Seems like there are hundreds of people in those groups.

Can't be hard to get into for some skilled undercover cops. TV shows have shown me they do these things all the time!

GorbachevyChase 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

They had already been outed by internet sleuths possibly, but not necessarily, informed by leaks from the police. The FBI is making a press release about an investigation only to save face because the criminal conspiracy is already common knowledge among those interested. In the universe of a competent FBI, which I think is ours, they already know who is in the network. They have well-publicized, patently unlawful dragnet signals intelligence collection capabilities. The targets are people who organize openly on Zoom and Discord, and broadcast volumes of their ideology on bumper stickers, Mastodon, and Blue-Twitter. So why does (if the press is to be believed) an authoritarian, fascist, ultra-right-wing regime allow them to operate? I feel like ICE is Floyd/BLM repeated as farce.

	▲	zahlman 5 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> In the universe of a competent FBI, which I think is ours, they already know who is in the network. Certainly they know the handles of those people, and what they've said and what documents they've exchanged. Connecting Signal accounts to real-world identity... well, that's definitely the FBI's wheelhouse, but some might make it easier or harder than others. But there are a few cases where even the Internet sleuths are pretty confident about identity. > So why does (if the press is to be believed) an authoritarian, fascist, ultra-right-wing regime allow them to operate? Rationality requires treating behaviour inconsistent with a quality as evidence against that quality.

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themafia 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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."

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Perceval 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Protesting is absolutely something you can and should be able to do casually and without having to protect your face/identity. It was enshrined in the First Amendment as a fundamental check on the federal government in order to recognize the natural right of a self-governing people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

What is not something that should be gone casually – or really at all – is an attempt to engage in insurrection with black bloc or globalized intifada insurgency tactics to prevent the enforcement of law.

	▲	themafia 27 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> Protesting is absolutely something you can and should be able to do casually Then you are going to be identified and your conversations monitored. This is precisely the outcome the article is complaining about. I find that expectation absurd. > of a self-governing people This describes the majority not the individual. > and petition the government There is no expectation or statement that your anonymity will be protected. The entire idea of a "petition" immediately defies this. > to prevent the enforcement of law. How does "tracking ICE" _prevent_ the enforcement of the law? Your views on the first amendment suddenly became quite narrow.

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eleventyseven 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Protesting is a fundamental human right and obligation. It is something that you should do as casually as you would voting, volunteering, and taking out the garbage: something you do from time to time when the moment demands it.

	▲	themafia 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		> a fundamental human right No. It's not. Governments are not natural. So you have no "fundamental" rights here. > and obligation No. It's not. > It is something that you should do as casually as you would voting I would say voting is _not_ something you should do casually. > something you do from time to time when the moment demands it. Then you should expect some consequences in your life. If you actually want to avoid those then put your casual demeanor down and get serious. Otherwise there's a decent chance you will make things worse and do nothing to solve your original problem. > See also: https://enwp.org/Chilling_effect We all know what a chilling effect is. You have no right to communicate on signal. This does not apply.

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JumpCrisscross 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> 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.

	▲	themafia 21 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> 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.
	▲	rbanffy 17 minutes ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> 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.
	▲	renewiltord 14 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		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.