Category: blaze media

An armed Florida homeowner fired shots in self-defense amid a burglary attempt Wednesday night, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded just before 8 p.m. Wednesday after a homeowner reported two suspects attempted to break into a house on Clearwater Road, officials said.

‘This is a serious crime with real consequences.’

The homeowner fired a gun and struck a juvenile male suspect, who was later transported to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition, officials said.

A second suspect — later identified as 18-year-old Anson Shawn Drew of Fernandina Beach — fled the scene but was located shortly after with assistance from NCSO’s Drone Unit and K-9 Unit and air support from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, officials said.

WJAX-TV reported that the juvenile suspect was shot in his lower back. The station, citing the sheriff’s office report, said Drew left one of his shoes behind when he ran off and was later arrested at his home.

Drew was charged with two counts of burglary, officials said.

According to victim statements, the homeowner heard voices and movement outside the residence and observed two individuals in the yard, officials said, adding that one suspect then forcibly opened the front door and shined a flashlight into the home.

The homeowner — in fear of bodily harm — fired two shots, officials said. Detectives determined that the homeowner’s actions were justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, the sheriff’s office said.

“Anyone who breaks into someone’s home should expect to get shot,” Sheriff Bill Leeper said. “This is a serious crime with real consequences.”

RELATED: ‘I have a gun; don’t move!’ Concealed carrier protecting his wife and kids confronts burglar — and shocked crook wises up

Image source: Nassau County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

Leeper added that the “individuals said they liked to break into vacant homes to smoke weed,” WJAX reported, adding that the sheriff’s office said the suspects didn’t have any marijuana on this occasion.

Drew was booked into the Nassau County Jail & Detention Center on a bond exceeding $10,000, officials said. Drew was not listed in the jail roster Friday morning.

The juvenile suspect will be charged pending a warrant for his arrest, officials said.

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​Crime thwarted, 2nd amend., Florida, Nassau county sheriff’s office, Guns, Gun rights, Self-defense, Fighting back, Arrest, Break-in, Shooting, Crime 

One of the biggest bombshell allegations from the Department of Justice’s recent Epstein document dump is where Jeffrey Epstein claims Bill Gates orchestrated a nefarious secret plot to hide his extramarital relations with “Russian girls.” According to unsent email drafts written by Epstein in 2013, Gates allegedly asked for his help obtaining antibiotics he planned to secretly slip to his then-wife Melinda to treat an STD he might have passed to her.

Gates’ response to these allegations, delivered through spokespeople and in direct interviews, consistently dismisses the claims as false, absurd, and motivated by Epstein’s grudge after their relationship soured.

Yet scrutiny persists — even from some mainstream sources.

During an interview with 9 News Australia, political editor Charles Croucher asked Gates some pointed questions. BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales invites body language expert and behavior analyst Scott Rouse to scrutinize Gates’ response.

“You’ve no doubt seen the allegations, including some of them from the last 24 to 48 hours. Are they true?” Croucher asked.

“No. Apparently Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is, you know, false, so I don’t know what his thinking was there,” Gates responded. “You know, was he trying to attack me in some way? But you know, it just reminds me, you know, every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I, you know, apologize that I did that.”

“The problem is some of the things that he has sent, some of the information about other people that has come up in those files has been true. Why would he do this and say this about you, do you think?” Croucher followed up.

“You know, it’s factually true that I was only at dinners. You know, I never went to the island; I never met any women, and so you know the more that comes out, the more clear it’ll be that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior,” said Gates.

Sara believes Gates is “squirming in his chair” as he answers Croucher’s blunt inquiries about his alleged salacious dealings, but she asks Rouse to analyze the clip and give his professional opinion.

“This is a prepared answer,” says Rouse, suggesting that Gates might have even set up the interview himself.

“I know that because the structure of his sentences is different than the sentences that are structured for just talking.”

If you put this viral clip into its full hour-long context, he says, you’ll notice that Gates’ “sentences are longer” and more “flowing” than they are when he’s just talking casually.

When Croucher hits him with a direct question, Gates “doesn’t seem shocked” but actually “prepared,” he tells Sara. Instead of wandering around the room, his eyes focus on Croucher, his head and shoulders “[shake] really quickly,” and he adjusts his glasses — a stress coping mechanism Rouse calls an “adaptor.”

“So that lets us know that he’s really focused on these [questions] because he knows it’s important,” he explains.

“I’m sure this is the only reason he’s done this interview because he knows those questions are going to come up. The interview with his ex-wife just came out, and there’s a lot of focus on that as well. So he’s prepared for this,” Rouse assures.

“There’s no way that somebody that’s been on the world stage like he has for so long and is so experienced with talking to the world that he wouldn’t prepare for this.”

To hear more of Rouse’s analysis, watch the video above.

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sara gonzales, Sara gonzales unfiltered, Blazetv, Blaze media, Epstein files, Bill gates, Gates epstein 

The FBI’s narrative about the autistic Virginia man being prosecuted in federal court for allegedly placing two pipe bombs on Capitol Hill keeps running into snags, including suspect Brian J. Cole Jr.’s apparent location during key segments of the pipe-bomb timeline.

After arresting Cole, 30, of Woodbridge, Va., on Dec. 4, the FBI said Cole waived his Miranda rights and made a “detailed confession” with no attorney present. Cole allegedly said he planted bombs at the Democratic National Committee building and the Capitol Hill Club adjacent to the Republican National Committee building on Jan. 5, 2021.

‘At least 10 different USSS agents and two K-9 units came within feet of the pipe bomb.’

Some of the details in Cole’s confession, which his attorneys now question, conflict with newly developed evidence from independent investigations.

Cole’s prosecution does not explain other case details, including years of the FBI altering video evidence, failure to preserve key case evidence, and the dozens of police officers and Secret Service agents who went near the bombs on Jan. 6 but did not act as if they were a threat to the public.

Blaze News examined the charges against Cole to see if his arrest fits with the case history and facts already in the public square. The list of conflicts, problems, and lingering questions is extensive. This is Part 2 of our series. Part 1 was published Jan. 16.

6 minutes of separation

In a court filing in the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal case against Cole, the FBI said Cole parked his blue 2017 Nissan Sentra SV on the south side of D Street SE sometime prior to 7:34 p.m. on Jan. 5. The FBI claims Cole then walked to the DNC building to place the first of the two pipe bombs he allegedly transported to Capitol Hill.

The section of D Street that runs between Folger Park and Providence Park is just beyond the coverage area of U.S. Capitol Police street cameras.

The pipe-bomber was able to avoid CCTV detection for eight minutes of the more than 50-minute bomb-drop period, possibly due to a familiarity with the location of USCP security cameras. That potential familiarity is evidenced by the suspect’s seeming sudden appearance at 7:35 p.m., disappearance from the bomb route at 8 p.m., and reappearance at 8:08 p.m.

The FBI has theorized that the suspect retreated into or near Folger Park — which is bounded by 2nd Street, D Street, 3rd Street, and E Street — likely to retrieve the second pipe bomb for placement behind the Capitol Hill Club.

In a October 2025 video update, the FBI stated the bomber only carried one device at a time in a backpack. Folger Park, where there are no USCP cameras, appears the likely place to which the suspect retreated during the “missing” eight minutes when the bomber didn’t appear on security cameras.

The hoodie-clad pipe-bomb suspect was first seen on security cameras (at right) at 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021. The same scene in daylight hours (left).U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The suspect first appeared on USCP Camera 5050 walking north across North Carolina Avenue SE at the intersection with 1st Street SE. It is not clear what route the bomber used to reach the intersection, as it is on the edge of Capitol Police CCTV coverage.

After placing the pipe bomb at the DNC building at 7:54 p.m., the FBI says the suspect was last seen at 8 p.m. walking east on E Street toward North Carolina Avenue. This route suggests the bomber walked back to somewhere in or near Folger Park to pick up the second pipe bomb. The suspect was missing from security video for eight minutes.

