@samtlevin.bsky.social
Guardian senior reporter, based in Los Angeles. Sam.Levin@theguardian [dot] com. https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sam-levin
NEW: Two US citizens jailed in LA ICE raids speak out. Andrea Velez + Adrian Martinez were both grabbed outside their workplaces + say agents refused to believe they were citizens.
Andrea was unsure the masked men were officers as they dragged her into their car: “I thought they were kidnapping me”
The DOJ has dismissed at least 12 felony cases against protesters accused of "assault" + "impeding" officers and ppl accused of interfering w/ ICE arrests. The cases have upended ppl's lives - many jailed for days. Nearly all targeted are Latino US citizens.
“They're chasing down innocent people."
NEW: Border patrol made false claims about Los Angeles protesters it jailed, misrepresenting basic facts of events that were filmed. I obtained records of officers acknowledging + "apologizing" for errors
The DOJ is now dismissing cases, an embarrassment for Trump-appointed US attorney Bill Essayli
Thomas detailed brutal BOP + ICE conditions, worsening amid mass detentions:
-lockdown for days, cut off from family
-1hr outdoor time / week
-given stained used underwear + bloody jumpsuits
-no medical care
-immigrants denied translators
-fed “disgusting” mystery meat slop, left malnourished
NEW: An Irish tourist visiting the US was jailed by ICE for 3 months after overstaying 3 days due to medical issue. Thomas agreed to be deported, but instead went to federal prison where he recounted horrific conditions + no medical care.
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
Federal officers from across US government depts have joined ICE to execute raids, but we don't know who they are while they widely cover their faces + refuse to identify themselves.
"Masked agents in casual clothing using force against people in public is associated with police states."
DHS keeps accusing critics of "assaulting officers" when videos show otherwise. In some cases, it's the protesters + prominent Dems who are roughed up or injured by officers.
It's "classic policing," says @dreanyc123.bsky.social. “The harder you get beaten, the more likely you’ll get those charges"
Now, US attorney Bill Essayli, a vocal Trump supporter appointed this year, has moved to dismiss charges against Jose + another protester arrested at the same time. The second protester was seen on footage being forcefully shoved by an agent. Jose spent two nights jailed + has been on ankle monitor.
19.06.2025 20:03 — 👍 97 🔁 16 💬 2 📌 0
We published video last week of border patrol agents arresting Jose, who recounted being thrown to the ground, placed in a chokehold and suffering bruises/contusions all over his body:
"I thought I was going to die," he told me earlier, while still facing assault charges carrying 8 years in prison
NEWS: In one of the first major federal prosecutions of an LA protester, the DOJ has moved to dismiss the case. Jose Manuel Mojica was accused of assaulting officers, but came forward to Guardian to recount how he was brutally attacked by agents.
“I feel a huge relief. The truth always comes out."
NEW: A Los Angeles protester is facing 8 years in prison on federal charges of assaulting an officer. Jose Mojica, 30, comes forward to say it was he who was brutally assaulted by border patrol. We obtained video.
“We're not the violent ones. They escalated it. They're chasing down innocent people"
AB Hernandez, the teen athlete targeted by Trump's anti-trans attacks: “I know how hard I've worked. That's what matters...Track is everything to me. It's an honor I’m a champion for something I love"
Her mom Nereyda: “They try to intimidate ppl to quit, but I’m not scared of them"
My interviews:
New investigation: After Oregon invested $20m for drug addiction services, counties spent the funds on prosecutors, sheriffs, police gadgets + cars.
I got records revealing how law enforcement used $ meant for treatment, as providers face major cuts + patients are stuck on waiting lists to get help
Trump's call to revive Alcatraz may be a far-fetched publicity stunt, but his efforts to reopen shuttered prisons are well underway across the US.
Five closed jails and prisons have reopened for ICE or will soon. More are being targeted. My breakdown of their scandals + the private firms profiting:
And it comes as Trump is reviving family detention and looking to increase the amount of time that children can spend locked up. My colleague @maanvisingh.bsky.social's harrowing account from one family, including a 13-year-old, who were detained for three weeks.
“Each day like this was torture.”
This rapid expansion of ICE detention into US prisons comes as the Trump administration is partnering with 300+ local law enforcement agencies across the country to assist in mass deportations agenda, as revealed by my colleagues @wcraft.bsky.social + @oliverlaughland.bsky.social this week:
02.05.2025 18:58 — 👍 25 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
Trump is now housing hundreds of immigrants in notorious federal prisons. I collected accounts from detainees who report:
Moldy food; shortages of food and toilet paper; given used underwear + bloodstained clothes; no medical care; filthy cells; cut off from family; some missing their ICE hearings
Bar graph titled: "Drug test positivity rate for opiates in California prisons" with subhead: "Quest Diagnostics used a different chemical in drug tests from mid-April through July" The bar graph shows that the opiate testing rate was around 6.6% to 6.8% in Jan thru April of 2024, and then spiked to 17.1% in May, 20.5% in June and 17.1% in July when a new chemical was used.
