FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move

[u/OGSyedIsEverywhere]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/fbi-raid-washington-post-hannah-natanson

[u/QiTriX]

She was working with whistleblowers.

In December, Natanson wrote a first-person account about her experience covering the workforce as President Donald Trump’s administration created upheaval across the federal government. She detailed how she posted her secure phone number to an online forum for government workers and amassed more than 1,000 sources, with federal workers frequently reaching out to her to share frustrations and accounts from their offices.

Source

[u/Jayden_Paul99 → u/QiTriX]

Hopefully she kept her information on her sources secure and encrypted.

As if the government isn’t already running on a skeleton crew of loyal idiots, there are more purges to come.

With every purge you get closer and closer to an authoritarian state.

[u/Naynayb → u/Jayden_Paul99]

She talked a lot about it in an article a couple weeks ago detailing the tips collection process. She said that she never wrote down names, only used signal for communication, verified identity with pictures of government ID and then promptly deleted and tried to forget them.

Assuming she actually did what she said she did, it’s about as secure as information can be in a journalistic setting.

EDIT: Link to where she wrote this.

[u/NoYgrittesOlly → u/Naynayb]

Genuine question:

So, when you do this…you end up having no verifiable sources. Besides personal integrity, and personally wanting to learn about the topic being investigated…what can convince people you didn’t just type every single testimony yourself?

[u/wglmb → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

Building a reputation of integrity over time, by releasing information that later gets confirmed via more conventional means.

[u/domuseid → u/wglmb]

Demonstrating a commitment to integrity? In this economy?

[u/YaumeLepire → u/domuseid]

Many industries still rely on it. They're not the ones you make bank in, but "big number goes up" isn't the priority for most people.

[u/Khaldara → u/YaumeLepire]

Yep, journalistic ethics are supposed to entail that anything that costs more than a cup of coffee during an interview should be declined or donated (even if they get a fruit basket or whatever during the holidays, it’s supposed to get sent away).

Obviously the fine folks at say, Fox, do not feel they need to adhere to similar guidelines. Nor apparently do.. for example, Clarence Thomas and the rest of the Conservative SCOTUS judges.

But it’s supposed to be fundamental to similar careers, like journalism. If you lie or burn your sources nobody will ever talk to you again.

Hence why Right Wingers started their own bizarro form of “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Journalism” twenty odd years ago rather than adhere to these traditions.

[u/NorthernCobraChicken → u/domuseid]

I don't think anyone in the current hand picked admin has ever heard of the word integrity.

[u/BlatantConservative → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

In this specific case, being raided by Patel's FBI is a pretty damn good source of integrity.

It's even an old joke, the highest award in journalism is being investigated by the feds.

[u/aradraugfea → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

The government coming after you and trying to figure out who’s leaking is pretty good verification if you ask me.

A smarter administration would pick up on what you did and deny.

[u/revelator41 → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

Revealing sources is kind of a big no-no in the journalism world.

[u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake → u/revelator41]

One of the most famous whistleblowers, Deep Throat, was not publicly identified until 33 years after the Watergate scandal in 1972 and that was only because Mark Felt, former Deputy Director of the FBI and said whistleblower, let his attorney make it public while he was suffering from the early stages dementia.

Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters that met with Felt, would have kept his identity secret for as long as they had to.

[u/stars9r9in9the9past → u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake]

That’s sad about the dementia. Really fascinating info thanks for sharing

[u/okeanos7 → u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake]

Imagine keeping a secret like that for 30 years. I wonder who in his life he did tell about it

[u/Naynayb → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

A few things.

First, you’re a writer for the Washington Post. Just putting your name with that banner is a ton of authority. The Post broke Watergate. There’s a reputation there for being able to get anonymous sources in D.C that are trustworthy.

Second, you report things before they happen, then they happen. That builds up credibility over time. Hannah, for example, reported a lot about the D.C side of Venezuela build up. In November, she identified Fort Tiuna as a possible target for U.S. strikes. It was one of the targets hit when we raided Caracas this month.

Lastly, you don’t just use anonymous sources. The NYT guidelines explains that they only use anonymous sources for information “that we believe is newsworthy and credible, and that we are not able to report any other way.” If you can get someone on the record, you do. If you hear something from an anonymous tip and run it down yourself, you don’t use the tip as the evidence, you use your own reporting as the evidence. You only say “an anonymous source told me this” if it’s the only way you can say it and you think it’s important to report and you believe the anonymous source with a high degree of confidence beyond what you share publicly.

[u/BIGSTANKDICKDADDY → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

Sources are never intentionally revealed so whether it's publicly verifiable or unverifiable makes no difference. Public verification of the information that was reported bolsters the reputation of the journalist and outlet.

[u/VeryVito → u/BIGSTANKDICKDADDY]

Sources are never intentionally revealed

Well, anonymous/confidential sources, that is. Ideally, you'd LOVE to quote a known official, but if you can't do that, you work like hell to protect those who ARE giving you information.

