Megan O'Matz

Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation. Our journalists reach out to people they’re writing about to ensure fairness. But in this environment, they’ve found their efforts to do so are more likely to be vilified than appreciated.

“You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever,” is what an Education Department spokesperson wrote to one of our reporters, @megomatz.bsky.social, after she repeatedly tried to get comment from the department and its officials.

(Published Dec. 2025)

The Education Department's efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, watchdog says A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office calculates the cost of efforts to fire civil rights staff, and questions the department's ability to enforce federal civil rights laws.

The Education Department's efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, GAO watchdog says / story by @npr.org www.npr.org/2026/02/02/n...

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Fairfield school cancels US Education Secretary Linda McMahon's visit after parent backlash After parents raised concerns, Fairfield canceled U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon's visit hours after the announcement.

Fairfield CT school cancels US Education Secretary Linda McMahon's visit after parent backlash. www.ctinsider.com/news/educati...

1-28-26 Fulton Warrant

1/ NEW: @propublica.org has obtained a search warrant that the FBI is executing for records related to the contested 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., which has not yet been widely shared. It’s an extraordinary document.

Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Fetterman now calling for the firing of Kristi Noem this morning, accusing her of "trashing" Trump's border legacy. Fetterman is one of 7 Dems who voted to confirm her as head of Homeland Security last year.

Wisconsin GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany voted after the Jan 6 riot not to certify presidential votes for Biden in PA and AZ. He’s running now for governor and got Trump’s endorsement. “He has always been at my side.”

Pepper-Sprayed While Pinned Down: A Searing Scene Provokes Outrage

In MN, a Border Patrol agent squirted pepper spray in the face of a man who was being pinned down.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/u...

Thank you so much.

A Black Teen Died Over a $12 Shoplifting Attempt. 13 Years Later, Two Men Plead Guilty in His Killing. 16-year-old Corey Stingley died from asphyxiation after being pinned down by customers in a convenience store. Under a special agreement, the family of the teen finally feels that “truth, understandin...

I’ve been following this case for several years. Finally, a judge in Milwaukee brought a grieving father’s 13-year quest for justice to a close, accepting a plea deal for two men who were criminally charged for their role in the 2012 killing of teenager Corey Stingley at a convenience store.

A Black Teen Died Over a $12 Shoplifting Attempt. 13 Years Later, Two Men Plead Guilty in His Killing. 16-year-old Corey Stingley died from asphyxiation after being pinned down by customers in a convenience store. Under a special agreement, the family of the teen finally feels that “truth, understandin...

A judge in Milwaukee brought a grieving father’s 13-year quest for justice to a close on Thursday, accepting a plea deal for two men who were criminally charged for their role in the 2012 killing of teenager Corey Stingley at a convenience store. www.propublica.org/article/core...

A Father’s Quest for Justice Finds Resolution After 13 Years Restrained by three white men for attempted shoplifting, a Black teen died from asphyxiation. His father refused to accept that no one would be held responsible. More than a decade later, his idea of ...

He had no legal training, no big-name lawyer or civil rights advocate by his side.

Yet for 13 years, he refused to accept that the judicial system would hold no one responsible for the killing of his 16-year-old son.

By @megomatz.bsky.social

Flashbangs burn hotter then lava.

They've caused serious burns, severed hands, and even killed.

*That's* what ICE just tossed into a car full of kids.

Here's our investigation from 2015, by @juliaangwin.com:

www.propublica.org/article/flas...

Thank you, Mike.

After Sowing Distrust in Fluoridated Water, Kennedy and Skeptics Turn to Obstructing Other Fluoride Sources Florida and Utah have banned fluoridation, with multiple other states looking to do the same. Critics of fluoride in drinking water point to supplements as an alternative, but many are creating barrie...

Colgate-Palmolive's promotional material for kids' fluoride toothpaste has shown the paste on a brush. Now in response to anti-fluoride efforts in TX, the company will display a pea-sized amount, rather than a swirl. A similar deal was made with Procter & Gamble. / By @annaleighclark.bsky.social

A Father’s Quest for Justice Finds Resolution After 13 Years Restrained by three white men for attempted shoplifting, a Black teen died from asphyxiation. His father refused to accept that no one would be held responsible. More than a decade later, his idea of ...

NEW: Restrained by three white men for attempted shoplifting, a Black teen died from asphyxiation.

His father refused to accept that no one would be held responsible.

