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mahatmakanejeeves

(64,421 posts)
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 07:24 PM Wednesday

I was working from home at around 11:30 when I got a notice that my VPN had gone down

I could post a dozen skeets a day like this one.

Robert Maguire
‪@robertmaguire.bsky.social‬

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It's a high bar, but this from @radleybalko.bsky.social might be one of the most fucked up things I've read in the new Trump era. For context, this TX lawyer had just had an informal conversation with a family caught up in ICE raids.

Seriously. Read this. https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-courage-to-be-decent
“A couple days later, on March 6, I was working from home at around 11:30 when I got a notice that my VPN had gone down,” he says. “I didn’t think much about it. It can cut out from time to time. About 10 minutes later, I got a knock at the door.”

Two men were outside Jackson’s door, dressed in slacks and polos. They were not wearing badges.

“I first thought they were going to try to sell me something. But as soon as I opened the door they said, ‘Are you Clayton Jackson?’ I think I shook my head or said ‘yeah,’ and then I heard, ‘We have information that you are obstructing an ongoing immigration investigation.’”

Jackson says alarms went off in his head. “My first instinct was to want to know what this was about. That it must be a misunderstanding. So I started to tell them about how I’ve been involved in some pro bono work. Then this voice in my head kicked in and just said, you need to shut the fuck up — don’t say anything.”

The officers never identified themselves. They did ask if they could come inside.

“I said absolutely not,” Jackson says. “I asked for their names and badge numbers. They said they didn’t have to provide that information at this time. So I told them I’d be calling my lawyer and I shut the door behind me.”

Jackson says his mind started racing. “I needed to know who they were, what agency they were with. Then I remembered that I have the Ring camera. Maybe I could watch the video of the incident and figure out who they were from that.”

There was no video. “That’s when I learned why my VPN had gone down. It wasn’t the VPN. Someone had shut off my Wifi.”

About 15 minutes after the interaction at his front door, Jackson’s Wifi was up and running again.
ALT
April 23, 2025 at 9:20 AM

https://bsky.app/profile/robertmaguire.bsky.social/post/3lnibwcgwyk2k
12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
I was working from home at around 11:30 when I got a notice that my VPN had gone down (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Wednesday OP
That is really fucked up. Those men had no authority to do what they did. This is illegal in the extreme. CaliforniaPeggy Wednesday #1
Thanks. cachukis Wednesday #2
Literal Nazis. yardwork Wednesday #3
Holy shit. TommyT139 Wednesday #4
Or just bring your cell phone to the door with you,,nt Trueblue Texan Wednesday #6
People have gotten shot holding their phones TommyT139 Wednesday #8
Interfering with communications and lawful video on premises has got to be illegal. There is a serious preventive though Bernardo de La Paz Wednesday #5
"Keep the Ring camera as a decoy." TommyT139 Wednesday #7
I'm sorry you had this experience. LemonDog 19 hrs ago #9
Welcome to DU LetMyPeopleVote 16 hrs ago #11
More about this story: mahatmakanejeeves 16 hrs ago #10
Good long read. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz 15 hrs ago #12

CaliforniaPeggy

(153,581 posts)
1. That is really fucked up. Those men had no authority to do what they did. This is illegal in the extreme.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 07:29 PM
Wednesday

TommyT139

(1,279 posts)
4. Holy shit.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 08:23 PM
Wednesday

Clearly we now need to use old fashioned door cams, with localized hard drives and I guess batteries.

Then only a targeted magnetic field would take it out, correct? (If anyone knows.)

By the way, ring cameras are a huge obeying-in-advance --- authorities in most places have an arrangement to get video from the company without needing to notify the owner.

Update: I am so what relieved to learn that the company has stopped this practice. However, I personally wouldn't trust that the police depts who use tech like Stingrays to not have a way to tap ring cams.
https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226942087/ring-will-no-longer-allow-police-to-request-users-doorbell-camera-footage

TommyT139

(1,279 posts)
8. People have gotten shot holding their phones
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 10:32 PM
Wednesday

...with cops claiming that they thought it was a gun.

Mostly I think not opening the door is the thing to do ...but since I've never had to plan this out before, I guess it's time to brush up.

Bernardo de La Paz

(54,850 posts)
5. Interfering with communications and lawful video on premises has got to be illegal. There is a serious preventive though
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 10:03 PM
Wednesday

Use wired video cameras, cabled by Ethernet into a cheap brick computer connected directly to optical fibre broadband. Keep the Ring camera as a decoy. Set up the wired cameras to activate and stream to the cloud (not to Ring) as soon as wifi goes down. Have it powered by UIPS (uninterrupted power supply. Can buy supplies with battery protection for some number of minutes.) The optical fibre should be armored until it goes into the ground or out to the power pole.

Burglars use the same technique. They have a handheld device that jams the wifi and G4/G5 phone frequencies with noise.

For extra video protection, add a system as above, but doesn't wifi or ethernet. Records internally for later retrieval. That way its power can't be cut and there's no cable to cut.

I'm no security expert but sometimes I indulge in mental exercises like the above.

LemonDog

(1 post)
9. I'm sorry you had this experience.
Fri Apr 25, 2025, 11:37 AM
19 hrs ago

I've been the target of plausibly deniable police harassment and I've noticed that my WiFi will go down briefly, similar to how you described, at times referencing various things like hate symbols and the police nicknames.

If someone feels the need to shut off someone's WiFi, they are more than likely up to no good.

Be safe out there.

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