Category: blaze media

A man called police to report that home intruders had killed his fiancée and her two sons, but Michigan police arrested him for allegedly murdering them all.

Charles Broomfield, 44, reported the shooting at about 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 27 at the home on Worden Street SE, according to the Grand Rapids Police Department. He was arrested two days later.

‘She’s one of the best things that ever happened to me out of any woman, girl I’ve ever been with.’

In an interview with WOOD-TV from the Kent County jail, Broomfield said he saw red and then “snapped” that day.

He claimed that his fiancée, Jacqueline Neill, told him to move out of their home, and he grew so angry that one of his personalities took over.

Broomfield said he met Neill on the Tinder app and had known her for eight years. They had a son together five years ago, and she brought two sons, 15-year-old Cameron Kilpatrick and 13-year-old Michael Kilpatrick, into the family, along with two daughters.

“She’s one of the best things that ever happened to me out of any woman, girl I’ve ever been with,” he told WOOD.

However, they disagreed on how to raise the children and got into an argument just days after moving into the home on Worden.

“I remember the night before like it was f**king yesterday,” he said.

“We were just being petty towards each other,” he added.

He said he had woken up early that morning to shovel snow but that Neill told him it was over and he needed to move out.

“Something inside me just seen red,” he added. “Snapped, I just snapped. I blacked out, couldn’t think of nothing.”

He admitted to shooting Neill and her two sons to death.

“A monster who don’t give a f**k, don’t have no remorse, will not cry, does not care. I was crying,” he added.

Police said that Broomfield confessed after they noticed inconsistencies in his story. He now claims that he is suffering with numerous personalities that he has named.

“I am battling demons, like I said. Chuckie, Charlay, Charlie, Charles — all had something going on and whatever and whatnot. Chaz was just chillin’, and it’s like, I know I’m not a bad guy,” he added.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker believes Broomfield is trying to set up an insanity defense and said that he doesn’t buy it. When WOOD confronted Broomfield with the suggestion, he denied it.

Broomfield is being held on three charges of premeditated murder and gun charges.

RELATED: Teens’ story claiming they were attacked unravels after cops find their damning video posted to social media, police say

He went on to offer an apology for the family of his alleged victims.

“Basically none of this was supposed to happen. Period,” he continued. “And I’m sorry to all of them.”

The Grand Rapids community held a vigil for the victims that included Neill’s sister Joanne Elzinga.

“Jacqueline and Cameron and Michael were an important part of all of our lives, and we’re going to do our best to begin patching up the holes that they left,” she said.

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​Charles broomfield murder, Grand rapids triple murder, Crime, Man murders fiancee and sons, Man murders tinder fiancee 

The Washington Post just laid off more than 300 employees — roughly 30% of its newsroom — cutting back sports, local coverage, international reporting, and books. The paper has shed staff before, including a reduction in 2025 and voluntary buyouts, as losses piled up. Reports put the Post’s losses at $177 million over the past two years, with annual deficits topping $100 million since 2023.

Predictably, fired staffers and their allies blame owner Jeff Bezos for refusing to write blank checks indefinitely. They want the world’s fourth-richest man to underwrite their failing business model forever.

Downsizing isn’t a tragedy. It’s a market verdict.

But that’s not the story. The Post didn’t collapse because Bezos got cheap. It collapsed because its newsroom got ideological — and readers stopped trusting it.

The Post built its modern reputation on tough reporting and institutional seriousness. Then its editors and writers started injecting personal politics into straight news, smuggling advocacy into headlines, and treating dissent as moral failure. That approach earned applause inside the Beltway, but it bled credibility outside it. Readers left. Subscribers disappeared. Revenue followed.

Immigration coverage captures the pattern.

In 2018, the Post ran a story headlined “How Trump is changing the face of legal immigration.” The piece claimed an 81% drop in arrivals from Muslim-majority countries and a 12% overall decline in legal immigration, framing the change as a deliberate demographic overhaul. The story leaned on cherry-picked State Department numbers that covered only part of the admissions system while ignoring other federal data. The paper dressed activism up as analysis and called it news.

That same year, the Post published “U.S. is denying passports to Americans along the border, throwing their citizenship into question,” implying a broad campaign of anti-Hispanic discrimination. The story suggested “hundreds, possibly thousands” faced baseless fraud accusations tied to midwife-assisted births.

The piece ignored the long history of documented fraud in those cases and left readers with a clear impression: The Trump administration targeted Hispanics. In fact, denial rates actually fell under Trump — from 35.9% in 2015 to 25.8% in 2018. The Post later appended an editor’s note acknowledging errors challenged by the State Department. That kind of walk-back never repairs the original damage.

