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points by cellsstudio 1 day ago | 0 comments

Man, this is chilling. Between this and those "anti-ice" protestors that got a collective 450 years of jail time, it seems pretty close to police state levels of power, corruption and control.

[–] flowerlad 1 day ago

Add to that the weaponization of the justice department. Former FBI director Comey charged 3 times as retaliation, Senator Mark Kelly and other senators, even lowly aides such as Cassidy Hutchinson, all facing retaliation.

David Hearn, the former Olympic canoeist was accused and indicted for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, purely as a scapegoat.

All federal funds to the state of Colorado frozen to force them to release a convicted-and-imprisoned ally of the administration (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOE6DTMjPEc )

All of this happening out in the open, no checks, no balances. Yeah it isn't "pretty close", it is a police state.

[–] monneyboi 1 day ago

I think we can stop pretending it's "pretty close" and just call it what it is.

[–] ngruhn 1 day ago

Well it can definitely get worse. You're not yet scared of being picked up tonight for posting this comment.

[–] JayNitram 1 day ago

There have been people recently that have had law enforcement show up to their homes for posting comments.

[–] qup 1 day ago

Are they British?

[–] boringg 1 day ago

Sources for that kind of claim please.

[–] aisenik 1 day ago

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/12/nx-s1-5667213/free-speech-law...

[–] KerrAvon 1 day ago

They're not hard to find. It's happening; it's not as widespread as it could be if it's allowed to continue. Put this into google: "federal agents intimidating people for posting social media comments".

[–] JayNitram 1 day ago

I feel they weren't being genuine in their request, but just in case, a couple quick finds.

https://www.npr.org/2026/09/10/nx-s1-5961220/dhs-ice-observe...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7pyjxjxrvo

[–] jsbisviewtiful 1 day ago

> I feel they weren't being genuine in their request

Likely not. I've always been surprised by the amount of authoritarian sympathizers here.

[–] pixl97 1 day ago

How do you know they are not. I mean, the moment they posted it here it's now part of the forever record in some data center.

[–] ngruhn 1 day ago

If you live in North Korea or pre-unified East Germany, you know the difference. You don't protest, you don't express your opinion, even in private because who knows who the government spies are or who will snitch on you for slightly better living conditions in the system.

ICE has murdered protestors but each case is a headline. Start worrying when it's not a headline anymore. Either because the media are suppressed or because it becomes so common that it's not newsworthy anymore. Wait until the army indiscriminately opens fire on crowds of people and the government isn't even trying to justify it. And when you hear stories of people just disappearing. Then you will be scared to post comments like this.

[–] pixl97 1 day ago

>Start worrying when it's not a headline anymore

I fireproof my house before it catches on fire.

[–] 0xDEAFBEAD 1 day ago

Sure, it's fine to complain, but calling it a "police state" just discredits you at this stage.

I feel like a big lesson of US politics over the past few years is if you hyperventilate and accuse your opponents of doing some type of drastic shit which they haven't yet done, that backfires by creating political cover and possibly even motivation to do the drastic bad thing. "Do not obey in advance" is a related concept. By helping to make the unthinkable thinkable, you might just be doing a favor for a potential tyrant.

Anyways, HN loves to glaze China, and they have much stiffer speech controls. I think these complaints are motivated more by anti-Trump sentiment than a genuine love for liberty.

[–] pixl97 1 day ago

This is silly.

"If you ignore everything that's happening the problem will just go away. So easy, I don't have to do anything at all".

>By helping to make the unthinkable thinkable

If I just close my eyes the fire will magically go out by myself.

Have you ever stopped to think that the opposite of what you're thinking may actually be closer to the truth.

[–] djeastm 1 day ago

>Start worrying when it's not a headline anymore.

By then it's too late

[–] MSFT_Edging 1 day ago

> If you live in North Korea or pre-unified East Germany, you know the difference. You don't protest, you don't express your opinion, even in private because who knows who the government spies are or who will snitch on you for slightly better living conditions in the system.

This level of control is unnecessary when the population is mentally captive and the chilling effect of police violence prevents any actual action.

[–] xxs 1 day ago

>North Korea or pre-unified East Germany, you know the difference

Most of the East side of the Wall was like that, it's just less known.

[–] scarecrowbob 1 day ago

By your standards you should have started worrying a long, long time ago.

