Unfired shell casing with “ANTI-ICE” written on it found by authorities at the scene of a shooting against an immigration enforcement office in Dallas. Photo: FBI, Illustration: The Intercept

Alain Stephens is an investigative reporter covering gun violence, arms trafficking, and federal law enforcement.

American shootings have put a weird spin on the old tradition of writing on messages on munitions: Recent suspects have begun scrawling memes, slogans, or in-group codewords on shell casings.

On Wednesday, after a sniper opened fire on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Dallas, investigators found an unfired shell casing with “ANTI-ICE” written on it. Before too long, the FBI chief Kash Patel posted a photo of the bullets to social media.

Just two weeks earli

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