In 2024, the habit remained. The Post accused Republicans of “misleading ads” about the border while soft-pedaling the scale and timing of the Biden-era surge. It scolded language choices, such as “illegals” and “harsher,” framed enforcement as cruelty, and applied different standards depending on which party spoke.

This isn’t just an immigration problem. It’s a newsroom culture problem.

RELATED: Bernie Sanders gets obliterated online for dragging Melania into left-wing criticism of WaPo layoffs

Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Post’s rush to judgment during the Nicholas Sandmann incident in 2019 showed how quickly narrative can replace verification. The paper treated a Kentucky teenager as a national symbol of Trump-era racism based on a misleading clip, then watched the fuller video upend the story. The Post paid an undisclosed settlement. The reputational hit lingered.

That pattern — moral certainty first, facts later — has infected much of corporate media. CNN, the New York Times, and their peers keep hemorrhaging trust because they keep selling ideology as “objective” reporting. They blur the line between news and opinion, then act shocked when audiences treat them as partisan actors.

That distortion carries consequences beyond subscriptions. When media outlets portray immigration enforcement as inherently malicious and frame routine operations as persecution, they turn policy disagreement into moral panic. They train audiences to view law enforcement as an occupying force. That mindset fuels the kind of street-level provocation that turns tense encounters into tragedy.

Journalism carries a sacred obligation: Tell the truth plainly, verify before amplifying, and separate reporting from activism. Too many at the Post treated that obligation as optional. The audience noticed. Circulation reportedly plummeted to about 97,000 daily in 2025. Financial losses followed.

Downsizing isn’t a tragedy. It’s a market verdict.

If the Washington Post wants to survive, it must rediscover objectivity — or keep shrinking until only its own employees bother to read it.

​Opinion & analysis, Washington post, Jeff bezos, Democracy, Media bias, Corporate media, Leftists, Amazon, First amendment, Billionaires, Immigration, Facts 

Conspiracy theories continue to swirl around Jeffery Epstein’s controversial death. Many are unwilling to accept the FBI’s official ruling that the convicted sex offender committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019.

The most widespread theory is that Epstein, believed by many to be a keeper of dark secrets, was murdered.

Now, however, another conspiracy theory is ramping up. In the wake of the Department of Justice’s publication last month of over 3 million additional pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images from the Jeffrey Epstein files — some of which provided more insight into the event of his death — a new wave of online speculation has surged.

According to this hypothesis, which is fueled by unsubstantiated viral claims and AI-doctored photos on social media, Epstein is alive and well and living in Israel.

To gauge how many people were entertaining this theory, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) conducted his own experiment by posting a poll on X inviting users to vote on which Epstein outcome they believe is true. The responses, of which there were nearly 150,000, were telling:

During a recent interview with Massie, Matt Kibbe, BlazeTV host of “Kibbe on Liberty,” asked the Kentucky congressman to share his thoughts on the poll’s results.

“Three percent of the 147,000 people who took this poll think Jeffrey Epstein killed himself,” Massie says.

“Forty-some percent said that he’s still alive, and 30-some percent say that he’s dead, but he was murdered,” he adds, calling these numbers “surprising.”

Massie notes that he included the fourth option — “just show the results” — because some people fear that “Mossad might be watching the traffic on that poll.”

The ultimate question, he says, is: “Is [Epstein] the kind of guy who thought he was cornered and there was no way out?”

“I don’t think so,” Massie says. “Like, Jeffrey Epstein, to me, seemed like the kind of guy who was just waiting for them to come and unlock the key and take him back to one of his mansions.”

“He knew, just like with the first conviction, he just would have to wait for a while and play his cards right, and I think he was that arrogant,” he adds. “That kind of arrogance is built because you got away with it before, and then you got away with it a thousand times, and you got so much dirt. He’s probably thinking, ‘If I can get back to my hard drive, this is all over with.’”

Kibbe wonders if perhaps Epstein was secreted away, not necessarily because of the “dirt” he had on others, but rather because he was “indispensable.”

“He was the guy that fixed problems for this elite class of financiers and politicians,” he says.

Massie acknowledges this possibility, recalling Epstein’s advice to former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak: “Think of all the people who owe you something, and then start from there.”

“Those were his words to Ehud Barak. That’s what he had to be thinking in the jail cell,” he says.

While Massie initially thought the FBI’s suicide conclusion was “reasonable and plausible,” now that the released files show “the full color of who he was and the kinds of things he did and what he got away with,” he rejects that ruling.

