u/Jenn_There_Done_That

The sentences expose the class character of the judicial system and the advanced stage of the assault on democratic rights under the Trump administration. The punishments handed down by federal judges in Texas far exceed those imposed on all of the fascist militants who participated in the January 6, 2021 coup attempt. While President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,600 participants in the attack on Congress, including members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys convicted of violently assaulting police officers, anti-ICE protesters, the vast majority of whom did nothing but light fireworks and vandalize government property, have now been condemned to decades behind bars.

Benjamin Hanil Song received a sentence of 100 years in prison. Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years. Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Zachary Evetts, Bradford Morris, Elizabeth Soto and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada received sentences ranging from 30 to 50 years.

The sentence imposed on Sanchez-Estrada is particularly revealing. Although he was not present at the protest itself, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for “corruptly concealing a document” after his wife Rueda, from jail, requested he remove some anarchist magazines the couple had in their home. His punishment alone exceeds the sentences received by numerous January 6 foot soldiers who were captured on video violently assaulting police officers while participating in an effort to overturn a presidential election. Fascists seeking to establish a dictatorship are rewarded, while opponents of mass deportations and state repression are branded “terrorists” and sentenced accordingly.

When anti-ICE activists rallied against the Trump administration’s deportation campaign in Minneapolis, many relied on the encrypted messaging app Signal for secure communications. In activist chats and quickly established ICE-tracking groups, locals used Signal to keep tabs on federal agents patrolling their communities.

When the Department of Homeland Security announced this week the arrest of 15 alleged “anti-ICE rioters” in Minnesota, it pointed directly at their Signal chats.

The indictment is in large part built upon on conversations from more than a dozen Signal groups, citing more than 100 specific messages. The case is a stark reminder that using an encrypted messaging platform like Signal is not in and of itself a magic bullet to safeguard communications. It also raises the question: How did Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit gain access to all of these communications in the first place?

He was a very interesting writer. Of course, he had his problems, but many of his stories were way ahead of his time. His entire life story is quite interesting.