Trump's FBI Purges Could Reduce Danger Posed by the Bureau—or Make It His Weapon
A defanged FBI could minimize our reliance on politicians’ (rarely) good intentions.
Criminal Justice
Alabama Cops Cooked Up Bogus Charges After Arresting Man They Tased While Handcuffed, Lawsuit Says
Video of the incident shows Micah Washington screaming as a Reform, Alabama, police officer deploys a Taser directly into his back.
El Salvador Offers To House Violent U.S. Criminals and Deportees
Yet its penitentiary centers are already running at over 300 percent capacity.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
California's Rationalist-Linked Death Cult
Plus: Air traffic control failures that led to a plane crash, "why shit not working" in New York City, and more...
Los Angeles Sheriff Misused Confidential Database Thousands of Times To Run Concealed Carry Background Checks
Public records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show how sensitive police databases are used and abused.
4 States Consider Bills To Treat Women Who Get Abortions as Murderers
These bills—in Indiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina—could also imperil IVF practices and threaten care for women with pregnancy complications.
A Guilty Plea Implicates 'Almost the Entire' Albuquerque DWI Unit in Longstanding Police Corruption
Federal prosecutors say the city's police department was the main focus of a 15-year bribery scheme that also involved the sheriff's office and the state police.
Rise of the 'Constitutional Sheriffs'
Two new books dissect the "constitutional sheriffs" movement, which seeks to nullify laws adherents see as unconstitutional.
The FBI Wrongly Raided This Family's Home. Now the Supreme Court Will Hear Their Case.
Curtrina Martin's petition attracted support from a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
El Salvador's Bukele: Authoritarian or Model President?
Frontier magazine's Peter Gietl and Salvadoran journalist Ricardo Avelar debate the merits of Nayib Bukele's criminal justice policies.
A Small Minnesota County Pumps Out 40 Percent of the State's Drug-Free Zone Sentences
Local news reports detail how Polk County, Minnesota, charges drivers and petty offenders with drug-free zone violations like no other county in the state.
Covering for Their Own Failures, U.K. Officials Blame Violent Crime on Access to Knives
Politicians who’ve dropped the ball inevitably see the solution as reducing people's freedom.
Amanda Knox Was Falsely Charged With Murder. Italy Calls Her Coerced Confession 'Slander.'
"I can tell you that I have never been put in a position of doubting my own sanity like I was in the hands of those police officers," Knox tells Reason.
Trump's Orders Feature Nonexistent Emergencies, Illegal Power Grabs, and Blatant Inconsistencies
But at least he restored respect for a tariff-loving predecessor by renaming a mountain.
State 'Bias Response Hotlines' Encourage People To Snitch on Their Neighbors for 'Hate Speech'
By the end of 2025, as many as 100 million Americans could live in a state where they can be reported for protected expression.
Syracuse Police Handcuffed an 11-Year-Old After Wrongly Accusing Her of Stealing a Car
"I can't make sense of it. I couldn't even finish watching the video," said the girl's mother. "That's not how you handle children."
Why Texas Lawmakers Tried To Stop America's First 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' Execution
Robert Roberson was sentenced to death based on outdated and largely discredited scientific evidence.
Trump's Aggressively Broad Executive Order on Transgender People
Like many of his other "Day 1" decrees, the order seems more concerned with scoring points in the culture war than advancing sensible policy.
The Country's Largest Police Union, Which Repeatedly Endorsed Trump, Is Dismayed by His Capitol Riot Pardons
The Fraternal Order of Police mistakenly thought that the president "supports our law enforcement officers" and "has our backs."
Biden and Trump Show Presidents How To Abuse Clemency
Biden’s preemptive pardons and Trump’s blanket relief for Capitol rioters both set dangerous precedents.
Trump's Blanket Clemency for Capitol Rioters Excuses Political Violence
The president drew no distinction between people who merely entered the building and people who vandalized it or assaulted police officers.
Trump's Death Penalty Executive Order Aims To Expand Execution
The order directs the attorney general to ensure that states have the drug cocktails to carry out lethal injections.
Trump Goes After Mexico by Designating Drug Cartels Terrorist Organizations
Designating cartels as terrorist organizations could allow the feds to prosecute people who pay protection money—and might pave the way for undeclared war.
Biden's Preemptive Pardons Undermine Official Accountability and the Rule of Law
His last-minute acts of clemency invite Trump and future presidents to shield their underlings from the consequences of committing crimes in office.
Why Trump Should Keep His Promise To Free Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht
A life sentence for facilitating peaceful transactions among consenting adults is hard to fathom, let alone justify.
The Laken Riley Act Reminds Us: If a Law Is Named After Someone, It's Probably Bad
Riley's murder was an atrocity. But the law bearing her name is a grab bag of authoritarian policies that have little to do with her death.
Biden Has Now Issued Far More Commutations Than Any of His Predecessors
The president's record-shattering clemency actions help ameliorate the damage caused by the draconian drug policies he supported for most of his political career.
Hospital Staff Failed To Treat Her Miscarriage, Then Accused Her of a Crime
A new lawsuit alleges that, after failing to treat a placental abruption, medical staff conspired to have Brittany Watts arrested for her miscarriage.
The FDA Proposes a De Facto Cigarette Ban, Which Would Expand the Disastrous War on Drugs
Mandating negligible nicotine levels in tobacco products would create a big black market and criminalize currently legal transactions.
DEA Ends Airport Gate Searches After Years of Documented Abuses of Civil Asset Forfeiture
The Justice Department temporarily suspended the program in November because of "significant risks" of constitutional violations.
Can the Private Sector Really Replace All Government Functions?
I can't stand big government, but I think we need something. Michael Malice says I'm wrong.
The Law That Disarmed Trump Is Unfair, Illogical, and Constitutionally Dubious
The president-elect lost his Second Amendment rights thanks to a nonsensical gun ban.
Here's How Police Are Being Trained To Deal With Incels
The Department of Homeland Security is watching men who are mad they can’t get girlfriends.
Maryland Cop Who Recklessly Shot a 5-Year-Old Boy Got Qualified Immunity
The Cato Institute is urging the Supreme Court to take up the case and reaffirm that the liability shield does not apply to "obvious rights violations."