“I’m not in that 3%,” he says.

To hear more, watch the video above.

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​Kibbe on liberty, Matt kibbe, Thomas massie, Blazetv, Blaze media, Epstein still alive, Epstein death, Epstein files, Epstein files controversy 

The latest partial government shutdown has ended, and two facts stand out: Washington will keep spending like a drunken sailor, and Republicans squandered their cleanest leverage point to rein it in.

Start with the number that matters: The House approved $1.25 trillion in additional discretionary appropriations. That decision pushes the annual deficit toward $1.75 trillion. Republicans voted for it, complained about it, and then acted surprised that the spending binge continued.

If Republicans keep missing moments like this one, investors will keep moving into gold and silver, not out of ideology, but out of self-preservation.

The shutdown fight should have forced a trade. Democrats focused on cutting Department of Homeland Security funding. Republicans had options beyond folding. They could have demanded real cuts elsewhere, then used Democrats’ own political pain points to make the deal stick.

One obvious target sat in plain sight. The Trump administration proposed a 50% cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That should thrill the MAHA crowd. Democrats hate what they call ICE “overreach.” Republicans despise what they view as CDC mission creep and pandemic-era abuses.

Congress could have paired both cuts and sold it as a reset: trim enforcement and trim the public health bureaucracy, then avoid another shutdown. Democrats could claim restraint at the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans could claim restraint at the CDC. Taxpayers would finally get something besides another blank check.

Instead, Republicans let the moment pass, and voters got another spending package.

Don’t expect the next round to improve. Markets already read Washington’s behavior as a warning label. Gold and silver prices sit at record highs because investors smell what Congress refuses to admit: Deficits at this scale produce either inflation, higher taxes, or both.

Central banks have acted on that judgment for years. They have moved away from dollars and Treasuries and into gold. Poland’s central bank led global gold purchases in October and November last year. That shift isn’t a protest from adversaries alone. It reflects a broader conclusion, from allies and rivals alike, that Washington keeps making promises it cannot afford to keep.

RELATED: Congress needs to go big or go home

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

The trend looks set to continue. Goldman Sachs expects central banks to buy roughly 60 metric tons of gold per month in the year ahead. Retail demand is rising too. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds reportedly absorbed about 800 metric tons in 2025 as investors searched for an asset that doesn’t depend on congressional self-control.

Frederic Panizzutti of Numismatica Genevensis explains the appeal plainly: Gold’s simplicity attracts buyers “as geopolitics and geoeconomics have become more complicated.”

Americans across the political spectrum want to abolish wasteful agencies. Congress won’t do it. Fine. Then at least cut budgets hard enough to prove lawmakers can say no to constituencies, lobbyists, and the permanent bureaucracies that treat every crisis as a looting opportunity.

Washington’s real problem isn’t a lack of authority. It’s a lack of restraint. Entitlement growth, debt service, and a bipartisan appetite for militarized foreign policy push the country toward instability at home and abroad. Politicians focus on the next election and leave the bill to the next generation.

If Republicans keep missing moments like this one, the dollar’s erosion will accelerate. Investors will keep moving into gold and silver, not out of ideology, but out of self-preservation.

​Gold, Republicans, Democrats, Spending bill, Dhs, House republicans, Ice, Cdc, Economy, Markets, Opinion & analysis, Homeland security, Congress, Partial government shutdown 

The Trump administration ordered the removal of a Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument celebrating a riot by gay males against police in the ’60s.

The order said only U.S. flags and other authorized flags can be displayed at sites managed by the National Park Service.

‘New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history.’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed his outrage against the order in a post on the X social media platform.

“I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument,” Mamdani wrote. “New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history. Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it.”

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said he would re-raise the flag at the monument Tuesday, along with other New York City-area politicians.

The national monument commemorates a riot against police by gay males in Greenwich Village. LGBTQ+ activists cite the rioting as a turning point in the gay rights movement. The monument was established under the administration of former President Barack Obama.

“I think it’s important that we speak out and stand up for the community, frankly, just as our forebears, who exhibited much more courage back in 1969,” Hoylman-Sigal said in an interview Tuesday. “This is not a moment for our community to stand by idly as attempts to undermine our history are put forward by Trump and the federal administration.”

“I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors — without exception,” Mamdani continued in his X post.

RELATED: Trans activists are outraged that Twitter has quietly removed restrictions on ‘dead-naming’ and misgendering people

A similar outrage erupted from LGBTQ activists in February when the Trump administration stripped the “T” and the “Q” from LGBTQ at Stonewall. Protesters vandalized the sign at the monument to add the word “transgender.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) denounced the Trump administration at the time.