The problem is that I say things like that and folks respond "well, what do you mean". But of course, by your standards you -also- don't know what folks in general are complaining about because you don't pay attention.

If you've been paying attention to radical politics in the US, you will know that the state has been consistently infiltrating and destroying groups of folks who are legally organizing since the 19th C labor movements. You'd consider the genocide of indigenous folks, the assassination of Fred Hampton, the MOVE bombings and understand that the US does all the same repressive work, but the citizens in the US think that is a "good" thing.

[–] kakacik 1 day ago

Seems like you are constructing a very specific situation that should mark some sort of regime change to dictatorship. The reality is, complex things have their own momentum and US society is a big thing.

Btw I've lived in one of those regimes. Yes people often privately expressed their stark opinions against the system, sometimes in more vague forms also publicly. There is infinite amount of gray between those 2 extremes, and US is already somewhere there moving darker a bit each day.

[–] jzb 1 day ago

"Start worrying when it's not a headline anymore."

Er. No? Start worrying before it is not a headline anymore. If you wait to worry (and take action) at the point you propose, it's become too late to do anything about it.

It's sad that this seems to be a prevalent attitude. "It hasn't gotten unbearable yet so there's no reason to take action now." Ideally we'd be pushing back on these things long long long before they're even a remote possibility.

We still have roving packs of ICE people abducting people across the country with almost no accountability. We're not far from "the army indiscriminately opens fire on crowds of people". I like to believe that if ICE were to go even farther and do something like this that it would trigger a mass pushback/reaction, but TBH I don't feel entirely confident that it would.

"Either because the media are suppressed" -- we're seeing media suppression now, from two angles: the head of the FCC is literally trying to intimidate media outlets regularly, the most recent (that I'm aware of) being telling media outlets not to run polls that show how unpopular Trump is. The other angle is allowing the buy-up/consolidation of media by right-wing oligarchs who then start tampering with news coverage.

[–] scarecrowbob 1 day ago

The fact that it can always get worse means that it's tautological to say "it can get worse".

[–] ngruhn 1 day ago

For Dudley Dursley it's the worst getting only 36 presents for his birthday. It's good to maintain a sense of proportionality. If you call everything hell, the word hell looses meaning and it's also an insult to people actually living in hell.

[–] scarecrowbob 1 day ago

I mean, yeah.

Though you're the one comparing getting a 50-year sentence for being a member of a signal chat to "only 36 presents for his birthday".

I am sure you have a reply but "it can only get worse".

[–] ta2304980 1 day ago

An important characteristic of autocracy and fascism is there is no bottom: the government is targeting activists but you can still talk about it online; professors in Texas must submit their syllabus to AI censorship software to screen for discussions of sexuality, but they aren't being sent to the gulag; ...; people are free to go about their lives as long as they are "apolitical"; ...; Suharto's death squads have killed half a million "communists" but at least it's not 5 million, and it's mostly in the villages...

Another important concept is the Dual State; there will always be some people who remain within the Normative State even as it shrinks and shrinks, and while the horrors of the Prerogative State become more and more extreme.

[–] yieldcrv 1 day ago

hey guys, we can talk about it with no discernible change even with that capability so we’re so unique and different

classic American cope

and this round, everyone without birth naturalization is being investigated for removal based on their speech, when it doesn’t match the state opinion

[–] tavavex 1 day ago

The "pretty close" is a hedge in case if the gun ever ends up pointing at them.

[–] mywittyname 1 day ago

Hedging won't help, so we might as well be blunt.

[–] intothemild 1 day ago

Sparkling fascism?.

[–] elgertam 1 day ago

Didn't they get 450 years of jail time (spread among nine people IIRC) for attacking a government building with explosives and committing attempted murder?[0] If the start of your pattern of "police state levels of power, corruption and control" is people engaging in organized terrorism, (i.e. using violence for political ends) being convicted of terrorism offenses, then I guess I don't see it. Looks to me like some folks wanted to LARP as revolutionaries but with real bullets & explosives and were surprised the government's tolerance for that was limited.

[0]https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyedgnyn4mo

[–] reactordev 1 day ago

Shot in the neck and lived. 420 years. Pretti filming peacefully and shot in the back. 0 years.

[–] elgertam 1 day ago

What's the point of this comment? Both things can be bad.

[–] tavavex 1 day ago

Highlighting the hypocrisy? Even if we assumed both things are equally bad (an opinion I will never understand), it doesn't change the fact of the different treatment whatsoever.

