Nebraska forbade cops from stealing cash from motorists, but a loophole let them carry on doing it

Seward County has become Nebraska's capital of "civil forteiture," in which Sheriffs deputies pull over out-of-state motorists, confiscate any cash they find, and send them on their way without charging them with crimes. Though the state banned the practice years ago, a loophole in the law's wording effectively nullifies it and there's little point fighting to get the money back because local courts won't give it to you. — Read the rest

After lengthy legal battle. the DEA reluctantly returns innocent man's life savings

The Drug Enforcement Administration, well-known for its internal corruption, corrupting influence on others, racism, and making the world less equitable and more violent, begrudgingly returned $30,000 it took from Kermit Warren, "an out-of-work shoeshine man from New Orleans, was carrying nearly $30,000 in cash through the airport in Columbus, Ohio," reports NBC News. — Read the rest

MLB chooses surveillance over vaccinations

Rather than require vaccination, Major League Baseball is demanding all players and associated staff wear electronic tracking devices from Spring Training to the World Series.

KCCI:

"Every covered Individual must wear a Kinexon contact tracing device at all times while in club facilities and during club directed travel and while engaged in team activities, including group workouts and practices," the manual says.

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US Police have stolen $68 billion in the past 20 years from American citizens without due process

The nonprofit Institute for Justice has just released the 3rd edition of its Policing For Profit report, examining the abuses of civil asset forfeiture by local police across the United States. According to their data, local police departments have seized more than $68 billion dollars worth of personal property without due process over the last 20 years. — Read the rest

$1 billion bitcoin mystery solved

Earlier this week someone moved nearly a billion dollars worth of bitcoin (69,369 BTC ) from a wallet address that hadn't been active since 2015. Speculation was rampant about who it could be. Kim Jong Un? An Eastern European crime syndicate? Hackers who cracked the password (they'd been brute force attacking it for years)? — Read the rest

The DEA seized a retired railroad engineer's life savings

Between 2000-2016 the U.S. government seized over 2 billion dollars from U.S. airport travelers. The vast majority of these people were not charged with a crime. The Institute for Justice highlights one such case involving a retired railroad engineer and his daughter:

Retired railroad engineer Terry Rolin's life savings were seized by the government, but he hasn't been charged with any crime.

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Gun Violence Isn't a Problem — it's actually 5 Problems, with Different Solutions

I've written extensively on gun violence, spoken on international TV and radio on the subject, and even pursued a gun license in the strictest city of one of the strictest states in the country. Despite my first-hand experience, the most ardent defenders of the Second Amendment — like those who marched on Richmond, Virginia this weekend to protest "Jim Crow" gun laws — will still tell me things like, "We don't need more laws! — Read the rest

Supreme Court rules against "excessive" police seizures and sales of property

Philly.com:

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the court's opinion in favor of Tyson Timbs, of Marion, Indiana. Police seized Timbs' $40,000 Land Rover when they arrested him for selling about $400 worth of heroin.

Reading a summary of her opinion in the courtroom, Ginsburg noted that governments employ fines "out of accord with the penal goals of retribution and deterrence" because fines are a source of revenue.

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Police lobbyist: cops will not be motivated to stop crime unless they are allowed to steal people's stuff

South Carolina cops love the state's civil asset forfeiture laws, which allow the police to seize any property they believe represents the proceeds of a crime and keep it, unless the property's former owner hires a lawyer to prove the innocence of their goods: more than $17m was seized last year, and in a fifth of these cases, no one was convicted of a crime (71% of the people whose stuff gets stolen by South Carolina cops are Black).