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Over decade of Washington, D.C., protests, police scanned social media for 'disrupters' | StateScoop

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Over decade of Washington, D.C., protests, police scanned social media for 'disrupters' | StateScoop


Over the last ten years, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., has used automated, online surveillance tools to monitor individuals’ social media activity during protected activities, such as protests, and even employed fake social media accounts, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report, which was a collaboration between the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and the Data for Black Lives collective, shared the results of a 2020 Freedom of Information Act request that yielded more than 700,000 pages of internal documents from the Washington police department. The documents showed how MPD police used the online surveillance tools between 2014 and 2021, monitored social media activity, amassed user data and surveilled protest activity though online posts.

City documents acquired through the records request revealed that MPD employed a company called Dataminr, which is an official partner of the social media website X. Dataminr claims to use artificial intelligence to provide its clients real-time alerts about “high-impact events” by monitoring social media posts. According to the Brennan Center report, Dataminr provided MPD with 40 user licenses through a no-cost pilot project in January and February 2017. During that time, the documents showed, MPD used Dataminr software to search for terms such as “riots” and collected social media data surrounding events including Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and the Women’s March.

Following the pilot, the documents show, MPD purchased seven annual Dataminr licenses at a cost of almost $48,000 using Homeland Security Grant Program funding. And in 2020, the police department renewed its partnership with Dataminr, this time purchasing 50 licenses. The District’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, which handled procurement of the licenses, paid about $200,000 for the 50 licenses and provided 45 of them to the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

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In an email dated May 29, 2020, OCTO’s then-chief data officer, Barney Krucoff, wrote that access to Dataminr “would be very handy” in the event that large-scale protests — like those in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s murder — were to occur in Washington, D.C.

Another vendor used by District police, called Voyager, claims it can run keyword searches on social media platforms and identify activists or “disrupters,” and then tap into their networks to glean information about their personal relationships and interests. The tool uses fake accounts to gain access to information that it uses to construct reports of users’ social media activity. That activity includes information about user posts and locations.

Ivey Dyson, counsel with the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, told StateScoop that the project was inspired by work from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which in 2016 discovered through FOIA requests that state law enforcement agencies were monitoring social media activity. Dyson said the Brennan Center and Data for Black Lives submitted their own FOIA requests to several police departments for similar information, including in Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles and New York City.

“Something that’s concerning about that is the fact that online relationships might not translate to in person relationships,” Dyson told StateScoop about Voyager’s technology. “And so while these might be accurate about online activity, it’s not really — if Voyager can do what it says it can do — online activity does not necessarily reflect real-life relationships. And so how useful that information is to law enforcement is questionable.”

Initially, MPD produced only a handful of documents, and in response, the Brennan Center and Data for Black Lives, represented pro bono by Ballard Spahr LLP, in March 2022 sued the city for the remainder of the documents, which included procurement records and emails exchanged among the department, the city’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer and several private software vendors that collect and analyze social media activity.

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Dyson said the social media vendors used by the District police department, which purport to collect massive amounts of data, often do so against the social media platforms’ terms and conditions agreements. Last year, Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — sued Voyager for scraping user data with dummy accounts.

“These tools specifically are unable to understand context, and so what might be an innocent post could then get taken by law enforcement and interpreted into something that is seen as threatening. And this can result in real-life, human-police interactions,” Dyson said. “As we know, those interactions — specifically for communities of color — can be quite harmful, even deadly.”

Dyson said that to avoid chilling free speech and First Amendment-protected activities such as protesting, it’s important for law enforcement agencies to be transparent about their technology policies. That advisement is a key part of the Brennan Center’s social media use policies for law enforcement, a rubric of best practices that also takes into account the risks of automated social media monitoring software.

“I think what’s unique about Washington, D.C., is that it’s a place that hosts hundreds of protests every year,” Dyson said. “It’s a place where important decisions are being made that affect people nationwide. And so there should be strong protections in Washington, D.C., to prevent unwanted scrutiny of protected speech online.”

