The Standing Record

This is the Standing Record for July 14, 2026. We recorded 4 events from July 13, 2026 that erode our democratic ideals and added 23 more from earlier dates — 301 so far this month, bringing the total archive to 851. If you saw something happen — yesterday, or any other day — that belongs here, send it to our tip line.

Trump reinstated the Strait of Hormuz blockade with a 20% cargo toll and resumed Iran strikes, again defying the war-powers resolution

Event: July 13, 2026 Location: Washington, D.C. Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Bypassing Congress, Ignoring statutory requirements

On July 13, 2026, President Trump announced he was reinstating a U.S. naval blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, proposed a 20 percent toll on cargo transiting the strait, and directed U.S. forces to launch a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, declaring that fighting with Iran had resumed. He also pressed Gulf states to help fund the strait's "protection." The action continued a pattern begun in June 2026 in which the administration has repeatedly ordered strikes and blockade-enforcement measures against Iran despite a bicameral War Powers Resolution directing an end to hostilities absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization.

People & Organizations: - Donald J. Trump (President and Commander-in-Chief) - U.S. Department of Defense / U.S. Central Command

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/07/13/federal-bypassing-congress-c2cb8a64/ Primary source: US, Iran exchange attacks around Strait of Hormuz

Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a joint Defense-Justice Department task force to investigate and prosecute leaks to news media

Event: July 13, 2026 Location: Washington, D.C. Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Press retaliation, Prosecution of journalists

On July 13, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a joint Department of Defense and Department of Justice task force to identify and prosecute unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information to news media. Hegseth delegated authority to the Defense Department's Office of General Counsel to request and receive all departmental records concerning media-leak investigations, and warned that those who leak would be met with "the full force of the law." Press-freedom advocates, including a New York Times attorney, condemned the effort as a threat to constitutionally protected newsgathering.

People & Organizations: - Pete Hegseth (Secretary of Defense) - U.S. Department of Defense - U.S. Department of Justice

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/07/13/federal-press-retaliation-25f40df3/ Primary source: US creates task force to prosecute leaks to news media, Hegseth says

FBI fired two analysts who objected to DOJ's 2020 Fulton County election probe as thin on evidence

Event: July 13, 2026 Location: Washington, D.C. Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Retaliation against whistleblowers, Politicized investigations, Weaponizing the Justice Department

The FBI fired two intelligence analysts after they raised concerns that the Justice Department's investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, was thin on evidence and politically motivated, and refused to join the probe, according to sources cited by CBS News on July 13, 2026. The analysts were among roughly 260 ordered to review seized ballots, voting-machine records, and voter rolls in the inquiry directed by FBI Director Kash Patel. The FBI said its employees are expected to uphold the bureau's mission and standards.

People & Organizations: - Federal Bureau of Investigation (Kash Patel, Director) - U.S. Department of Justice

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/07/13/federal-retaliation-against-whistleblowers-6c712885/ Primary source: FBI fires 2 analysts who raised concerns about Fulton County 2020 election probe, sources say

ICE agent fatally shot Colombian man during Biddeford, Maine enforcement operation; man was not warrant's target

Event: July 13, 2026 Location: Biddeford, Maine Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Violence in immigration enforcement, Excessive force by law enforcement

An ICE agent fatally shot a 26-year-old Colombian man during an immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13, 2026. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the man weaponized his vehicle before the agent fired, but Sen. Angus King said the man was not the target of the agents' warrant and that the agents were not wearing body cameras. The Maine Attorney General's Office opened a state investigation and the agent was placed on administrative leave.

People & Organizations: - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/07/13/federal-violence-in-immigration-enforcement-b3438f29/ Primary source: Maine AG announces state investigation into fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford

Filling out the archive

We're steadily backfilling the archive — working backward through the record so the timeline is complete, not just current. These are older events we archived yesterday. If you know of something from months or years back that belongs here, send it to our tip line.

• March 18, 2025 — Mississippi Gov. Reeves signed HB 188 mandating correctional-facility housing and restroom segregation by sex assigned at birth
• March 27, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB300 barring transgender athletes from women's and girls' school sports
• March 27, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB121, restricting bathrooms and changing rooms to sex assigned at birth
• April 23, 2025 — North Dakota Gov. Armstrong signed HB1181 defining gender in state law as biological sex
• May 1, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB471, requiring parental opt-in before LGBTQ-related school instruction
• May 1, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB400 'Free to Speak Act' shielding refusal to use transgender students' pronouns from discipline
• May 1, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB655, letting foster and adoption agencies opt out of LGBTQ+-inclusive training on religious grounds
• May 1, 2025 — North Dakota Gov. Armstrong signed HB1144 restricting transgender students' bathroom access and requiring schools to out them to parents
• May 13, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB819, banning Pride flags from schools and government buildings
• May 13, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB682 imposing liability on gender-affirming care providers and framing the care as fraudulent
• May 13, 2025 — Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB690 excluding non-affirmation of a child's gender identity from child abuse and neglect definitions
• May 26, 2025 — Milwaukee police officer misused Flock license-plate database to track ex-partner and new partner about 179 times
• June 4, 2025 — Nebraska Gov. Pillen signed LB89, barring transgender athletes from K-12 and college women's sports
• June 30, 2025 — Missouri Gov. Kehoe signed HB3 budget rider conditioning college funding on eliminating DEI programs
• July 3, 2025 — North Carolina Gov. Stein signed SB 442, shielding foster/adoptive parents who refuse to affirm a transgender child's gender identity
• July 29, 2025 — North Carolina General Assembly overrode veto to enact law restricting transgender medical care and birth certificates
• August 1, 2025 — New Hampshire Gov. Ayotte signed HB377 banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors
• August 1, 2025 — New Hampshire Gov. Ayotte signed HB712 banning gender-affirming surgeries for transgender minors
• February 10, 2026 — University of North Texas administrators removed artist's ICE-critical exhibit to avoid Texas legislature backlash
• March 15, 2026 — Interim U.S. Attorney Darin Smith committed grand-jury misconduct in Wyoming case, calling defendants 'murderers'
• July 9, 2026 — Justice Department sued Maryland to strike down the Community Trust Act limiting state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
• July 9, 2026 — Milwaukee detective assigned to investigate Flock camera misuse misused the same system to track two people, prosecutors alleged
• July 12, 2026 — Trump ordered fifth round of Iran strikes near Strait of Hormuz, again defying war-powers resolution

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