This is the 18th anniversary of the FBI’s final assault at Waco. Here are a few pieces I wrote for the Wall Street Journal about Waco in 1995 during a brief window when Republicans claimed to be intent on discovering what actually happened at that debacle. Janet Reno’s comparison of a 54-ton tank to a […]
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Waco, R.I.P.
Today is the 14th anniversary of the FBI’s finale at Waco. This was the day that 80 civilians died as a result of a tank-and-toxic gas assault. I thought Waco might be the most important public education lesson of the 1990s, but it seems to have had scant impact. Most Americans forgot or never undertstood Waco, paving […]

Sacrificing Truth on Leviathan’s Altar
Sacrificing Truth on Leviathan’s Altar by James Bovard, February 19, 2025 Last Sunday, 60 Minutes featured tyrannical German prosecutors boasting about persecuting private citizens who made comments that officialdom disapproved. Three prosecutors explained how the government was entitled to launch pre-dawn raids and lock up individuals who criticized politicians, complained about immigrant crime waves, or […]

What Will Trump Mean for American Freedom? Rowdy Time on the Ernest Hancock Podcast
My old friend Ernest Hancock, Arizona’s legendary libertarian hell-raiser, and I had fun smacking around the latest Washington scandals and speculating on what the Trump administration will do. I started out by admitting that I felt guilty for the fact that Ernie did not personally receive a January 6 pardon from Donald Trump. Ernie is […]
Can Patel Leash the FBI?
Can Patel Leash the FBI? by James Bovard, American Institute for Economic Research, January 31, 2025 The FBI has long been considered the most powerful and the most incorrigible federal domestic agency. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing for Kash Patel, President Trump’s nominee to head the Bureau. Can Patel, the author […]

Facebook Censors Gone Wild
Facebook Censors Gone Wild By James Bovard November 6, 2024 Censorship, Government, Technology 6 minute read Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg recently lamented how his company groveled to federal demands to censor any criticism of the Biden administration’s Covid policy. But is Facebook really launching a “Brave New World” era of free speech? […]

To Save Democracy, Facebook Bans “Dictator”
To “Save Democracy,” Facebook Bans “Dictator” by James Bovard Facebook notified me on Sunday morning that eight years ago, I posted a link to my Washington Times article warning of Dictatorial Democracy regardless of whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump won the 2016 election. The opening sentence set the tone: “The 2016 election campaign is […]