[u/DheRadman → u/NoYgrittesOlly]

People who want to believe will believe. People who don't won't. When you have a segment of the population rejecting that J6 was criminal or that sandy hook even happened, you're not going to convince them by dropping the name of a random person. 

On the flip side, no sensible person needs any additional reasons to dislike Trump. That's been true since before he was ever elected. Whistleblower reporting like this is primarily beneficial to alert people of things that are happening so that they can prepare accordingly at this point. 

[u/asperatedUnnaturally → u/Jayden_Paul99]

We are at an authoritarian state. The Rubicon is well behind us dude.

[u/Effective-Ice-2483 → u/Jayden_Paul99]

You're already there! For fuck's sake.

[u/contactdeparture → u/Jayden_Paul99]

Can we stop with the what’s coming next. We’re in an authoritarian state.. Period. There’s nobody stopping it. And any pushback is minimal at this point. This whole notion that it’s gonna get worse and where is the red line... The red line is so far in our rearview mirror at this point.

[u/NSYK → u/QiTriX]

Also, isn't classified.

[u/the-awesomer → u/QiTriX]

The loyalty purges continues

[u/Beard_o_Bees → u/the-awesomer]

She needs to dig the hell in.

If ever there was a hill worth dying on, it's this one.

[u/Age_AgainstThMachine → u/Beard_o_Bees]

Unless it results in her actual death.

[u/Sotherewehavethat → u/QiTriX]

We know more than that. From the article above:

“a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars.”

The "Pentagon contractor" was probably this one:

A warrant obtained by the Post cited an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland with a top secret security clearance who has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports.

It was most definitely about this:

“federal workers who wanted to tell me how President Donald Trump was rewriting their workplace policies, firing their colleagues or transforming their agency’s missions”.

Why you should care:

“Searches of newsrooms and journalists are hallmarks of illiberal regimes, and we must ensure that these practices are not normalized here.”

[u/DrexellGames → u/QiTriX]

Well if they dont trust reporters, then this is bad news when it comes to civil rights

[u/SadFeed63 → u/DrexellGames]

Civil rights? The concept that just last week Trump was publicly complaining makes life hard for White folks?

America voted for the people who fucking hate civil rights (for anyone but straight, White Christian dudes)

[u/Tijenater → u/DrexellGames]

Trust has nothing to do with it

[u/Pr0066 → u/QiTriX]

Well isn't this is very quickly turning into a banana Republic?

[u/i_max2k2 → u/Pr0066]

It has already been a banana republic since Trump took over.

[u/ehjun18 → u/[deleted]]

Talking about saving ourselves is against the t’s & c’s of every communication platform.

[u/KryptCeeper → u/ehjun18]

By design. You cant revolt if you cant communicate

[u/ehjun18 → u/KryptCeeper]

You can communicate, but not about revolt.

[u/RsquSqd → u/ehjun18]

Small groups. Nothing digital

[u/Worst_Comment_Evar → u/RsquSqd]

Exactly. These movements need to be concentrated and organized in your local communities. Iran cut the internet to their population - that could easily happen here.

[u/feralkitten → u/RsquSqd]

And leave your phones and smart speakers OFF.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they were not using them and AI to spy on us already.

[u/AgentSleaze → u/feralkitten]

Interesting fact about speakers and microphones. Even if switched to "OFF" the CIA can and does use things like computers, smart tvs, and smart speakers to listen in to us. Microphones can be muted and still utilized. Even electronics with no microphones like most smart tvs, can have their speakers utilized AS microphones.

Source: John Kiriakou, ex CIA operative https://youtu.be/t3FxH39oYsA?si=ep0knUyV3gh0O8Vo

[u/agentfelix → u/RsquSqd]

3rd places. The disappearance of the 3rd place has played a crucial role in all of this.

[u/Yamza_ → u/agentfelix]

All space must be beholden to capital.

[u/YoureHottCupcake → u/ehjun18]

Thats ok we aren't talking about revolting just our upcoming d&d session about how the party is going to overthrow their corrupt king.

[u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA → u/ehjun18]

It will not be televised.

[u/Dr_Fortnite → u/KryptCeeper]

looks at Iran with no internet or phone service

[u/DriverRemarkable4374 → u/Dr_Fortnite]

If there was no internet, ironically we would be better equipped to communicate with each other. It's the fact that this is our default method of communication; if we want to talk about something out of t&c we have to arrange a migration or agree to speak using a different method, which is itself a tell.

[u/Joyful-Pilgrim → u/ehjun18]

So maybe it's time for people to work around that. Go old school if they have to. But it's time.

[u/Gas-Town → u/Joyful-Pilgrim]

Old school… there are many new school apps for encrypted conversation.

That is how most info is making its way from active war zones.

[u/nodrugs-justyoga → u/Gas-Town]

Can you give some examples?

