Welcome to the Pressure Cooker
“What happened was this: At about 9:00 am, my husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside. He looked out the window and saw three black SUVs in front of our house; two at the curb in front and one pulled up behind my husband’s Jeep in the driveway, as if to block him from leaving. Six gentleman in casual clothes emerged from the vehicles and spread out as they walked toward the house.” This was one of about a hundred times a week these same armed men in SUVs arrive at someone’s front door. What exactly led them to Michele Catalano’s house? She had been researching pressure cookers online. Her husband had been looking for a backpack. That combined with their son’s news reading habits led to the visit. Welcome to life in the the digital pressure cooker.
+ Here’s some follow-up on the story from The Atlantic’s Philip Bump: Google pressure cookers and backpacks, get a visit from the cops.