US veteran considers civil lawsuit after he was arrested and injured at anti-ICE protest Dana Briggs, 70, had charges dropped after being accused of assaulting an agent during a protest at an Illinois ICE facility

Case Dismissed: A 70 year you Air Force veteran arrested for assault, despite a video showing he was knocked to the ground by federal agents had all charges dismissed yesterday. He's now considering suing DHS
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

2/ To honor their service is to recognize the gravity of the task. Far too many of the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans I've had the chance to meet since my own homecoming as a journalist 2005 are already gone. I'll be remembering them today.

1/ Veterans Day is as good a time as any to remember that war is serious business. By its very nature, it is violent. The people sent to fight get hurt; and if they are lucky enough to return home, they often do so physically and mentally changed for life...

The trouble with US veterans benefits isn’t ‘rampant’ fraud – it’s bureaucratic roadblocks, advocates say Veterans groups say recent Washington Post stories on VA disability payments paint a misleading picture. The paper stands by its reporting

Veterans groups say recent Washington Post stories on VA disability payments paint a misleading picture. The paper stands by its reporting. Here's what I found:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Revealed: Pentagon orders states’ national guards to form ‘quick reaction forces’ for ‘crowd control’ Pentagon memo details plan to train over 20,000 national guard members across the US to carry out Trump’s order on subduing civil unrest

Top story for the Guardian right now-- www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US court rejects Trump officials’ effort to delay rulings on veterans benefits Unanimous ruling calls administration’s push to halt reviews of veterans’ disability appeals an “extreme request”

The 9-0 ruling, handed down Wednesday by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, was led by chief judge Michael Allen, a Trump appointee. The action is the latest example of the growing number of federal judges pushing back against Trump.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Lawmakers slam Ice after US military veterans are arrested, injured The Guardian revealed how US veterans have been injured and arrested at protests against Ice deportations

Some of the most decorated military veterans in Congress say they're outraged after I revealed US military veterans have been arrested or injured amid protests over Trump’s deportation campaign and his push to deploy the national guard to US cities: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Trump’s DEI bans undermine anti-human trafficking law, lawsuit alleges Suit comes after Guardian investigation found administration rolled back efforts to combat human trafficking while Trump officials deny retreat

More on the Trump administration's retreat from the fight against human trafficking -- with contributions from Bernice Yeung and Noy Thrupkaew

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Growing number of US veterans face arrest over Ice raid protests Veterans are facing federal charges after protesting Ice sweeps and Trump’s national guard deployments. The justice department claims the veterans were violent

The Guardian has identified eight instances where military veterans have been prosecuted or sought damages after being detained by federal agents. My latest published today: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Please join me virtually at the Investigative Reporters and Editors's Access Fest tomorrow in a panel on covering the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sponsored by Military Veterans in Journalism

www.ire.org/training/con...

Trump administration will ‘enable human trafficking’ by freezing funds for survivors, groups warn Plea to Congress from 74 legal, religious and advocacy groups comes in wake of Guardian reporting on cuts to federal efforts to combat human trafficking

More fallout from our human trafficking investigation: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Please join me and Parul Somani Friday Oct 10 for a special workshop on resilience as part of the s Mental Health Journalism Summit (Oct 8-10). It's not too late to register for this important, virtual conference: theselfinvestigation.com/summit/

Delayed US report on global human trafficking is released Release comes after a Guardian investigation revealed US pullback on anti-trafficking efforts, which Trump officials denied

The Trump administration has released a legally-required report on global human trafficking after Bernice Yeung Noy Thrupkaew and I revealed its publication had been spiked.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"A five alarm fire," @blumenthal.senate.gov, ranking Dem on VA Comm on the letter sent yesterday by nearly 70 active VA doctors on deteriorating conditions inside the nation's largest integrated healthcare system

www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/pre...

My story on the doctors' letter below

VA doctors warn cuts, privatization threaten veterans’ healthcare Roughy 170 physicians and other medical workers claim Trump administration has weakened veterans’ health system. Trump officials deny their policies are hurting veterans

If the trend continues, current and former staffers say VA “facilities may be forced to close, and veterans may be forced into costlier, often overburdened community health systems ill-equipped to meet their specialized needs”.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

House panel pushes Trump administration on combating human trafficking Committee’s action comes after Guardian investigation revealed rollbacks of anti-trafficking efforts; Trump administration says it is committed to fighting trafficking

Journalism is an optimistic endeavor. By surfacing truths the powerful prefer to keep hidden, we provoke discussion and unlock change.

