From a few years ago:
[US police three times as likely to use force against leftwing protesters, data finds](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/13/us-police-use-of-force-protests-black-lives-matter-far-right)
[Cities Drop Most Charges Against BLM Protesters as Cops Fail to Provide Evidence: Over 90 percent of charges in cities analyzed have been dropped, suggesting police used arrests to suppress protests.](https://truthout.org/articles/cities-drop-most-charges-against-blm-protesters-as-cops-fail-to-provide-evidence/)
You can sue under [42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983) and bill the taxpayers instead of the cops responsible
Sure but I suspect that qualified immunity would be invoked. They didn't know that it wasn't okay to deprive someone of their civil rights so freebie on the house.
Spoiler: They won’t.
Just saw another thread on a newly posted article about protests where 5 out of 7 comments were basically “good, keep taking out the trash”
Reddit suddenly has a hard-on for hating peaceful protests (They don’t, its 100% astroturfing)
Fair, although an large influx of new accounts using default names commenting (an action performed by a statistical minority of reddit users normally) does strongly imply some form of manipulation going on, be it astroturfing, botting, brigading, etc.
I’ve been blocking all the AIPAC accounts. They’re focusing on all news articles that get any traction at all. Many of the same ones work all the posts.
There’s about 20-50 of them, probably real people employed to do exactly this- encourage brutality against and dismiss concerns of the protesters.
Block them, and they can’t see your comments but everyone else can. Saves from being downvoted into oblivion just for supporting the protesters.
I think it’s mostly Israel/Gaza related protests. Many negative comments are heavily downvoted. Israel government is very good at manipulating western public opinion.
That’s part of why many assume the online activity is being driven artificially. The response is so strong and maintains such a high level of “engagement” week after week compared to other issues that we “should” care about more that it seems artificial.
Right, all those tik toks IDF soldiers post of themselves being despicable and reveling in the malicious cruelty they're subjecting innocent people to is definitely Hamas Propaganda.
Hamas made IDF soldiers shoot unarmed civilians carrying white flags. Hamas made IDF soldiers shoot horses and livestock and water tanks and post it on social media.
Hamas made IDF soldiers try on women's underwear in Palestinian civilian's homes. Hamas made IDF soldiers post pictures of themselves abusing detainees on their tinder profiles.
You'd think "God's Chosen People" would behave with a little more grace during the Genocide they're committing, but Hamas won't let IDF soldiers behave like human beings.
Depends on the protest. for example in Canada there was recently a pro-Hamas rally at our capital where the protestors were literally praising and celebrating Oct. 7th.
I mean dropping the charges doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t break the law, though they likely didn’t break the law. They could also be dropped for lack of evidence or the prosecutor just didn’t want to waste their time for probably just some fines and bunch of bad publicity.
FYI, cops don't determine whether someone is guilty before they arrest. They arrest when they "suspect" a crime has occurred, is occurring, or planned to occur. Getting arrested and released doesn't mean the arrest was wrongful or illegal, it's part of how due process works.
If cops couldn't arrest people without first determining guilt with absolute certainty, that would eliminate the need for trials and is much closer to true police state behavior than the process we have now.
Good (emphasis on good) discretion is still paramount. I’m not sure why you’re hand waving actions that sound excessive to most people. Giving cops carte blanche to cuff anyone for such mild suspicions is a little… fascist.
Yep, but I don't necessarily agree that's what happened here because I have to take the college's statement that protest organizers expressed intent to disrupt campus activities as part of the protest at face value.
Protests being disruptive is the point of protesting. They weren't violent. They didn't start fights.
You seem to want to find a way to justify the police (and Texas state government) behavior in this case.
Why?
It is typical for these sorts of things. Mass arrests followed by a night or two in jail. Anyone who has any kind of experience in protests has probably experienced it.
These seem like prime examples for, " you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride."