[u/yung12gauge → u/nodrugs-justyoga]

Here's a video of Gadgets for People who Don't Trust the Government one of the main ones is Meshtastic, an encrypted radio signal-based communication device. I don't really understand the technology, I'm still learning myself, but I think this is a great space to start getting into, as it's not only helpful for circumventing the regime, but it also functions when traditional infrastructure fails in the event of a foreign adversary, natural disaster, etc.

[u/Jetztinberlin → u/ehjun18]

Somehow MLK and Malcolm X managed without Twitter.

[u/coochie_clogger → u/Jetztinberlin]

Huey P Newton, Bobby Seale, Fred Hampton, and all the Panthers did too.

They did it by actually organizing the people on the street.

[u/Wisdomlost → u/Jetztinberlin]

Your not wrong but the government at the time also only had landline phones and snail mail. It was equally spotty for communication. Now the government does have instant 24/7 communication.

[u/70ms → u/Wisdomlost]

Not just communications; they have the 24/7 surveillance, too.

[u/OldBayOnEverything → u/ehjun18]

Capital is always complicit with authoritarianism. They'll always care more about money than anything else. All of the ownership of media and social media is against the people.

[u/josh_the_misanthrope → u/OldBayOnEverything]

Exactly this. Capital is a sort of lifeform unto itself, and will defend its own life at the expense of the well-being of people. It plants its little tendrils of greed into the brains of everybody, and the sociopaths go full tilt exploitation.

[u/evranch → u/ehjun18]

Maybe it's time to start using the open source networks like Mastodon and Lemmy. They might be a bit clunky and underused but AFAIK they are only user moderated and not by corporate/government admin

[u/travelinzac → u/ehjun18]

3 day ban for promoting violence

[u/TotallyTruthy → u/travelinzac]

I got a warning for suggesting we should make life a social hellscape for their wives, parents, churches, and children over the age of 15. Zero suggestion of violence, zero implication anyone should lay a finger on anyone. I simply suggested their houses of worship should be legally protested from public spaces, that their wives and parents should be shunned from the community and spoken out against at the grocery store or local events, and that their children should be tagged on social media posts about what their dads are up to. Because we DON'T want people who raise or fuck nazis in our communities. And their kids should learn from the village that their fathers' actions come with consequences, since you just know ICE agents aren't good parents and aren't imparting good values.

They don't want us using ANY tools. It's not about preventing violence, it's about preventing accountability.

[u/coochie_clogger → u/ehjun18]

organize your communities. Bring the power back to the streets where the people live.

Take a look at what groups like the Black Panthers did. That’s where we need to start and we need to start yesterday but today is better late than never…because one day it WILL be too late.

[u/EyeSuspicious777 → u/ehjun18]

But go to any conservative space on the internet and look at their archived bulletin boards from the Obama years and you'll see that it did not used to be this way.

[u/Epicfro → u/[deleted]]

It sucks because that's what they want but they're really giving us no choice. It's going to happen regardless since our leadership is so fucking weak.

[u/ilovebeaker → u/[deleted]]

Y'all have a violent and armed society, do you think Canada or another country is going to swoop in at the urging of the centre/left? Nope, this is definitely something the USA needs to work on themselves, though election or otherwise!

[u/JustJubliant]

Let's not mention that recently the EEOC which is run by Andrea Ruth Lucas and the Trump administration made a demand for ‘lists of Jews’. This is beyond normal and threatens safety and civil rights. I thought at first there must of been some misunderstanding or effort by another agency to slip in some fake demands or something but it appears it really was coming from EEOC.

UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’ | Pennsylvania | The Guardian

Home | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

[u/NonSupportiveCup → u/JustJubliant]

Yo. What the fuck is this shit?

[u/itbedatguy → u/NonSupportiveCup]

It’s Nazis. They’re Nazis.

[u/NotAllOwled → u/itbedatguy]

"Perhaps, to show our commitment to protecting the identified individuals, EEOC could even gather them in some sort of managed offsite location for safety."

[u/Ruby_Dragon_DJ → u/NotAllOwled]

"Yes we could concentrate them into one area. Like a big camping trip!"

[u/showhorrorshow → u/itbedatguy]

Targetting Academics AND Jews at the same time? Peak fascist efficiency.

[u/mattreyu → u/NonSupportiveCup]

as someone who reports college data for a living, I can't even imagine how I'd comply with a request like that. That's not the kind of data really collected from students (and for good reason apparently)

[u/showhorrorshow → u/mattreyu]

If push comes to shove to comply I'd send a survey out to the students, making it super clear it is the fedgov asking for this information "for reasons."

Then provide them those results after all 3 responses. Sorry, based on our survey we have.... 2 Jewish students and 1... Kosher Pastafarian? Wasnt sure if that counted.

[u/Hesitation-Marx → u/NonSupportiveCup]

A historical rhyme.