More than a decade later, his idea of justice has shifted — and may finally be achieved.

A Father’s Quest for Justice Finds Resolution After 13 Years Restrained by three white men for attempted shoplifting, a Black teen died from asphyxiation. His father refused to accept that no one would be held responsible. More than a decade later, his idea of ...

Wisconsin officials have filed felony murder charges in the 2012 killing of Corey Stingley, an unarmed Black teen asphyxiated by white customers at a convenience store after attempting to shoplift. / A @propublica.org exclusive: www.propublica.org/article/wisc...

Our Reporters Reached Out for Comment. They Were Accused of Stalking and Intimidation. Our journalists reach out to people they’re writing about to ensure fairness. But in this environment, they’ve found their efforts to do so are more likely to be vilified than appreciated.

“You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever,” an Education Department spokesperson wrote to me after I repeatedly tried to get comment. In this column, my @propublica.org editor describes the pushback to our efforts to ensure fairness. www.propublica.org/article/prop...

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...

STUNNING: Nearly a year since President Donald Trump took office, his education department’s Office for Civil Rights has not entered into a single new resolution agreement involving racial harassment of students, we found. 
@jsmithrichards.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...

So much to process in this story. Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...

Trump’s Education Department is ignoring discrimination against Black students. The department’s civil rights office has not entered into a single new agreement requiring schools to address racial harassment of students, my colleagues & I @propublica.org found. / News Tips: ProPublica.org/tips

Trump's DOJ offers states 'confidential' deal to wipe voters flagged by feds as ineligible • Stateline The U.S. Department of Justice has sent confidential draft agreements on voter data sharing to more than a dozen states, part of the Trump administration’s effort to obtain unredacted voter rolls, wit...

Trump’s DOJ has offered states a ‘confidential’ deal to wipe voters flagged by feds as ineligible. Eleven states have shown a willingness to do so. Colorado & Wisconsin, however, rejected the memorandum of understanding and released copies of the proposal. stateline.org/2025/12/18/t...

The state is making a list of transgender Texans. It’s using driver's licenses to help. A year after the state blocked transgender Texans from updating their state IDs, it has collected information on more than 100 people who have tried. Officials won’t say what they’re using the list fo...

Texas is using driver's licenses to compile a list of transgender people. It's unclear what the list will be used for. www.kut.org/politics/202...

Senator Endorses Discredited Doctor’s Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer Wisconsin's Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It i...

“It is all lunacy. Absolutely, it’s 100% nonsense,” said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society about the claims made in Kory's book that chlorine dioxide is a miracle treatment for a wide range of ailments.

By @megomatz.bsky.social

Senator Endorses Discredited Doctor’s Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer Wisconsin's Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It i...

Wisconsin's Sen. Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It is all lunacy," one expert said. www.propublica.org/article/ron-... @megomatz.bsky.social

Senator Endorses Discredited Doctor’s Book on a Chemical He Claims Treats Everything From Autism to Cancer Wisconsin's Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It i...

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant & deodorizer. “It is all lunacy," one expert said. / My latest for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/ron-...

‘So sudden, so jarring’: Immigration ruling streamlines deportations to countries asylum seekers barely know A Board of Immigration Appeals decision makes it easier for federal officials to toss thousands of asylum cases and send applicants to a “third country” where they have never lived. But the mechani…

ICE arrested a man in Manitowoc seeking asylum from Nicaragua before his Nov. 4 hearing before an immigration court judge. Now he may be deported to a third country: Honduras. A system where rule of law is replaced by "crazy arbitrariness" @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...

Brad D. Schimel Appointed as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Here is the announcement www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr...

Who Is Elon Musk Helping Now? A Judicial Candidate Who’s a Big Trump Fan.

Wisconsin Judge Brad Schimel, a Trump loyalist, lost his 2025 race for the state Supreme Court, even though Elon Musk poured over $20 million into his campaign. Now, the Trump administration appointed Schimel as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

He Vowed to “Protect the Unborn.” Now He’s Blocking a Bill to Expand Medicaid for Wisconsin’s New Moms. Splitting with anti-abortion members of his own party, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has refused to join 48 other states in ensuring that vulnerable women have access to potentially lifesaving ...

In 48 other states, new moms have access to Medicaid for up to one year after they give birth. Not in Wisconsin.

There, the limit remains two months. And it’s only because of one man: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. / My latest story for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/wisc...