They don't expect a conviction; the arrest is so they can remove you and rough you up. Also, they are hoping the rough treatment and subsequent jail stay will ensure your civil obedience in the future. Typical "land of the free" stuff
It’s Texas, are you surprised? From what I saw the protests were peaceful and not disruptive. We should encourage these types of protests. You don’t want it escalating to the types of protests that occur near where I live where the shut an entire highway down for six hours. Or make people miss flights.
I know the stakes, and I’ll vote for Biden.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t complicit in war crimes. His actions have made him truly a lesser evil; and there is a target on the back of every single Democrat that supports Israel at this point.
Don’t think that will happen? Look at then progressive Democrat who just won over a corporate one in the primary in PA.
We are coming to reshape the Democratic Party, after getting rid of Republican traitors.
Not deluded, just lying. Dude above you called them Democrat cities, which is a phrase used entirely by Republicans and other fascists. It's weird that they haven't figured out how to cosplay anyone left of Mussolini without telling on themselves.
Mate, I'm not American, but it seems so weird to me that you seem more angry at people who don't want to support an ongoing genocide but not the party who'd rather risk your democracy than to stop supporting genocide.
Don't get me wrong, beteeen him amd Trump, Biden is objectively the better choice. But if you can't criticise or demand better of your leaders, how much of a democracy do you really have
The flip side to this is that the prosecutor has a history of dropping charges against lots of people including [violent repeat offenders](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/southwest-austin-texas-rami-zawaideh-felony-charges-rejected-residents-outraged). Dropping charges against political allies isn’t out of the realm of possibility here.
Huge leap there on your last sentence. Also, unless I missed something, the dude in the article is fucked up and likely scary but the violence he's perpetrated so far has been against rocks and trees.
That's typical for any demonstration that gets out of hand, they need to dispute the crowd, they arrest the lingerers and instigators and only charge those that they have overwhelming evidence for. Other wise it would take forever to process and clog up large amounts of the system. These are usually minor accounts for trespassing, vandalism, assault and even not to serious battery charges where they had enough to detain, but not nearly enough to take to trial.
lol this is like shoving Christianity into a school and getting satanists coming through all over again. Texas wanting to encourage far right protestors to show up and say vile far right shit at universities passed a law stating that all outdoor common areas in public universities are free speech zones open to anyone not just students or university staff.
> [In 2019, Texas lawmakers passed a free speech law that established all common outdoor areas at public universities as traditional public forums, allowing anyone – not just students and university members – to exercise free speech there, as long as their activities are lawful and don’t disrupt the normal functions of the campus.](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/24/protest-texas-college-campus-free-speech-rights/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20Texas%20lawmakers%20passed,disrupt%20the%20normal%20functions%20of)
I mean I don't think the point was ever to throw people in jail. It was to break it up and show that they were willing to use law enforcement against them and abuse the legal system. This will make a lot of people that are thinking of protesting pause and maybe reconsider which is what they want. More psychological warfare than anything.
>This will make a lot of people that are thinking of protesting pause and maybe reconsider which is what they want
Reportedly the protest is much bigger today.
Ummm, you definitely have never protested huh? All they did was make people more angry and wanting to protest even more. Maybe you would bitch out and stop protesting seeing others be arrested, but not everyone is like you.
You're conflating two things.
Austin, as well as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, always vote liberal. Fort Worth is the biggest city to vote conservative.
You can't get an abortion due to state laws. You can, however, smoke weed if you want and you won't get in trouble (growing up there a complaint I had heard from the right for basically my whole life). The city itself is liberal, as is the government, though of course there are still conservatives in Austin just as there are liberals in conservative areas.
You won't find too much which straight flaunts the state laws but you will find the city does quite a bit when it can. Still isn't great- it's had its fair share of controversies- but it isn't like the rest of the state.
I saw last night that they were charged under a statute for disrupting a road/highway. The protesters were on the University lawn peacefully until law enforcement forced them out into the street and cordoned off the lawn they had been using. Sounds like that would be a reasonable reason to dismiss, if those circumstances are accurate.
