PUBLISH\An PUBLISHER'S NOTE: An Arkansas Times story (January 12, 2026) which I plan to post later this month ( link below) is headed, "Little Rock police tracked drivers with 116 license readers citywide." One timely passage of the story by Reporter Milo Strain stands out, given the ongoing ICE brutal, murderous onslaught on the people of Minneapolis, "There’s also the fact that these cameras, which use artificial intelligence to draw conclusions about the information they collect, can simply make mistakes. “The plate readers, ultimately, are cameras with a computer interpreting that an image of three squiggles is the letter E and not the letter F, and it makes mistakes,” Schwartz said. “And even though protocol is that the human police officer is supposed to verify that the plate is what the computer says it is, mistakes are made and innocent people find themselves lying on their bellies next to their crying children in parking lots while police officers are waving guns at them because of errors. This has happened on numerous occasions, and it happens disproportionately to people of color because of implicit bias and how officers react to these computer errors.” Today's post (January 15, 2026) makes clear that the above comment (from our earlier post) is not mere hyperbole or exoneration. Sadly, it is anything but! Judy and Noah Levy, subjects of a story (link below) headed 'Privacy Advocates: ICE using private data to intimidate observers and activists,' had to face this form of terror inflicted by the federal government 'head on', in 'real time. Indeed, as MPR reporter Jon Collins reports: "In St. Paul, Judy Levy said it’s clear the agents meant to intimidate them. But Levy said she and her husband are middle-aged white people who have never been in trouble with the law. She said the harassment makes them more eager to observe ICE agents in the future: “I wasn’t raised to sit back and not do something when people are being kidnapped, and families are being terrorized, and good, hard-working people who make up the fabric of this community are being persecuted." What a community Donald Trump chose to persecute, With people like this, there is surely hope for America. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Judy Levy was shaken, but the couple followed when the federal agents’ caravan started up again. That’s when ICE vehicles turned onto Levy’s street. They almost couldn’t believe it. “Our street is off the beaten path, you don’t go down our street to get to anywhere.” Noah Levy said. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intimidating.” MPR News has looked into reports that federal agents have accessed private data to track and intimidate anti-ICE activists since the immigration crackdown surged in Minnesota in December. Privacy advocates say it’s a clear violation of state law."
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People obsePASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: People observing ICE have alleged that agents routinely harass and threaten observers with arrest. More than a dozen observers have been arrested since the surge started, according to advocates. But people uninvolved with protests have also found themselves targeted. Immigration attorney Karen Bryan was called into her St. Louis Park firm on Friday because ICE agents were in her parking lot. Bryan said ICE had previously arrested one of her clients and another potential client less than a block away. Bryan, who is due to give birth in two weeks, was helped over the slippery parking lot by two assistants. She said she knocked on the window and said, “Could you please leave the parking lot? It's private property. You can park across the street. That's government property.”
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STORY: "Privacy advocates: ICE using private data to intimidate observers and activists," by Reporter Jon Collins, published by MPR News, on January 15, 2026. (Jon Collins is a senior reporter on the MPR News race, class and communities team, where he covers criminal justice and Minneapolis politics);
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PHOTO CAPTION: "An ICE officer records people inside their car using a cell phone during a traffic stop in St. Paul on Jan. 6.Screen capture courtesy of Noah Levy
GIST: "When Judy Levy got a message on Tuesday from a member of her book club telling her that ICE agents appeared to be staging in a nearby parking lot, she and her husband Noah jumped into their car and drove over. They were the first observers on the scene.
The St. Paul couple followed when eight SUVs filled with masked and armed men peeled out of the parking lot. After failing to shake the observers, the frustrated agents halted their caravan in the middle of traffic and surrounded observers’ cars, threatening them with arrest for impeding law enforcement.
Agents took photos of Levy and other observers’ license plates. Then a masked agent walked up to Judy Levy’s passenger side window.
The agent said: “‘Hello Judith. How are you today?’”
Judy Levy was shaken, but the couple followed when the federal agents’ caravan started up again. That’s when ICE vehicles turned onto Levy’s street. They almost couldn’t believe it.