The walk from the last known location to Folger Park would take about two minutes. That would put the suspect in or around the park from 8:02 to 8:03 p.m.

At that exact time, a blue Nissan Sentra that is a visual match to Cole’s vehicle was seen more than one mile away driving north on 3rd Street SW, as documented by USCP Cameras 3823 and 3821, located on the Ford House Office Building.

The Nissan was discovered by an independent investigator who goes by the social media handle “Armitas” and has asked not to be otherwise named publicly for security reasons. Armitas scrubbed the feeds of dozens of Capitol Police CCTV security cameras and located three blue Nissan Sentras in the Capitol Hill area between roughly 7 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. on Jan. 5.

One of the Nissans was driven by a white individual, with a white passenger in the front seat, Armitas said. Cole is black. A second Nissan matched the exterior features and appearance of Cole’s vehicle, compared to photos of the vehicle on the street outside his home and in Prince William County Police bodycam footage from a 2024 traffic accident involving Cole. The third Nissan was seen near Folger Park after 7 p.m., but that vehicle had fog lamps, which Cole’s Nissan does not have.

Car a visual match

The Sentra driving on 3rd Street SW at 8:03 p.m. was a visual match for Cole’s 2017 Sentra, with identical 16-by-6.5-inch steel wheels with covers, rear opera window, right rear wrap-around tail light, right side door handles, identical gaps in the brake lights for the reverse light, and the right headlight for the turn signal (see graphic).

Brian J. Cole Jr.’s 2017 Nissan Sentra is a visual match to a Sentra captured on Capitol Police cameras during the time the pipe bomb suspect was planting the devices.Graphic by Armitas

The FBI claims Cole parked along D Street SE between Folger Park and Providence Park before walking to the DNC building to place the first pipe bomb. Because that section of D Street is restricted to one-way eastbound traffic, Cole would have had to enter it from the west. However, his Nissan does not appear on security video driving onto this section of road.

A similar-looking Nissan Sentra was in the Folger Park vicinity at 7:20 p.m., Capitol Police security video shows. That vehicle might have been mistaken for Cole’s Sentra. The vehicle had its fog lamps engaged when it drove past the CCTV cameras. Cole’s Nissan does not have fog lamps, according to Armitas and photographs of Cole’s vehicle reviewed by Blaze News.

According to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, Cole’s Sentra does not have the optional fog lights.

Brian Cole Jr. would have had to take a less direct route (in green) from South Capitol Drive to Folger Park. The more direct route (red) would send his vehicle past U.S. Capitol Police security cameras. His vehicle does not appear on any cameras along that route.Map by Armitas

Cole could not have been on 3rd Street SW in his vehicle and on foot near Folger Park at the same time on Jan. 5. The 3rd Street location is a six- to seven-minute drive from Folger Park.

The Nissan that is a visual match to Cole’s drove north on 3rd Street SW to C Street SW, turned west, and came to a stoplight at C Street and 2nd Street, in front of the O’Neill House Office Building, security camera footage showed. From there, the Nissan entered the on-ramp to Interstate 395, traveling south and west, away from Capitol Hill.

‘In some circumstances, absence of evidence actually is evidence of absence.’

The FBI said Cole’s vehicle was photographed by a license plate reader on the exit ramp from I-395 onto South Capitol Drive. That exit would have put Cole traveling south on South Capitol Drive, away from Capitol Hill, at 7:10 p.m.

To reach D Street SE from this location without being detected by Capitol Police video cameras would require detailed knowledge of camera placement and the border of USCP’s territory.

Since Cole’s vehicle does not appear on any public video driving from I-395 to Folger Park, that likely means he would have passed up the most direct route and taken a longer, more circuitous path. The less direct route (see map) avoided Capitol Police cameras, possibly suggesting Cole would have had knowledge of the camera locations.

“Not having Cole’s car on video in locations where Cole’s car should be present is strong evidence Cole was not there,” Armitas said. “In some circumstances, absence of evidence actually is evidence of absence.”

During his interrogation, Cole allegedly said he used Google Maps to find the DNC and RNC sites, indicating he was not familiar with the area. However, the hoodie-clad bomber exhibited behavior that strongly suggests knowledge of the geography and security of the bomb sites.

“He allegedly claimed that he had used Google Maps to look up these locations in advance, and yet the person we see on footage meanders their way to the DNC block,” Armitas said. “When they get to the DNC block, they take the longest way around, and then just before reaching the DNC, they U-turn back up South Capitol Street, turn around again toward the DNC, only to stop and sit there at the destination.”

‘I recognized the government tags immediately.’

After dropping the device along the rear wall of the Capitol Hill Club near the RNC building at about 8:16 p.m., the bomb suspect walked an escape route east on Rumsey Court toward 2nd Street SE, the FBI has said. The suspect would have come up to a solid plank fence at the end of Rumsey Court where it borders the garden of St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, a senior congressional source told Blaze News

That fence appeared to be a single contiguous piece with no visible entrance or way of egress, the source said. Armitas said a law enforcement source told him there was a hidden gate latch built into the fence. Only someone who was very familiar with the area — or who had done a test run of the bomb route — would have known there was a hidden gate leading into the church garden.

Although the fence has been replaced since Jan. 6, Blaze News confirmed that the new fence has the same hidden-gate feature.

Surveillance of Cole only began Nov. 13

An FBI whistleblower who lives in the same area of Woodbridge, Va., as Cole and his family, said the bureau only began FISUR — or physical surveillance — of Cole on or around Nov. 13, 2025. He said this indicated that the investigation of Cole was very new.

“I recognized the government tags immediately. I saw they were set up on it,” the whistleblower said. “I can tell you that they weren’t there before.”

The FBI told congressional leaders in December that the bureau empaneled a “red team” in October 2025 that included law enforcement sources from outside the FBI.

A briefing by the FBI was conducted via Zoom and in person for congressional leaders on Dec. 5. The meeting was led by Darren Cox, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Joshua Stone, special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division.

Officials from the FBI’s Evidence Response Team and the Special Operations Branch walk toward the home of Jan. 6 pipe-bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. in Woodbridge, Virginia, Dec. 4, 2025.Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images

That red team “analyzed the FBI’s evidence and identified Cole as the suspect within six weeks,” U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) wrote in a Jan. 22 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel. Loudermilk is the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Remaining Questions Surrounding Jan. 6.

Loudermilk asked the FBI if Cole’s phone number was among the 186 phones identified in February 2021 as being on Capitol Hill about the time the bombs were dropped on Jan. 5. The FBI previously said that Cole’s arrest was not based on any new investigative leads or information.

“As new data was produced to and evaluated by the [Christopher] Wray FBI, was Cole’s phone number ever among the ‘numbers of interest’?” Loudermilk asked. “If so, when was Cole’s cell phone number first recognized as of interest? What prompted the FBI to cease investigating that phone number? If not, how was his cell phone number overlooked?”

Loudermilk asked Patel to provide answers to those and other pipe-bomb questions by Feb. 5.

Loudermilk said former FBI Supervisory Special Agent John Nantz, a 20-year FBI veteran, testified at a Jan. 14 House hearing “that it was ‘likely’ the FBI knew Cole’s identity in February 2021.”

‘The defendant did not plant prop bombs filled with sand or sugar, or constructed with Legos.’

A January 2025 House report said the FBI identified 186 phone numbers of interest on Feb. 3, 2021, based on a geofence warrant and cell-tower dumps.

Thirty-six of those numbers were assigned to agents for interviews. Nearly 100 numbers “required additional investigative steps,” and 51 numbers “were identified as ‘not needing further action’ because the phones ‘belong[ed] to law enforcement officers or persons on the exclusion list,’” the report said.

The 186 cell numbers of interest have not been divulged publicly, nor have details on how the individuals behind each phone number were cleared. The names and numbers of the 51 individuals on the law enforcement list, whom the FBI did not investigate, have also remained hidden.