Neither the Metropolitan Police Department nor the Office of the Chief Technology Officer responded to requests for comment.

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Editor’s note: Scoop News Group has previously consulted with Ballard Spahr’s Media and Entertainment Law practice.

Written by Keely Quinlan

Keely Quinlan reports on privacy and digital government for StateScoop. She was an investigative news reporter with Clarksville Now in Tennessee, where she resides, and her coverage included local crimes, courts, public education and public health. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Stereogum and other outlets. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism and master’s in social and cultural analysis from New York University.





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Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football

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Hulking four-star Arizona OL commits to Cal over Washington football


The Washington Huskies saw one of their most hotly contested offensive line targets in the 2027 class go elsewhere on Saturday afternoon when four-star offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough announced his pledge to the California Golden Bears

The 6-foot-5, 340-pound product of Basha High School in Arizona, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 426 overall prospect and No. 25 interior offensive lineman by the 247Sports Composite, picked coach Tosh Lupoi and the Golden Bears out of a final four that also included Florida State, Mississippi State, and UW.

Although his junior year was cut short due to a fractured ankle, Fisch and offensive line coach Michael Switzer kept up a strong relationship with the hulking prospect, who has the size, physicality, and skill set the pair looks for from early contributors up front. However,

“The big man slides smoothly in pass protection and balances his weight well, always finding himself on the winning end of collisions with defenders,” Huskies Wire’s Alex Katson wrote in an evaluation of his film. “With such prototypical size and technique, Yarborough profiles as a player who could find himself in the NFL rather quickly with the right coaching staff during his time in college.”

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As Washington continues to build up its offensive line for the rigors of the Big Ten, Yarborough would have been viewed as a promising building block alongside Freshman All-American John Mills, former five-star Kodi Greene, and former four-star Champ Taulealea, who should make up the core of Switzer’s unit in 2027.

While the Huskies had consistently been viewed among the top suitors for Yarborough’s services, but Lupoi’s staff has shown early that it can make a big impact quickly on recruits all over the West. Without Yarborough, Washington’s 2027 class consists of three offensive linemen: four-star interior prospect Gecova Doyal, four-star center Reis Russell, and three-star offensive tackle Tye Kennedy.



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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News

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Chisholm’s homer keys 3-run 9th as the Yankees rally past Washington 5-3 – WTOP News


Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the New York Yankees over the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Friday night.

The Yankees and Nationals rank 1-2 in the major leagues in home runs, and all but one run in this game came via the long ball. Ben Rice hit his 29th of the season for the Yankees, and Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells also went deep for New York.

Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh to give Washington a 3-2 lead, but in the ninth, the Nationals brought in left-hander Matt Krook — who had allowed 22 earned runs in 12 2/3 big league innings dating to 2023. Krook (0-1) yielded a one-out single by Domínguez, and Chisholm followed with his 13th homer.

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Wells added a solo shot off Justin Lawrence to make it 5-3.

David Bednar (3-3) won in relief, working the final two innings. The Yankees remained four games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Rice homered in the first off Carson Palmquist, but the New York designated hitter fouled a pitch off his right leg in the fifth and was shaken up. He was able to stay in the game.

By that time, Domínguez had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead with a homer off Zack Littell (8-6) in the fourth.

The game was delayed two hours at the start, and a wet field might have prevented Washington from tying it in the sixth. New York starter Ryan Weathers allowed a one-out double to CJ Abrams. Then Jacob Young followed with a single. Abrams looked likely to score, but he slipped rounding third and had to stay there.

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Fernando Cruz then replaced Weathers and struck out the next two hitters to strand both runners.

New York’s Paul Goldschmidt singled in the first to snap an 0-for-34 drought, and he also reached on an infield hit in the sixth.

Amed Rosario of the Yankees struck out in all three of his plate appearances and made two errors at third base before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

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Cam Schlittler (9-5) was scheduled to start for New York on Saturday against Miles Mikolas (3-7) of the Nationals.

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© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.



