When you think about hard hitting news stories exposing federal overreach and nefarious conspiracies against We, The People, we’re willing to bet that New York Magazine doesn’t come to mind immediately. And with good reason!
On July 17, NY Mag published a story by Adam K. Raymond and Chas Danner in their “Intelligencer” section claiming that the Trump administration was sending a “secret” police force to Portland, OR in response to unrest.
In scenes that bring to mind dictatorial regimes around the world, unidentified federal agents are snatching protesters off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and throwing them into the back of rented minivans. Videos of some of the encounters have gone viral this week, and on Thursday, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) confirmed the story, reporting that law enforcement has been detaining demonstrators in this fashion at least since July 14. On Friday, the federal law enforcement activity prompted an ACLU lawsuit and the state’s U.S. attorney, Billy Williams, to call for an investigation.
Ooooooh, scary, right? Don’t believe everything you read though.
As it turns out, the story included a photo of one of these “secret police” scoundrels complete with his unit and coded identification in full display.
Worst. Secret. Police. Ever.
Yet another lesson for everyone to never take reported news as face value.