“Our street is off the beaten path, you don’t go down our street to get to anywhere.” Noah Levy said. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intimidating.”
MPR News has looked into reports that federal agents have accessed private data to track and intimidate anti-ICE activists since the immigration crackdown surged in Minnesota in December. Privacy advocates say it’s a clear violation of state law.
Widespread allegations of misuse by ICE
License plate readers and personal data in people’s car registrations are only supposed to be accessed for an active criminal investigation, said John Boehler, a policy counsel with the ACLU of Minnesota. There have been reports across the country for years that federal agents have been accessing private data when it’s not necessary for an investigation.
“Following or observing or reporting on federal agencies or federal activities is not a criminal activity — it's protected First Amendment activity,” Boehler said. “To be using those cameras, to use those license plate readers, to surveil protesters has a chilling effect on First Amendment rights, and that's what we think the goal is.”
Boehler said state law has pretty tight restrictions on how private data can be used. State and local governments contract with a company called Flock to store and access private citizen data. Flock insists that it does not have a contract with ICE and said the data is only shared with local government cooperation. 404 Media reported this spring that some local law enforcement agencies were giving ICE access to citizens’ private data, with leaked data showing thousands of searches done at the behest of federal authorities.
Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services said in a statement that they don’t provide ICE access to citizens’ private data.
ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to requests for information about the apps or tools they’re using to access Minnesotans’ personal data.
Boehler said ICE and DHS have large budgets and have been utilizing advanced tools like facial recognition apps to try to identify people. The feds may even have created their own database of private citizen data. If they’re getting private citizens’ data using state tools, Boehler said it would be a clear example of misuse.
“It's another example of the lawlessness that ICE has been operating with in our state — they've been switching license plates, they've been driving cars without license plates,” Boehler said. “These are violations of the law in order to violate people's rights.”
The scale and speed of the federal government’s actions, and their refusal to maintain clear or accurate records makes it hard for people to sue the federal government for violating their constitutional rights. The ACLU of Minnesota has sued the government in hopes that a judge will order an injunction that restricts the federal government’s actions in the state, similar to an injunction issued in Chicago.
‘Federal agents are supposed to be beyond reproach’
People observing ICE have alleged that agents routinely harass and threaten observers with arrest. More than a dozen observers have been arrested since the surge started, according to advocates.
But people uninvolved with protests have also found themselves targeted.
Immigration attorney Karen Bryan was called into her St. Louis Park firm on Friday because ICE agents were in her parking lot. Bryan said ICE had previously arrested one of her clients and another potential client less than a block away.
Bryan, who is due to give birth in two weeks, was helped over the slippery parking lot by two assistants. She said she knocked on the window and said, “Could you please leave the parking lot? It's private property. You can park across the street. That's government property.”
Jac Kovarik is a block club captain in south Minneapolis who has observed ICE since the surge began.
The first time Kovarik saw private data used by ICE agents was a couple days after Christmas. They were observing ICE agents while a friend from Robbinsdale drove. The agents had already stopped them to warn they’d be arrested, but they kept following the vehicle. Then they realized the agents were leading them to their friend’s home in Robbinsdale.
“He pulled up to her house, both the agents got out of the car and were both performatively and theatrically taking pictures of her house,” Kovarik said. “Then they drove off and they went around to the back alley behind her house and took pictures of the back of her house."
It happened again to Kovarik last week when an ICE agent led them to a residence where Kovarik used to live.
“It’s one of many intimidation tactics, and obviously people should be safe,” Kovarik said, ”but if you feel pretty comfortable that … they’re not really going to be able to do anything to harm you, I think it’s to our benefit to show them that we’re not scared.”
Organizations that train people to observe ICE activity urge observers to stay calm, keep their distance and record everything that occurs.
In St. Paul, Judy Levy said it’s clear the agents meant to intimidate them.
But Levy said she and her husband are middle-aged white people who have never been in trouble with the law. She said the harassment makes them more eager to observe ICE agents in the future: “I wasn’t raised to sit back and not do something when people are being kidnapped, and families are being terrorized, and good, hard-working people who make up the fabric of this community are being persecuted.""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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