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Washington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language

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Washington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language


Party platforms are typically lengthy documents intended to define political values, not enact law.

But language adopted by the Washington State Democratic Party is drawing scrutiny from Republicans, some Jewish community leaders, and even some Democrats who say they were left out of the conversation.

The debate centers on two planks in the party’s newly approved platform: one supporting continued work on a state reparations study and another linking a recent rise in antisemitism, in part, to actions by the Israeli government.

Stephen Reed, a spokesperson for the Washington State Democratic Party, said the platform is developed every two years by delegates selected from communities across the state.

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“They develop the platform. They write all the planks. They debate the planks,” Reed said.

Last month, the Washington State Democratic Party announced that more than 1,000 delegates at its 2026 convention in Spokane unanimously adopted language supporting reparations for descendants of victims of U.S. chattel slavery. The party described the move as the first such addition to a state Democratic Party platform.

The approved language says Democrats support “the study and implementation of reparative action, remedies and reconciliation” for descendants. The party also said Democrats had previously passed a 2024 resolution urging Washington leaders to create and fund a statewide study on reparations, which is currently underway and being managed by the Department of Commerce. A final report with recommendations is due in June 2027.

Reed said the party’s platform does not settle the question of whether Washington should provide direct payments as reparations, noting that other proposals include offering free college tuition to descendants.

But it is the platform’s language on antisemitism that has prompted criticism from both inside and outside the party. The approved platform states: “There has been a dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum, due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government. History shows us the dangerous repercussions suffered when collective action to combat antisemitism and promote understanding is not taken. We must ensure that the Jewish community is protected from misinformation, harassment, and violence.”

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It is unclear whether the Washington State Jewish Democratic Caucus was consulted before the language was adopted. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle criticized the provision.

“By ascribing the rise of antisemitism in the United States, even partially, to the actions of the Israeli government, the Washington State Democratic Party has rationalized, and given cover to, the actions of antisemites rather than full-throatedly condemning them. At a time where the Jewish community, which makes up only 2% of the U.S. population, is the target of nearly 70% of religion-based hate crimes, we urge the Washington State Democratic Party to do everything in its power to reduce antisemitism rather than justify it,” Solly Kane, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, said in a statement to KOMO News.

The State GOP, which is no stranger to incorporating national public policy into its regional platform either, criticized the Democrats.

“I read the Washington State Democratic Party platform, and it’s a banquet of trust-fund leftist nonsense,” Washington GOP Chair Jim Walsh said. “A lot of it is just not grounded in any real policy issue facing Washington families.”

Walsh said the platform contains “very little coherent stuff about tax reform or safe communities or improving K-12 schools,” while highlighting what he called “a very bizarre commitment to reparations for slavery.”

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Asked why the Washington Republican Party’s 2024 platform includes language calling for limiting federal funding for programs that support critical race theory or The 1619 Project and for ending birthright citizenship, Walsh said, “We’re talking about not spending public resources. That means forcing taxpayers to pay for programs of various controversial sorts.”

“There is really no moral equivalence here,” he added.

Reed said he personally interprets the Democratic platform’s language as criticism of the Israeli government, not of Jewish people.

“I take this language personally to mean that the government of Israel is engaging in actions that are making Israel less safe, that are causing untold harm in the Palestinian community, especially among civilians,” Reed said. “That simply isn’t the right behavior for an ally of the United States.”

Reed acknowledged that the language has prompted concern and debate. He said the party has a Jewish caucus and that party officials tried to provide proposed platform language to caucuses before the convention, but he conceded the process may have fallen short.

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“We did our best, and we hear that we may have come up short in those outreach efforts to give them enough time to digest everything,” Reed said. “If we fell short, we apologize to those communities.”

Reed said party platforms are designed to show voters where the party’s grassroots stand, even when the issues are complicated, controversial, or beyond the scope of state government.

“It’s a statement of values,” Reed said. “This lets Washingtonians know where the Democratic Party’s grassroots are, how they’re thinking, and the values they’re going to bring.”



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