Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• DHS whistleblower alleges voter impersonation by federal agents — A Department of Homeland Security whistleblower alleged that DHS, as part of its "Unlawful Voter Initiative," directed federal agents to impersonate voters in violation of state laws, using Social Security numbers and other information to look up voter history on state websites. The allegation prompted US Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff to request an investigation by California's attorney general, citing concerns about how DHS obtained and used voter data and whether it complied with law.

Supporting reports

• USPS whistleblower reports flawed ballot mail system designed to disrupt mail-in voting — Senator Richard Blumenthal released a whistleblower complaint alleging that the U.S. Postal Service has developed a new, untested IT system for handling federal election ballot mail that is "secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." The whistleblower warns that a single barcode scanning failure in a batch of 10,000 ballots will reject the entire batch, potentially preventing millions of voters from receiving mail-in ballots. The system was developed despite a federal court injunction ordering work to stop. The whistleblower questions whether "catastrophic failure would be a feature rather than a bug."
• Federal whistleblower disclosed flaws in USPS mail-voting verification system — An anonymous federal worker filed a whistleblower disclosure with Senator Blumenthal warning that the U.S. Postal Service's new system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." The USPS issued the rule last week, and it is currently blocked by federal court. The whistleblower alleges workers were forced to create the system in weeks when it should have taken 9 months, and that work continued on implementation even after being ordered to stop. The disclosure warns the Trump administration "has hidden the high likelihood that the new ballot mail verification processes will result in major disruptions in mail ballots ever getting delivered to voters." Specific concerns include rejection of entire batches of thousands of ballots when a problem with one voter is found, and no planning for inevitable errors. The whistleblower called one portion of internal software "garbage."
• USPS whistleblower reports catastrophic flaws in new ballot-handling system — A whistleblower disclosed to Congress that the new USPS system for handling federal election ballot mail contains "potentially catastrophic problems." The system rejects entire batches of ballots if even a single barcode fails to scan during verification, preventing thousands of ballots from reaching voters. The disclosure was made public on September 2, four days before Massachusetts began sending mail-in ballots.
• Senator Blumenthal demands USPS Postmaster General cease ballot mail project and provide records — Senator Richard Blumenthal, top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued formal demands to Postmaster General David Steiner to abandon the ballot mail IT project, cease work ordered halted by federal court, and provide by September 8 all records related to the project, including names and dates of personnel involved. Blumenthal characterized the system as designed to "disenfranchise millions of Americans," noting that one-third of all Americans cast ballots by mail.

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• DOJ arrests Heidi Beirich, far-right extremism expert, on financial crime charges related to SPLC — The Department of Justice arrested Heidi Beirich, a prominent expert on far-right extremism and former SPLC executive, charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The charges are part of the government's broader case against the Southern Poverty Law Center, which the DOJ alleges laundered money through fictitious entities to protect informant identities in a now-ended program paying informants to infiltrate white supremacist groups. Beirich's attorney argues the prosecution is politically motivated retaliation against her decades of work combating hate groups.

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• ICE transfers hunger strike leader Martín Soto to another facility — ICE transferred Martín Soto, a key organizer of the hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall, to another detention facility. Advocates allege the transfer was retaliatory action against Soto for organizing the strike. The transfer prompted escalated protests outside the facility on May 28.

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• Republican lawmakers push DOJ to prosecute Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson — On March 6, 2026, CNN reported that Republican lawmakers are pressuring the Justice Department to bring criminal charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump aide who provided damaging testimony about Trump's role in the January 6 insurrection. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) filed a criminal referral accusing Hutchinson of perjury in her 2022 congressional testimony about Trump's conduct on January 6.

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• ICE whistleblower testifies on unconstitutional training practices — During congressional testimony, ICE whistleblower Ryan Schwank, a former ICE lawyer at the training academy, revealed that the agency's 584-hour training program for new deportation officers had been cut by 240 hours and that he received "secretive orders" to teach recruits "to violate the Constitution by entering homes without a judicial warrant."
• Former ICE instructor testified about inadequate training for new officers — Ryan Schwank, a former ICE instructor and attorney who resigned from the agency less than two weeks prior, testified to Congress that the agency's efforts to rapidly scale up its ranks will place recruits on the streets without adequate training to lawfully carry out immigration enforcement. Schwank stated that new cadets are graduating from the Academy despite widespread concerns among training staff that they cannot demonstrate a solid grasp of the tactics or law required to perform their jobs. He testified that ICE has cut 240 hours of training from a 584-hour program, eliminating classes on the Constitution, the legal system, firearms, use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention, and the limits of officers' authority. Schwank characterized the ICE Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program as "deficient, defective, and broken" and stated that ICE is lying about the amount of training new recruits are receiving.
• Ryan Schwank resigned from ICE in protest — Ryan Schwank, an attorney and former career ICE employee, resigned from the agency less than two weeks prior to testifying before Congress. A spokesperson for Whistleblower Aid, the legal group representing Schwank, stated that he quit the agency in protest. His resignation represents one of the first instances of an ICE official who has served under the second Trump administration publicly rebuking the agency and the adequacy of its training.