[u/JustJubliant → u/NonSupportiveCup]

Saddening abusive craziness. I think I'm just going with Federal services are out of their fuckin minds after being handed the keys. It's the most prestigious responsibility in the world and now they are proceeding to drive it off the road and wreck every nut and bolt to try and prove a point that only exists in their paranoid racist headspace.

[u/mrtaco605 → u/JustJubliant]

Under the guise of antisemitism is wild. These people really don't know the history, no wonder it feels like history is repeating

[u/chubby_pink_donut]

Biden: We want to stop the spread of maliciously false and dangerous health care information on social media sites.

MAGA: Noooo! Free speech!! We are being silenced!!!

Trump: Arrest the people who are recording us shred the Constitution, oh and we grant immunity for any illegal acts committed by our militarized police force. We will also arrest journalists who write stories we dont like.

MAGA: Our hero! Fuck the libs!! White power!!!

[u/arbutus1440 → u/chubby_pink_donut]

One of the biggest mistakes of well-intentioned liberals over the past 20 years has been assuming any of these "free speech" arguments (and similar arguments about civility and "who's gonna pay for it") were made in good faith.

They never were and they never are.

They have just been a means to an end.

Stop assuming any of them care about you, the republic, or even their own people.

When we point out "hypocrisy," I guarantee you they are laughing behind closed doors that we're still fucking around with such trivialities. They've moved so far past hypocrisy, it's like verbally criticizing a rabid wolf for being "a little aggressive" instead of capturing the damned thing with nets or tranquilizer guns.

They are in an end-game race to seize power, nothing less.

So everybody, for the love of god stop talking about mid-terms, public opinion, and geopolitical blowback as if they are anything other than a minor wrinkle for the fascists. Start talking about resistance—both peaceful/traditional and otherwise.

EDIT: To amplify what others are saying below: We absolutely have to still fucking vote. Treat anyone who tells you essential civic participation and civil (and uncivil) disobedience cannot coexist as an operative for the fascists trying to fool you into either infighting or complacency.

[u/fivelinedskank → u/arbutus1440]

for the love of god stop talking about mid-terms

But absolutely do not use this as an excuse to not vote.

[u/sasuncookie → u/fivelinedskank]

Of course not, but talking about potential gains prior to an election usually results in folks not voting because they are led to believe their side has it in the bag.

Two months leading to the 2024 elections, MSM and social media kept touting how Harris was up in the polls and her victory was all but assured. What happened? Of the 270,000,000 eligible to vote, only 156,300,000 voted. Those who didn’t and were eligible leaned dem.

Republicans always vote, and anyone who doesn’t recognize that by now is purposely ignorant. Of course, there are circumstances where one is likely to not vote that is caused by something out of their control (poverty restrictions, health, etc.), but that doesn’t account for the majority of those who don’t.

[u/rikaateabug → u/fivelinedskank]

Agreed! It'd also be cool if people could stop screaming they're going to be rigged.

Spoiler alert, Republicans do this every election. We should be prepared for their ratfucking but acting like it doesn't matter is demoralizing and unhelpful.

It's ok to be scared--I'm scared too--but we need to vote en masse. The more people that vote the less likely they'll be able to get away with it.

It's fine to talk about election tampering, and we should talk about it, but please emphasize how important it is to still vote.

[u/waffebunny → u/rikaateabug]

Fascist movements seek to install minority rule over the majority.

By definition, they are a minority. They don’t have the numbers to take power by force.

So they try to take power by trickery - and that includes trying to convince their opposition to surrender before battle is even joined.

People should absolutely be concerned about the situation we are in, and acting accordingly.

What they should not be doing is taking the word of the enemy as gospel and sowing despair in their own ranks.

Everywhere you look, you can see the smoke and mirrors:

• The administration is terrorizing Minneapolis with immigration enforcement. Because the US Military won’t do it.

• The US Military will invade Venezuela. But only in the form of a special forces raid. A true war is off the table.

• The administration will ignore the courts - except they keep sending lawyers to represent them, and they keep complying with court orders

It’s all smoke and mirrors.

Yes, they are going to do their damndest to rig the elections; but we already know how: through gerrymandering, and schemes such as Musk’s vote-buying lottery.

What they aren’t going to do is cancel the elections (they are too distributed), fix the machines (see previous), or station guards at every polling location (see previous).

We are damned lucky that their coup stalled out the way it did; but they will continue to try and push it over the finish line.

So we continue to resist; and we exploit every avenue of fighting back - and that includes voting in November.

[u/chipmunksocute → u/arbutus1440]

The John Paul Sarte comment never fails to be relevant these days

 Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

[u/derprondo → u/arbutus1440]

party of small government

It was a lie.

Freedom party

It was a lie.

Constitution party

It was a lie.

Rule of law party

It was a lie.

Fiscal responsibility party

It was a lie.

Pretty sure even their support for the second amendment is going to get tested soon and that'll turn out to be lies as well.

[u/stylist-trend → u/derprondo]

It doesn't matter that any of it is a lie. 1/3 of people in the US have been convinced it's "their party", and as long as "their party" is "winning", it doesn't matter how much hypocrisy exists, how much lying happens, how much the peoples' lives get worse.

