Lela Nargi

@profsecchi.bsky.social !!!!

My name is Marisa Kabas, and I'm an independent journalist who publishes The Handbasket. I'm reaching out about a matter that involves your team and that continues to trouble me. In June of last year, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and I filed a FOIA lawsuit against the DC Metropolitan Police Department to compel them to release body camera footage from the March 17, 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace. What followed was months of back and forth with their lawyers, arguing why it was in the public interest to release the un-redacted footage in its entirety. Though tiny segments were handed over, that wasn't enough: We wanted all of it.  On February 18, 2026, a DC judge ruled in our favor, and your reporter Mark Segraves sent a kind note of congratulations that day. Then on Monday, March 2nd, the footage was handed over to me and excitedly announced I'd received it and would be reviewing it in the coming days and sharing what I learned. When Segraves emailed me this past Thursday asking for my phone number, I didn't think much of it. But when he called me just before 2pm on Friday to let me know NBC4 Washington would be airing a segment at 5pm, I grew concerned.  Segraves said he'd obtained some of the footage via a FOIA request that week after he heard the footage had been released to me. He said he'd credit the work of RCFP and me, but it was little comfort. I asked if he'd known the day before when he emailed me for my number, why didn't he tell me then? He didn't have a good answer for that. He acknowledged all the hard work I'd done getting this footage released. I asked him if he could hold the story until Monday, to which he replied that he's "not just a blogger" (implying that that's all I am, presumably) and that he'd have to check with his editor. I said fine. Nearly an hour later he called back to say his editor refused to hold the story, but that they were happy to interview me via Zoom to add to the package, and I said I would.

What followed was two hours of furiously writing and posting clips of the footage to Youtube so I could get something published before the 5pm broadcast, and in the midst of that, recording a quick Zoom interview with a person who was about to take credit for my work. At 4:59pm ET, The Handbasket published a piece titled "Police body cam footage shows DOGE knew Institute of Peace was private property during raid." Then I tuned into NBC4 Washington via your website to catch the broadcast, and my instinct to rush to get something out first was proven right.  "It's a story you're seeing first on News4," your newscast began. "For the first time we're getting an inside look at what happened the day the Trump administration took over the US Institute of Peace. News4 obtained more than four hours of police body camera video from that day." What followed was more than six minutes of clips and commentary from Segraves, but it's not until six minutes and 21 seconds into the piece that he mentions my name (mispronounced though he asked for the correct pronunciation on Zoom), "The Handbasket blog," and the RCFP's foundational role in bringing this footage to light. I was angry, but didn't feel there was much I could do. Then I saw the version NBC4 posted to Instagram and TikTok—the video itself made ZERO mention of the RCFP or my work, only briefly acknowledging it in the written caption on Instagram, and not even bothering to do that on TikTok. An average viewer with no background on the case is lead to believe that this footage was released because of your efforts. When I saw that, I decided I couldn't let this go. It's difficult to explain what it's like to spend nearly a year working on a story only to have another reporter and outlet surreptitiously take credit for it; months of work and personal risk only to have another reporter lying in wait to swoop in. What NBC4 did was immoral, unethical, and to be frank, just truly sucked.

I just sent this email to the news director at NBC4 Washington about the unprofessional and disrespectful way they handled publishing the body camera footage of the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace that was obtained via my FOIA lawsuit:

EPA moves to curb state input on water permits, raising alarm The Clean Water Act has allowed states and tribes to derail some high-profile projects. That power will be diminished with new rule, say environmental advocates.

The Clean Water Act has allowed states and tribes to derail some high-profile projects. That power will be diminished with the Trump administration's new rule, environmental advocates say.

Pseudoscientific Push to Frame Abortion as a ‘Water Quality’ Issue Rears Its Head in Iowa About an hour into the Republican gubernatorial debate in Iowa earlier this...

I used Iowa to take a look at the nationwide push from right wing groups to link abortion drugs to water quality issues. It's an organized effort that has no basis in actual science. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pseudos...

Best story of the month imo
www.nj.com/food/2026/03...

The Massachusetts Department of Correction has been fighting me for months, trying to withhold data about its collaboration with ICE.

Yesterday, I won that fight, and obtained records showing that the state has transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009.

A quick thread:

Bhattacharya urges measles vaccination as US activity increases

After remaining silent for almost a year about the U.S. measles outbreak, NIH/CDC poseur Jay Bhattacharya is now recommending measles vaccines.

And this is where he gets to see the impact of the destruction of trust in public health and vaccines, for which he is partially responsible.

i love them

"Pelican-za"? Is that something?

These are very good pelicans

Not a duck but I did see Eurasian coots on a trip to Denmark and they are extremely weird (and adorable)

📈Oil prices are spiking after escalation around Iran.

🥣 Food prices likely next.

1/2 the world’s calories depend on synthetic fertilizer made from fossil #gas – 1/4 of that trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

This is a food access issue.

👉 #FuelToFork
ipes-food.org/report/fuel-...

Where Will All the Ranchers Go? Trump announced plans to increase grazing on public lands. Critics say the land can’t support any more.