“This is just cruel and petty,” she responded. “Transgender people play a critical role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights — and New York will never allow their contributions to be erased.”

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California Democrats are seeking to replace missing revenue after they passed an electric car mandate that undermined inflows from a gasoline tax.

While some are pushing a tax-by-the-mile to reclaim the revenue, a backlash from Californians has led to Democrats backing off from the proposal.

‘We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive.’

Democrats have known the state would be hit with lower tax revenue since 2023 when an independent legislative analyst released a report saying the mandate would lead to a loss of $5 billion per year by 2035. The gas tax is also affected by increased vehicle gas efficiency.

However, when Republicans in the state raised the alarm about the possibility of a mileage tax, legislative staffers in Sacramento said they were hit with angry calls from voters against it.

The outrage was so strong that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was forced to address the controversy.

“Studying a concept is not enacting it,” his press office wrote on social media Wednesday. “Despite national support from prominent *conservatives* like the Cato Institute, there is no mileage tax proposal in California — and the Governor would not sign one.”

Democrats were also hit with angry messages on social media.

RELATED: LA Times gets obliterated online for scolding people wanting to leave high-tax California

“Californians are already getting crushed by the cost of food, housing, power, and gas,” Republican Assembly Leader Heath Flora said. “We already pay the highest gas taxes in the nation. Now Sacramento is talking about adding a new tax for every mile people drive.”

Newsom is widely considered to be trying to expand his national brand recognition in preparation for a possible presidential campaign in 2028.

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​California democrats, Electric car mandate, Mileage tax in california, Gavin newsom backlash, Politics 

While the previous Epstein file dumps have proven to offer little information for the general public to work with, the latest Epstein files release has revealed just how evil some of the most powerful people really are — and naturally, BlazeTV contributor William Wolfe from the Center for Baptist Leadership is among those incredibly disturbed.

“What stood out to you the most about what is, you know, the most revealing Epstein file dump yet?” Deace asks Wolfe.

“I would say two things. One is that the conspiracy theorists are proven right yet again,” Wolfe says. “There is this cabal of truly horrific, disgusting, pedophilic people running things in our country and globally. And, you know, Alex Jones just stays winning and vindicated on this overall theme of, the worst people you could ever imagine are in charge.”

“The second thing that really stood out to me is just the total banality of evil. I mean, they’re just kind of dumb, evil, disgusting people. You know, they just happen to also have power. These are the same kind of evil people you could run into any day on the street. Yet somehow this cadre of individuals managed to take this evil to the highest levels of power and influence across our government,” he continues.

“And so, I mean, really in some ways it’s not that surprising. But it’s shocking, it’s revealing, it’s disgusting. But this is just, like, what we’re up against. It is a fight of good versus evil from the top to the bottom, from your everyday life at your city council to the highest levels of government,” he adds.

Wolfe believes that this is definitive proof that we’re in a “spiritual battle of good versus evil.”

“I don’t know how you look at these files and come away from that with any other conclusion,” he says.

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A nonprofit organization linked to the wife of the mayor of Baltimore is facing intense scrutiny after it ended operations despite taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to WBFF-TV.

The mission of the Bmore Empowered nonprofit was to encourage black women and girls to excel in entrepreneurship and “holistic wellness,” according to its website. It was first founded in 2017 and came to be led by Hana Scott in Sept. 2021 until Sept. 2025.

‘This is not a pause. It is the end of a beautiful chapter.’

Her tenure as director of operations ended the same day that Bmore Empowered announced an “organizational pause.”

The organization is reportedly behind on tax filings, has been sued for unpaid rent, and is listed as “delinquent” on the state’s charity database.

In July 2022, Hana Scott went public about her relationship with Baltimore’s mayor, and Bmore Empowered got a surge of new funding.

The taxpayer-funded Downtown Partnership of Baltimore granted the group $80,000 at an event attended by the Scotts. The Baltimore City government gave the group taxpayer-funded payments that added up to $34,950 by 2024. And the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund, also paid for by taxpayer money, sent the organization $62,500.

Despite this, Bmore Empowered failed to report a tax form for the 2024 fiscal year, which was due to the IRS in May 2025.

WBFF reported that the organization did not respond to questions about how it intends to spend the taxpayer money. Hana Scott did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment, and the mayor’s office did not respond to questions about a possible conflict of interest, among others.

The report said that Bmore Empowered paused operations in September, but a post on its Facebook page Monday said the organization was coming to a close, adding, “This is not a pause. It is the end of a beautiful chapter.”