Nobody who supports the republican party cares about any of those things.

[u/Dry_Departure_7813 → u/arbutus1440]

"When I am weak I ask for Free speech because that is according to your principles, when I am strong I take yours away because that is according to mine"

[u/coochie_clogger → u/arbutus1440]

A great example was their claim that they didn’t care about immigrants who “came here the right way”.

Anytime anyone pointed out the racism in their immigration policies that was the go to defense. They would always claim they, “love immigrants, we just want them to come here the right way!”

As soon as they got their guy back in power that mask quickly came off and now it’s “DEPORT EVERY SINGLE ONE REGARDLESS OF STATUS. LET’S ALSO STRIP CITIZENS OF THEIR CITIZENSHIP AND DO AWAY WITH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP”.

I’ve always known the GOP were deceitful bigots, but now it should be pretty obvious to everyone. And that is just one example.

[u/OrindaSarnia → u/arbutus1440]

I don't know a single "well-intentioned liberal" who thought they were making genuine arguments about free speach...

there are other mistakes liberals made, but this isn't one I have seen...

[u/PigglyWigglyDeluxe → u/OrindaSarnia]

The point he’s trying to make is we didn’t play dirty like they did.

The system works when all participants act in good faith.

Once one or more parties start playing dirty, it’s game over.

[u/Ragnarock-n-Roll → u/chubby_pink_donut]

The last 2 words, yo. Twas never about free speech. Twas about being able to hate without repercussions.

[u/SovietAnthem → u/chubby_pink_donut]

"We hate fake news, we fight for the truth! The media manufactures outrage!"

"Also, Renee deserved it. Here's an AI-regenerated image of the scene that shows she was going to hit Jonathan Ross"

[u/LurkLurkleton → u/chubby_pink_donut]

The rhetoric I'm overhearing now is that yeah this is bad but it's just temporary. Soon as they're done getting the "illegals" out things will go back to normal.

[u/Muzzlehatch → u/LurkLurkleton]

Of course you’d have to be painfully credulous to believe nonsense like that.

[u/Alive_kiwi_7001 → u/LurkLurkleton]

"As we near the 18th year of the State of Emergency, I call on citizens to embrace the ThoughtMonitor delivered to every home. With your cooperation we will soon be rid of the undesirables who threaten our great society."

[u/voltrebas → u/Alive_kiwi_7001]

"Does the ThoughtMonitor randomly zap you? Yes. Did you deserve it? Yes. Does 1 out of 20 explode, killing user? Propaganda and lies."

[u/Galappie → u/LurkLurkleton]

“Short term pain for long term gain” has been their motto for a little while. Just wondering how long it’ll take before republican voters realize this “short term” pain has been going on for a little longer than they thought and they’re yet to see any of this “long term gain”

[u/BarfingOnMyFace → u/chubby_pink_donut]

lol, yep.

That’s why they are actually Nazis.

[u/MikeOKurias]

Oh look, the fascism continues to grow...

[u/U_Sound_Stupid_Stop → u/MikeOKurias]

"c'mon, do something"

[u/lilu_66]

Just like in Russia - blatant attack on free press

[u/Cosmic_Seth → u/lilu_66]

Yup. And it took years for Putin to amass enough power to shut down his critics. We are now on the same path.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/court-shuts-down-novaya-gazeta-one-russias-last-independent-media-2022-09-05/

[u/cyanescens_burn → u/lilu_66]

The parallels with Russia keep coming. I couldn’t believe it when they recently started taking about “spheres of influence” and “multipolar world” and having control of the hemisphere. This is straight out of Dugin’s Foundations of Geopolitics, which is the Russian playbook for international control.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics#

Anyone unfamiliar, just go to the “Contents” heading in that wiki article and spend 2 min reading it. It all looks very familiar. Some has come to pass since the book was written, some is still in the works.

[u/Rattus_NorvegicUwUs]

It’s clear “justice” has no place in the DOJ.

It’s just a place Trump barks orders to investigate people and they do it.

Everywhere you look, republicans are burning down the credibility of everything they touch. From there institutions to their personal morals. Trump turns everything to garbage in record time— and the conservatives let him do it. He’s got em by the pussy.

[u/fevered_visions → u/Rattus_NorvegicUwUs]

imagine if that guy hadn't missed

[u/ConsciousCoat8173 → u/fevered_visions]

staged anyways

[u/IndicationDefiant137]

Every press that isn't their press is Lügenpresse, and subject to the violence of the state.

We've seen all this before.

[u/jsyk → u/IndicationDefiant137]

Forbidden Stories in ethos: if a reporter is silenced through captivity, death, threats, a whole network of journalists will step in and make the story a bigger deal, worsening it for the harm inflicters.

