on a Texas criminal defense that terrorist threats on Roblox were not "a true threat" because they were issued in an online game. This seems a more egregious case. Would such an argument also apply here? @seamushughes.bsky.social @pwbeck.bsky.social
The Rabbit Hole: A Texas Criminal Case Tests a Decades-Old Statute
Prosecutors feverishly worked over the holidays to try to keep a Texas teenager in jail after a judge dismissed the case.
courtwatch.news
I wrote about grief and my dad for the twentieth anniversary of his passing. open.substack.com/pub/pwbeck/p...
Decoration Day
Wednesday, February 11th, marks the twentieth year since my father lost his battle with depression.
open.substack.com
On Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com sat down with @pwbeck.bsky.social and @seamushughes.bsky.social to discuss the impact of ‘news deserts,’ a place that is largely devoid of even a newspaper that can cover its federal court and what happens when “dockets die in darkness.” youtu.be/oFZd2G--dJI