(Bret) Bradford — a darling of right-wing deportation coverage, from the New York Post to Fox News — touts his determination to “restore law and order in our communities.” He recently lauded “the brave men and women at ICE Houston” for their “unwavering dedication,” and for working “tirelessly every day to enhance public safety.”
Scores of internal documents reviewed by The Intercept paint a different picture and suggest a commitment to safety and law and order may stop at the entrance to ICE’s Houston Field Office.
The files lay out a series of allegations against Bradford and other top Houston ICE officials, including retaliation against a whistleblower who reported being intimidated with an “8-inch tactical knife” by a fellow ICE officer in a facility that does not allow weapons. The whistleblower also alleges another supervisor knowingly lied on an official document.
An email from the whistleblower sent to the Congressional DOGE Caucus earlier this year reported “corruption” among top Houston ICE officials. Bradford “turned a blind eye to the criminal activity and has taken no action against the officials,” wrote the whistleblower. The allegations of retaliation are further detailed in public documents from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which reviews cases of government employees who are contesting demotions or terminations.
When I was a young teen I lived on the street for a time. I often thought about getting a knife for defense, but realized I didn’t know how to use it properly … or what someone could do to me if they got a hold of the knife.
All weapons should be respected for the damage they can do, both to the victim and the attacker.
Yeah, I used to carry around pocket knives when I was a kid as a sort of power trip thing but then I thought about whether it would be worse to win or lose a knife fight and decided if someone did attack me unless I thought my life was truly in danger (or someone else) I would NEVER pull the knife out…
…like seriously, the movies make it seem like it wouldn’t be terrifying, awful and traumatizing for anybody involved no matter how it went…
Don’t take my word for it, wear some shitty clothes you use to do chores, get a friend, get two sharpies and have a fake knife fight with the sharpie as the stand in for the knives and then look at all of the sharpie marks over both of you no matter who “won”. You will never desire to get in a knife fight ever again after that point.
Yeah nope, a knife is an awful weapon for the wielder, the victim and the observer. Much better to get a leatherman and have a whole set of actually useful tools along with a knife that doesn’t scream “IM DANGEROUS” but rather “Im your uncle who loves woodworking’s favorite multitool”.