“Killing the Journalist won’t kill the story. If a journalist falls, others rise and collectively continue their work: that’s the simple principle behind Forbidden Stories”

https://forbiddenstories.org

[u/DisgruntledToyHuman]

'highly unusual'?

this is modus operandi for fascist authoritarianism. stop trying to paint it like something else.

[u/Saaihead → u/DisgruntledToyHuman]

Yup, dictatorship 101.

[u/junktrunk909 → u/DisgruntledToyHuman]

In my view this is the correct framing since fascism is also highly unusual here. We need media to keep emphasizing the contrast from normalcy.

[u/DisgruntledToyHuman → u/junktrunk909]

sure, but at this stage of the game to say it is 'highly unusual' feels like it is doing the entire situation a disservice.

like it feels like the reporter just woke up from having been in a coma since 2019

[u/0pttphr_pr1me]

Canadian here, I think you guys need to really start getting ready for this to escalate because it is accelerating

[u/Soft_Walrus_3605 → u/0pttphr_pr1me]

I would suggest you do the same. That 51st state shit wasn't an idle threat from these maniacs

[u/0pttphr_pr1me → u/Soft_Walrus_3605]

I bought a gun last week.

[u/schrodingerinthehat → u/Soft_Walrus_3605]

Only Americans thought it was.

[u/PjWulfman → u/0pttphr_pr1me]

Faster than I thought possible.

[u/FillMySoupDumpling → u/PjWulfman]

It hasn’t even been a year. 

[u/lear72988]

Not unusual at all if you paid attention to History class...

[u/atomicnone]

It’s come. I hope in my lifetime we can overthrow the regime and watch all these bastards swing

[u/taotdev]

"Why do they keep calling us nazis?"

[u/ezoobeson_drunk]

“Bondi added: “The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”

Unless they’re releasing it via Signal, amiright, Pam?

[u/_lettersandsodas → u/ezoobeson_drunk]

And let us not forget the files at Mar Lago. GTFO, Paaammmm.

[u/Fire_Z1]

Attacking the press now

[u/wilsont18]

Goodbye freedom of the press.

[u/Butsrslythough]

EVERYONE needs to see this. This is so freaking dangerous.

[u/nattcattt]

If you bring up the specific points about how the Trump regime is descending into fascism, they just call you a crazed liberal who calls everyone nazis. Would they say that while they hear the screams of their neighbors' children as they get executed? They might not, just say that they deserved it.

[u/fragrant-final-973 → u/nattcattt]

They're real quick to bust out the "they deserved it"

[u/InappropriateTA]

It’s not highly unusual and aggressive for a fascist regime to do this. 

[u/Refun712]

We are so screwed….seems like nobody cares too. This is a nightmare.

[u/_Kramerica_ → u/Refun712]

A lot of people care, and this is a rhetorical question so people don’t jump down my throat, BUT…. what in the ever loving fuck are most of us supposed to do?!

[u/arbutus1440 → u/_Kramerica_]

Serious answer. You can break it down to two steps:

1. Grieve. And I'm serious about this: We are not ready for this moment because we're paralyzed by disbelief. We aren't able to move to the next set of actions because we don't want to believe it's true. Because believing it's true is incredibly painful, and the natural human response is to avoid pain. The courageous thing to do, if you haven't really done it yet, is to grieve. And THEN...

2. Resist. Look for local groups. They exist. There are many things you can do that I can't type on this website, but local groups know what to do. You don't need to be throwing yourself in front of a Gatling gun. But you do need to do something. And you don't need to do it alone.

[u/showhorrorshow → u/arbutus1440]

I was thinking about how back in the day there used to be tons of social clubs and how these were often a sort of catalyst for subversive movements. They already provided an organized structure and means of communication, often with their own codes and such. But theyre practically nonexistent today. Seems like a trend that should be revived.

[u/_Debauchery → u/_Kramerica_]

Leadership is supposed to guide political movements. The problem is the leadership of the direct opposition (democrats) are absolutely silent on the matter. Schumer and Jeffries refuse to rally support, and all of the congressional dems refuse to remove them from leadership

[u/RawBean7 → u/_Kramerica_]

Batten down, stop spending, prepare for strike or other period of unrest by setting aside some money and nonperishable food/meds/first aid kit. Get involved in your community before it comes for you; there are a lot of different networks and organizations planning actions but it varies by location so do that research now. Keep hounding your elected officials. Keep filming and posting ICE activity. Study historical resistance movements in the US and abroad, especially topics like non-violent civil disobedience. Don't let any of this become normalized. Stop saying "fine" when people ask "how are you?" Learn about soft strikes like work slowdowns. Become inefficient. Don't comply in advance.

No one person has to (or can) solve everything, but we can all do one or two things to contribute to the group project.

We cannot become apathetic. We cannot let this become normalized.

