Digital rights groups are warning against a proposed law in Australia which they say would force tech companies to spy on users’ messages.Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Inman Grant published draft regulations last month which would extend the country’s Online Safety Act to private messages.The Online Safety Act, which took effect in January 2022, requires social media companies to create safeguards against certain content. This includes what the act calls “Class 1 material,” which includes child sexual exploitation, pro-terror, or extreme crime and violence content, as well as “Class 2 material,” which includes crime and violence and drug-related content.But now Grant wants to hold tech companies responsible for such content in users’ private messages. According to the proposed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/codes/standards-consultation">regulations</a>, platforms will be held accountable if Class 1 or Class 2 material is found in “email, instant messaging, short messages services (SMS), multimedia message services (MMS) and chat, as well as services that enable people to play online games with each other, and dating services.”The eSafety Commissioner is not telling companies what safeguards to implement, but privacy watchdogs are warning that they would need to deploy surveillance tools to comply with the law.Currently, messaging services such as Whatsapp, Telegram and Signal use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to keep messages private and block access to others — in some cases, even to the companies themselves.&nbsp;Now messaging platforms might be forced to use a controversial technology called client side scanning (CSS) which scans messages for objectionable content before being sent to the recipient. This would necessitate installing hidden spyware on users’ phones.In a joint&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalencryption.org/2023/12/take-action-sign-the-joint-letter-in-response-to-australian-esafety-proposed-industry-standards-2/">letter</a> last week, a coalition of digital rights groups called the Global Encryption Coalition called on Grant to protect user privacy and safety in E2EE.“[A]s these standards have no specific safeguards for end-to-end encrypted services that people rely on for privacy and safety, end-to-end encrypted services will be forced to undermine the security and privacy of their services in order to comply. Contrary to the goals of the standards, this will leave everyone less safe online,” wrote the coalition, which includes the Center for Democracy &amp; Technology, Global Partners Digital, the Internet Freedom Foundation, the Internet Society, Mozilla, Access Now, and Digital Rights Watch.The proposed regulations follow the recent passage of the Online Safety Bill by the British Parliament.&nbsp;The bill would&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/serious-threat-tech-world-braces-as-uk-privacy-bill-nears-passage">force</a> tech companies to create “backdoor access” to encrypted messages and scan them for “harmful communications offences.” Harmful communications are sweepingly defined by the bill as that which causes “psychological harm amounting to at least serious distress.” UK officials are claiming the legislation is necessary to crack down on child trafficking and pornography.In June, Australia’s government also&nbsp;<a href="https://frontline.news/post/australia-seeks-to-mandate-online-censorship">published</a> draft legislation that would force social media platforms to suppress information considered false by authorities.According to the proposed law, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) would be granted new powers to fine digital platforms millions of dollars for not sufficiently censoring “misinformation.”“Misinformation and disinformation pose a threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy,” says a government web page on the legislation.Misinformation is defined as “online content that is false, misleading or deceptive, that is shared or created without an intent to deceive but can cause and contribute to serious harm.”Disinformation, on the other hand, includes an intent to cause and contribute to serious harm, though it is unclear why it is not already covered by misinformation.“Serious harm is harm that affects a significant portion of the Australian population, economy or environment, or undermines the integrity of an Australian democratic process,” a government fact sheet explains.To “combat misinformation and disinformation,” the ACMA will be empowered to require digital platform providers “to keep certain records about matters regarding misinformation and disinformation.”The ACMA will also be able to compel the industry as a whole to develop a set of practices regarding censoring “misinformation and disinformation.” This will necessarily include a penalty of [A]$2.75 million ($1.8 million) or 2% of global turnover — whichever is greater — for any digital platform that does not comply.If the regulator finds this set of practices insufficient, however, it will be able to enforce its own “stronger form of regulation” on the industry.Types of platforms that would be affected include social media platforms, search engines, news aggregators, podcasting services and instant messaging services, though private messages will as of now not fall under the scope of the ACMA’s new powers.Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland expressed support for the legislation, saying the amendment would "essentially mean that the regulator is able to look under the hood of what the platforms are doing and what measures they are taking to ensure compliance.”

