Good morning. I’m Corinne Straight, and this is AlterNet America.
At least 97 of the January 6 rioters Trump pardoned have already been arrested again, roughly one in 16. The Pentagon just dropped 180 faiths from its recognized list, cutting recognition from 211 belief systems down to 31. ICE is ending the policy that required it to report detainee deaths within 30 days of release. And Republicans are repackaging the SAVE Act as a $50 million grant program to slip it past the filibuster.
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Now, let’s get into it.
One in Sixteen Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioters Have Been Arrested Again
It turns out a presidential pardon is not a personality transplant.
Mere hours after his inauguration, Donald Trump granted clemency to nearly 1,600 people charged for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to a new analysis by Lawfare, at least 97 of them, roughly one in 16, have since been tied to another crime.
The charges are not parking tickets. They range from trespassing and drug paraphernalia to stalking, theft, defrauding the government, plots to assassinate officials, and homicide. At least 14 have been charged with sex crimes or crimes involving child pornography. Another six have faced domestic violence charges. At least 20 have been picked up for driving drunk or public intoxication.
Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced in March to life in prison for transmitting child pornography and molesting a child under 12. Ryan Nichols was charged in May after allegedly threatening someone with a gun in a church parking lot.
Trump, for his part, is still proud. As recently as Wednesday, while defending his $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” he called the recipients “great people” and said they “should be reimbursed for a crooked government.” No punchline needed.
The Pentagon No Longer Recognizes 180 Faiths
The U.S. military will defend your freedom of religion. Valid for select beliefs only.
The Pentagon is dropping roughly 180 faiths and belief systems from its officially recognized list, narrowing recognition from about 211 down to 31, according to a May memo signed by Under Secretary Anthony Tata. The memo said the change would help chaplains “anticipate the religious support needs of service members.”
The military will still recognize Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Agnostics, and various Christian denominations. It will reportedly no longer recognize Atheists, Humanists, Pagans, Wiccans, Unitarian Universalists, Druids, and Heathens, among others.
The man behind it is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has led Christian prayer services at the Pentagon and quoted Bible verses (both real and fictional) while discussing the war against predominantly Muslim Iran. In March he announced that chaplains’ rank insignia would be replaced with religious insignia.
Hegseth has defended the medieval Crusades and wears multiple Christian tattoos using Crusader imagery, body art that caused a scandal during his confirmation. During his own military service, a fellow service member reportedly flagged him as a possible “insider threat” because white supremacist groups use similar imagery.
We don’t have a Pentagon memo telling us which stories make the cut. No approved list, no capacity limit, no Under Secretary deciding which beliefs deserve a chaplain. Just the First Amendment — all of it. If that kind of journalism is worth something to you, consider upgrading your subscription today.
ICE Will Stop Reporting Detainee Deaths the Moment It Lets Them Go
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has found a novel solution to its rising death rate: stop counting.
ICE is ending a Biden-era policy that required the agency to review and report the deaths of former detainees within 30 days of their release from custody. Under the new rules, the clock stops the moment someone walks out the door.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that “when an individual is no longer in ICE custody then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur,” adding, “This is common sense.”
The timing is generous. There have been 49 deaths in ICE custody since the start of the second Trump administration. An ABC News analysis found the first 14 months of this term to be the deadliest stretch for the federal detention system in recent years, excepting the pandemic.
The spokesperson insisted ICE “remains committed to transparency regarding detainee deaths.” It has simply narrowed the window during which transparency is required.
Republicans Are Trying to Pass Voting Restrictions as a Spending Bill
The SAVE Act has re-entered the Senate in a trench coat and a fake mustache.
House Republicans introduced a bill Thursday designed to revive pieces of the stalled SAVE America Act by routing them around a Democratic filibuster. The “SAVE America Through REAL ID Act,” introduced by Reps. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) and Laurel Lee, would authorize $50 million a year from 2027 through 2031 for states to help residents obtain REAL ID-compliant licenses.
The stated purpose is helping low-income people get IDs. The actual purpose is a procedural workaround. The original SAVE Act’s proof-of-citizenship mandates are policy changes which can’t survive reconciliation. A grant program with federal spending can.
Fedorchak’s office said as much, noting the bill “is structured to have a clear on-budget effect so it can comply with Senate parliamentary procedure and qualify for consideration under the budget reconciliation process.”
There is no nationwide REAL ID requirement to vote in federal elections. The bill doesn’t create one. It instead funds the machinery that would make stricter ID rules easier to impose later.
It also has a small logic problem: REAL ID is not proof of citizenship. Lawful permanent residents can hold REAL ID cards and still cannot vote in federal elections. The only thing most REAL IDs prove is that someone can parallel park.
The Part the Billionaires Hate
The business model that kept journalism independent is gone. What replaced it is billionaires, access deals, and quiet understandings about which stories don’t run. The networks are getting phone calls they don’t talk about. The newspapers have new owners who play golf with the people we’re writing about. The FCC is making examples of outlets that don’t play ball.
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POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Kennedy Center memo directs staffers to remove Trump’s name from the arts center After a federal judge ruled that slapping his name on the building was illegal, the Kennedy Center’s lawyers have given staff until June 12 to scrub Trump from the premises: signage, brochures, the website, and, in a detail that surely stung, everyone’s email signatures. A May 29 ruling found the board broke the law when it rebranded the venue the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” with the judge noting the law makes crystal clear the center is named for President Kennedy and cannot bear another name on the board’s say-so.
Seattle Is Poised to Ban New Datacenters in a Blow to Big Tech. Seattle’s city council committees unanimously passed a year-long moratorium on building new datacenters this week, with a full council vote expected Tuesday. Four companies had sought to build five large datacenters that would have consumed roughly a third of the city’s current daily electricity demand. Lawmakers cited rising utility costs and environmental hazards, and councilmember Eddie Lin’s office said it received more than 10,000 emails from residents backing the pause. At a May 20 hearing, more than 50 residents spoke in favor and none spoke against.
Virginia Becomes the First Southern State to Mandate Paid Family and Medical Leave. Virginia just became the first Southern state to guarantee paid family and medical leave, with Governor Abigail Spanberger signing a law that covers more than three million workers and grants up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, the seriously ill, caregivers, and survivors of domestic violence. The catch, as with all good things in government, is the wait: the law takes effect July 1, 2026, but payroll contributions don’t start until April 2028 and benefits won’t actually arrive until that December, which is the bureaucratic equivalent of being handed a gift card that activates in two years.
Portland Bans Foie Gras in a 7-5 Vote. Portland has officially banned foie gras, with the City Council voting 7-5 after weeks of debate to outlaw the force-fed duck-liver delicacy starting December 1, and restaurants caught selling it, or even giving it away, facing fines of up to $5,000. The fight pitted Pro-Animal Oregon against the city’s small but internationally acclaimed fine dining scene. Councilor Steve Novick cast the deciding progressive-aligned vote, saying plainly that he could not call it okay to force-feed an animal to produce an expensive delicacy, and noting that culinary capitals like New York City had already done the same.
