Bolts

We cover the nuts and bolts of power and political change, from the local up.

[Bolts @boltsmag]

West Hawaii Today reports on Hawaii’s adoption of automatic voter registration after years of advocacy:

https://t.co/CfurLpPFfN

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Immigrant organizing has shaken up local politics throughout the country during Trump’s second term. Now, activists in Arizona hope to channel local anger over ICE activity in upcoming city elections.

https://t.co/pYJY3RQzcH

[Bolts @boltsmag]

“When we put people in solitary confinement, we create mental illness and we exacerbate mental illness,” says an attorney with the ACLU of Colorado. “What is happening to folks in the jail right now is an acute emergency.”

https://t.co/NzsMOO6mpi

[Bolts @boltsmag]

The DOJ once accused Sheriff Terry Johnson of fostering “a culture of discrimination against Latinos” in Alamance County and referring to residents with racist epithets such as “taco eaters." Johnson faces a new challenger this fall.

https://t.co/vQ3HPb3ETn

[Bolts @boltsmag]

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette almost lost her reelection bid in March when she barely got enough support at a Democratic Party convention to qualify for the ballot.

In Tuesday’s Colorado primaries, DeGette faces Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist.

https://t.co/hgOEy3pZn8

[Taniel @Taniel]

NEW: Cities all over Arizona are aiding ICE—but local activists are pressuring city leaders to change policies.

Now, with local elections coming up in July, collaboration with ICE has become a major issue in a bunch of races.

Learn all about it! https://t.co/es4KaB2gP4

[Roberto Camacho @Rob_Camacho_SD]

Last night my report for @boltsmag, ‘Unión del Barrio’s Volunteer Patrols Work to Protect San Diego’s Immigrant Communities From ICE Activity’ was recognized at @sdspj’s 2026 Awards ceremony for the Distinguished Coverage Award. Thank you everyone, who’s read & supported my work!

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Indiana is building a new prison, and it’s already equipped for firing squad executions, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.

https://t.co/YlGPHgXQSW

[Bolts @boltsmag]

NEW in Bolts: One Arizona city's longtime partnership with ICE has become a major fault line in the July elections, as organizers work to limit local collaboration with federal immigration authorities.

Our new collaboration with @ArizonaMirror:
https://t.co/pYJY3RQzcH

[Bolts @boltsmag]

A series of policy changes meant to accomplish Trump’s mass deportation scheme have left thousands of people in Louisiana trapped in seemingly endless detention with little hope for freedom.

Our new story with @TheLensNOLA:

https://t.co/IeGrl4cTBd

[Taniel @Taniel]

A Wisconsin law gutted the ability to have police oversight in Milwaukee to relatively little attention—and now Milwaukee politicians are having to deal with it.

[Bolts @boltsmag]

In Colorado, jails are the default holding places for people in mental health crises. Jail officials often frame solitary confinement as a necessity for keeping people safe behind bars, but research shows isolation can worsen mental health.

https://t.co/sbAzJxV9hC

[Bolts @boltsmag]

“There is nothing you do in a digital world that cannot be obtained with a judicial warrant,” says legal scholar Andrew Guthrie Ferguson. “All of it can be obtained by police seeking to prosecute you.”

https://t.co/fWqa5cfztl

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Once someone with serious mental illness enters the criminal justice system, the process of restoring them to competency to stand trial can become a revolving door of treatment, stabilization, and return to jail.

Our story with @BoulderRL:

https://t.co/NzsMOO6mpi

[Bolts @boltsmag]

The primary calendar marches on, with runoff elections in Louisiana this Saturday, and the crowded Colorado primaries on Tuesday.

What should you be watching? Our election guide has you covered:

https://t.co/hgOEy3pZn8

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Immigrants detained in a Louisiana detention facility say they aren’t fed fruits or vegetables and they receive no medical care. “You actually see people’s health deteriorating here,” says one man who is being detained there.

https://t.co/IeGrl4cTBd

[Bolts @boltsmag]

In collaboration with @BoulderRL, we spent months exploring how people with serious mental illness are held in prolonged isolation in Colorado jails. Here are the major takeaways:

https://t.co/owViYaHl8H

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Under a law passed in 2021, Colorado jails must petition a judge to hold a person with mental illness in solitary confinement for more than 15 days in any 30-day period. Court records show that judges almost always grant those requests.

https://t.co/sbAzJxV9hC

[Bolts @boltsmag]

If you read Bolts to better understand the forces shaping the country, or rely on our election night cheat sheets, consider supporting our work with a one-time or monthly donation. Reader support is essential to helping us thrive.

https://t.co/2ibpilVMtt

[Bolts @boltsmag]

Immigrants’ rights activists have proposed to dissolve a town in Arizona, in an effort to block the opening of a nearby immigration detention center, The Arizona Mirror reports:

https://t.co/jMS0CDPHRI