FBI didn’t evacuate Cole’s neighbors

A neighbor told the BBC that when the FBI went to arrest Cole on Dec. 4, it did not evacuate the nearby homes on the cul de sac in Woodbridge, Va. A whistleblower told Blaze News that given that the original FBI affidavit accused Cole of manufacturing powerful “viable” explosives at his home, a bomb squad should have evacuated the neighborhood while it searched the Cole home.

FBI agents and technicians search the 2017 Nissan Sentra belonging to Jan. 6 pipe-bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr. outside his Woodbridge, Virginia, home on Dec. 4, 2025.Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images

An elderly couple who live next door to the Cole residence were not allowed to leave their home during the FBI operation. This caused the husband to miss a doctor’s appointment, the source said.

According to the FBI’s Counter IED Unit and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a pipe bomb requires a mandatory evacuation distance of 70 feet and a preferred evacuation distance of at least 1,200 feet. Discovery of a pipe bomb or similar improvised explosive device requires people in buildings or outside to proceed to the preferred evacuation distance.

Expert: Devices weren’t bombs

Cole’s defense team contends that what the FBI has for five years called “viable” pipe bombs were not bombs at all. The devices lacked the needed chemicals and proper fusing system that would have made them explosives, according to Brennan Phillips, a 20-year veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“Based on my review of the materials provided, the two suspected pipe bombs in question do not contain an explosive filler capable of causing an explosion,” Phillips wrote in a report filed by the defense.

“Beyond the lack of a viable explosive filler for the two pipes, neither device has a functional fuzing and firing system capable of igniting a flame-sensitive explosive filler,” he wrote. “Based on my experience and testing, a single 9-volt battery attached to a 1.5-inch square of steel wool will not generate enough heat to ignite Black Powder.”

Above: the Capitol Hill pipe bombs before they were rendered safe by a bomb robot. Below: One of the devices reconstructed by the FBI. FBI images

Prosecutors fired back on Phillips’ report, noting that black powder retrieved from the bomb scenes produced a flame in one of the samples tested.

“The FBI explosives chemistry examiner who conducted the flame test detailed in his case file that this powder sample, when heated, ‘sizzled, produced flying burning embers, and sustained a flame,’” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones wrote in a reply memo.

“The defendant did not plant prop bombs filled with sand or sugar, or constructed with Legos,” Jones wrote. “The defendant assembled two improvised explosive devices, he planted them, and he set each to explode.”

“Each device,” Jones noted, “contained all the components necessary to explode and was viable.”

One former FBI special agent and a current supervisory special agent who worked on the pipe-bombs investigation in 2021 said they received a briefing on the devices in January 2021. An official from the federal Joint Program Office for Countering Improvised Explosive Devices told the agents that the bombs were “inert devices.” The former agent said the devices “just looked good.”

Two bombs and the Keystone Kops

Perhaps the thing that drew the most suspicion in the five-year pipe-bombs case was the shocking, cavalier attitude of U.S. Secret Service agents who were outside the DNC building during a visit of then-Sen. Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect.

The Secret Service did not find the bomb that the FBI insists was sitting in public view at the DNC building from 7:54 p.m. the night before. It was one of numerous egregious failures identified in a report by the Homeland Security Inspector General.

“Prior to Vice President-elect Harris’ 11:25 a.m. arrival, at least 10 different USSS agents and two canine units came within feet of the pipe bomb yet never discovered the device,” the 2025 Subcommittee on Oversight report said. “In fact, at least one USSS agent spent five hours posted near the garage entrance throughout the morning and early afternoon before the pipe bomb’s discovery.”

Security video shows 10 Secret Service agents walking onto the DNC driveway after walking past the bomb just before 8:22 a.m. After about two minutes, most of the agents walked back toward the bomb in the direction of a building entrance.

A group of 10 Secret Service officials gathers outside the Democratic National Committee building in Washington D.C. just before 8:30 a.m. Jan. 6, 2021. A bomb-sniffing dog (right) sweeps the area just before 9:30 a.m. before a visit by Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

Harris’ motorcade pulled into the DNC garage at 11:25 a.m., driving just feet away from the park bench and the pipe bomb. Harris had left the U.S. Capitol at 11:22 a.m. Federal prosecutors used her presence at the Capitol to seek harsher penalties for Jan. 6 criminal-case defendants. Some indictments and charging paperwork had to be reissued after it was discovered by Politico that Harris slipped away from the Capitol to the DNC.

‘Somebody’s not doing their job.’

If the Secret Service agents thought the bomb was real, they did not act like it. Agents and police stood calmly just feet from a bomb that could have potentially killed them all had it detonated. The response was so bad that a key lawmaker compared it to the bumbling Keystone Kops of silent-film-era fame.

Capitol Police security video showed that it took Secret Service agents nearly two and a half minutes to emerge from their vehicles to investigate after they were told about the bomb by a plainclothes Capitol Police counter-surveillance officer, who discovered it under a bush near a DNC park bench.

No one moved with urgency. A blast perimeter was not established. Pedestrians were allowed to stroll past the device. More than 40 vehicles were allowed to drive near the DNC building, and 10 civilians walked close to the bomb or otherwise breached the security perimeter, the January 2025 House report said.

Commuter trains rumbled by on a nearby trestle for 15 minutes after the bomb discovery. Even after multiple warnings on Capitol Police radio for officers to maintain a blast perimeter, pedestrians and vehicles were allowed near the DNC building, contaminating the crime scene, the Subcommittee on Oversight report said.

The Secret Service motorcade of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris drives past the Democratic National Committee pipe bomb (left). Agents rush Harris into a dark SUV (right) and the motorcade moves out at 1:16 p.m. — 11 minutes after discovery of the device.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

Harris was not evacuated from the DNC for 11 minutes after discovery of the bomb. If the FBI’s timeline is accurate, her security detail drove into the DNC garage at 11:25 a.m., mere feet from where the device sat. Harris never publicly mentioned what could easily have been viewed as an assassination attempt.

The motorcade of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was allowed to drive within feet of the pipe bomb as Pelosi was evacuated from the Capitol to Fort McNair. Just before 2:30 p.m., Pelosi’s motorcade was allowed inside the blast zone and drove right past the device, just as a Capitol Police bomb robot prepared to blast the device with a water cannon.

There were also security lapses outside the Capitol Hill Club, where a pipe bomb was found about 12:40 p.m. Jan. 6. More than 40 minutes after the bomb discovery and three minutes after Capitol Police dispatched a bomb robot to the scene, a couple crossed C Street and walked south on 1st Street toward the Capitol Hill Club entrance. A police officer shouted to them to reverse course and leave the area.

“Sir, I have people walking down First Street right in front of the Republican Club,” a USCP officer said over police radio. “Somebody’s not doing their job.”

Two civilians walk onto Capitol Hill Club property and toward the building entrance more than 40 minutes after a pipe bomb was discovered behind the club at 12:40 p.m. Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

A senior D.C. law enforcement official told the Epoch Times in February 2024 that the deadliness of pipe bombs should be known by anyone working in law enforcement, and milling about near a live bomb would be “stupidity.”

“If a pipe bomb goes off, shrapnel from that pipe bomb travels — it’s going to travel at about anywhere from 18,000 to 23,000 feet per second,” the official told The Epoch Times. “There’s nothing you can do. By the time you hear the boom, the shrapnel is going to be hitting you.

“That’s just stupidity. Unless, for some reason, they had no reason to be concerned.”

Cole ostensibly could not have known the planned timing and movements of Harris that were scheduled for Jan. 6.

Even taking Cole’s confession at face value that he intended the devices to detonate on Jan. 5 — and planting the devices had nothing to do with Jan. 6 — the result still put the lives of two top Democrat politicians in peril. Yet Harris and Pelosi have not publicly acknowledged that the DNC device could have maimed or killed them.

The Jan. 6 Select Committee appointed by Pelosi in 2022 barely mentioned the pipe bombs in its final report.