In addition to all of the taxpayer funds that Bmore Empowered received, the group obtained $175,000 from Open Society in 2022, which is funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros. The donation was part of a campaign by the Alliance for Open Society International to provide millions in funding for organizations in the Baltimore area.

RELATED: Nonprofit claimed to provide daily brown-bag meals to thousands of students — schools say they got nothing

WBFF also documented how Bmore Empowered received tens of thousands of dollars from the BOOST program of the Downtown Partnership to open a storefront and failed to do so. Instead, it opened offices at a separate location and then was sued for not paying rent at that location. The landlord won a financial judgment against the group when no one showed in court.

A Blaze News request for comment from the Bmore Empowered organization was not answered.

Despite pausing operations, Bmore Empowered continues to sell T-shirts on its website.

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​Bmore empowered, Baltimore mayor, Nonprofit stole taxpayer money, Hana scott at bmore nonprofit, Politics 

During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday regarding the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, Democratic lawmakers took turns giving their usual sanctimonious speeches.

When her opportunity came to pose questions to acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons, New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver (D) launched into a roughly 3.5-minute diatribe replete with not only dubious murder accusations but her trademark insinuations of racism.

‘Aggressively attacking those witnesses personally is inappropriate.’

McIver, a Democrat facing nearly 20 years in prison for allegedly assaulting ICE officers last year, then decided to present her attacks as spiritual reflections about eternal consequence.

After prompting Lyons to confirm that he was indeed a “religious man,” McIver — a staunch supporter of abortion — asked the acting ICE director, “How do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?”

“I’m not going to entertain that question,” Lyons responded.

“Of course not,” said McIver. “Do you think you’re going to hell, Mr. Lyons?”

RELATED: Understanding hell — Part I

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Once more, the acting ICE director, whose agents had to repel an apparent incursion by McIver’s fellow travelers into a Newark detention facility last year, indicated he wouldn’t entertain such a question.

Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) intervened to remind McIver both that members “must adhere to established standards of decorum and debate” and that “witnesses are here voluntarily.”

Garbarino added, “Aggressively attacking those witnesses personally is inappropriate and not in keeping with the traditions of our committee.”

“I’m just asking a question,” McIver said. “You all, you guys are always talking about religion here and the Bible. I mean, it’s OK for me to ask a question, right?”

Having evidently disregarded Garbarino’s reminder and the corresponding committee traditions, McIver immediately went back to the attack, asking Lyons, “How many government agencies, Mr. Lyons, are you aware of that routinely kill American citizens and still get funding?”

Before yielding her time, McIver called for the abolition of ICE.

The congresswoman was charged in June with multiple counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding, and interfering with federal law enforcement agents. She could face a maximum of 17 years in prison if convicted.

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​Lamonica mciver, Democrat, Ice, Todd lyons, Immigration and customs enforcement, Dhs, Homeland security, Congress, Hell, Heaven, Politics 

Sports used to be one of the only places you could turn to without being beaten over the head by the political opinions of others — but now it’s hard to get through a game without it.

“‘Just shut up and play.’ I thought that that was a very poignant thing that Ann Coulter said,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says, pointing out that while most people are talking about the political spectacle that was the Super Bowl — the Olympics have been no better.

“Wouldn’t you know, you have all of these people, all of these Americans over there in Milan to represent our country on a world stage, and they take that opportunity to just trash their own county in press conferences as if that makes them morally superior,” she continues, before playing a clip of one Olympian bashing his own country.

“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.,” Team USA freestyle skier Hunter Hess said.

“I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here,” he added.

“What an absolute loser,” Gonzales says. “If you don’t want to be there, don’t. You don’t have to represent our country. Like I don’t understand why you would be there representing our country if you’re not proud to represent our country.”

And Gonzales isn’t the only one taking issue with Hess’ statement.

“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics. If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” President Trump posted on Truth Social.

“Why are we sending America-haters to represent our country?” Gonzales asks.

“And by the way, I would love to hear from Hunter which country is better,” she adds.

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Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) unveiled the TruckSafe Tipline on Tuesday, which allows those who work in the trucking industry to report carriers that may be breaking federal laws.

“If you’re a trucker or work in the industry and see something unsafe or know of shady carriers hiring illegals, I want to hear from you,” Banks wrote in a post on social media.

‘The TruckSafe Tipline gives people on the ground a way to speak up when they see carriers cutting corners and putting lives at risk.’

The reporting system encourages truckers to submit a form if they believe a carrier has employed or contracted drivers who are illegally in the U.S., who are not authorized to drive, or who do not meet the English-language proficiency requirements.