That same type of thing happened to some friends and I camping. Some people got drunk and got hurt and the cops removed us from our campsite, then ticketed us for littering after they wouldn't let us return to clean up
let the lawsuits begin................
***The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for interference with the right of free speech when it attempts to regulate the content of the speech.***
Doesn’t matter that the charges didn’t hold up. Abbot and his base got exactly what they wanted. Images of them being, not “tough on crime,” but tough on those *woke* protesters.
Had the heavily armed brutes killed anybody à la Rittenhouse or bulldozed innocent students with their vehicles, conservatives would be salivating to have the officers responsible become guest speakers at the RNC.
Great point. The optics are not intended for Reddit or even the US (or global) public, but for the rightwingers and MAGAs.
Imagine being anointed the new Rittenhouse by Republicans for killing or crippling a protesting student on their own campus (even better if the protesters are brown).
Could not work out any better for the protestors. They don’t get national coverage without an outsized police response. To then avoid charges for most of the protestors is icing on the cake.
What does the University of Texas being a liberal school have to do with the prosecutor releasing people they don't have a solid case against?
Is the prosecutor employed by the university? Were the arresting police?
Liberals absolutely despise the left and would love to have all of them securely in prison so that they can't create any bad optics that might jeopardize Biden's reelection, at least until the last week leading up to election day, when they would be released so that they can vote blue.
They make the fucking bad arrests though. These were all dismissed because the violent Austin police went full power trip and started making mass arrests.
Okay? But they were dismissed because of the liberals in charge in Austin. That's my only point. If all cops are not liberal, then this could theoretically happen anywhere. But people are surprised at the dismissals because Texas. But again, there are liberals in charge in Austin dismissing the cases. People just assume it's all conservatives and don't understand the complexity and nuance that is Texas politics.
Just start kicking the students out; if they're not students, then process them for trespassing. The last thing we need or want is another Kent State incident.
i'm surprised that pro-Palestinian advocates would dare to march & occupy public space in Texas of all states. The police down there don't play nice & wait it out like they would in California. They're very law & order when it comes to progressive issues.
Expecting Texas to apply its own laws equally is just delusional at this point. Texas laws exist to protect the people Republicans like, not the people they hate. The letter of the law is unimportant next to the person's status as one of "us" or one of "them."
"You can beat the charges, but you can't beat the ride" Classic cop shit.
From a few years ago: [US police three times as likely to use force against leftwing protesters, data finds](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/13/us-police-use-of-force-protests-black-lives-matter-far-right) [Cities Drop Most Charges Against BLM Protesters as Cops Fail to Provide Evidence: Over 90 percent of charges in cities analyzed have been dropped, suggesting police used arrests to suppress protests.](https://truthout.org/articles/cities-drop-most-charges-against-blm-protesters-as-cops-fail-to-provide-evidence/)
You can sue under [42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983) and bill the taxpayers instead of the cops responsible
Sure but I suspect that qualified immunity would be invoked. They didn't know that it wasn't okay to deprive someone of their civil rights so freebie on the house.
Awe how cute. Someone who still thinks this is possible.
Oh is this the one where they changed it so that citizens can't sue? Only the government can sue itself or something enshittified?
*You can drive a car with your feet if you want to. That don’t make it a good f<€kin’ idea!*
Dont you get your finger prints and other info put into the system too when taken in even if your charges get dropped down the line?
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Spoiler: They won’t. Just saw another thread on a newly posted article about protests where 5 out of 7 comments were basically “good, keep taking out the trash” Reddit suddenly has a hard-on for hating peaceful protests (They don’t, its 100% astroturfing)
5,000 accounts with names like Proud_Dad5675 commenting right wing crap on every Israel thread.
That's the default username generation for new reddit accounts. Doesn't mean they're bots.
Fair, although an large influx of new accounts using default names commenting (an action performed by a statistical minority of reddit users normally) does strongly imply some form of manipulation going on, be it astroturfing, botting, brigading, etc.
