Targeted after Kirk’s killing | Morning Newsletter
And inside Pa.’s largest immigrant detention center.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly.
Local social media users have received threats after posting about Charlie Kirk’s death. It’s led to resignations and fear for physical safety.
And in Pennsylvania’s largest immigrant detention center, detainees report violence, desperation, and little oversight. Below, we take you inside the increasingly crowded Moshannon Valley Processing Center.
Plus, place names in the Philly region can be confusing. Take our quiz to see if you can match these local areas with the towns that govern them.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, public officials, professionals, and teachers have been subject to doxing after their posts about Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated in Utah last week. That’s included calls for employers to fire them, as well as death threats.
The attacks come amid a nationwide push by supporters of Kirk to punish those perceived to have spoken ill of him.
A website called “Charlie’s Murderers,” for instance, launched to name the social media users and their workplaces. In some cases, people were incorrectly identified, and businesses — including a West Philly pet-sitting company with a somewhat common name — were mistakenly targeted with bad reviews.
What people said to spark this fury has varied widely: Many disavowed violence, while also pointing to divisive comments Kirk had made. Others cheered his death.
Reporters Ximena Conde and Brett Sholtis have the story.
Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central Pennsylvania is the largest immigrant detention center in the Northeast. Its population keeps growing under President Donald Trump’s administration.
People detained in the 20-year-old facility told The Inquirer they contend with crowded conditions, violence, and guards’ use of retaliatory solitary confinement. Yet as more people than ever are held in the facility, the Department of Homeland Security has effectively eliminated its internal watchdog, which had been investigating conditions at Moshannon.
Last month, a Chinese national died by suicide soon after being taken into custody, prompting protests from immigrant rights groups.
In other immigration news: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested seven people in a raid on South Philly’s Mifflin Square Park on Monday, Latino advocacy organization Juntos said. In Bucks County, Sheriff Fred Harran said Tuesday that he will not allow his deputies to ask law-abiding residents about their immigration status, despite a controversial agreement he signed with ICE that would allow it.
What you should know today
The Trump administration plans to “substantially alter” an Independence Park exhibit that describes slavery under George Washington, The New York Times reports.
A Philly man was released from prison after the District Attorney’s Office agreed he likely was innocent in a 2008 murder case. He was serving a life sentence.
A federal lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who died in the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center says she died of an overdose after taking fentanyl she obtained while in jail.
Canadians are staying away from Philly amid Trump’s trade war, with visits down nearly 18%.
A public media organization in State College is set to be the first in the country to go dark after the Trump administration stripped away federal funding for NPR and PBS.
Food truck owners who testified in City Council last week against a new business curfew said the city retaliated after they spoke out.
Philadelphia has seen significant job growth in recent years, outperforming other major cities — but it’s not helping fill empty offices in the area, a Center City District report found.
Eataly, the Italian marketplace concept that combines dining, shopping, and education, has set the opening date for its location at King of Prussia Mall.
The Main Line, King of Prussia, Flourtown, Sicklerville, Wallingford — all real, known places, as far as Philly-area residents are concerned.
But they’re not technically municipalities — they don’t collect taxes or have any governing bodies of their own. So, what ... are they, exactly? How did such places get their colorful names? And why is Gloucester Township not in Gloucester County, but Camden County?
Plus: Can you match Philly-area places with the towns that govern them? Take our quiz to test your name know-how.
🧠 Trivia time
The Mütter Museum is bringing back its Halloween costume party. The theme, Choreomania, is based on a historical case of what kind of plague that struck the French city of Strasbourg in 1518?
A) Bubonic
B) Pneumonic
C) Dancing
D) Septicemic
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
📱 Not falling for: The scam text posing as the Department of Revenue.
🥄 Anticipating: The latest restaurant from Philly’s hottest chef couple, coming to Fitler Square.
🌲 Learning: The story behind Cherry Hill’s Magic Forest.
🏌️ Peeking inside: The new celeb-backed sports complex and restaurant in Fishtown’s Battery, which just won a National Trust for Historic Preservation award.
📉 Considering: Why Black women face record job losses under Trump.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Former Pennsylvania attorney general’s new podcast
THOUGH RATHER HUNKIER
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Kevin Gillen, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Wharton School. University of Pennsylvania’s business school just received its biggest donation ever — $60 million from investor Bruce I. Jacobs.
Photo of the day
🚴 One last steep thing: The Philadelphia Cycling Classic will return next summer after a 10-year hiatus. Read about how the city’s storied bike race came back to life — then check out our visual history of the Classic, from the Art Museum to the Manayunk Wall.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you tomorrow.
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