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surveillance

World News

Censorship

Platforms would be responsible for 'drug-related material' in private messages

‘Less safe’: Privacy groups warn against Australian ‘online safety’ law

Raisman.jpg

US News

More than 100 claims that DOJ grossly mishandled allegations of sexual assault but aggressively prosecuted J6 trespassers

Taxpayers foot $138.7 million bill for DOJ's failure to stop sexual assaults; hush money silenced victim

By Alex NewmanFlush with taxpayer cash from the federal government, state and local officials are rapidly transforming public schools into “full-service community schools” that will address far more than just “education.”&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><div style="position:relative;width:100%;height:0;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe src="https://subsplash.com/+78fw/embed/mi/+5j2py6v?audio&amp;video&amp;shareable&amp;embeddable" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreenallowfullscreen="" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></div></div>In fact, under the guise of caring for the “whole child,” these “community schools” are increasingly taking over the few remaining duties left over to parents — mental health, dental health, vision, nutrition, healthcare, social and emotional wellbeing, and more.&nbsp;The plan is to get children into government hands earlier and earlier, too. The U.S. Department of Education boasted last year in a&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.ed.gov/2023/06/community-schools-fostering-innovation-and-transformation/">blog post</a>&nbsp;that community schools will “support” students “from cradle to career,” something long considered the exclusive domain of parents.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Biden administration, led by a man who notoriously sniffs and touches children while claiming they “are all our children,” has been showering federal funds on the scheme since taking office, as The Newman Report&nbsp;<a href="https://www.freedomproject.com/2022/08/02/newman-report-42/">documented</a>&nbsp;in 2022. Congress has been fully complicit, even under&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/us/education/obama-and-gop-unleash-community-schools-to-replace-parents/">GOP control</a>. &nbsp;Just last year, the Biden Department of Education&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-announces-nearly-74-million-expand-full-service-community-schools">announced</a>&nbsp;yet another $150 million in additional “community school” grants to 30 education agencies — many of them in conservative states where lawmakers would be unlikely to participate if not for the federal tax money. Responding to the federal funding, states have already spent billions on the scheme. &nbsp;Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who famously denied that parents were the “primary stakeholders” in their children’s education, could barely contain his glee as he announced the new funds.“We know that comprehensive, wrap-around approaches—including nutrition assistance; mental health services; early childhood education; and access to high-quality afterschool summer learning, and enrichment programs—all are crucial for accelerating our students’ academic success and their recovery from the pandemic by helping them thrive both inside and outside of school,” said Cardona.&nbsp;“I am proud that the Biden-Harris Administration is expanding the number of community schools across the country as an evidence-based strategy to Raise the Bar in education and to deliver on our commitment to support students, families, and whole communities,” added the education boss, calling the latest round of taxpayer funding “vital” for supporting the “holistic needs” of children.&nbsp;Already, an estimated 10,000 “community schools” exist across the United States thanks to such grants, launched in the waning months of the Obama administration with&nbsp;<a href="https://thenewamerican.com/us/education/obama-and-gop-unleash-community-schools-to-replace-parents/">RINO support in Congress</a>. And with the federal government funding them and the teachers’ unions pushing them hard, that number is expected to keep ballooning quickly. &nbsp;The far-left National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest union with more than 3 million members, touts “community schools” all over its website as essential for all children.