Banks’ office will share the submitted tips with the Department of Transportation and its Office of Inspector General.

“Indiana is the Crossroads of America and Hoosiers are getting killed because drivers who shouldn’t be here in the first place are behind the wheel. If you’re driving a truck on our roads, you need to be legal, you need to be able to read traffic signs, and you need to follow the law. The TruckSafe Tipline gives people on the ground a way to speak up when they see carriers cutting corners and putting lives at risk,” Banks stated.

The tip line was launched following a semi-truck crash in Indiana last week that resulted in the deaths of four Amish men, including a father and two sons.

RELATED: Trucker accused of killing 4 Amish men — and DHS claims he’s an ‘illegal alien’

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The driver of the truck, Bekzhan Beishekeev, a 30-year-old Kyrgyzstani national who obtained his commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania despite allegedly residing in the U.S. illegally, was accused of swerving into oncoming traffic and striking a 15-passenger van head-on.

Beishekeev is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

RELATED: ‘Do it NATIONWIDE!’ Florida mandates English-only driver’s tests, following Trump’s lead

Jim Banks. Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Banks’ office noted that the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is investigating the carrier that employed Beishekeev as well as several other companies.

“These interconnected carriers have all the markings of FRAUD and are accused of being CHAMELEON CARRIERS. This is when companies swap names and DOT numbers to avoid enforcement,” DOT Secretary Sean Duffy stated. “The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working AROUND THE CLOCK to hold anyone involved in this horrific crime accountable.”

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​News, American trucking industry, Trucking industry, Commercial driver’s license, Cdl, Cdls, Commercial driver’s licenses, Bekzhan beishekeev, Indiana, Jim banks, Road safety, Department of transportation, Dot, Trucksafe tipline, Politics 

Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) criticized Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for trying to enforce a statute that the lawmaker opposes.

The DHS faced pushback from Duckworth after the agency requested a list of the Office of Inspector General’s ongoing investigations, accusing the OIG of illegally withholding such information.

In late January, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) met with DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to demand that the watchdog open a probe into the “egregious public execution of Alex Pretti and pattern of brutality from Trump’s lawless agents.”

‘It is unfortunate that you are trying to score cheap political points rather than focus on the Inspector General’s illegal conduct.’

Duckworth speculated that the OIG denied her request because the DHS had sent the OIG “repeated tacit threats” to “sabotage” its investigations by invoking 5 U.S.C. § 417, a provision of the law that gives the DHS secretary the authority to terminate investigations that could harm national security or present a significant impairment to U.S. interests.

“I learned Kristi Noem repeatedly reminded DHS’s IG that she can unilaterally kill any investigation,” Duckworth wrote. “Why would she do that? Feels like a threat to me.”

If Secretary Noem chooses to invoke the statute to terminate an OIG investigation, the OIG must report the decision to Congress within 30 days, providing an explanation of its rationale and whether the watchdog supported the decision.

RELATED: ‘Vindication’ for Trump administration: Appeals court greenlights end of deportation protections for 90,000

DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

In a Friday letter to the DHS, Duckworth described seeking to enforce the statute as an “obscure authority” that has “never been invoked in the history of DHS,” adding that it is “contrary to the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Act of 1978.”

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “Senator Duckworth is arguing that a Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary shouldn’t use an existing section of federal law because she doesn’t think it should exist. If Senator Duckworth and her fellow Democrats do not like the law that Congress already passed, they — as members of Congress — have full constitutional authority under Article I to change the law and assuage their own concerns. As it stands, 5 U.S.C. 417 is federal law, and it applies to Secretary Noem just the same as it applied to previous homeland security secretaries for decades without controversy.”

DHS General Counsel James Percival responded to Duckworth’s letter on Monday.

“I want to express my surprise at your suggestion that DHS should only enforce the laws that you personally agree with,” Percival told the lawmaker in his response letter, obtained by Blaze News.

“I am puzzled that you would ask me, the Senate-confirmed General Counsel who swore an oath to uphold federal law, to become a law unto myself and pick and choose which laws to enforce. As you surely know, it is Congress’s purview to make laws, and it is the Executive Branch’s purview to ‘take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,’” Percival told Duckworth. “I decline your request to ignore the separation of powers and intrude into your own branch’s functions.”

Percival confirmed that the DHS had requested a list of ongoing investigations from the OIG, but that Noem had not sought to invoke her authority to terminate any of those probes.

“Rather, I requested on her behalf a list of all investigations to ensure she can evaluate whether it might ever be appropriate to exercise that power,” he continued.

