He sent a harsh email to ICE's top official. Federal agents tracked him down

Discussion (7 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

ChiperSoft•about 3 hours ago

I know the ACLU is involved, but for crying out loud, the very first thing they should have done after the first visit was call a lawyer, before he even got on a plane to come home.

gordian-mind•about 2 hours ago

"[...] you will be a sad, despised man who eats himself alive with shame at your own pathetic weakness.

You will never know peace. You will seek to lose yourself, to escape the burden of knowing the truth about yourself. But wherever you go, you will find yourself. You will torment yourself until your last day on Earth,"

This is not "criticism".

In any country on Earth, sending this to a senior law-enforcement official would not end with a polite request to fill out a voluntary statement form.

The man got the softest possible visit from the security state and came away narrating it like a dissident memoir.

neuroticnews25•about 2 hours ago

I can understand there are acceptable reasons other than intimidation to check on people sending letters like this, but this absolutely is non-violent criticism.

gordian-mind•5 minutes ago

This is a deranged letter full of curses titled "What's next". Besides the fact that nowadays the main purpose of calling someone a nazi is to encourage violence against them (e.g., Charlie Kirk), the fact there are no direct threats does not mean its author should not be checked on. Even then, and it feels weird to have to state this after years of "microaggression" discourse: personal harassment is not OK.

OutOfHere•about 1 hour ago

There is no acceptable reason to "check on" him for it. It is political criticism written in an attention gathering way is all. Odds are that a standard critical message would never gain the mind's attention, so people have to get creative.

Also, for better or worse, the "check" these days allegedly happens more commonly by hacking into the person's devices to monitor them for a while.

OutOfHere•about 2 hours ago

It is not a threat. All else is legally allowed.

The man's right to petition his government was harmed. And did he have to petition in this way? Yes, he absolutely did, for they listen to nothing else.

goatlover•about 2 hours ago

Where's the threat that would necessitate a visit? It's not like he had a pizza delivered to the official's home.

He sent a harsh email to ICE's top official. Federal agents tracked him down

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Discussion (7 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews