FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE • Hacker News Board

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#711

Post by renewiltord » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #664

pseudohadamard wrote: post #659

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a footnote, it was also written at a time when a bunch of guys with muskets could face down another bunch of guys with muskets. When one side has tanks and attack helicopters and training and outnumbers you a hundred to one it doesn't really work any more.

That would explain why it was so easy for the US to suppress insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan... It's actually rather difficult to think of tyrannical regimes which persisted against an armed citizenry in the long term.

If you don’t care about how many you kill, these kinds of insurgencies can be ended. I don’t think the US Armed Forces could be convinced to attack their fellow Americans but if they did it would be worth remembering that the Warsaw Uprising ended poorly for the uprisers.

This is not like Ukraine where there are lots of underground manufacturing facilities.

If you tried building drones to stop US tanks and IFVs then the Californians would tell you that your factory needs to first go through environmental review. By the time the review is done the war will be lost.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#712

Post by themafia » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #595

themafia wrote: post #570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would help if they stopped holding demonstrations in front of facilities with huge amounts of facial recognition technology. Protesting is not something you should do "casually."

> Protesting is not something you should do "casually” Neither is violently undermining our Constitutional order. These folks should be on notice that they will be prosecuted. If we played by Trump’s book, we’d charge them with treason and then let them appeal against the death penalty for the rest of their lives.

> Neither is violently undermining our Constitutional order.

Ah, the "ends justify the means" then? Is this something you want applied _against_ you? Seems reckless.

> These folks should be on notice that they will be prosecuted.

They will not.

> If we played by Trump’s book

Moral relativism will turn you into the thing you profess to hate.

> we’d charge them with treason and then let them appeal against the death penalty for the rest of their lives.

Words have actual meaning. We're clearly past that and just choosing words that match emotional states. If you don't want to fix anything and just want to demonstrate your frustrations then this will work. If you want something to change you stand no chance with this attitude.

I'm not choosing sides. I'm simply saying if you want to avoid FBI attention then take your heart off your sleeve and smarten up.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#713

Post by 8note » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

db48x wrote: post #648

trhway wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I am talking about 8 USC chapter 12 subsection II ( https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/chapter-12 >). This is the law that defines how immigration works in the US, and how illegal aliens are removed. ICE is the Federal agency assigned to the task of locating and removing illegal aliens. Even if you don’t like that illegal aliens are being removed, it is illegal to try to prevent a federal agent from doing just…

which part of the immigration code lets ice agents kill citizens?

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#714

Post by N19PEDL2 » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:13 AM UTC

heavyset_go wrote: post #521

This is one of the reasons it's crucial that the next set of secure messaging systems does away with tying real phone numbers to accounts. One phone gets compromised and the whole network is identified with their phone numbers.

> it's crucial that the next set of secure messaging systems does away with tying real phone numbers to accounts.

https://olvid.io/

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#715

Post by zahlman » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:14 AM UTC

idle_zealot wrote: post #656

db48x wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t be disingenuous. The people in these groups are coordinating for a specific reason: to follow federal agents around, harass them, and prevent them from doing their jobs. That’s textbook Obstruction of Justice. It is illegal to prevent an officer from doing their job. These groups are also documented to have harassed people who are _not_ federal officers under the mistaken impression that they are. That’s just a…

> to follow federal agents around, harass them, and prevent them from doing their jobs. That’s textbook Obstruction of Justice. It is illegal to prevent an officer from doing their job. Filming officiers performing their jobs is not obstruction, even if it does make them uncomfortable. If it makes their jobs harder that's only because they know what they're doing is unpopular and don't want to be known to have done i…

> Filming officiers performing their jobs is not obstruction

This is irrelevant, because many people have been observed physically obstructing officers, whether or not they were filming at the time.

> If it makes their jobs harder

Have you heard the constant blowing of whistles in these videos? Did you know that protesters have organized the mass 3d-printing and distribution of these whistles (https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2025/12/not-just-a-toy-how-wh... ; https://www.startribune.com/whistle-symbol-ice-protest-minne... ; https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/01/21/chicagoa...)? Can you imagine how this level of noise interferes with a job that involves verbal communication with both coworkers and civilians?