Percival accused the OIG of “illegal conduct” by stonewalling such information.

“The real problem is that for years the Inspector General has been violating an implied requirement of the statute by withholding this information from prior secretaries and thereby making it impossible for them to faithfully execute § 417,” Percival wrote. “The fact that previous secretaries have ignored this law only demonstrates the incomparable leadership of Secretary Noem.”

“It is unfortunate that you are trying to score cheap political points rather than focus on the Inspector General’s illegal conduct,” he added.

RELATED: Democrat fires staffer accused of posing as immigration attorney at ICE facility

Tammy Duckworth. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Duckworth called Percival’s response “truly bizarre and deeply troubling.”

“I am frankly shocked that instead of simply denying that the Secretary is seeking to intimidate an independent government watchdog out of investigating potential crimes committed by DHS agents, it appears her brown-nosing General Counsel is proud of his efforts to sabotage IG independence on behalf Secretary Noem [sic] and is baselessly accusing Donald Trump’s own hand-picked IG of engaging in ‘illegal conduct,’” she stated.

The OIG did not respond to a request for comment.

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Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee sharply criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an oversight hearing Tuesday, accusing the agency of systemic abuse and misconduct — claims ICE leadership rejected as misleading or false.

The hearing on Capitol Hill erupted into a heated showdown, as Democratic lawmakers repeatedly clashed with immigration officials in exchanges that rapidly spread across social media.

Democratic members described ICE as operating as a ‘fascist’ or ‘secret police’ force.

One of the most widely shared exchanges involved Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) pressing acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to resign, claiming that by staying in his leadership position, Lyons is siding with “killers bringing terror to our streets.”

“Will you resign from ICE?” Swalwell asked.

“No, sir, I won’t,” Lyons responded.

RELATED: LAPD defies Newsom: Chief refuses to enforce mask ban on ICE

Other Democratic lawmakers used more pointed rhetoric. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) compared ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents to slave patrols and Ku Klux Klan members, describing federal officers as “white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color.”

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) railed at Lyons, claiming he had “blood on [his] hands” and asking whether he feared God’s judgment. “Do you think you’re going to hell?” she asked.

Throughout the hearing, Democratic members described ICE as operating as a “fascist” or “secret police” force, while agency officials defended their mission, saying enforcement priorities focus on violent offenders, human traffickers, and repeat immigration violators.

RELATED: ‘We do not support ICE’: Speedway gas station sparks backlash after booting Border Patrol boss

The hearing came as Congress continues negotiations over Department of Homeland Security funding, with Republicans warning that partisan disputes could lead to a partial government shutdown affecting border security and enforcement operations.

By the hearing’s conclusion, immigration officials had rejected calls to resign or concede wrongdoing, characterizing the accusations as distorted narratives rather than evidence-based critiques. No resignations or formal actions resulted from the exchanges.

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Waymo’s chief safety officer was not exactly clear when it came to questions about the company using overseas operators.

Mauricio Pena faced tough questions from U.S. senators last week when he was asked if Waymo employs humans who remotely assist its driverless taxis through difficult driving scenarios.

‘It’s one thing when a taxi is replaced by an Uber or a Lyft. It’s another thing when the jobs just go completely overseas.’

The question came from Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) during a hearing on commerce, science, and transportation. Pena submitted testimony titled “Hit the Road, Mac: The Future of Self-Driving Cars,” which promoted his company as an “American innovation success story” while urging lawmakers to advance legislation for self-driving cars.

However, it was the grilling from Senator Markey that got the most attention online.

“Senator, they provide guidance. They do not remotely drive the vehicles,” Pena told Markey. “As you stated, Waymo asks for guidance in certain situations and gets an input, but the Waymo vehicle is always in charge of the dynamic driving tasks, so that is just one additional input.”

Seeking more clarification, Markey asked, “But the human being helps the vehicle to navigate those difficult driving scenarios. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Pena replied.

The safety executive went on to admit that at least some of these agents operate remotely from the Philippines, but he was unable to state a percentage or figure as to how many overseas agents Waymo employs.

“I just don’t have that number,” Pena told the committee.

RELATED: Self-driving cars that break traffic laws won’t receive tickets in California: Report

Senator Markey called the admission “fairly shocking” and said it was “completely unacceptable” to have people overseas influencing American vehicles. He then listed a string of possible safety issues, such as out-of-date information, lack of roadway knowledge, or not having a U.S. driver’s license.