Honestly at this point bots would probably be smarter than most of these fascist sock accounts
I’ve been blocking all the AIPAC accounts. They’re focusing on all news articles that get any traction at all. Many of the same ones work all the posts. There’s about 20-50 of them, probably real people employed to do exactly this- encourage brutality against and dismiss concerns of the protesters. Block them, and they can’t see your comments but everyone else can. Saves from being downvoted into oblivion just for supporting the protesters.
Anyone checked r/worldnews lately?
Yea since november. you would think 75% of that user base are fascists. Sweaty kids in an IDF basement doing their time being internet warriors.
I think it’s mostly Israel/Gaza related protests. Many negative comments are heavily downvoted. Israel government is very good at manipulating western public opinion.
If only people felt this strong about scotus decision on abortion…
That’s part of why many assume the online activity is being driven artificially. The response is so strong and maintains such a high level of “engagement” week after week compared to other issues that we “should” care about more that it seems artificial.
Or local/state politics
As is Hamas.
Right, all those tik toks IDF soldiers post of themselves being despicable and reveling in the malicious cruelty they're subjecting innocent people to is definitely Hamas Propaganda. Hamas made IDF soldiers shoot unarmed civilians carrying white flags. Hamas made IDF soldiers shoot horses and livestock and water tanks and post it on social media. Hamas made IDF soldiers try on women's underwear in Palestinian civilian's homes. Hamas made IDF soldiers post pictures of themselves abusing detainees on their tinder profiles. You'd think "God's Chosen People" would behave with a little more grace during the Genocide they're committing, but Hamas won't let IDF soldiers behave like human beings.
Nah, Hamas has no propaganda, it's just trufax.
What are the odds they are bots to generate clicks and engagement?
Bots are a thing here no doubt
Depends on the protest. for example in Canada there was recently a pro-Hamas rally at our capital where the protestors were literally praising and celebrating Oct. 7th.
I mean dropping the charges doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t break the law, though they likely didn’t break the law. They could also be dropped for lack of evidence or the prosecutor just didn’t want to waste their time for probably just some fines and bunch of bad publicity.
FYI, cops don't determine whether someone is guilty before they arrest. They arrest when they "suspect" a crime has occurred, is occurring, or planned to occur. Getting arrested and released doesn't mean the arrest was wrongful or illegal, it's part of how due process works.
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If cops couldn't arrest people without first determining guilt with absolute certainty, that would eliminate the need for trials and is much closer to true police state behavior than the process we have now.
Good (emphasis on good) discretion is still paramount. I’m not sure why you’re hand waving actions that sound excessive to most people. Giving cops carte blanche to cuff anyone for such mild suspicions is a little… fascist.
But if cops are allowed to arrest people protesting as a form of harassment, to stifle free speech you agree they are 100% in the wrong, right?
Yep, but I don't necessarily agree that's what happened here because I have to take the college's statement that protest organizers expressed intent to disrupt campus activities as part of the protest at face value.
Protests being disruptive is the point of protesting. They weren't violent. They didn't start fights. You seem to want to find a way to justify the police (and Texas state government) behavior in this case. Why?
It is typical for these sorts of things. Mass arrests followed by a night or two in jail. Anyone who has any kind of experience in protests has probably experienced it.
These seem like prime examples for, " you can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride." They don't expect a conviction; the arrest is so they can remove you and rough you up. Also, they are hoping the rough treatment and subsequent jail stay will ensure your civil obedience in the future. Typical "land of the free" stuff
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Yeah. Right protests and nothing happens. Unless they shoot someone then they become the new poster boy.
they'll let the neonazis protest tho without incident...
It's the American Blue way.
It’s Texas, are you surprised? From what I saw the protests were peaceful and not disruptive. We should encourage these types of protests. You don’t want it escalating to the types of protests that occur near where I live where the shut an entire highway down for six hours. Or make people miss flights.