“Their 845-page final report only referenced ‘pipe bomb’ five times,” Loudermilk said in March 2024. “These references are situational, and as far as I can tell, no investigation was conducted.

“In contrast,” Loudermilk said, “‘President Trump’ is mentioned in the report one thousand, nine hundred and one times.”

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​January 6 

Sites like Kalshi and Polymarket let you put money on who will win the Super Bowl, but they also let you guess when Taylor Swift is getting married or when and if the United States will strike Iran.

Americans can also make these predictions in any state.

‘They can ban you if you make money. … That’s a scam.’

While it is true that many gambling websites offer bets for political outcomes and other non-sports wagers, what these prediction markets are doing is not technically gambling at all, and therefore fly right over any state gambling bans.

Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah are the 11 states that have restrictions/bans on sports betting, but prediction markets are not subject to these laws.

When users want to predict the price that a Pokémon card will go for at auction, under the law they are not placing a bet; they are entering into an “event contract.”

What is a prediction market?

According to Gambling Insider, prediction markets operate like financial exchanges, which means they are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Website Next.io notes that prediction markets do not need a sportsbook license, as there is no “house” setting the odds, and trading activity determines the prices for all event contracts. In sports betting, the house can set the odds to whatever it wants, but those odds are typically based on expertise in the sport or field.

RELATED: Polymarket bettors RAGE as the app says Maduro’s capture doesn’t count as an invasion

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Prediction markets have no odds, and there is no bet slip. Rather, the user is purchasing a share like a commodity, which trades between $0 and $1, and the payouts on each share is $1.

The closer a share is to $1, the more likely the market thinks the event is going to happen. For example, if the share is 99 cents, if that event happens, the payout at $1 will be minimal. If it was traditional betting, in that case the bet would be made at odds of about 100:1; betting $100 would win $1.

In prediction markets, users can sell at any time — which is not always available for traditional gambling — and garner profit that way. If a share or contract is purchased at 50 cents and the price (likelihood) rises to 70 cents, the user can duck out to gain the difference. This is akin to selling a stock that has risen in price before a big merger or significant market event.

RELATED: Jeffrey Epstein was BANNED from Xbox Live — for harassing other gamers

STRDEL/AFP via Getty Images

Major gambling networks like DraftKings and FanDuel have started to include predictions, which offer a much wider audience by expanding to a national market. DraftKings, for example, also allows for predictions on the stock market and cryptocurrency, which mirrors what most financial apps are becoming: banking and stock-trading hubs.

In November, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan called traditional sportsbooks “a ripoff,” criticizing the fact that one can only “trade against the house.”

“They can ban you if you make money, and they can profile you as a user and change the prices based on you. That’s a scam,” he said.

The practice does have its higher-profile critics. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) said in January that prediction markets “need to be stopped” and that they threaten “the integrity of the sport.”

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​Fearless, Gambling, Prediction markets, Betting, Trading, Stock trading, Sports betting, Super bowl, Nfl, Football, Nba, Sports, Tech 

A new bill before Congress claims it will curb lawsuit abuse. It won’t. In reality, it will limit ordinary Americans’ access to civil courts.

The Protect Third Party Litigation Funding from Abuse Act, sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), would force plaintiffs in “any civil action” to disclose “the identity of any person (other than counsel of record) that has a legal right to receive any payment or thing of value” from the case.

Third-party funding is not clogging courts. It expands access to justice.

Plaintiffs would need to provide that information to defendants and the court. Anyone with a functioning brain can see what will happen next: The names leak, activists and corporate PR shops pick targets, and the people financing the lawsuit get punished for it.

If that sounds like a blackmail scheme, it is. And it would be perfectly legal.

Third-party litigation funding works like this: An individual, company, or organization advances money to a plaintiff or law firm to cover the costs of a lawsuit. In exchange, the funder receives a share of any judgment or settlement. If the plaintiff loses, the funder gets nothing.

The arrangement exists for a reason. Lawsuits can be expensive. Complex cases require investigators, expert witnesses, depositions, document review, and months or years of legal work. Deep-pocketed defendants know they can bury a plaintiff under delays, discovery fights, and endless motions while the meter runs at hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars an hour.

Litigation funding helps level that field. It gives plaintiffs a fighting chance against defendants who can afford to grind them down.

Issa calls this “abuse” because hedge funds and speculators sometimes fund cases in hopes of a return. “We believe that if a third-party investor is financing a lawsuit in federal court, it should be disclosed rather than hidden from the world,” Issa said when he announced the bill.

That sounds reasonable only if you ignore what trials are for.

A civil trial asks three questions: Did the defendant do what the plaintiff alleges? Did the defendant’s actions cause harm? If so, what were the damages (if any)? The identity of a funder does not help a jury answer any of them. If anything, it distracts from the merits and invites a side show: the defendant arguing the plaintiff is a puppet and the case is illegitimate because someone with money helped pay the bills. That argument deserves no special protection.

What counts is what the defendant did or didn’t do and whether it hurt the plaintiff. Who finances the plaintiff’s lawyers doesn’t change the facts of the case.

RELATED: A one-way national divorce: Anarchy for them, coercion for us

Cemile Bingol via iStock/Getty Images

A successful plaintiff also has the right to spend an award as he or she chooses, including paying debts and obligations incurred to bring the case. Issa’s bill would chill that option by scaring off funders through forced disclosure. The bill doesn’t touch defendants, who can hire every white-shoe law firm on the planet. It targets the side that usually needs help.

Issa’s bill also pretends it’s solving a crisis that doesn’t exist. The number of lawsuits filed each year in the United States, at both state and federal levels, has fallen by roughly one-third since 2012, according to Consumer Shield. Meanwhile fewer than 1% of state civil cases go to trial, and fewer than 2% of federal civil cases do. Most settle or get dismissed. Third-party funding is not clogging courts. It expands access to justice.

The bill also reaches far beyond any plausible federal interest. Federal cases account for only about 1.4% of civil litigation nationwide. States already have authority to regulate litigation funding — and some have. As of July 2025, seven states — Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin — had regulations governing litigation funding, according to the Washington Legal Foundation. The fact that most states haven’t bothered tells you what lawmakers think: This isn’t a pressing problem.

The broader claim — that litigation funding drives frivolous suits — fails under scrutiny. A 2022 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found funders vet cases carefully and avoid interfering in litigation. They do that for a simple reason: They get paid only if the claim succeeds. The report put it plainly: “Funders select the most meritorious cases to fund because they only receive returns when claims are successful.”

Economic reality imposes its own discipline. Third-party funding does not “abuse” the system. It democratizes access to it.

Issa’s bill would do the opposite. By threatening people who finance lawsuits, it would tilt the playing field further toward big corporations and the ultra-wealthy — the parties most able to outspend and outlast everyone else.

Like it or not, civil suits help keep a free society free. They allow ordinary people to hold powerful actors accountable for harm. Restricting access to courts doesn’t stop abuse. It increases it — by giving the powerful more insulation from consequences. That’s the kind of “reform” Americans don’t need.

​Opinion & analysis, Lawsuits, Congress, Darrell issa, Third party, Litigation, Funding, Big business, Deep pockets, Plaintiffs, Investors, Civil court, Jury, Reform, Freedom, Free society 

Florida police said they worked quickly to identify a 19-year-old man who allegedly drove 1,500 miles to kidnap two sisters he met on Roblox and spoke with on Snapchat.

The sisters, 12 and 14 years old, were reported missing from their home in Indiantown on Saturday, which led to a multi-state search by local and federal law enforcement authorities.

‘There is no application online that is safe. If you can communicate with someone away from your house in the quiet of your own room, it can be a problem. So parents have to be vigilant.’

They were found by the Georgia Highway Patrol the next day when they pulled over a vehicle they believed the sisters were in.

Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the man was identified as Hser Mu Lah Say, who had driven 22 straight hours from Nebraska down to Florida on Friday.

