this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026

248 points (100.0% liked)

News

34718 readers

3130 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil

Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.

2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.

Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.

Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.

5. Only recent news is allowed.

Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.

6. All posts must be news articles.

No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

7. No duplicate posts.

If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.

8. Misinformation is prohibited.

Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.

9. No link shorteners.

The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.

10. Don't copy entire article in your post body

For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

JonsJava@lemmy.world

gedaliyah@lemmy.world

little_cow@lemmy.world

248

The real meaning of those ICE masks, as blurted out in a WA hearing (www.seattletimes.com)

submitted 1 day ago by tyrant@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

“Just for the record, my deputies don’t wear masks,” Swank told a state legislative committee recently. “But once you pass this law that they can’t, I will not only allow them, but I will encourage them to do so, just to see what you do. “I don’t recognize your authority to impose these controls over me.” There you go: “I don’t recognize your authority.” That’s the masked-up mentality, as bluntly put as can be.

top 26 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 66 points 1 day ago (1 children)

“I don’t recognize your authority to impose these controls over me.” There you go: “I don’t recognize your authority.” That’s the masked-up mentality, as bluntly put as can be.

Here's the oath of office for Pierce County Washington where Swank is the sheriff. Presumably he took this oath when he took the position of sheriff:

"I, (state name), do solemnly swear that I am a Citizen of the United States and a resident and registered voter of Pierce County; that I will support the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington, and the Charter and Ordinances of Pierce County; and will faithfully, impartially, and honestly perform the duties of the office of (insert title of office), as such duties are prescribed by law, so help me God."

source

Bold is mine. Doesn't this mean the sheriff is admitting he will violate his oath of office?

[–] defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 1 day ago

Yes, not that they care unless there are immediate consequences.

[–] Stamau123@lemmy.world 98 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Some local police groups testified that they aren’t against the no masks part, but are worried a “right to sue” provision might bury them in lawsuits.

Maybe you should stop breaking the law assholes?

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 day ago

They're worried because they aren't trained well enough to know when they're breaking the law.

[–] SaltSong@startrek.website 2 points 1 day ago

You know you can get sued without actually doing anything wrong, don't you?

I think they have a legitimate concern, and a few protections to keep them from having to go to court (again) every time they write someone a ticket might be in order.

But that shouldn't be enough to override the need to hold police accountable for their actions.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 111 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Yeah, lets go down this road. We dont have to recognize your authority either.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

come back with a warrant or level 4 plate

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 11 points 1 day ago

If you don't show up with level 4 plate to begin with its gonna be hard to come back

[–] rayyy@piefed.social 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Keep in mind that the criminals have these criminal's back if they illegally shoot you but you are on your own if you legally shoot one of them. However there will come a breaking point and there are a thousands times more none criminals watching this unfold.

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Thats okay, its becoming easier for American Citizens to have each other's backs and that will get to critical mass much faster than you can say "I am suspending the midterms'

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not entirely. If I'm on the jury, no amount of evidence is getting a conviction from me. They just have to survive long enough to get that far.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If a jury trial is even reached, and if the jury isn't loaded. Attorneys do serious research on jurors before selection takes place.

[–] MooseWinooski@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

Username checks out and I'm here for it.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 58 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

The response is pretty simple:

"This body does not recognize your department and will therefore allocate $0 to its budget for this fiscal year."

[–] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They'd never do it but you could also respond with "then we'll tell the citizens that they don't have to recognize the authority of your officers and they can use deadly force in self defense against any masked goon that tries to put their hands on them."

[–] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I feel like there is a genuine concern to be addressed there. Let’s say we have a massive shift in the country and abolish all police at every level. What stops a bunch of now-unemployed militarized bureaucrats from just becoming petty tyrants over small fiefdoms across the country?

[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago

The same thing that stops them now. Cops don't work for free.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

We're far enough away from that at the moment that I think we would have plenty of time to adjust before it becomes a real problem.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Have to revoke their badges, or else they'll do it for free.

[–] Zombiepirate@lemmy.world 48 points 1 day ago

Police and ICE are right-wing paramilitaries. They don't recognize anything left of White Christian Nationalism as legitimate legislative authority because their entire mission is service to the status quo. They protect entrenched power and wealth; it's their entire purpose.

They are the enforcement arm of capital which rallies around White Christian Nationalism as its standard.

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

“When you try to remove me from office, thousands of Pierce County residents will surround the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma and will not allow that to happen,” Swank said.

when people say who they are ... believe them

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago

7 fat, sweaty MAGA dipshits bumbling around cluelessly is what would actually happen.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

Also "you made me do this" and "this is your fault" mentality.

[–] ccunning@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

If you won’t do your job then you should look for a new one

[–] whereIsTamara@lemmy.org 8 points 1 day ago

So, we can say that back to them?