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Comment by SauciestGNU | Hacker News Reader

I don't believe those were US Marshalls, iirc they were volunteers from a collection of federal agencies that were the most loyal to Trump.

However, they way they acted, in refusing to identify themselves, the agency for which they worked, where they were taking their abductees, etc makes me inclined to liken them more to a notorious fascist unit than a legitimate law enforcement agency.

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Per NPR (a solidly left-leaning source) they were US Marshals and they used unmarked vehicles to avoid the violent protesters who were allegedly targeting police. They didn't arrest anyone, but transported them to a safe location for questioning and immediately released them. Certainly not a good look but obviously this is nothing like SS troopers kidnapping people for death camps, torture, imprisonment, etc.

I am a vocal critic of Trump, but I don't understand the impulse to invoke absurd comparisons between the US and Nazi Germany. Trump gives us plenty of legitimate stuff to criticize on a regular basis, why discredit yourself like this?

“They didn’t arrest anyone.” Please. What is arrest other than losing freedom movement and then being moved to a location. It doesn’t make sense to me that you’re choosing to die on this hill. There is no excuse for using unmarked vehicles and police with no insignia. This is the US government, they’re doing it because they’re afraid of protestors? Sounds like BS. I’m tired of the government playing the victim during protests.

> It doesn’t make sense to me that you’re choosing to die on this hill

Friend, I’m not the one comparing US Marshals to SS Troopers, but please go on.

> What is arrest other than losing freedom movement and then being moved to a location.

Maybe the right phrasing would be "detained without the legal protections given to arrested people" -- not a step up...

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