[–] cauch 1 day ago

The way you frame the event is very misleading after reading the article.

I know that idiots will argue that "attacking a government building with explosives and committing attempted murder" is "technically correct", but it is stupidity to not understand that it leaves out important nuances.

[–] scarecrowbob 1 day ago

I mean, everything is an "emergency" if you squint and have no regard for the humans you harm.

I'm not the biggest fan of Orwell but the idea that authoritarians work by asking us to stop using language in normal way has been unfortunately helpful.

[–] uxp100 1 day ago

The “explosives” being Fourth of July fireworks.

[–] WarmWash 1 day ago

I think in another universe where they just stood outside and shouted while holding signs and shooting up fireworks, then peaceably surrendered when when the cops came, they would get slaps on the wrist, maybe.

But instead a few of them had guns, and one of them decided to get into a shoot-off with the police.

You are unequivocally fucked if you have any degree of association with those people doing shit like that on federal property.

(the bodycams and security footage for this event are on youtube)

[–] TaLiTr 1 day ago

> But instead a few of them had guns

One of them had a gun, which the US decided was ok for someone to carry in public.

> You are unequivocally fucked if you have any degree of association with those people

Guilt by association is it?

[–] corps_and_code 1 day ago

Small nitpick, but I believe this all happened on private, not federal, property. The ICE facility they were protesting at was a private company ICE was contracting with, not an actual federal building.

[–] WarmWash 1 day ago

It doesn't look like the judge cared much

[–] tavavex 1 day ago

IIRC, people involved in this case made extremely telling comments about the political alignment of the protestors. They despise them either way, the guns are just used as pretext to elevate it to the next level, especially since the people among them who didn't have guns or do anything violent didn't escape the wrath. They almost certainly would not have gotten slaps on the wrist, those are reserved for 'our good boys'. They would have still gotten their lives ruined, just not in quite the same dramatic fashion with showy century-long sentences, but just the routine 'you're going away for a long time' treatment.

[–] UncleMeat 1 day ago

Not just people involved, but the judge. Kacsmaryk is basically a psycho and his statements during the sentencing are outrageous.

[–] UncleMeat 1 day ago

Exactly one of them had a gun on them.

[–] nomel 1 day ago

Did they discharge the gun? If so, was it towards anyone? If so, who was it towards and what was the intent? Was anyone harmed during that discharge?

[–] UncleMeat 17 hours ago

If you want to claim that the guy who shot the cop should be charged with attempted murder or something, fine. But the entire crew of them (including somebody who wasn't there) were charged with a completely different crime and given outrageous sentences because the judge (Kacsmaryk) hates the left.

[–] elgertam 1 day ago

People are killed and maimed every year from Fourth of July fireworks. You're proving my point that these were LARPing revolutionaries who nevertheless engaged in real violence.

And please don't forget the attempted murder that the leader really did carry out with a firearm.

[–] adamrezich 1 day ago

Gunpowder is gunpowder.

[–] nailer 1 day ago

This is like the "Palestinian children throwing rocks". You can do as much damage with fireworks as you can with a head-sized piece of concrete.

[–] zimbu668 1 day ago

Those aren't "explosives", they are explosives. Google death/maiming by fireworks for examples.

[–] smallmancontrov 1 day ago

No, the fact that people occasionally get hurt by accident with fireworks does not make the violent subtext in "attacking a government building with explosives" a correct description of the situation.

[–] zimbu668 1 day ago

So you admit that fireworks are known to cause death and severe bodily harm. What sort of prison sentence would be appropriate for attacking people with such devices?

[–] tclancy 1 day ago

Water is known to cause death and serious harm.

[–] elgertam 1 day ago

And people who use water intentionally to cause death or serious harm should face harsh legal consequences.

In fact, let's use your argument. People drown accidentally in swimming pools regularly. So then if some "protester" decided to set up one of those portable pools and forcibly hold people down under water in one, wouldn't they be guilty of attempted murder?

Using things that are known to cause death and serious harm in a way that is intended to cause death and serious harm is in fact the thing I'm against.

[–] zimbu668 1 day ago

So if you throw water at me I can throw a lit firework back at you? Same thing?

[–] carlosjobim 1 day ago

That's why drowning somebody or attempting to drown somebody is a crime. Just like using fireworks as a weapon against somebody.