> Even now Democrats refuse to support abolishing ICE

I'm not mistaken in my understanding that Tim Walz is a Democrat, am I? The one making public speeches falsely claiming that ICE aren't LEO and encouraging "peaceful protest" without mentioning anything about obstruction of justice or resisting arrest?

And you're aware that the Signal groups in question are alleged to include Democratic state officials and a campaign advisor?

For that matter, exactly what do you mean by "abolishing ICE"? Should it not be replaced? Should immigration law not be enforced? Should the USA allow everyone to reside within its borders who wishes to do so, with no barriers to entry?

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#716

Post by rbanffy » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:17 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #595

themafia wrote: post #570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would help if they stopped holding demonstrations in front of facilities with huge amounts of facial recognition technology. Protesting is not something you should do "casually."

> Protesting is not something you should do "casually” Neither is violently undermining our Constitutional order. These folks should be on notice that they will be prosecuted. If we played by Trump’s book, we’d charge them with treason and then let them appeal against the death penalty for the rest of their lives.

> played by Trump’s book

I'm betting that's exactly what will happen - the FBI will single out some core organisers and let them serve as an example.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#717

Post by Empact » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:18 AM UTC

idle_zealot wrote: post #656

db48x wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t be disingenuous. The people in these groups are coordinating for a specific reason: to follow federal agents around, harass them, and prevent them from doing their jobs. That’s textbook Obstruction of Justice. It is illegal to prevent an officer from doing their job. These groups are also documented to have harassed people who are _not_ federal officers under the mistaken impression that they are. That’s just a…

> to follow federal agents around, harass them, and prevent them from doing their jobs. That’s textbook Obstruction of Justice. It is illegal to prevent an officer from doing their job. Filming officiers performing their jobs is not obstruction, even if it does make them uncomfortable. If it makes their jobs harder that's only because they know what they're doing is unpopular and don't want to be known to have done i…

This is an inaccurate description of what they are doing. For example Renee Good was actively blockading a street, by placing her car perpendicularly across it. Some may be engaged in observation, but that is not broadly the case, and organizationally, their apparent goal is to obstruct.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#718

Post by renewiltord » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:19 AM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #595

themafia wrote: post #570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would help if they stopped holding demonstrations in front of facilities with huge amounts of facial recognition technology. Protesting is not something you should do "casually."

> Protesting is not something you should do "casually” Neither is violently undermining our Constitutional order. These folks should be on notice that they will be prosecuted. If we played by Trump’s book, we’d charge them with treason and then let them appeal against the death penalty for the rest of their lives.

Realistically, we now know that the Hunter Biden Pardon (preemptive) is available and the Capitol Riots Pardon (mass pardon) is available. Given that, it’s only optimal for an outgoing cynical Republican President to preemptively pardon his allies on the street.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#719

Post by donkeybeer » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:23 AM UTC

Empact wrote: post #705

katdork wrote: post #649

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This misses the point of how "deportation", snatching of those from communities and decision-making for whom is illegal is actually occurring, and how people are being snatched with disregard to their actual state as a citizen, resident or otherwise of the United States of America. When facial recognition is said to outrank any other proof, such as a birth certificate, one cannot claim to be operating in good faith w…

Is any law enforcement guaranteed to be exactly correct? No, because every person is fallible, and every system is made up of fallible people. This is why we separate arrest (police) from trial (judge) and judgment (jury), to mitigate those risks. To malign a system because it is imperfect is to be unrealistic. Surely, we should minimize those harms, but they are not a reason to abdicate our laws.

There's a difference between honest mistakes and gleeful assholery.

Re: FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal chats tracking ICE

#720

Post by OhMeadhbh » Wed, Jan 28, 2026, 8:27 AM UTC

OhMeadhbh wrote: post #187

janalsncm wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we’re getting rid of the first amendment maybe we should also get rid of the fourth and fifth amendment too since they make law enforcement harder? I’m sure cops in North Korea have a much easier and safer job.

You only have rights you exercise. Don't let the cops trample on your rights. Though... this does seem to work better for white, rich, older dudes than for other people.

I love that THIS is the post that gets me down-voted.