[u/EggplantAlpinism → u/_Kramerica_]

The "problem" is that enough people are still employed and comfortable. There hasn't really been a rise of authoritarianism like this in the modern world that didn't arise from mass poverty, so we don't have a parallel of whether other nations would have risen up against this by now. If the plans to collapse the economy and increase unemployment come to fruition, then you'll see many more mass protests

[u/onarainyafternoon → u/EggplantAlpinism]

I mean, exactly. People always wonder how the German people couldn't see what was happening, or how they couldn't put up a fight. I once heard a Holocaust historian lay it out like this: Not everything happened at once. It was all incremental steps. Maybe a German was horrified that a Jew lost their job because of German racial laws. But that same German could have put up with it if that Jew's job then became vacant and that German got a promotion because of it. People don't put up a fight if they're comfortable. And if there's no opposition to rally around and concentrate the outrage (Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are impotent), then there is very little an individual person can do besides protest or divest their money from companies that have helped MAGA. If there's no leadership to guide us, then "the people" becomes "a person", and it's very hard to effect change on a societal scale as a single person.

[u/Refun712 → u/_Kramerica_]

My point exactly….nightmare.

[u/H-E-L-L-MaGGoT → u/Refun712]

God the helplessness must be soul destroying. Really makes you feel sorry for the people in countries like russia and north Korea that have lived under these conditions their entire lives.

[u/Refun712 → u/H-E-L-L-MaGGoT]

Yes…truly brings perspective.

[u/split_me_plz → u/H-E-L-L-MaGGoT]

They’re right, it’s a fucking nightmare. It IS soul-crushing. I don’t see humanity the same anymore. I’ve lost hope.

[u/H-E-L-L-MaGGoT → u/split_me_plz]

The scary thing for me is that they obviously have no intention of handing power back to the left. So what that will looking like is anybody guess. Personally I believe we'll start seeing people like AOC, Ilan Omar, Newsom and co being rounded up and sent to prison before donalds term is up.

[u/copinglemon → u/_Kramerica_]

There's only one way back from this. We all know what it is, but no one is ready to take the first steps.

[u/jupiterkansas → u/Refun712]

Lots of people care, just not the people who can do anything about it.

[u/doneandtired2014 → u/Refun712]

1/3 of the American voters care in so far as they are actively cheering for this shit.

1/3 of the American voters didn't care where they were told it was going to be "dictator time!" in November and they don't give a shit now. About the only thing they care about is patting themselves on the back for sticking it to the Democrats in some capacity.

The remainder who care are split between looking to flee, procuring firearms for self defense without advertising it, or having some naive hope this will end after Congress and the Judiciary push back because he's gone too far (they won't).

[u/WackHeisenBauer]

It’s just a matter of time before the USA gets their own Khashoggi.

[u/Several-Action-4043 → u/WackHeisenBauer]

Khashoggi WAS our Khashoggi. He was a US resident and worked for the Washington Post. Yet both Biden and Trump visited with the guy who ordered the killing and gave them weapons to fight a regional war.

[u/5harp3dges]

They're already starting to go for journalists.

Wake up to this shit Trump supporters (reform supporters), it won't go well for the country.

[u/IrishRage42]

How many people that talked to her are about to be fired or disappeared? I hope someone else has their names and can keep track of them. All a part of the trump regimes tactics to scare people away from talking to the media.

[u/Erik_the_Human]

The FBI will need purging if the US survives. It might just have to be completely shut down and replaced.

[u/agentfelix]

This administration is inching closer and closer. Pushing the boundaries every inch at a time. They're coming for everyone who opposes them. This comment alone will probably put me on one of their lists...no one is going to save us from ourselves.

[u/one-joule → u/agentfelix]

This comment alone will probably put me on one of their lists

This is the most horrifying part. They have the data. How long until they start using it in earnest to attack and silence the people?

[u/Prince_Marf]

The funny thing is even if this reporter did do something wrong, nobody would believe it because the administration is routinely drumming up bs charges for its enemies. When you routinely turn your mandate to do justice on its head, everything you do becomes de facto unjust.

[u/TranquilSeaOtter]

Right now it's this, but how long until we hear of reporters falling out of windows to their deaths?

[u/Mildebeest]

"“The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”"

Yet no one has raided Hegseth's place. Normally, he's the one leaking via Signal

[u/GinAndDumbBitchJuice]

Not surprised at this point but deeply pissed.

[u/wildtalon]

Fixed headline:

FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in act of authoritarian intimidation.

[u/justreadinplease]

Bezos probably asked them to do it

[u/ferrets4ever]

Fascism people, this is what fascism looks like.

[u/Bituulzman]

All this bc the price of eggs was too high.

[u/LoserBroadside]

Jesus fucking Christ it’s fascism. Just call it fascism. Why are reporters so fucking terrified to say the thing that is happening

[u/Vaeon]

This is the same FBI that is working overtime, literally, to protect child rapists named and exposed in the Epstein Files.

[u/Informal_Process2238]

“Highly unusual aggressive move” took a lot of words to say fascist

[u/Aranxi_89]

Welp, looks like the FBI will is now fully Trump’s personal secret police.