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• Attorney General Bondi announced arrests of church protest organizers — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong, whom she characterized as having "allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul." Bondi later announced a second arrest of Chauntyll Louisa Allen. Bondi stated the arrests were made "at my direction" and emphasized that the administration does not tolerate "attacks on places of worship."
• DOJ filed criminal complaints against church protest participants — The Department of Justice filed criminal complaints against seven protesters who entered St. Paul's Cities Church in Minnesota and interrupted a service. Arrests were made throughout the day. The DOJ also attempted to charge journalist Don Lemon, but a federal magistrate judge refused to sign the complaint, requiring the DOJ to pursue a grand jury indictment if it wishes to proceed against Lemon.
• Three arrested for anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church — Three people—Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly—were arrested on Thursday in connection with a protest at Cities church in St Paul, Minnesota on Sunday. Demonstrators had alleged that pastor David Easterwood was the acting field director of the St Paul ICE office. Armstrong was charged under a statute criminalizing conspiracy to block someone from exercising civil rights. The White House and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the arrest on social media.

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• Trump administration invoked sedition law against six Democratic lawmakers for reminding troops of duty to refuse illegal orders. — Trump posted on Truth Social attacking six Democratic lawmakers (Senators Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin; Representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan) who had released a 90-second video stating "You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders." Trump called them traitors and claimed they committed "seditious behavior, punishable by death." The administration and allies then cited 18 U.S.C. § 2387, a federal sedition statute, as the legal basis for the attack. Legal experts widely agree the lawmakers' statement reinforces military discipline rather than undermining it, as the law requires.
• Trump threatened sedition charges against Democratic lawmakers — Trump threatened six Democratic lawmakers with sedition charges after they publicly urged military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The lawmakers had warned troops in response to allegations that Defense Secretary Hegseth ordered the killing of shipwrecked survivors in a Caribbean military operation.

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• New York Attorney General launches Federal Action Reporting Portal for ICE raid documentation — New York Attorney General Letitia James unveiled a "Federal Action Reporting Portal" form inviting residents to submit photos and videos of federal immigration enforcement actions, following a high-profile ICE raid in Manhattan's Chinatown on October 22. The raid involved over 50 federal agents, an armored vehicle, and resulted in the arrest and detention of four U.S. citizens for nearly 24 hours with no charges filed. James stated the portal aims to document potential violations of law and protect New Yorkers from fear and intimidation.

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• FBI Director Kash Patel fired agents for kneeling during 2020 protest — FBI Director Kash Patel fired several FBI agents who were photographed kneeling during a 2020 protest. According to text messages reviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, White House official Anthony Salisbury celebrated the firings, suggesting Trump would approve and insulting Patel as "a giant douche canoe" while noting "This is how Kash survives. He will do this stuff for the man."

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• FBI fires employee for displaying Pride flag at desk; wrongful termination lawsuit filed — David Maltinsky, a 16-year FBI intelligence specialist, was terminated on 1 October 2025 after displaying a Pride flag at his workstation during FBI special agent training at Quantico. Though his supervisors and the Chief Division Counsel had previously approved the display, FBI Director Kash Patel cited "poor judgment" and "inappropriate display of political signage" in a termination letter. Maltinsky filed a federal lawsuit on 20 November alleging First Amendment retaliation and unconstitutional, politically motivated termination, naming Patel, the Justice Department, and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.
• FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed employee for displaying Pride flag — FBI Director Kash Patel fired a longtime FBI employee who was undergoing new agent training at the FBI academy. The employee had previously displayed a Pride flag at his workstation during a non-agent role and had served as a field office diversity program coordinator, earning multiple awards for service. Patel's dismissal letter cited "poor judgment" and "inappropriate display of political signage" as grounds for immediate termination.

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• Government Accountability Project called for investigation of FEMA employee retaliation — The non-profit whistleblower and advocacy organization, Government Accountability Project, sent a letter to lawmakers and oversight agencies to call for investigations into the "illegal retaliation" by the Trump administration against more than 30 FEMA employees, who were suspended and put on paid leave after signing an open letter warning Congress about issues at the agency. The letter said the suspensions "blatantly violate the federal laws protecting whistleblowers" and asked lawmakers to reinstate the affected employees.

Supporting reports

• Laynez-Ambrosio charged with obstruction for recording arrest; police threatened deletion of video — After recording his own arrest during the 2 May 2025 incident, Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was charged with obstruction without violence and sentenced to 10 hours of community service and a four-hour anger management course. While in detention, police threatened him with additional charges if he did not delete the video footage from his phone. His attorney characterized the charges as retaliation for exercising his right to record law enforcement activity.

Supporting reports

• Social Security Administration executive physically dragged from office by DOGE staff — Greg Pearre, a senior executive at the Social Security Administration in charge of an IT team working on the agency's data systems, was physically dragged from his office this week after a dispute with DOGE staff. Pearre had objected to DOGE's effort to cut off immigrants from being able to access bank accounts or credit cards.