&nbsp;It describes them as institutions offering “services and supports like free healthy meals, health care, and tutoring, or systemic changes like shifts in school culture, policies, and approaches to teaching and learning.”&nbsp;On its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/ts-communityschools.asp">website</a>, the California Department of Education, which is working hard to get community schools all across the state, highlights some of the differences between them and traditional government schools.“A community school is a public school … has community partnerships that support improved academic outcomes, whole-child engagement, and family development,” the radical leftwing agency declares, listing “integrated supports services” and “extended learning time” as key features.“Community schools support the needs of the whole child,” it continues, with “approaches that sustain mental and behavioral health through healing-centered practices, social–emotional learning, and restorative justice.”The California Department of Education also boasts that the new model increases access to social workers and counselors. These tax-funded experts in the schools can help children transition to new made-up genders, access abortion, and get dangerous psychotropic drugs to enrich Big Pharma.&nbsp;In addition to sidelining parents, community schools also seek to marginalize and ultimately replace institutions such as churches that for centuries have served as “community hubs.”&nbsp; &nbsp;Illinois is one of many states that, using federal funding, have unleashed the “community school” model on the population. Despite junk taxpayer-funded “studies” claiming the model “helps” children, the results suggest just the opposite is true.&nbsp;The prominent “sustainable community school” known as Richards Academy in Chicago, for instance, graduated about two thirds of its victims in four years — yet it did not have one single student proficient in either reading or math on standardized tests, Illinois State Board of Education data show. Almost 80 percent of student are chronically absent. And the school costs taxpayers some $4,000 more per victim.&nbsp;Unsurprisingly, though, the Chicago Teachers Union wants to replicate that “success” across the district.&nbsp;“We have committed as an entire union to using our contract to create more sustainable community schools like Richards Academy,” said CTU boss Stacy Davis Gates at a press conference, calling it the “type of school community that is necessary to nurture, to educate, to reimagine, to ameliorate injustice and disparity.”Using the notorious “Delphi” tactics for manipulating a group of people into a particular outcome while making them think they came up with the ideas, governments across the country are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wkdzradio.com/2024/03/25/first-of-3-meetings-about-community-schools-grant/news-edge/">holding meetings</a>&nbsp;with taxpayers and parents on the issue. They all end up at the same: Government schools must tax more, spend more, and usurp more control over the lives of children.&nbsp;Ultimately, the goal of these government-controlled community schools is total government. They seek to become the center of the community and life — a replacement for family, church, and genuine community. Universal mental-health screening and government intervention in everything are already being deployed as part of the process.&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:374px;" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.freedomproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3364780_1225x377_2500.jpg?resize=696%2C214&amp;ssl=1" alt="">Rather than fight back against the latest outrage from government schools and the Biden administration, parents should do something far more effective: opt out altogether. Parents, children, families, and communities would all be better off leaving the whole system.Families, voluntary associations, and churches — not “community schools” — should be placed back in their central role in the lives of children. Government must be stopped from encroaching any further. Civilization and liberty depend on it.<a href="https://libertysentinel.org/author/admin/">Alex Newman</a>&nbsp;Alex Newman is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad.Originally published at <a href="https://www.freedomproject.com/2024/04/24/tnr20240424/">FreedomProject Media</a>.