“We’re dealing with a grown man that drove all the way from another state, an individual they had never met in person, picked them up, and we really don’t know what he was gonna do,” Budensiek said.

Surveillance video helped police identify the car Say was driving. They provided images of the man in what appeared to be a convenience store.

Say was charged with two counts of kidnapping and three counts of interference of child custody. Budensiek said the man may face additional charges.

The sheriff made it a point to say the girls were “rescued” from the “scenario that they had placed themselves in.”

The Roblox game is widely popular among children but has been criticized for not doing enough to keep predators away from underage users. The company released a statement about the latest incident.

“We are investigating this deeply troubling incident and will fully support law enforcement,” the company statement reads.

“Roblox has robust safety policies to protect users that go beyond many other platforms, and advanced safeguards that monitor for harmful content and communications,” it added. “We have filters designed to block the sharing of personal information, don’t allow user-to-user image or video sharing, and recently rolled out age checks globally to limit kids and teens to chatting with others their age by default. While no system is perfect, our commitment to safety never ends, and we continue to strengthen protections to keep users safe.”

RELATED: 14-year-old girls that went missing from sleepover were forced into prostitution by men they met online, police say

Budensiek warned parents to monitor their children’s use of online apps.

“There is no application online that’s safe. If you can communicate with someone away from your house in the quiet of your own room, it can be a problem. So parents have to be vigilant,” he said.

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After weeks of hysteria in Minneapolis, with politicians and paid agitators alike calling for resistance, we saw a church targeted by those opposed to ICE. We have gone off the deep end. I penned an op-ed calling for what I thought was common sense and titled it “Turn Down the Rhetoric.”

The Columbus Dispatch printed the column after the shooting of Alex Pretti, but changed the title to read, “Renee Good wasn’t an ‘innocent.’” That’s the opposite of calming down the rhetoric. It was purposely inflammatory. Any wonder why people don’t trust the legacy media any more?

Compare Minnesota’s unrest with states like Florida and Texas, which have had far greater ICE activity and deportations.

Good’s life ended in tragedy. So did Pretti’s. That’s true whether you support President Trump or oppose ICE. Each incident affects families and communities and undermines trust in the system. My point in the op-ed was that rhetoric motivates action. Speech is free, but actions have consequences and — as we have seen — those consequences can be horrific.

There can be no mistake: Infringe on others’ rights or obstruct law enforcement, and you’re breaking the law.

When public officials encourage such “resistance,” they are only making a bad situation worse. But some, like my Democrat opponent for attorney general, Elliot Forhan, are still using vile rhetoric. He recently posted a video explaining how he will “kill Donald Trump.” That is the type of comment we should all oppose.

We need to turn down the temperature.

We should defend anyone’s right to express his or her views peacefully. Are you for open borders? Against ICE? You get to say so. You can even buy signs and shout it from a megaphone in the town square in a peaceful assembly. But those with the opposite opinions get to exercise the same right.

Violence is unacceptable. Let me restate that, because these days it seems like people read that as “violence is unacceptable unless I think it’s justified.”

Any violence, under any circumstance, is unacceptable.

Obstructing law enforcement personnel when they’re doing their job isn’t “peacefully protesting” or exercising your right to free speech. It is not OK to justify your actions because you believe someone else is violating the law.

Public officials should not incite violence or lawlessness. That is one of the reasons Minnesota’s sanctuary policies are so dangerous. Many of the arrests of violent illegal aliens could be made in the safety of the local jail or with the help of local law enforcement without street-level activity.

Compare Minnesota’s unrest with states like Florida and Texas, which have had far greater ICE activity and more deportations. The biggest difference is that those states cooperate, don’t have officials inciting lawlessness, and don’t accept protests that descend into mayhem.

That brings me to a simple point I taught my children when they started to drive. When interacting with law enforcement, be polite and cooperate. Say “yes, sir,” “no, sir,” and follow instructions. If police make a mistake, we can sort it out later — as the law requires. But don’t try to block the road with your car, refuse their instructions, or physically impede their activities.

RELATED: The left is at war in Minnesota. America is watching football.

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Police can mess up. When they do, they should be held accountable in court, under the law, with a presumption of innocence, just like everyone else. Police misconduct should be investigated and addressed. Ohio rigorously reviews use-of-force incidents, many of which are handled by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the attorney general’s office. Wrongdoing will be punished, and it will continue to be punished when I’m attorney general.

Alex Pretti’s shooting was a tragic situation, and I want truth and justice as much as anyone. The investigation is ongoing, and as a strong Second Amendment supporter, I believe having a gun doesn’t make you inherently dangerous. Your actions while carrying a gun might, however.

Highly contentious protests can spiral out of control quickly, and actions and reactions can be deadly, particularly when human beings make decisions without the luxury of hours of analysis or instant video replays.

That’s why, as I made clear in my Columbus Dispatch op-ed, common sense means we need to turn down the rhetoric.

​Ohio, Leftist violence, Radical left, Alex pretti, Ice, Dhs, Ice protest, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Attorney general, Free speech, Debate, Opinion & analysis, Renee good 

The Department of Justice arrested a man for making threats against federal agents and cited his many posts on social media that called for violent resistance.

Kyle Wagner, 37, identified as a member of Antifa and called for militant attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to a DOJ press release Thursday.

‘If it has to be done at the barrel of a gun, then let us have a little f**king fun.’

“This man allegedly doxxed and called for the murder of law enforcement officers, encouraged bloodshed in the streets, and proudly claimed affiliation with the terrorist organization Antifa before going on the run,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement online.

Wagner allegedly made the threats from his accounts on Facebook and Instagram and called on his followers to “forcibly confront, assault, impede, oppose, and resist federal officers,” according to the DOJ press release.

He also referred to the agents as the “gestapo” and “murderers.”

The release cites specific comments allegedly made by Wagner.

“I’ve already bled for this city, I’ve already fought for this city, this is nothing new, we’re ready this time, ICE we’re f**king coming for you,” he allegedly wrote on Jan. 6.

The next day he wrote, “Anywhere we have an opportunity to get our hands on them, we need to put our hands on them,” and told people to “cripple” the agents.

“We want to know who they are. We will identify every single one of them and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. If it has to be done at the barrel of a gun, then let us have a little f**king fun,” he is said to have written.

“This is where ICE has come to die,” he added.

The DOJ also alleges that Wagner doxxed an individual by releasing their private information, because they were supportive of ICE.

The 31-page criminal complaint has numerous screenshots of his online comments.

WCCO-TV obtained video of Wagner’s arrest at his Minneapolis apartment. He wore a shirt reading, “I’M ANTIFA.”

RELATED: 10 members of terror cell charged with attempted murder over ‘ambush’ attack on ICE facility, feds say

Wagner was charged with cyberstalking and making threatening communications.

“Today’s arrest illustrates that you cannot run, you cannot hide, and you cannot evade our federal agents: If you come for law enforcement, the Trump Administration will come for you,” Bondi concluded.

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On Friday, January 30, the Department of Justice released a third batch of Epstein-related material. The drop was the biggest yet, with over 3 million additional pages of documents, more than 2,000 videos, and about 180,000 images.

But in this gargantuan sea of information, BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler says there’s one key takeaway — and it has to do with President Trump.

Even though Democrats have tried to use the Epstein files to smear Trump for years, they have never been successful. Although his name appears numerous times in every file dump the DOJ has released, there’s been nothing that implicates him.

“Three million documents is a lot of pages. Not a single credible accusation or association with Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” says Liz.

In fact, in the latest document dump, there is an email written by Jeffery Epstein to author and journalist Michael Wolff in 2019, stating, “[Trump] never got a massage.”

“Totally exonerated — totally,” Liz reiterates, “which, of course, tells us something we already knew, but it’s worth remembering: Democrats are liars.”

The way some Democrats have hyper-fixated on certain wild claims involving Trump made via the FBI’s tip line — which is open to all, not barring “nutcases” — leads Liz to believe that they sincerely hope Trump is guilty of heinous crimes.

