Constitutional Law
Nov. 12, 2026
When 'common threads' become the starting point for conspiracy
The Trump administration's investigations of anti-ICE protesters and progressive organizations raise concerns about a return to COINTELPRO-style surveillance, with political beliefs and lawful organizing activities potentially being used as evidence of criminal conspiracies.
I started paying closer attention once the Minnesota 15 discovery landed. That is what made the COINTELPRO comparison concrete rather than rhetorical. Homeland Security Investigations ran operations called Puppet Master and Whipple Shield. Undercover agents sat in meetings. Agents monitored Signal chats at scale. They used administrative subpoenas to pull multi-year financial records from national unions and progressive nonprofits that have never been charged--SEIU, the Communications Work...
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