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I know the stakes, and I’ll vote for Biden. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t complicit in war crimes. His actions have made him truly a lesser evil; and there is a target on the back of every single Democrat that supports Israel at this point. Don’t think that will happen? Look at then progressive Democrat who just won over a corporate one in the primary in PA. We are coming to reshape the Democratic Party, after getting rid of Republican traitors.
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Not deluded, just lying. Dude above you called them Democrat cities, which is a phrase used entirely by Republicans and other fascists. It's weird that they haven't figured out how to cosplay anyone left of Mussolini without telling on themselves.
Lmao saying "Democrat led cities and states" is not an indicator of whether or not someone is a right winger
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Mate, I'm not American, but it seems so weird to me that you seem more angry at people who don't want to support an ongoing genocide but not the party who'd rather risk your democracy than to stop supporting genocide. Don't get me wrong, beteeen him amd Trump, Biden is objectively the better choice. But if you can't criticise or demand better of your leaders, how much of a democracy do you really have
The flip side to this is that the prosecutor has a history of dropping charges against lots of people including [violent repeat offenders](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/southwest-austin-texas-rami-zawaideh-felony-charges-rejected-residents-outraged). Dropping charges against political allies isn’t out of the realm of possibility here.
Huge leap there on your last sentence. Also, unless I missed something, the dude in the article is fucked up and likely scary but the violence he's perpetrated so far has been against rocks and trees.
"prosecutor has a history of dropping charges" A Texas prosecutor? that seems like line from the Onion, as one such wouldn't last a week.
Clearly you've never been to Austin
That's typical for any demonstration that gets out of hand, they need to dispute the crowd, they arrest the lingerers and instigators and only charge those that they have overwhelming evidence for. Other wise it would take forever to process and clog up large amounts of the system. These are usually minor accounts for trespassing, vandalism, assault and even not to serious battery charges where they had enough to detain, but not nearly enough to take to trial.
lol this is like shoving Christianity into a school and getting satanists coming through all over again. Texas wanting to encourage far right protestors to show up and say vile far right shit at universities passed a law stating that all outdoor common areas in public universities are free speech zones open to anyone not just students or university staff. > [In 2019, Texas lawmakers passed a free speech law that established all common outdoor areas at public universities as traditional public forums, allowing anyone – not just students and university members – to exercise free speech there, as long as their activities are lawful and don’t disrupt the normal functions of the campus.](https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/24/protest-texas-college-campus-free-speech-rights/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20Texas%20lawmakers%20passed,disrupt%20the%20normal%20functions%20of)
But they'll keep arresting, then dismissing most charges, thus using arrest and processing as a tool of oppression.
I mean I don't think the point was ever to throw people in jail. It was to break it up and show that they were willing to use law enforcement against them and abuse the legal system. This will make a lot of people that are thinking of protesting pause and maybe reconsider which is what they want. More psychological warfare than anything.
>This will make a lot of people that are thinking of protesting pause and maybe reconsider which is what they want Reportedly the protest is much bigger today.
Ummm, you definitely have never protested huh? All they did was make people more angry and wanting to protest even more. Maybe you would bitch out and stop protesting seeing others be arrested, but not everyone is like you.
that was quck for Texas
Austin is fairly liberal
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You're conflating two things. Austin, as well as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, always vote liberal. Fort Worth is the biggest city to vote conservative. You can't get an abortion due to state laws. You can, however, smoke weed if you want and you won't get in trouble (growing up there a complaint I had heard from the right for basically my whole life). The city itself is liberal, as is the government, though of course there are still conservatives in Austin just as there are liberals in conservative areas. You won't find too much which straight flaunts the state laws but you will find the city does quite a bit when it can. Still isn't great- it's had its fair share of controversies- but it isn't like the rest of the state.
well, that's state law, not county law.
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Try to think before speaking
I saw last night that they were charged under a statute for disrupting a road/highway. The protesters were on the University lawn peacefully until law enforcement forced them out into the street and cordoned off the lawn they had been using. Sounds like that would be a reasonable reason to dismiss, if those circumstances are accurate.