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Education

Public schools transforming into 'full-service community schools' that address far more than 'education'

White House funding 'community schools' that aim to replace parents 

<h2>Technology harms children's development</h2><h3>Technology not a substitute for in-person teachers&nbsp;</h3>Anna Brambila, a therapist and parent, recently expressed concern that the use of Chromebooks by children during COVID-19 school closures has led to their developing ADHD and autism-like symptoms. She had hoped that when they went back to school the use of Chromebooks would be discontinued. &nbsp;She soon found, however, that they were here to stay.&nbsp;Brambila made the below TikTok clip to explain the tremendous disservice this is to children who, from elementary through middle school, as research has shown, do not learn nearly as well through a screen as they do from an in-person teacher. Children who are using screens too much, she said, &nbsp;develop ADHD and autism-like symptoms:<blockquote>&nbsp;. . . so much research . . &nbsp;shows that kids, so like elementary schoolup through about half of middle school just do not learn through a screen anywhere close to the same way that they do with an in person teacher. . . .There's so much research that shows that kids who spend more time in front of portable devices with things like ipads and Chromebooks, there are impacts to the way that their brains are developing. So things like ADHD and autism and symptoms that look like ADHD and autism, those things can be incredibly exacerbated with too much screen time. &nbsp;. .&nbsp;</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@brambila_bits/video/7342227288425106734" data-video-id="7342227288425106734" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@brambila_bits" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@brambila_bits?refer=embed">@brambila_bits</a> Anyone else finding themselves tempted to start using the school issued portable devices as frisbees? Just me? <a title="motherhood" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/motherhood?refer=embed">#motherhood</a> <a title="momlife" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/momlife?refer=embed">#momlife</a> <a title="millenialmom" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/millenialmom?refer=embed">#millenialmom</a> <a title="technology" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/technology?refer=embed">#technology</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Andrea Brambila" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7342227437553552170?refer=embed">♬ original sound - Andrea Brambila</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script></div><h3>“Impoverished stimulation of the developing brain”</h3>Before COVID-19 hit, research was already being compiled about the effects of technology use on children.&nbsp;“Screen time and the brain,” a June 2019 article by Harvard Medical School researcher Debra Bradley Ruder, <a href="https://hms.harvard.edu/news/screen-time-brain" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">quotes</a> Pediatrician Dr. Michael Rich who is concerned with the negative effect of technology on the developing brain referring to the stimulation provided on the screen as “impoverished.”&nbsp;<blockquote>The growing human brain is constantly building neural connections while pruning away less-used ones, and digital media use plays an active role in that process, according to Rich. Much of what happens on screen provides “impoverished” stimulation of the developing brain compared to reality, he says. Children need a diverse menu of online and offline experiences, including the chance to let their minds wander.“Boredom is the space in which creativity and imagination happen,” he says.&nbsp;</blockquote><h3>Cleveland Clinic — too much screen time elicits ADHD-like behaviors</h3>The Cleveland Clinic <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/screen-time-and-adhd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">raised</a> similar concerns about ADHD-like symptoms as Brambila did. In an article entitled: “Does Heightened Screen Time Cause Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADHD) In Children?” the Clinic referred to a 2018 study of 2,587 high school children who had not been diagnosed with ADHD and found that those who had more screen time exhibited behaviors similar to ADHD:<blockquote><ul><li>Inattention, such as difficulty organizing and completing tasks.</li><li>Hyperactivity-impulsivity, such as having trouble sitting still.