•This Week in Democracy – Week 24

Zeteo’s project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in the Trump second term
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-24-trump

•See Every Side of Every Story

GroundNews gathers news from all perspective along with links.
https://ground.news/

•Is it True? Snopes News Check Site

Snopes investigates the source of claims on the internet.

https://www.snopes.com/

News from Other Sources

July 11, 2025:
•UN human rights office has documented the killing of 800 Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza by Israeli forces. Over 2-million Palestinians. Are now crammed into less than 15% of the Gaza Strip’s total area.
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/7/11/headlines/un_israel_has_killed_800_palestinians_seeking_aid_in_gaza_many_at_us_aid_operation_ghf

•As Texas Flood deaths reach 121 (160 people still missing), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called for the elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency accusing it of slow response to the floods. FEMA officials point out that the slow response was result of Noem’s policy which requires her to sign off before deploying personnel.

www.democracynow.org

•July 10, 2025:
Birthright Citizenship: All children born on US soil are entitled to the full rights and protections of citizenship as stated in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The Federal Court blocked Trump’s Birthright Citizenship ban – allowing a nationwide class-action lawsuit to go forward. The lawsuit challenges the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the ban directing courts to narrow protections for children born in the US if their parents are not citizens.
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/federal-court-blocks-trump-birthright-citizenship-order-certifies-nationwide-class-protecting-all-impacted-babies

•July 9, 2025:
Permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil was released June 20, 2025 after being arrested and detained for over three months in a Louisiana detention facility – over 1,400 miles from his family and legal council. The lawsuit challenges the government’s violation of the First and Fifth Amendment due process rights. He has been reunited with his US citizen wife and their first child born while he was detained. www.aclu.org

•July 8, 2025:
Children attending a summer camp in MacArthur Park were quickly ushered away by camp organizers as 100 federal officers and National Guard troops on foot and horseback invaded the nearly empty park in LA. The park was encircled by 17 Humvees, four armored vehicles and a military helicopter hovered above. No people were encountered, no arrests were made.
Oddly, officials said the troops – in full combat gear and carrying weapons – were there to protect immigration officers.
LA Mayor Karen Bass said the scene looked like “a city under siege, under armed occupation,” that she had witnessed in countries under authoritarian rule.
LA City Councilmember Harris-Dawson said the operation looked like staging for a video and that Border Control should apply for a film permit like everyone else if they want to film in LA.
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-agents-children-los-angeles-macarthur-park-2095877

•July 3, 2025:
Masked ICE agents attempted to target Fullerton Carwash on Harbor. The owner very politely but firmly told them to leave his property or show him a warrant and ID. After some back and forth where the “agents” tried unsuccessfully to intimidate the owner they ran off to their vehicles (which had no license plates) and drove off in search of easier targets. There are videos of the encounter on YouTube. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=youtube+video+fullerton+car+wash+owner+chases+ICE#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:8767550f,vid:3hJu6e2_JI0,st:0

•June 26, 2025:
A Fullerton citizen and retiree, out shopping with his family, was approached by six ICE agents who claimed he had a warrant though they failed to present one. The retiree showed his drivers license and US Passport but that did not stop the masked men who handcuffed him and took him off to another location before releasing him. The retiree has no criminal record or warrants. OC Rapid Response Network was on the scene and interviewed the man. https://www.instagram.com/ocrrn/reel/DLYJqSYzcSe/
Call OCRRN at (714)881-1558 if you see or are being attacked by ICE. They can help.

•ICEBlock app for cell-phones alerts users to any ICE operations within a five-mile radius its available on the Apple AppStore. https://www.iceblock.app/
The tech developer Joshua Aaron said he (growing up in a Jewish family) saw lots of similarities between the Hitler and Trump regimes in their mass disappearances of students, workers, political rivals, and even children, and wanted to do something to help. The app has over a half million users so far. https://www.iceblock.app/