[–] smallmancontrov 1 day ago

So you admit that you were making a nonsense argument. Thanks for your honesty!

[–] zimbu668 1 day ago

Nope, fireworks are still explosives and they can cause death and severe bodily harm. Where’s the nonsense?

[–] UncleMeat 1 day ago

Suppose I am setting off some fireworks in my street to celebrate the 4th. Do you believe that my neighbors should fear for their lives? This was a noise protest. They weren't shooting roman candles at people.

[–] tantalor 1 day ago

Listen to the NYT Daily episode about this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/27/podcasts/the-daily/antifa...

tldr, the govt (not the court) decides whether it is terrorism or not, which elevates misdemeanor into decades long felony conviction.

The J6 crowd was not charged with terrorism.

[–] ledbettj 1 day ago

> Looks to me like some folks wanted to LARP as revolutionaries but with real bullets & explosives and were surprised the government's tolerance for that was limited.

Unless of course your guy ends up in power again and offers you pardons and reparations.

[–] dgellow 1 day ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_granted_executi...

[–] so-gala-massey 1 day ago

Tolerance? Jan 6.

[–] rc-research 1 day ago

Attacking a government building with explosives is a stretch. They had fireworks on July 4th to stage a noise protest outside of the detention facility which got out of hand. The issue is that the government's case for 'material support for terror' mostly hinged on them wearing black and all being members of a signal chat [1] and handed down extraordinarily harsh sentences.

The government's case explicitly tried to throw the book at all involved (including 30 years for someone not even at the protest; for moving a box of anti-fascist literature) in line with new executive direction including NSPM-7[1][2].

The BBC article you linked takes many of the procecutor's statements at face value. Looking into this case more may illuminate how wide this survailance and punnishment net will be cast against the administration's political enemies.

[1]https://theintercept.com/2026/06/23/prairieland-texas-ice-pr... [2]https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/coun...

[–] UncleMeat 1 day ago

"Explosives" in this case are "ordinary fireworks you can buy at a stand on the side of the road meant to be loud and annoying."

[–] doginasuit 1 day ago

While the Jan. 6th convicts all get pardons.

[–] Windchaser 1 day ago

> it seems pretty close to police state levels of power, corruption and control.

And: which country has the highest incarceration rate in the world?

[–] technothrasher 1 day ago

El Salvador?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcera...

[–] atmavatar 1 day ago

In terms of absolute number of incarcerated persons, though, the US is ahead of everyone else by a country mile. Depending on which inmate pools you include or exclude, the US holds 20-25% of all incarcerated persons in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_St...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_ra...

[–] wallst07 18 hours ago

Yes and if you look those rates have been going down for years. This used to be a big talking point years ago, not so much anymore.

[–] yeetawayhn 1 day ago

> In terms of absolute number of incarcerated persons, though

They weren't asking about absolute numbers, though

>which country has the highest incarceration rate in the world?

[–] mdp2021 1 day ago

Not an argument.

> [El Salvador (16.5/Mln), Cuba (8/Mln), Rwanda (6/Mln), Turkmenistan (5.5/Mln), United States (5.5/Mln)]

[–] leoqa 1 day ago

Go watch the body cam footage of the peaceful protest. Looks a lot like people with guns hid in the woods and shot a cop who responded to what looked like a terrorist attack.

[–] zimbu668 1 day ago

You think a prison sentence for shooting a federal law enforcement officer in the neck is chilling?

[–] TaLiTr 1 day ago

Well 100 years seems disproportionately harsh compared to other sentences for the same crime.

And the other protesters had huge, unjust sentences applied to them for protesting.

[–] vkou 1 day ago

No, the 30 year one for not even being at the protest is.

Or the lack of one for a bunch of feds pinning a man to the ground and executing him. And then scattering like fucking roaches after they do so.

But you know all this. Why are you carrying water for it?

[–] gambiting 1 day ago

Just remember that there is a child somewhere who saw their mum for the last time happily dropping them for school only to be shot by an ICE agent seconds after he called her a fucking bitch - and the agent faced no consequences for this. Every time I think about that kid my heart breaks. Every time I think about the cruelty of the system unwilling to at least put this one wrong right and prosecute the agent properly my heart breaks. What a unbelievably cruel world we live in.

[–] ted_bunny 1 day ago

Cats always have claws, not just when they're showing.