“They’ve acted like [the claim that Trump raped a 13-year-old girl in 1994] is a credible accusation, and yet in these documents, it is very clearly noted that the FBI found that allegation to be non-credible,” she says.

The same is true for the claim alleged by an anonymous online complainant that a sex trafficking ring was being run at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, between 1995 and 1996, leading to some girls being murdered and buried on location. This claim was dismissed, however, as Trump purchased the golf course in 2002 and opened for business in 2006.

“The media knows this, and yet they reported and are continuing to report on this allegation as if it’s true and substantiated and something that the FBI found because the mainstream media hates you,” says Liz.

To hear more of her top takeaways, watch the episode above.

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The Arlington County Police Department announced the arrest of a man for allegedly plotting to kill the director of the Office of Management and Budget, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Police said that 26-year-old Colin Demarco of Rockville was seen wearing rubber gloves and a surgical mask on Aug. 10 when he was spotted by a witness on the porch of the victim.

‘I am at my wits’ end and this might be the final straw. I want to get a gun, head to DC and kill him.’

The witness interacted with the man, who appeared to be concealing a firearm and carried a backpack. The man fled but was identified through footage from surveillance video.

Police said they obtained a search warrant for digital records of the suspect and found that he appeared to have solicited to have the target killed and had looked up directions to his house.

They arrested Demarco at his residence after interviewing him and reported that he told them the 2024 election had been the “lowest point in his life” and he was afraid of an “impending war and a fascist takeover.”

Sources said the target of the plot was Russell Vought, who received violent threats because of his involvement with Project 2025 and his efforts to fire federal employees, according to CBS News. The criminal complaint said that Demarco was targeting someone who had “served as a presidential appointee,” with the initials “R.V.”

Officials said they found digital evidence that Demarco had written a note titled, “Body Disposal Guide,” as well as another having to do with his father’s firearm. Prior to being arrested, he claimed to be writing a manifesto.

One message specifically expressed his alleged wish to kill the president.

RELATED: Mass firings to begin ‘in a day or two’ over government shutdown, Trump official says

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

“The more Trump does s**t like this, the more I wanna grab a gun and try to shoot him. … I am at my wits’ end and this might be the final straw. I want to get a gun, head to D.C. and kill him,” the message read.

Demarco is charged with attempted murder, criminal solicitation to commit murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and wearing a mask in public to conceal identity.

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Social media smart alecks have had a field day with a mistake made by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in a post intended to defend former CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Ocasio-Cortez posted a video of her speaking to Lemon and explaining that he was being persecuted by the Trump administration to make him an example for others to censor their opposition to the president’s policies.

‘You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.’

However, many noticed that she appeared to mistakenly use the wrong word in her crazed rant.

“Intimidation is an age old tactic to qualm public dissent and outrage,” she wrote in the post on the X platform.

“This Administration is going after public figures to encourage the American people to self-censor,” she added. “But we will not be silenced, and we will not accept this violation of our First Amendment Rights.”

Unfortunately for her credibility, the word “qualm” is a noun and not a suitable synonym for verbs such as “quash” or “quell,” which would have made more sense.

The error was hilariously mocked online.

“Quell? Calm? Squash? So many possibilities,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey replied.

“You need to qualm down,” responded Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Babylon Bee.

“You sure about that ‘qualm?'” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales said.

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means,” one detractor said.

“Qualm? Quell I think is the word you were looking for Bartender in Chief,” another critic said.

“I had to check that this wasn’t a parody account. A leading member of Congress — a presidential contender — not only doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘qualm’ but seems to think it’s a verb rather than a noun,” commentator Michael Knowles responded.

“This is the qualm before the storm, @AOC,” actor Nick Searcy joked.

“Qualm your t*ts, then buy a dictionary,” one user quipped.

RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez gets hammered online over embarrassing mistake she made during CNN town hall

Lemon was arrested for apparently taking part in the storming of the Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by anti-ICE agitators. He claims that he was there only as a journalist, but the Department of Justice charged him with violating the right of the churchgoers to practice their religion.

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​Ocasio-cortez mocked, Don lemon arrest, Social media ridicule, Aoc is not that smart, Politics 

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock has noticed a pattern in the NFL, and it has to do with those who identify as victims and those who don’t.

“There were 12 teams in the NFL that had a white head coach and a white quarterback in combination. … Because these white guys don’t see themselves as victims and because they have a shared culture that rejects victimhood, that combination of white coach, white quarterback never seeing themselves as victims, it actually works,” Whitlock explains.

Whitlock also believes that this anti-victimhood coach-quarterback combination is consistent with worldviews based in Christianity.

“The number-one thing is, like, I’m not a victim. Jesus Christ died for my sins. How can I be a victim? There is only one victim. The man that stood up and died for the rest of us so that we could be victors. So there is no victimhood in Christianity,” Whitlock says.

“And what I’ve argued is that black people have adopted — latched on to, been brainwashed into — seeing themselves primarily as a victim. They will deny it … but all of their behavior is rigged towards victimhood and rigged towards if something goes wrong, it’s someone else’s fault,” he continues.

“Whereas the white man has been convinced — fairly [or] unfairly — if something goes wrong, let me go look in the mirror; it’s my fault, and let me correct myself. That is a superior mindset. That’s a mindset that is consistent with Christianity,” he adds.

But it doesn’t have to be this way for black people.

“Black people have the exact same option as white people. You can adopt whatever culture you want. You can adopt whatever mindset you want. Yes, there will be repercussions. But if you’re man enough to deal with the repercussions … if you reject that victimhood mentality, there’s so much freedom and opportunity, and you will develop better as a leader and as a man.”

“You will be more self-sufficient. You will protect your salvation. There are so many wins to that,” he adds.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

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Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California claims that Republicans criticize the president behind closed doors but are too afraid of threats from his supporters to speak publicly.

Swalwell made the comments to TMZ Tuesday when asked about what happens between him and members from the other side of the aisle at the congressional gym.

‘It’s the fear that they’ve expressed to me that if they speak out against Donald Trump, he sends his Twitter army at them, and their lives change.’

“You’d be surprised. The truth really comes out in the congressional gym,” said Swalwell.

“Republicans and Democrats work out together. That’s where I see who they really are. And it’s quite frustrating because the s**t that they talk about the president and knowing that what he’s doing is wrong, but you also hear the fear that they’re hearing at home, ‘Don’t speak up. Don’t be the tallest poppy in the field,’ as one of them said,” he added.

“Basically protect your family because when you go after this guy, the violence comes and the threats come,” Swalwell claimed.

He said that he tells those people to find a different job because they can’t handle the criticism that comes along with being a politician.

“What frustrates me the most, as I said, is these guys, they say one thing in a hearing, and they act another way in the gym, and I think it’s mostly rooted in fear,” he continued.

“It’s the fear that they’ve expressed to me that if they speak out against Donald Trump, you know, he sends his Twitter army at them, and their lives change. And it’s a sad state of affairs,” he added.

RELATED: Eric Swalwell challenges Greg Gutfeld to bench press contest after getting mocked — and gets ridiculed again

Swalwell has announced a run for the governor’s office of California, though polling shows he has little support in the crowded field. A poll in December found that no candidate garnered more than 13% of support from Californians, and a plurality of 44% were undecided about their preference.

Current California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is widely considered to be trying to expand his name recognition in hopes of mounting a campaign for the 2028 presidential nomination.

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The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, Florida, has arrested a 14-year-old on terrorism and child pornography charges.

Sheriff Chad Chronister told reporters on Wednesday that “threats of mass violence and the exploitation of children are some of the most heinous crimes we investigate — and this case was no different.”

‘Images too graphic and too disturbing to discuss because they would keep all of you up at night.’

After receiving a tip on Jan. 31 that Jose Pagan Jr. had access to firearms and was plotting a massacre at a church near his home in Wimauma, the HCSO searched the teen suspect’s family home, where officers found weapons, ammunition, and electronic devices containing horrific child pornography.