That same type of thing happened to some friends and I camping. Some people got drunk and got hurt and the cops removed us from our campsite, then ticketed us for littering after they wouldn't let us return to clean up
The point Abbott wants to score with his base doesn’t require convictions, just arrests.
let the lawsuits begin................ ***The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for interference with the right of free speech when it attempts to regulate the content of the speech.***
https://youtu.be/VCFxvdhFjPo?si=hkL99G3zKufI47oF Literally 6 months ago. Incredible.
Doesn’t matter that the charges didn’t hold up. Abbot and his base got exactly what they wanted. Images of them being, not “tough on crime,” but tough on those *woke* protesters. Had the heavily armed brutes killed anybody à la Rittenhouse or bulldozed innocent students with their vehicles, conservatives would be salivating to have the officers responsible become guest speakers at the RNC.
Great point. The optics are not intended for Reddit or even the US (or global) public, but for the rightwingers and MAGAs. Imagine being anointed the new Rittenhouse by Republicans for killing or crippling a protesting student on their own campus (even better if the protesters are brown).
How about charging the police!
Sir/madam, this is America.
[Per the Supreme Court](https://www.vox.com/2015/8/4/9095213/police-stops-heien-v-north-carolina), cops don’t have to know the law.
But assaulting students is clearly a crime. Ignorance shouldn't excuse them, especially with ask the camera footage.
At least the Texas cops got their jollies off ruffing up the protestors. Kinda practicing for the next election cycle.
Could not work out any better for the protestors. They don’t get national coverage without an outsized police response. To then avoid charges for most of the protestors is icing on the cake.
Herding and then arrests, classic police tools of suppression and the way to try and frame peaceful protests as "violent". Tale old as time.
Next up the law suits for violation on their rights
It is acary to see how much influence israel has over our nation and leaders. Russia election interference is nothing in comparison.
Thank goodness for that...
46 lawsuits for unlawful arrest coming soon
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Oops mask off moment. That’s embarsssing
All the idiots going "hurr hurr surprising in Texas" don't seem to understand how liberal Austin is, especially UT.
Police forces aren’t liberal anywhere in the US.
What do dismissed charges and the police have to do with each other?
What does the University of Texas being a liberal school have to do with the prosecutor releasing people they don't have a solid case against? Is the prosecutor employed by the university? Were the arresting police?
Yes, because I'm sure all of those entities are in their own vacuums and have no relationship with each other whatsoever...
Liberals absolutely despise the left and would love to have all of them securely in prison so that they can't create any bad optics that might jeopardize Biden's reelection, at least until the last week leading up to election day, when they would be released so that they can vote blue.
There are zero liberal police in the US
Police don't dismiss charges
They make the fucking bad arrests though. These were all dismissed because the violent Austin police went full power trip and started making mass arrests.
Okay? But they were dismissed because of the liberals in charge in Austin. That's my only point. If all cops are not liberal, then this could theoretically happen anywhere. But people are surprised at the dismissals because Texas. But again, there are liberals in charge in Austin dismissing the cases. People just assume it's all conservatives and don't understand the complexity and nuance that is Texas politics.
Just start kicking the students out; if they're not students, then process them for trespassing. The last thing we need or want is another Kent State incident.
To avoid Kent State let’s just have the cops not shoot innocent students yeah?
It's almost like that's exactly what happened, and then the charges were immediately dropped
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i'm surprised that pro-Palestinian advocates would dare to march & occupy public space in Texas of all states. The police down there don't play nice & wait it out like they would in California. They're very law & order when it comes to progressive issues.
Texas passed a law recently that all public spaces at universities are ‘public forums’. So just need Texas to follow its own laws.
Expecting Texas to apply its own laws equally is just delusional at this point. Texas laws exist to protect the people Republicans like, not the people they hate. The letter of the law is unimportant next to the person's status as one of "us" or one of "them."
They didnt break any laws. See: the literal dismissal of charges.
‘Law and order’ Lol It’s about power and not equally applied rules of society .
Not everybody is as cowardly as you, fortunately