The Hound | Sept. 18

Hi there,

It’s Friday. The DHS inspector general confirmed Alligator Alcatraz used outdoor metal cages to confine detainees. But Amnesty International's interviews with former detainees tell a far worse story: 2×2-foot cages, ankles shackled to the floor, unable to sit, exposed to the Florida sun for hours with little water. Florida Gov. DeSantis's spokesperson responded to the cage photos with: "We'd make it even smaller if we could."

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to stop describing Alligator Alcatraz as a facility with "health and safety concerns." It was a torture site — one that used stress positions, sun exposure, isolation, and a deliberate cover-up to hide its abuses.

The OIG report itself shows signs of a cover-up. Flight records reveal a surge of Coast Guard planes removing detainees from the camp in the days just before the "unannounced" inspection — the same tactic used to fool Red Cross inspectors at Nazi concentration camps. A leading concentration camp historian reviewed the evidence and was unequivocal: what happened at Alligator Alcatraz was torture.

In addition, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave support to Canada becoming an associate member of the EU as Trump’s tariffs and open hostility drive Prime Minister Mark Carney to lessen Canada’s dependence on the United States. And how the midterm election may break the trifectas in many MAGA states.

Read about these, and more, in today’s stories:

Alligator Alcatraz’s Tiny Cages Were Likely Even Tinier (The American Prospect)

EU's Ursula von der Leyen says she wants Canada to become an associate member (NPR)

A Path to a Texas Breakthrough (The American Prospect)

How the Midterms Could Shrink Red State America—and Why It Matters (The New Republic)

Crypto Darling Gillibrand’s 11th-Hour Flip-Flop Helps Block Trump Crypto Bill (The Intercept)

Congressional Republicans Aim to Shield Fossil Fuel Companies From Climate Lawsuits (Inside Climate News)

The EPA Would Rather Monitor Water for Abortion Pills than Pollution (Mother Jones)

US to bar some South Africans over claims of anti-white discrimination (The Guardian)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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