</li></ul>. . . “Does this mean that too much time gaming or commenting on Facebook can give kids ADHD? Absolutely not. But these activities may cause symptoms that are similar to ADHD, even though they can’t cause ADHD itself,” [pediatric behavioral health specialist Michael Manos, PhD] says.</blockquote>Attention span and development were affected as well:&nbsp;<blockquote>So, while social media and device use may not directly cause ADHD, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have an effect on your child’s attention span and overall development. And, as Dr. Manos points out, our attention span is greatly tied to how we relate and socialize with others.</blockquote>The technology was also found to inhibit the development of social skills:<blockquote>“As children increasingly relate to each other through digital media, including social media and video games, it calls into question how we communicate on a human level,” he adds.He also notes that while things like video games do help with team building and problem-solving, they shouldn’t be the only kind of interaction kids are having. Too much time on devices means less time having real face-to-face communication, where facial expression, voice and body language all come into play.“These are the nuances of understanding relationships,” Dr. Manos says.</blockquote><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1714059797/three_teenagers_on_smarthphones_d657f7996a.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<h3>“Students need explicit instruction on how to interact with others in person”</h3>A June 2020 EdWeek article <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/why-principals-worry-about-how-mobile-devices-affect-students-social-skills-attention-spans/2020/06" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reviewed</a> the results of the EdWeek Research Center's February 2020 survey of principals regarding students and technology. They found that students had a hard time interacting personally with others - they did not know how:<blockquote>Prior to the pandemic, in February, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed 965 principals and teachers on a host of questions related to the use of digital devices by K-12 students in, and outside of, school. The nationally representative survey shows, for instance, that more than half of educators said their students are less skilled at in-person interactions than they and their peers were at the same age, because they are so accustomed to interacting via devices. And about 40 percent said students need explicit instruction on how to interact with others in person because so much of their experience with human interaction comes from devices.</blockquote>Interviews with several principals further revealed that children were no longer conversing and can't deal with emotions:<blockquote>[The principal of Riley Elementary School in Gold Beach, Ore.,Tom] Denning recalled when he used to have to tell students to stop talking so loud on the bus ride to a field trip. Now the ride is quiet: All the students have their earbuds in or are on their cellphones.“They’ll send a text and not deal with anything face to face,” Denning said. “There’s a concern that they are not learning how to deal with people. They don’t know how to deal with emotions, and it’s not a good situation.”</blockquote><h2>Don't raise “iPad kids”</h2>The situation with Gen-Alpha kids, born from 2010 to date, is so bad, that even Gen-Z'ers, those born between 1997 and 2012, are complaining about Gen-Alpha's inability to read and bad behavior. Today author Rosie Colosi <a href="https://www.today.com/parents/family/ipad-kids-rcna142059" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shared</a> Gen-Z's frustration, linking to the TikTok video below, in which 20-year-old Gen-Z'er Gabe Escobar exhorts his fellow Gen-Z'ers not to raise “iPad kids.” &nbsp;<blockquote>As a result of staring at screens, Gen Alpha's "iPad kids" have developed unwanted, unhealthy and downright strange behavior, say Gen Z critics (born between the late 1990s and 2010), who have been posting their thoughts about the younger generation on TikTok.Gabe Escobar (<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gabesco/video/7298870719755111722?q=gabe%20escobar%20ipad%20&amp;t=1710179207478">@gabesco</a>) shared a rant about "iPad kids" in November 2023. The video has 23 million views to date. He said, "I need everyone else in my generation to promise that we are not going to raise 'iPad children.' ... You've been shoving media and screens in these kids' faces since birth."Escobar said that these kids likely "can't read" and "have no imagination." Horrified by seeing kids using screens in restaurants, he asked parents, “Can you not make your child behave for more than five seconds?”