Trump plans to increase livestock grazing on public lands, ostensibly to bolster the beef industry. Critics say w 87% of Western lands already dedicated to this + a concurrent deactivation of enviro protections, there are a lot of ways this could go sideways. My latest for Offrange:
bit.ly/4rQpLUc

It’s very cool that the American news outlet with perhaps the most robust reporting on Iran, The Washington Post, fired everyone at its Middle East desk 3 weeks ago.

In an Intense Election Year, New Post Office Rules Could Trip Up Voter Registration A change in how mail is postmarked could lead some voters to miss key deadlines, including voter registration. Advocates worry the people most affected will be those already facing voting barriers.

Because of new USPS rules, voters who mail registration forms near the deadline may risk being left off the rolls. One solution: requesting a manual postmark at the retail counter of a post office.

Fact-check: In Trump’s Case for an Attack on Iran, False or Unproven Claims Key elements of the Trump administration’s arguments this week for another military campaign against Iran do not hold up.

Key elements of the Trump administration’s arguments this week for another military campaign against Iran are either false or unproven. Here's a fact-check. nyti.ms/46tj8P5

Refugee released by Border Patrol found dead, sparking outrage Surveillance video obtained by The Post shows Border Patrol agents releasing the partially blind refugee, who went missing for days before being found dead.

They dropped off Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee who didn't speak English, at a CLOSED Tim Hortons.

5 miles away from his home.

He never made it.

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Donate to Support A Community Leader's Recovery, organized by Catherine Schetina Hi, my name is Catherine Schetina, and I’m organizing this fundraiser on beha… Catherine Schetina needs your support for Support A Community Leader's Recovery

Eva Woods is a tireless community leader in Los Angeles who has, for years, spearheaded care for our neighbors in MacArthur Park. She was recently assaulted and needs help to pay for extensive medical bills. If you can support, friends have organized a GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/support-a-...

Trump says this is not happening. Which is why he spent his State of the Union speech honoring sports teams and awarding military medals.

BREAKING: Protests have erupted at Columbia University after the school says DHS agents detained a student after making "misrepresentations to gain entry" to building.

Ah the spork — crap at being a spoon, worse at being a fork... but maybe one of my favorite words in the English language?

Seized Art, Eavesdropping Guards: Parents Describe a Clampdown at Dilley Detention Center as Kids Shared Their Stories Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.

NEW: Guards have taken away crayons, colored pencils & paper during recent room searches at Dilley, according to detainees and others. After one inspection, the children just “cried and cried and cried,” a mother said. The facility denies the claims.

By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social

Seems...bad? ambrook.com/offrange/lan...

How the City’s Mental Health System Failed Jabez Chakraborty In the weeks before their son was shot by NYPD officers, the Chakraborty family did everything they could to get him treatment. They were forsaken at every turn.

In the weeks before their son was shot by NYPD officers, the Chakraborty family did everything they could to get him treatment. They were forsaken at every turn.

They Were Convicted of Killing Their Abusers. A New Law Offered a Second Chance at Freedom. An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of women who killed their abusers. Why are nearly all of them still in prison?

My latest, with @propublica.org + @nytimes.com:

An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of domestic violence survivors who fought back -- women who are serving long sentences for killing their abusers. Why are nearly all of them still in prison?

www.propublica.org/article/okla...

Trump aides struggle with how to spend $500 billion more on military Some senior officials resisted the decision to approve the major military spending increase, people familiar with the matter say.

Reading this story—about how the Pentagon has been given so much extra money it's struggling to spend it all—while thinking about the formerly homeless tenants I've spoken with in recent weeks whose housing vouchers are being discontinued for "lack of funds."

Reimagining wild fisheries with the whole ecosystem in mind Improving fisheries requires rethinking how we prioritize nature, economies of scale and Indigenous voices, say researchers.

What it would look like if fisheries managers favored a whole-ecosystem approach to harvesting the ocean, favoring local fishers, Indigenous expertise + wellbeing economies? My latest for @foodprintorg.bsky.social foodprint.org/blog/improvi...

A small crowd stands around a woman with a megaphone holding a sign that reads "ProPublica Workers: READY TO STRIKE"

A group of six people in winter clothes on the sidewalk smile at the camera. They are holding signs that read "ProPublica Workers Love a Fair Contract" and "ProPublica Workers: READY TO STRIKE"

A man holds a megaphone on a snowy sidewalk next a large inflatable rat. Several people stand near him holding signs that say "ProPublica Workers Deserve Fair Pay"

1/ ICYMI: We are ready to strike if necessary to win the contract we deserve, complete with job security, guardrails around AI and fair wages. Yesterday, we practiced picketing outside @propublica.org offices.

One of the Minnesotans who stood up was Gust Johnson, a Vietnam war vet and nurse

He went to scene after Alex Pretti was killed

Agents repeatedly sprayed him in face

They tackled him (knocking out hearing aid and cutting arm)

They shackled him.

They held him ten hours.

They kept his phone.

The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...

Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.

They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.