Category: Investigative

Harris County Jail Crisis in Houston, Texas Kills Dozens

The Harris County Jail is the third-largest jail in the U.S. and the largest jail in Texas. Located in Houston, it also confines the most people with mental illness in the state. Despite its complicated history, the public is largely unaware of the myriad issues at the jail. This report covers how the massive backlog of felony cases and pretrial detention contribute to the deaths of dozens of detainees amid overcrowding, medical crises, and a lack of mental health services.

‘Task Force Butler’ Veterans Share Skills to Track Far-Right Groups

Unicorn Riot chatted with Kristofer Goldsmith, the founder of a nonprofit called the “Task Force Butler Institute” which is recruiting U.S. military veterans to monitor fascists and far-right hardliner movements around the country. Last year he and the group worked on tracking Patriot Front neo-nazis…

Criminal Intel Files Show Facial Recognition, Warrantless Surveillance in Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN – Documents obtained via a series of public records requests from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) provide rare insight into police intelligence gathering. The documents include case numbers in which facial recognition was used, details about systems that gain access to vehicle…

Police use Private Database to ID & Racially Profile Roma in US

A Unicorn Riot investigation has uncovered dossier records from a privately curated database of Romani people in the United States, and a web of training programs; many of these have been canceled due to pressure from activists and concerned citizens.

Unicorn Riot found a pattern…