In #Houston, politics is looking decidedly old. The median age of its city council is roughly 55—two years older than that of Dallas, eight years older than that of Austin, and a whopping 20 years older than that of Houston’s median resident.
Will that affect Rep. Al Green's bid for a 12th term?
New from @samrussek.bsky.social: The Dem primary for the 18th Congressional District pits two generations of politicians—Christian Menefee and Al Green—against each other.
How did Green, known for standing up to Trump, end up in a serious fight for his seat?
ICYMI: There’s an activist in Texas who’s been held in solitary confinement for 23 years. His body is failing. It took a year—and a court order—for him to finally see a *partial* medical diagnosis. He learned that he’d suffered a stroke *and* a heart attack. None of the prison officials had told him
“Xinachtli” Hernandez’s health is failing him. So is the system. trib.al/JumfKSL
His worst fall came in the shower with no rails to hold onto—even though 16% of Texas’s prison population is 55+. When it rains his cell floods. He stores his belongings in jars so the rats don't chew through them.
His support committee brings together generations of activists; in some ways, Xinachtli represents a missing link for the Texas Left—those post-'68 years when traditional mass politics was dying, and liberation movements filled the void. bit.ly/4ah8nR4
For @newrepublic.com, I wrote about his ongoing case for adequate medical treatment, but it was really striking to see his life distilled into a couple paragraphs. Even from behind bars, he was central to a major civil rights movement. newrepublic.com/article/2062...
Alvaro Hernandez, AKA Xinachtli, has been held in solitary confinement for 23 years. Now 73, his body's failing him—he can't walk, lost ~100 lbs, & Texas officials have withheld medical diagnoses. His supporters say this is part of a long history of retaliation for his activism
Bro they got Rachel Maddow posting crimethinc links
Should also add: Tim Davis is now the chair of the Tarrant County GOP.) www.star-telegram.com/news/politic...
I covered the Prairieland case in the Jan. issue of @newrepublic.com, building off reporting from
@stevanzetti.bsky.social & folks at @keranews.org. Mine looks most closely at how the local U.S. Attorney's office has shifted priorities to fit Trump's NSPM-7 mandate: newrepublic.com/article/2041...
Representing the New Columbia Movement in the 2023 case is Tim Davis, who @stevanzetti.bsky.social has shown has deep ties to the area's Republican party. (I've also heard, from a well-connected local source, of Davis's connection to billionaire Tim Dunn.) www.texasobserver.org/school-board...
The DOJ included a civil case involving Fowlkes, stemming from her & others' defense of a drag brunch against "Christo-fascist" protesters in 2023. The FBI had approached Fowlkes for info RE: the Prairieland protest; she was charged with Hindering the Prosecution of Terrorism
NEW: Another DFW-area activist, Lucy Fowlkes, was just arrested by the FBI in connection to the Prairieland ICE Detention Center protest last July, bringing the total to 19 defendants. Fowlkes, like ~1/3 of those charged, wasn't at the protest, but in the DOJ's discovery... (🧵)
As folks begin to orient around anti-war protests, the story of the Prairieland Defendants serves as a warning. As Javier T de Janon of the National Lawyers Guild told me: Under this precedent, “the state could just accuse you of anything and say you ‘conspired’ to do [it].”
Of the 18 defendants, only 11 were actually at the protest, which turned violent after a police officer was shot. Reviewing CCTV and bodycam footage, I found the DOJ case—that there was a conspiracy to “ambush” the police—is far-fetched to say the least.
newrepublic.com/article/2041...
I focused in on the case against Dario Sanchez, who wasn’t even at the protest. His alleged crime is removing a fellow defendant from a group chat, landing him in a single-person cell for around a month before he made bail. But the bail conditions are nuts:
Since July, Trump’s DOJ has used a protest outside an ICE facility to justify the roundup of leftwing activists, labeling them an “antifa cell.” For @newrepublic.com I gained access to nearly 6 TB of discovery—CCTV, bodycam, warrants. The DOJ’s story doesn’t add up
One of those stories where folks I’d never spoken to before have privately reached out to thank me for reporting it out. Happy to be in @texasobserver.org’s top ten this year
“This is New York’s first portfolio-wide union in recent memory, and surely the first to be built at such dizzying scale: In a matter of months, 40 Pinnacle buildings across three boroughs have formed tenant associations.”
mr mayor-elect, sir, please intervene in this bankruptcy auction
"This is New York’s first portfolio-wide union in recent memory, and surely the first to be built at such dizzying scale: In a matter of months, 40 Pinnacle buildings across 3 boroughs have formed tenant associations and joined the union to coordinate their demands."
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
The Pinnacle bankruptcy has upended the lives of thousands of NYers in rent-stabilized units, a constituency to which Mamdani has pledged himself. But as Sam Russek reports, a fast-growing tenants' union is forming in advance of the change at Gracie Mansion
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
Our top story, @samrussek.bsky.social: As a Latina immigrant elected in her mid-twenties, Lina Hidalgo faced unique headwinds that can’t be ignored when reckoning with her time in office, yet what she did with the power she won must still be judged on its own merits.
What was Lina Hidalgo? When was Lina Hidalgo? Why was Lina Hidalgo? For @texasobserver.org, I appraised Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
New from @samrussek.bsky.social: While some local Democratic party chapters speak effusively of their partnerships with Texas Majority PAC, others liken it to a bait-and-switch operation that commandeers the grassroots manpower of established county parties & fails to deliver on its lofty promises.
SCOOP: A Soros-backed PAC in Texas expects a massive budget—$20 million a year, each year, until 2032—but the group has been roiled by territorial disputes and allegations of "data falsification" & "systemic" voter outreach fraud. And here come the midterms. In @texasobserver.org: bit.ly/3IYSfdc
Update: Franklin Pena's defense in the Jocelyn Nungaray case just asked the DA's office to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Ogg for misuse of official information, and both the DA and defense are planning to file bar complaints against her.
Last, Ogg told Fox she was "very concerned" about Teare's handling of the case here. Clearly, this isn't just a major allegation against Pena, but a chance to stick it to Teare. In court today, Josh Reiss, the DA's general counsel, asked for her law license. Showdown's not over.
The court ruling in Sept. prevented extrajudicial statements from "all attorneys" due to the case's sensitivity & Pena's right to a fair trial. But it didn't clearly say if "all attorneys" meant *current and former,* though one might assume that's implied.