</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@gabesco/video/7298870719755111722" data-video-id="7298870719755111722" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@gabesco" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@gabesco?refer=embed">@gabesco</a> seriously pls we cant let it happen <a title="genz" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/genz?refer=embed">#genz</a> <a title="genalpha" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/genalpha?refer=embed">#genalpha</a> <a title="ipadkid" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ipadkid?refer=embed">#ipadkid</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Gabe Escobar" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7298870761563917098?refer=embed">♬ original sound - Gabe Escobar</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script></div>Colosi also linked to TikTok'er Andra's video (below), in which she agreed with Escobar and included her own observations of Gen-Alpha kids as a nanny of eight years. Andra found that the kids who were easiest to handle were those whose parents limited screen time.<blockquote>A Gen Z creator named Andra (@hopeyoufindyourdad), who worked as a nanny for eight years, commented on Escobar's video saying that "the families that were the easiest to manage were the families that extremely controlled screen time for their kids."She added that in her experience, "if you try to take an iPad out of an iPad kid's hand, not only will they throw a tantrum so large, but they will start physically hitting you."</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@hopeyoufindyourdad/video/7299966592438488366" data-video-id="7299966592438488366" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@hopeyoufindyourdad" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hopeyoufindyourdad?refer=embed">@hopeyoufindyourdad</a> @gabesco I am fully on board with what this creator is saying although kids having ipads is a bit inevitable at this point the real issue is regulation and parenting styles <a title="genz" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/genz?refer=embed">#genz</a> <a title="genalpha" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/genalpha?refer=embed">#genalpha</a> <a title="millennial" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/millennial?refer=embed">#millennial</a> <a title="parenting" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/parenting?refer=embed">#parenting</a> <a title="ipadkid" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ipadkid?refer=embed">#ipadkid</a> <a title="greenscreenvideo" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreenvideo?refer=embed">#greenscreenvideo</a> <a title="greenscreen" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreen?refer=embed">#greenscreen</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Andra" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7299966669533891374?refer=embed">♬ original sound - Andra</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script></div>As Frontline News <a href="https://frontline.news/post/mental-illness-and-suicide-in-children-and-adolescents-linked-to-smartphones" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>, the effects of excessive screen time on the social and emotional development of Gen-Z'ers are profoundly negative:&nbsp;<blockquote>It's well known that Gen Z adults have much higher rates of mental illness than other generations, and [NYU social psychologist Jonathan] Haidt pointed to data showing they are also more shy and risk-averse, more socially isolated, especially with respect to dating, less confident, less successful — the list goes on and on.&nbsp;</blockquote><h2 style="margin-left:0px;">What does the future hold?</h2>Gen-Z'ers were born before iPads were developed. The effect of technology on Gen-Alpha, who have grown up with iPads, may already be profoundly worse than the effect technology has had on Gen-Z. How will society continue to function if its children, soon-to-be adults, can't?&nbsp;Related articles:&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/mental-illness-and-suicide-in-children-and-adolescents-linked-to-smartphones" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mental illness and suicide in children and adolescents linked to smartphones</a></li></ul>

