BOTH ORIN KERR AND I HAD QUESTIONS about an AlterNet story involving a “Patriot Act Raid.” Chris Kelly has looked into things a bit and is inclined to find the story credible.

I should note, too, that several readers with law enforcement experience wrote to say that the raid didn’t sound obviously fishy. Here’s the key passage of Kelly’s post:

The ACLU is mainly working with the press to get the story out, and they feel that [aside] from relatively minor disciplinary actions related to taunting by the police, there was nothing about the raid that was illegal.

That doesn’t surprise me, though many readers might be surprised to learn just how much police conduct is legal — and, sadly, was so long before the Patriot Act was passed.

UPDATE: Richard Aubrey emails:

It appears, even though the story of the raid might be otherwise credible, that the actual reason for running it, posting it, dissecting it, and lamenting it, disappeared.

The original point was how awful the Patriot Act is. Since we now know the Patriot Act had nothing to do with it, the story is useless for its intended purpose.

Whether the raid was good or bad, overdone or appropriately done, is a separate set of questions, none of which would be hitting the blogosphere if the Patriot Act piece hadn’t been inserted. There are lots of raids. Why be concerned about this one?

Well, yes, the Patriot Act angle does seem to have died. I, of course, was concerned with this stuff before the Patriot Act existed. But the point is taken.

UPDATE: Orin Kerr has more thoughts along these lines.