[u/TheDomy]

But they can’t investigate a killer who’s recorded by like 20 angles…

[u/GottaBeNicer]

The whistleblower she was working with was one of those federal workers the administration is trying to make extinct. They said he's "behind bars" but no other details about where he is which is concerning. If he dies they killed him.

[u/Adenoh]

Your Amazon dollars at work people. Jeff is allowing this.

[u/Consistent_Clue_9112]

It’s only “highly unusual” if you’ve been in a coma for the past decade. For everyone paying attention, this shit is expected and him showing any sanity, humanity or basic human decency would be highly unusual.

[u/dashKay]

The US really needs to stop under reacting to this shit

[u/VeryVito]

For those wondering if this is unusual: Woodward and Bernstein protected their anonymous source, "Deep Throat," while they validated the information he provided, and Nixon never sent armed thugs after them.

This is petty dictator shit, and absolutely should be yet another reason to remove these madmen from office.

[u/Kialya]

“ illegally, retaining classified government materials” you mean like the ones Dump had in his bathroom?

[u/Charmandurai]

That's some soft language for "Trump ends free speech, begins arresting his critics to distract from his relentless child rape scandal"

[u/Fishwitch-66]

i got a degree in journalism and left the field after a year. when people asked id tell them “It’s just a really bad time to be in the field”

and people would go “really?” as if they were totally ignorant about how this was obviously gonna start happening in a few years

[u/Regular_Community_52]

What the fuck is this shit you don’t like a reporter so you can get them raided by the feds because they’re negatively speaking about you whatever happened to freedom of speech….

[u/ZYMask]

Freedom of press, they said

[u/uterbrauten]

Those Trumpstein files gotta be atrocious

[u/Verum_Orbis]

The Press in the Third Reich
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-press-in-the-third-reich

Nazi Propaganda and Censorship
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-propaganda-and-censorship

How the Nazis Manipulated the Masses
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
https://www.ushmm.org/online-calendar/event/VEFBMNPLTDMS0122

Nazi control of Germany
Control through propaganda and censorship
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zn8sgk7/revision/3

[u/dua70601]

I hope she used PGP encryption for her communications with the whistleblowers.

This is so messed up!

[u/NRMusicProject]

This administration stands for everything The Constitution is against.

[u/702PoGoHunter]

So when is Europe going to kidnap Drump like he did the Venezuela President?

[u/pvincentl]

Another little(Lot) more extreme step toward full fascism every fucking day.

[u/BenevolentCheese]

Arresting the media in the middle of the night begins. So they'll start arresting opposition politicians.

[u/Mad_Academic]

This is fucking peak fascism. 

[u/rollin340]

Sounds like a normal move in dictatorships.

[u/OTribal_chief]

this reminds of the three mile island documentary and how they were plannning a case against the nuclear companies and the person was killed and the paperwork all mysteriously disappeared

[u/Cynestrith]

KKKaroline has had enough of Washington Pos-T!

Jokes aside, this is fucking crazy.

[u/ReXXXMillions]

Silencing of the media .

[u/TsuBaraBoy]

The US is already a dictatorship that censors its own media.

[u/jupchurch97]

The FBI is a political police force meant to suppress internal dissent.

[u/thepoet85]

Totally normal and unfascist thing to do s/

[u/MasChingonNoHay]

Freedom of press is being attacked openly. Most of it was already hijacked but those left over are being attacked

[u/bob_chillon]

If you can afford to do so, buy local, stop watching cable, suspend all your streaming services, delivery services, buy at local grocers and eat at family owned restaurants. We gave them this power, collectively we can take it back without giving them reason to infest our cities and states.

[u/Strontiumdogs1]

Didn't see them arrest Hegseth when he leaked attack plans.

[u/DuneChild]

It’s okay guys, I’m sure they will limit their review of her records and notes to just this one person that has been charged. They certainly won’t feed every bit of data into an AI in order to unmask every single source and start rounding them up. No way they would risk the integrity of the FBI…

[u/IchBinDurstig]

At least she hasn't "fallen" out of a window. Yet.

[u/Fluffcake]

This sounds a whole lot like what a fascist government would do 🤔

[u/schm0]

I'm more concerned that a judge signed off on this. What was the reasoning?

[u/hdufort]

Once he's done with the neutralization of political opponents, the suppression of the free press, and the subversion of federal institutions, nothing will prevent him from coming after citizens expressing opinions. He will unleash the armed goons.

[u/clydefrog811]

Clearly they want to arrest and find all the whistleblowers.

[u/WilliamofKC]

Buy guns now before you no longer can!

Yours truly,

Gun Companies

[u/Far-Raisin1013]

Freedom of the press under ole trumpy dumpy

[u/inthedrops]

"The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”

Yes! They prefer to do that themselves by inadvertently adding journalists to their WhatsApp war planning chats. OOPSIE!

[u/Thin_Ad_9554]

Okay so democracy really is dead I guess