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Technology

'There’s a concern that they are not learning how to deal with people; they don’t know how to deal with emotions'

IPads and Chromebooks linked to ADHD and Autism-like symptoms in children

The Supreme Court has requested a response from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to a petition from a peaceful J6 protestor who is appealing his conviction for disorderly conduct.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>99% rejected</h3>The High Court only agrees to grant certiorari, i.e., review a request for appeal, in about <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/11/24/how-the-supreme-court-decides-which-cases-to-hear" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eighty out of seven to eight thousand </a>petitions for “a writ of certiorari” each year. Normally, the justices do not give an indication of whether they are inclined to include a particular case in the one percent that get to the next stage, which includes additional briefs and oral arguments, until after receiving a response to the petition and the petitioner's reply to the response.&nbsp;<h3>Confident feds</h3>In the case of J6 protestor Russell Alford, however, the justices may have already signaled that they are inclined to grant certiorari, a decision which would require the agreement of four of the nine justices. Alford filed his petition to cancel his conviction with SCOTUS in early April and the government had 30 days to respond. Instead of responding, however, the DOJ penned a single <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-7158/307520/20240412164019362_Waiver%20Letter%20-%2023-7158.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sentence</a> to the High Court:<blockquote>The Government hereby waives its right to file a response to the petition in this case, unless requested to do so by the Court.</blockquote>The justices then announced that they do indeed <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-7158.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">want the DOJ to respond</a>, giving it a May 23, 2024 deadline, indicating their interest in the matter.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">As Josh Gerstein just reported at Politico, SCOTUS requested a response from DOJ in petition for writ of cert filed by Russell Alford, convicted by a DC jury of 4 misdemeanors for J6. This doesn't mean SCOTUS will take up the case but it does mean they want some answers. The… <a href="https://t.co/esI7QgEbam">pic.twitter.com/esI7QgEbam</a>— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) <a href="https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1782798939562905608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>1 act, 13 minutes, 4 convictions</h2>Most J6 defendants, facing multiple charges for the one act of trespassing, waived their right to argue that their entrance into the Capital was an unknowing trespass, <a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fearing the potential for multiple prison sentences</a>. Alford, like America's Frontline Doctors' (AFLDS) Creative Director <a href="https://frontline.news/post/bureau-of-prisons-overrides-own-scoring-system-to-incarcerate-j6-defendants-in-more-dangerous-locations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John Strand</a>, was one of the few J6 defendants to refuse a plea deal.Alford's trespass was <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cadc/23-3023/23-3023-2024-01-05.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described</a> by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.<blockquote>Alford remained inside the Capitol for approximately thirteen minutes…&nbsp;While inside, he mostly stood to the side and observed. He filmed protestors chanting “stop the steal” and pounding on a door that led to the floor of the House, behind which sheltered dozens of Congress members. [Emphasis added.]</blockquote>The court added that Alford left within three minutes of police telling the crowd to leave:<blockquote>Police arrived within about ten minutes of Alford’s entry and began physically and verbally directing the crowd back out through the Upper House Door. Alford initially moved further down the hallway before turning and making for the exit … He left once someone managed to open the second double door.&nbsp;</blockquote>For this, the trial court convicted Alford on four separate counts, all stemming from that 13-minute walk during which he did <a href="https://www.conservativenewszone.com/articles/big-supreme-court-signals-it-may-throw-out-1000-january-6-convictions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not so much as yell</a>. He was given the maximum sentence for each charge, to be served concurrently, resulting in a 12-month sentence for:<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Remaining in a restricted building</li><li>Disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building</li><li>Disorderly or disruptive conduct in the Capitol Building and parading</li><li>Demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building [Emphasis added.]</li></ol><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Overcharging banned; not banned</h3>The DOJ is actually <a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prohibited</a> from engaging in so-called overcharging, particularly in the the District of Columbia Circuit, in which Alford's trial court sits, where the circuit's appellate court has, for more than 50 years,&nbsp;explicitly <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4792425287924462607&amp;q=Scott+v+United+States,+135+US+App+DC+377&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=2003">banned the practice of overcharging defendants</a> where the intent is to coerce a guilty plea on a lesser charge:<blockquote>. . . the prosecutor&nbsp;clearly cannot have carte blanche to apply whatever&nbsp;tactics he wishes&nbsp;to induce a guilty plea.&nbsp;A policy of&nbsp;deliberately&nbsp;overcharging defendants with no intention of prosecuting on all counts simply in order to have chips at the bargaining table would, for example,&nbsp;constitute&nbsp;improper harassment&nbsp;of the defendant. [Emphasis added.]&nbsp;</blockquote>Nonetheless, J6 protestors have been uniformly subjected to multiple charges in the absence of separate actions. Technically, though, Alford's case does not fit this classic definition of overcharging, since the DOJ, perhaps sensing a jury pool antagonistic to J6 protestors, did in fact prosecute Alford on multiple charges. But it is not, in any case, overcharging that is at issue in the petition to the Supreme Court.