Dan GillmorDec 1, 2023

(Revised)

The New York Times is collaborating with local newsrooms on investigative projects. This piece, produced with Mississippi Today, is a brilliant and terrifying look into a Mississippi sheriff's department "goon squad" that operated with violent impunity for years. https://mississippitoday.org/2023/11/30/rankin-county-sheriff-goon-squad-got-away-with-years-of-brutality/?mc_cid=84eb08d38f

Note: The Times' initiative is being run by Dean Baquet, who IMO failed in key ways as the org's executive editor but is doing great stuff with this project. (Sadly, the new NYT editor is no better.)

How a ‘Goon Squad’ of Deputies Got Away With Years of Brutality

For nearly two decades, a band of Rankin County sheriff’s deputies roamed impoverished neighborhoods, meting out their version of justice.

Mississippi Today
Show threadDan GillmorDec 1, 2023

What journalists -- and everyone else -- need to understand is that if the United States goes full fascist, essentially **every** police agency will get license to do this kind of thing, routinely.

Too many get away with lesser versions of it already. Fascist-guided "law" enforcement isn't just speculation anymore.

And right-wingers can hardly contain their glee at such a possibility.

The stakes are that high. Wake up, journalists, and help us move toward justice, not terror.

Show threadChris Raymond
@dangillmor The other thing MSM journos don't seem to get is that they'll be one of the first targets when the Fascists take over. Yes, even you, Jeff Bozos
Dec 2, 2023 at 11:20pmWeb