This happened hours after we published an investigation exposing the Trump admin's sweeping retreat on human trafficking www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Revealed: Trump administration retreats on combating human trafficking and child exploitation Experts say decades of progress are under threat; Trump officials say administration remains committed to fighting trafficking and sex abuse

Top story @theguardian.com right now

A sweeping retreat by the Trump admin that legal experts, former officials and anti-trafficking advocates say threatens to undo decades of progress on human trafficking and sexual exploitation. w/Bernice Yeung & Noy Thrupkaew www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ veterans’ ‘shame’ over D.C. presence Internal documents reviewed by The Post reveal, with rare candor, how domestic missions rooted in politics risk damaging Americans’ trust in the military.

President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to LA and DC is prompting “shame and alarm” among active duty troops and veterans and driving a “wedge between citizens and the military," according to an internal assessment obtained by the Washington Post

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

US veterans decry arrest of ex-army sergeant after Ice protest Bajun Mavalwalla, an advocate for Afghans who supported US military in Afghanistan, faces up to six years in prison

Follow-up story:

Veterans who helped America's Afghan allies find refuge in the United States say they are outraged that a fellow veteran and advocate now faces federal conspiracy charges for his role in a protest against ICE

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Alarm after FBI arrests US army veteran for ‘conspiracy’ over protest against Ice Legal experts say the charges against Afghanistan war veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on first amendment rights

A war veteran attended a protest in June. He was arrested in July and now faces a federal charge for conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 6 years and a $250,000 fine.

Reporting here by @aglantz.bsky.social:

Alarm after FBI arrests US army veteran for ‘conspiracy’ over protest against Ice Legal experts say the charges against Afghanistan war veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on first amendment rights

An Army veteran, known in his community for the work he did trying to get people to safety after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, was arrested for his protests against ICE. The charge is alarming. Latest by @aglantz.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New from me:

A month after he participated in a protest against ICE, the FBI came to the door of Afghanistan War veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II and arrested him for "conspiracy."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New Trump rule to ban VA abortions for veterans even in cases of rape and incest Trump administration to end nearly all abortions even though third of female veterans are sexual assault survivors

Latest by @aglantz.bsky.social. Sexual assault is a huge problem for women in the military. Under new rules proposed by the administration, veterans won't be able to get abortions at the VA www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New Trump rule to ban VA abortions for veterans even in cases of rape and incest Trump administration to end nearly all abortions even though third of female veterans are sexual assault survivors

My latest is the top story @theguardian.com right now

Sexual assault remains endemic in the military. About 1 in 3 women respond “yes” when asked by their VA provider if they had been forced to endure sexual activity against their will while in uniform.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This weekend I ran the Santa Rosa Marathon. My 8th. ... Completing a marathon has become an annual ritual for me -- a reminder that one does not needed to be the fastest runner. Put one foot in front of the other and, eventually: mission accomplished

Filed three FOIA requests with the Department of Veterans Affairs this week seeking vital information on veterans' healthcare and benefits. Let's see how long they take! (Your best guesses in the comments, please!)

Female vets in Congress slam Hegseth’s repost of Christian Nationalist Pastors in the video said they want the U.S. to be a Christian republic, adding calls for criminalizing homosexuality and for women to submit to husbands.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Army helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs during combat in Iraq, told Military Times, “these views are antiquated, flat out wrong and — more dangerously — designed to justify discrimination and mistreatment of women.”

www.defensenews.com/news/pentago...

Here's what the VA's own inspector general found: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A day after we published this story the VA's Inspector General reported a 50 increase in "severe occupational staffing shortages" in FY 2025 www.vaoig.gov/reports/nati...

US veterans agency lost thousands of ‘core’ medical staff under Trump, records show Departures are exacerbating existing shortages and creating ‘very unsafe’ conditions for patients, veterans and health workers say

NEW: The Department of Veterans Affairs has lost thousands of healthcare professionals deemed “core” to the system’s ability to function and “without which mission-critical work cannot be completed”, agency records show.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...