The Hound | June 24

Hi there,

It’s Wednesday. Last night in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani flexed his political power with all three of his endorsed congressional candidates winning their Democratic primaries. This includes the ousting of Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat, who lost to Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year old PhD student.

In addition, eight people were sentenced this week to between 30 and 100 years in federal prison for their roles in a July 4, 2025, protest outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Texas — sentences longer than any handed down to participants in the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. One defendant received 30 years not for violence, but for moving a box of zines, poetry, and personal journals after the protest.

Yet too much media coverage treats these sentences as straightforward criminal justice outcomes — focusing on the shooting and the charges while largely ignoring the broader context: a White House that designated antifa a terrorist organization by executive order, an FBI director who promoted the case on social media, and a Justice Department that is now pursuing similar prosecutions against activists in Minnesota and beyond.

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to cover the Prairieland sentences as what they are: a coordinated government effort to criminalize protest, chill free speech, and use terrorism statutes as a weapon against political opposition.

The public deserves reporting that looks beyond the charges and asks whether justice — or deterrence — is the actual goal.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

Prairieland Defendant Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Moving a Box of Antifascist Zines (The Intercept)

The U.S. House is set to get two more democratic socialists from New York (The 19th News)

New York primary could forecast future for Democrats. Here's what you need to know (NPR)

Farm workers at high risk amid screwworm outbreak in US south-west (The Guardian)

Organized Money: How States Can Regulate Big Oil (The American Prospect)

Why Amazon Keeps Losing Regulatory Battles With Unions (The New Republic)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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