Scandal exposed by UnCommon Law, org that reps ppl in parole cases + has affected clients. They obtained test data showing when Quest Diagnostics used a new chemical for tests, positives jumped 300% across prisons
Quest admitted its chemical switch caused a spike but downplayed the scale of impact.
CA Dept of Corrections records show that officials believe as many as 6,000 people may have gotten false positive test results for illicit substances. The parole board has since cited the tests to deny people freedom or deny parole hearings – decisions that could add years to people's time in prison
09.04.2025 18:02 — 👍 60 🔁 27 💬 4 📌 0
NEW: Thousands incarcerated in California were given faulty drug tests that produced false positives – some denied parole due to erroneous claims of opioid use, according to internal records + lawyer testimony.
Officials have known about the issue for months, but have not cleared people's records.
❤️❤️
04.04.2025 04:23 — 👍 12 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
In Oregon, 4,000+ defendants facing criminal charges have no attorneys due to a public defender shortage, incl 400+ ppl who've waited 3+ months for a lawyer.
The state's new "war on drugs" law is worsening the crisis, with cops now arresting + jailing thousands of drug users for minor possession:
Oregon's new War on Drugs: thousands of people are being arrested and jailed for low-level possession, many unhoused, unable to access lawyers + faced with long waits for treatment.
My dispatch on the end of decriminalization, reported from Medford, the city leading the way in jailing drug users:
30+ pro-Palestine protesters sue UCLA + LAPD for widespread civil rights violations, wrongful arrests + excessive force in 2024.
Suit names alleged counterprotesters who attacked the Palestine Solidarity Encampment for hours while police + UC failed to intervene, some officers standing feet away:
“It’s cruel and unusual punishment, because you’re punishing this group for no reason other than you don’t think they should exist.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
07.03.2025 20:28 — 👍 588 🔁 111 💬 10 📌 4
text screenshot: One judge criticized the US government for failing to address plaintiffs’ concerns that their gender dysphoria would be exacerbated in men’s prisons “whether because they will be subject to searches by male correctional officers, made to shower in the company of men, referred to as men, forced to dress as men, or simply because the mere homogenous presence of men will cause uncomfortable dissonance”.
One judge noted harms extend far beyond the real threats of physical + sexual violence into distress from being "subject to searches by male correctional officers, made to shower in the company of men, referred to as men, forced to dress as men" and "uncomfortable dissonance" of all men's facility
07.03.2025 20:28 — 👍 385 🔁 44 💬 2 📌 2Lawyers are most immediately focused on preserving trans folks' housing and healthcare, but Trump's order has caused chaos, abuse, harassment and removal of basic accommodations for trans ppl across prison system. Many have long been housed in wrong facilities + faced severe violence/discrimination.
07.03.2025 20:21 — 👍 395 🔁 37 💬 1 📌 0Judges' rulings so far have successfully shielded 17 trans women from being moved from women's prisons to men's prisons, lawyers say. But trans women not included in the litigation as plaintiffs have been moved to men's prisons this week. Trans women newly entering BOP have also been placed with men
07.03.2025 20:14 — 👍 497 🔁 85 💬 4 📌 3Judges' rulings have been clear: the trans women plaintiffs have shown that in men's prisons, they suffered "unspeakable harms including multiple rapes, suicide attempts and severe psychological distress" and transfers likely constitute cruel + unusual punishment that'll lead to "irreparable harm."
07.03.2025 20:10 — 👍 659 🔁 111 💬 6 📌 6
text screenshot: Whitney, who was recently transferred, said in interviews prior to her move that staff for weeks gave her conflicting information. In mid-February, she and another trans woman were placed into a form of isolation called a “special housing unit” and told they could be there for months, she said. The other woman attempted suicide out of fear of being transferred, she said. Days later, the women were moved back to the general population. Whitney’s doctor, however, then told her that her hormone therapy medications would start to be tapered down. Whitney said going off those medications would wreak havoc on her body and mind, describing it “like a slow death”. The doctor also said staff would start using male pronouns for her, though she said that had not happened yet. She said she was also told she would be allowed to keep women’s underwear she already owns, but would not be issued new garments.
The chaos of the last month: trans women have repeatedly been placed in isolation, threatened with transfer, told their medical care would be stopped, then told the court cases would protect their housing + treatments, only to be told again they're being transferred any way
"Am I safe or am I not?"