The sheriff indicated that Pagan — who was spotted in a photo wearing a No Lives Matter T-shirt and is apparently linked to a neo-Nazi satanic group — discussed in an online chat room associated with violent extremists his alleged plan to shoot up a church.

While Sheriff Chronister initially referred to the group as Temple of Love, his office confirmed to Blaze News on Thursday that Pagan was involved with the group Tempel ov Blood.

According to the Mapping Militants Project, Tempel ov Blood describes itself as a “hybrid between a traditional satanic coven and a (religious) militant order.” FBI informant Joshua Caleb Sutter — a convicted felon who publishes neo-Nazi propaganda — has long led the group out of South Carolina.

RELATED: Radical teen who plotted to kill Trump and lived with corpses of slain parents pleads guilty

Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff

TOB is apparently an American affiliate of the Order of Nine Angles, a global satanic pedophile cult known for anti-Semitism, hatred for Christianity, identitarianism, and admiration of Adolf Hitler and other loathsome historic figures. Its members have in the past reportedly encouraged their minor victims to commit suicide.

A Wisconsin teen who pleaded guilty last month to murdering his parents as part of a broader plot to assassinate President Donald Trump apparently was an adherent to the global satanic group’s teachings.

Sheriff Chronister noted that days prior to executing the search warrant, his office received information from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force about a possible mass shooting plot as well as information from a child exploitation hotline about child pornography possibly being downloaded at the same residence.

During the search of Pagan’s home, detectives “discovered 14 extremely graphic, disturbing images where individuals were inflicting violence toward infants and toddlers — images too graphic and too disturbing to discuss because they would keep all of you up at night,” Chronister said.

While most of the firearms in the house were found locked in a safe, authorities indicated that one firearm was easily accessible and stored in the father’s nightstand.

Pagan was charged with written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism; in-state transmission of child pornography by electronic device; multiple counts of solicitation or possession of child pornography; and multiple counts of unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

Although it’s unclear if Pagan will be charged as an adult, Chronister stressed that “the age of the individual involved does not lessen the seriousness of these crimes.”

The sheriff noted further that after the 21-day juvenile hold of the suspect, “based on the seriousness of these crimes, I am extremely worried about this 14-year-old integrating right back into our community, where our loved ones live.”

The presence of law enforcement has greatly increased at two churches in the area, Chronister said.

The teen, who may face additional charges, told authorities he was just trying to be edgy.

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Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) jumped into the fray over the layoffs at the Washington Post and was immediately met with brutal backlash online.

Sanders tried to lambast the outlet’s owner, Jeff Bezos, and tied the layoffs to the Amazon deal to film and promote a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The movie, “Melania,” garnered $7 million in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend, placing it third behind two major studio films.

‘Your financial illiteracy is confusing you again.’

“If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don’t tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy,” Sanders wrote Wednesday on social media.

Many fired back at Sanders and pointed out that he was a millionaire many times over despite his constant criticism of millionaires and billionaires.

“He didn’t fire them because he couldn’t afford them. He fired them because nobody’s reading them. Maybe the Washington Post should ask why a third of their staff couldn’t produce journalism people were willing to pay for,” read one popular response.

“84-year drain on the Treasury outraged that guy responsible for an entire percentage point of U.S GDP dislikes wasting money on financial drains like him,” replied Luther Abel of National Review.

“Since you’ve never had a real job in your life, let me explain something to you: Bezos is not obligated to continue pouring millions of dollars into a failing enterprise just because a bunch of self-entitled, pompous leftists need affirmation of these grand delusions in print,” read another response.

“The lesson here is that no billionaire should ever invest in any progressive institution. They’ll rail you while you own it and they’ll rail you when you try to parachute out. The only winning move is not to play,” wrote another critic.

RELATED: Bernie Sanders outraged after Trump ended $7 billion solar ‘boondoggle’ he passed under Biden

“Your financial illiteracy is confusing you again. Successful people don’t continue to pour millions of dollars (a billion in 10 years) into failing businesses as you do with our tax dollars,” replied another detractor.

Bezos, who became one of the wealthiest men on Earth by founding Amazon, purchased the Washington Post in 2013, but only recently began shifting the focus of the news outlet toward supporting freedom and free markets.

On Wednesday the Post announced layoffs of about 700 of its staff, which is about a third of the employees. Critics accused Bezos of undermining democracy in order to appease President Donald Trump, who has been critical of Bezos as well as the Post.

Bezos attended Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.

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In BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales’ first expose of potential H-1B visa fraud, she looked into Cubits Tech Systems business location — and was greeted by an angry man who immediately called 911 on her.

Gonzales left the property without incident, but after requesting the bodycam footage from the police after their encounter with the man, she learned that he spun an entirely different story to the cops than what actually occurred.

“Some lady, they came, and they are asking me about my company information, myself, and where is your company, 10 people are working here. All of this information they are asking I am so kind of afraid,” the man told police.

“I think some hate is going on. Something hate, something is going on,” the man continued, adding that Gonzales was full of rage as she asked him questions.

While Gonzales never once asked to go inside the house while she was speaking with the employer, he told police that she said “let me go inside” to him, and that when he closed the door, she was knocking “very loud.”

“So now you’re hearing this Oscar-worthy performance that I went up there and banged on his door, and I tried to get into his house, and I was like, ‘Where are the workers? Where are your workers?’ That’s the picture that he painted for the officers. He also said that I threatened him,” Gonzales says.

“Now I’d like to just remind you that faking an emergency call is a crime. It’s a serious crime. It refers to intentionally providing false or misleading information to emergency services such as 911 to elicit a response from police, fire, or medical personnel,” she continues.

The employer also updated the location of his business, which is now in a more legitimate office building.

However when Gonzales went to this address, all she found was an empty single room with a couple of card tables and a single chair.

“Certainly not any workers there,” she continues, asking, “Which again begs the question, where are the workers?”

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In Queens, New York, Jabez Chakraborty was shot by law enforcement following a call from his family involving a mental and emotional distress crisis.

Bodycam footage from officers shows an immediate act of aggression after they enter the home on January 26 as Chakraborty charges officers with a large kitchen knife.

‘I’m grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.’

New York Police Department Officer Tyree White orders Chakraborty to “put the knife down” several times, video shows. Chakraborty, 22, does not comply.

White then shoots Chakraborty, who sustained serious injuries but survived. Police said they recovered the knife at the scene.

The family later claimed they had asked for an ambulance, not police.

RELATED: ‘F**king mess’: Zohran Mamdani fails first major test as filth piles up on city streets

BWC Footage – P.O. White

However bodycam footage from another video shows a different account. In that video, a woman clearly says, “Yes,” when officers ask if she called them. She then opens the door and invites the officers inside. Officers again ask if they can enter the home, and she responds, “Yes,” confirming twice that she intentionally requested law enforcement assistance.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) initially praised first responders in a social media post.

“I’m grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe,” the mayor said on X.

He later visited Chakraborty and his family in the hospital before shifting the tone of his public messaging.

“Jabez needs mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution by a district attorney,” Mamdani said.

“No family should have to endure this kind of pain,” he added.

RELATED: Zohran Mamdani becomes first openly socialist mayor of New York City

Screenshot of NYPD video

Critics say Mamdani is “playing a dangerous game of political theater,” downplaying the danger of the incident and framing Chakraborty as blameless because of his mental health.

No criminal charges appear to have been filed in connection with this case. Blaze News has reached out to the NYPD to inquire about Officer White’s status.

Mamdani has since said he is working on a plan to accelerate the creation of a Department of Community Safety, which would co-respond to 911 calls alongside law enforcement.

“What these policy options include are various co-response models involving teams of behavioral health specialists, peer experts, and of course police so that they can intervene if the need arises,” Mamdani said.

Critics have been quick to point out that creating the Department of Community Safety would be unaffordable as New York City is already under a $12 billion budget deficit.