&nbsp;<h3>Not disorderly; disorderly</h3>Alford appealed his convictions on the two charges requiring the government to prove “disorderly or disruptive conduct.” The trial court refused Alford's motion to acquit on those charges, despite the lack of any evidence of such conduct, arguing that he should be held guilty on account of the actions of (a small minority) the other protestors:<blockquote>Mr. Alford’s mere presence inside the Capitol disturbed the public peace or undermined public safety” and that “his presence was an aspect of the disorder and disruption of the Capitol.” [Emphasis added].</blockquote><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>“Even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly”</h2>The appellate court <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/federal-court-rules-even-passive-jan-6-protestors-who-were-inside-capitol-can-be-convicted/ar-AA1my8bN" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agreed</a> with prosecutors and the lower court:<blockquote>The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that trespassers in the Capitol during the riot did not need to be acting "disorderly" or "disruptive" to be found guilty of disorderly conduct, because such definitions “are nebulous but time has given them concrete contours in two ways important here.”"First, it is well-established that whether conduct qualifies as disorderly depends on the surrounding circumstances," the court wrote …"Second, it is equally clear from caselaw that even passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly," the ruling continued. [Emphases added].</blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">JUST IN: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCOTUS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SCOTUS</a> signals it may undermine more common <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jan6?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jan6</a> charges as justices ask DOJ to respond to petition challenging 'disorderly or disruptive' charges v. Russell Alford. DC Cir ruled charges valid even for nonviolent protesters. Earlier: <a href="https://t.co/QMDbF9UM7z">https://t.co/QMDbF9UM7z</a>— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1782793703788077417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div>It is this ruling, that "passive, quiet and nonviolent conduct can be disorderly,” that is at issue in Alford's appeal to the Supreme Court.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h4>High Court may help … others</h4>Should the nation's highest court rule that such peaceful behavior as Alford's cannot be the basis for a disorderly conduct conviction, it may not actually benefit Alford, as his two convictions for “remaining” and “demonstrating” in the Capital would still stand and for each he was sentenced to the maximum prison time, as mentioned above, to run concurrently.&nbsp;Since the maximum sentence for the charge of merely remaining in a restricted building is <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one year</a>, even vacating the two disorderly charges would still leave Alford facing a year in prison, though he could argue that, without the disorderly charges, one year is excessive for trespassing.Alford is far from the only peaceful J6 protestor to be charged with disorderly conduct, however. <a href="https://www.conservativenewszone.com/articles/big-supreme-court-signals-it-may-throw-out-1000-january-6-convictions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to Conservative Zone, 1,156 of those protestors were charged with disorderly conduct despite their peaceful conduct.<blockquote>1,156 peaceful January 6 protesters have been charged with engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct. 1,021 have been charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building. About 1,000 of them have been hit with both misdemeanor charges. These are the most common charges that the 1,300+ total January 6 peaceful protesters have been hit with.None of the people facing these charges did anything violent or caused any property damage. They were welcomed into the building by police officers who were high-fiving them and holding doors open for them, they wandered around for a while, and they peacefully left when asked to do so.</blockquote>&nbsp;<h4>See our other coverage of Jan 6 defendants:</h4><ol><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/mr-biden-wheres-dr-golds-pardon-for-peaceful-capitol-speech">Mr Biden - Where is Dr Gold's pardon for peaceful medical speech at Capitol?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-coerce-jan-6-defendants-to-waive-right-to-appeal-jail-time">Feds coerce Jan 6 defendants into waiving right to appeal jail time</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/feds-pressure-jan-6-defendants-to-falsely-confess-to-knowingly-trespassing">Feds pressure Jan 6 defendants to falsely confess to ‘knowingly’ trespassing</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/judge-in-dr-gold-case-applauded-anti-free-speech-socialists-disrupting-scotus">Judge in Dr Gold case applauded anti-free speech socialists disrupting SCOTUS</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/fbidojcourt-jail-dr-simone-gold-for-trespass-politicizing-medicine">Politicizing medicine: FBI/DOJ/Court jail Dr Simone Gold for trespass</a></li><li><a href="http://frontline.news/post/fbi-no-time-to-interview-rape-victims-plenty-for-jan-6-trespass">FBI - No time to interview rape victims; plenty for Jan 6 trespass</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/aflds-founder-waives-selective-prosecution-defense-accepts-misdemeanor-plea-deal-for-delivering-medical-talk-on-govt-property">AFLDS founder waives ‘selective prosecution’ defense; accepts misdemeanor plea deal for delivering medical talk on gov’t property</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/congressman-introduces-j6-bill-to-counter-political-prosecutions">Congressman introduces ‘J6 Bill to Counter Political Prosecutions’</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/judge-allows-doj-to-hide-exculpatory-evidence-from-january-6-defendants">Judge allows DOJ to withhold exculpatory evidence from J6 defendants</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontline.news/post/j-6-prisoner-of-conscience-punished-with-isolation-after-jailhouse-interview-analysis">J6 prisoner of conscience punished with isolation after jailhouse interview - analysis</a></li></ol>

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SCOTUS asks DOJ to defend disorderly conduct convictions of J6 protestors who were not disorderly