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​Politics, Zohran mamdani, Crime, Police, Nyc, Nypd, News 

Bill Gates is taking some intense heat after the latest Epstein document dump exposed email drafts Jeffery Epstein wrote and sent to himself accusing the Microsoft co-founder of multiple salacious activities. The most notable are the unverified claims that Gates requested help obtaining antibiotics to secretly give to his then-wife Melinda for STDs he had allegedly acquired from Russian prostitutes — and that he engaged in numerous extramarital affairs.

On Tuesday, February 3, a preview of Melinda French Gates’ recent interview with NPR’s Rachel Martin dropped. In the viral clip, the betrayed philanthropist weighed in on the latest allegations involving her ex-husband.

On a recent episode of “Pat Gray Unleashed,” Pat and the panel play the video and discuss Melinda’s measured but pained comments, questioning whether she knew more about Bill Gates’ alleged dealings with Epstein than she’s admitting.

Although Gates’ spokesperson called the recent claims “absolutely absurd and completely false,” Melinda appeared to have less confidence.

“So for me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that,” she said.

In 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage. One contributing factor was Bill’s admitted extramarital affair with a Microsoft employee that began years earlier.

“So whatever questions remain there of what I don’t — can’t — even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need the answer to those things, not me. And I am so happy to be away from all the muck,” she stated.

When asked about her “dominant emotion” regarding the recent media coverage of the allegations against Gates in the latest Epstein document release, Melinda said it was “unbelievable sadness.”

“I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, ‘My God, how did they …? … And so for me, it’s just sadness — sadness for, you know … I left my marriage; I had to leave my marriage,” she added, expressing hope that Epstein’s victims receive the justice they are owed.

“That sounds bad for Bill Gates, does it not?” says Pat. “That sounds like she had some knowledge about what went on, and it was not legal and it was not right.”

“So why didn’t she come forward sooner, I guess would be a good question,” says co-host Keith Malinak. “I mean, she’s ready to move on, and Kash Patel is ready to move on. I’m not ready to move on. Now I would like some legal consequences for these people. They need to be held accountable.”

To hear more, watch the video above.

Want more from Pat Gray?

To enjoy more of Pat’s biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Pat gray unleashed, Pat gray, Blazetv, Blaze media, Epstein files, Epstein documents, Melinda gates, Melinda french gates, Melinda gates interview, Bill gates, Epstein bill gates 

A group of national governing bodies under the Team USA banner say they are hoping to avoid distractions in Italy.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic games began retrofitting a venue in a hotel in Milan last year in preparation for hosting USA Hockey, U.S. Speedskating, and U.S. Figure Skating.

‘This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event.’

The boutique hotel called Aethos Milan is set to host meet-and-greets across the three sports, sponsor parties, and hold medal celebrations.

The planning goes back months and was celebrated at the time of the announcement, when the name was Ice House.

“We expect this venue to be a main hub for athletes, families, media, and our supporters,” said U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell at the time.

“There is nothing like the magic of the Olympic Games, and we look forward to the Ice House serving as a welcoming home to celebrate our athletes,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey.

U.S. Speedskating Executive Director Ted Morris added, “Ice House will be the place to be in Milan for the TEAM USA community.”

Now, all three governing bodies have banded together to change the venue’s name from Ice House to Winter House.

RELATED: Why are they screaming? Olympic curling is simpler than you think.

Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images

The group of governing bodies told USA Today that the name change is an attempt to rid athletes of distraction.

“Our hospitality concept was designed to be a private space free of distractions where athletes, their families, and friends can come together to celebrate the unique experience of the Winter Games,” the group said in a joint statement. “This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event.”

Other details may add some insight into the name change, including that the venue will also be a hub for media, including radio, digital, blogging, and podcasting personalities, U.S. Figure Skating reported.

RELATED: Olympic snowboarder turned cartel cocaine kingpin wanted by FBI for ordering execution

Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement will accompany the U.S. delegation to Italy for the Olympics, the New York Times reported, which drew comment from Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, who reportedly said ICE agents would not be allowed to be deployed in Italy’s streets.

A crowd of mostly senior-aged Italians protested in the streets of Milan last week to express outrage about the presence of ICE, blowing whistles and holding signs that had phrases like “Ice Out!”

Other signs held by protesters included, “The only ICE I want is in my peach tea! Keep out!” and, “No ananas sulla pizzano[,] no cappucio col pranzo[,] no ICE,” which, when translated, means, “No pineapple on pizza, no cappuccio with lunch, no ICE.”

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​News, Ice, Dhs, Italy, Olympics, Immigration enforcement, Woke, Politics 

A newly elected blue-state governor took steps on Wednesday to terminate state and local law enforcement agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

‘Now Fake Moderate Spanberger is attempting to turn Virginia into a sanctuary jurisdiction like her socialist friends in New York and California by banning state and local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.’

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), a former federal law enforcement officer, issued an executive order establishing new state law enforcement policies based on “principles and policies that have long served as the north star for Virginia law enforcement.”

A press release from Spanberger’s office contended that law enforcement “exists to preserve human life” and emphasized that “public trust is a prerequisite to effective policing.”

“Virginia law enforcement does not engage in fear-based policing, enforcement theater, or actions that create barriers to people seeking assistance in their time of need,” it read.

As such, Spanberger’s administration stated that it will review all of law enforcement’s current policies and training to ensure they align with these standards.

“As a former federal law enforcement officer and the daughter of a career law enforcement officer, I know that effective policing is built on trust. Like so many of Virginia’s law enforcement officers, I have serious concerns that chaotic federal law enforcement actions across the country are eroding years of trust built by our officers within the communities they serve,” Spanberger stated. “When state and local law enforcement are pulled away from investigating crimes and upholding our Virginia laws to do the job of federal agents, it weakens their ability to deepen trust within their communities. This contributes to a culture of fear and distrust that makes it harder for officers to do their jobs.”

“Today, Virginia is taking important steps to both reaffirm the core responsibilities of our officers and help build public trust in Virginians who wear the badge,” she added.

RELATED: Virginia Democrats just hit their first setback — and it could make a difference in the midterm elections

Abigail Spanberger. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Through a separate executive directive announced on the same day, Spanberger declared that state law enforcement agencies are required to terminate all existing 287(g) agreements with ICE, arguing that these arrangements “placed Virginia law enforcement officers under federal control and supervision to conduct civil immigration enforcement.”

ICE’s 287(g) agreements authorize the agency to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the supervision of ICE.

There are currently more than 30 law enforcement agencies in Virginia that have agreements with ICE, according to the agency’s website. The majority of those agreements, over two dozen, fall under the 287(g) program’s “Task Force Model,” which allows local officers to exercise “limited immigration authority,” including identifying immigrants during a DUI checkpoint and sharing information with ICE.

“Governor Spanberger said her administration has been closely reviewing agreements state law enforcement agencies were required to sign in 2025. These agreements forced Virginia law enforcement agencies to hand over their men and women to be supervised by ICE,” her office wrote.

RELATED: This is what happens when a state elects a ‘moderate’ Democrat

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The Republican Party of Virginia reacted to Spanberger’s latest directive, stating, “From her very first hours in office, Abigail Spanberger has shamefully smeared and defamed the brave men and women of ICE while launching bad-faith attacks on their efforts to identify, arrest, and deport violent criminal illegal aliens.”

“Now Fake Moderate Spanberger is attempting to turn Virginia into a sanctuary jurisdiction like her socialist friends in New York and California by banning state and local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities,” the statement continued. “Virginians deserve leaders who will use every available resource to arrest and prosecute violent criminals. Instead, Abigail Spanberger is putting Virginians in danger by shielding criminals from accountability to virtue signal to the left-wing mob. She should be ashamed of herself.”

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​News, Virginia, Abigail spanberger, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Immigration enforcement, Immigration crisis, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Immigration, Department of homeland security, Dhs, 287(g), 287(g) program, Politics