“Let’s not forget,” Markey added, “Waymo is trying to replace the jobs of hardworking taxi and rideshare drivers. And now you’re saying that of the human beings, the human jobs that remain in the system, you’re shipping those jobs overseas. It’s one thing when a taxi is replaced by an Uber or a Lyft. It’s another thing when the jobs just go completely overseas.”

Across multiple outlets, Waymo sought to clarify what exactly its remote operators do and do not control.

In an interview with Decrypt, a Waymo spokesperson said the company does not consider its remote operators to be drivers. Furthermore, Waymo rejected the idea that humans control its taxis in real time.

“Their role is not to drive the vehicle remotely. They’re not remote drivers,” the spokesperson explained. “They answer, generally speaking, multiple-choice questions posed to them by the vehicle.”

The representative maintained that “all of the driving happens on board” the vehicle and does not happen remotely.

Addressing the safety concerns, the spokesperson said that both U.S.-based and foreign response agents are licensed and trained for the regions they support.

RELATED: Anti-ICE rioters destroy fleet of autonomous cars during Los Angeles riot

Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

All the agents have a “vehicle or van driver’s license,” the spokesperson went on, stating that human input is contextual and not direct commands.

“The human offers a suggestion in a challenging scenario, and the Waymo Driver will take that suggestion into account when making its next decision.”

In regard to its foreign hiring, the company told People that its reason for outsourcing to the Philippines was an effort to scale the company globally.

These “fleet response” agents allegedly undergo regular driving history checks, People reported. However, the outlet also said that Waymo did not provide any information on how many remote operators are located in the U.S. or abroad.

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A new report in the New York Times finds that the Republican Party is overwhelmingly beating Democrats in the fundraising race and that Democrats are panicking ahead of the midterm elections.

Democrats have about $137 million for their campaigns, while Republicans have more than twice that amount, about $320 million, when their debts are taken into account.

‘Donald Trump has 99 problems going into the midterms. But money ain’t one.’

That is making Democrat political strategists sound the alarm.

“Any Democrat who isn’t concerned isn’t serious,” said Democrat super PAC founder Bradley Beychok. “Yes, Democrats have momentum on our side and a wide opportunity map, but we have a glaring disadvantage in overall money.”

“Donald Trump has 99 problems going into the midterms,” said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. “But money ain’t one.”

Worst still, some are pointing out that the Kamala Harris presidential campaign had a historic advantage in campaign donations in 2024 and still lost to Trump.

The report does note some bright spots in individual campaigns for Democrats. For instance, the top five fundraising Senate candidates are all Democrats, only two of whom are incumbents. But even those advantages are threatened by a pending Supreme Court decision that could hamstring how much they can spend on television ads.

Republicans have already planned how to use the ruling in their favor, if it goes the way they believe it will.

“He’s sitting on a huge war chest to help these people — and he’ll use it,” said White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles of the president during a podcast interview.

On top of Republicans’ clear advantage, they also have future hopes of raising even more money from pro-Republican sources. Among these are tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has come back to the party after a public split over the summer, as well as leaders in the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries.

RELATED: California GOP sues to stop Newsom’s redistricting scheme — he responds: ‘Good luck, losers’

Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Democrats hope that mixed polling results for Trump will help them regain the Senate and possibly the House in the midterm elections.

The high stakes of the election have led to dueling redistricting efforts in states controlled by Republicans against those controlled by Democrats. On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court said that California could keep its redistricting map active for the midterm elections, which gives Democrats an opportunity to pick up five seats.

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The Super Bowl halftime show featured Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, and according to BlazeTV host John Doyle, the spectacle Americans love couldn’t have been any further from being American.

“I’m suspecting that a lot of this was done simply because of what he represents as this kind of ethnically ambiguous, flamboyant thing that can be cast into the living rooms of America, the Anglosphere,” Doyle explains, pointing out that the changing demographics mean worse entertainment.

“What we’re seeing now is this kind of stuck culture where we’re just rehashing the same things over and over again for nostalgia, or we’re just making really bad stuff that people will still turn out to see because it’s something, right? A lot of that has to do literally with the changing demographics, not only of America but of the market itself,” he says.

“I mean, because of the internet, because of open borders, practically speaking, companies which are producing that kind of media no longer have to cater to the expectations or standards of a normal American audience,” he continues.

“They can put some s***ty thing in front of people who have never seen a movie before, and it’s going to blow their minds, and they’re going to get one-shotted by it, so to speak, and they’ll make a ton of money,” he adds.

Doyle believes that this is why the quality of entertainment has declined so much.

“CGI, all of that, all of this stuff, why everything sucks now, whether it’s music, movies, it is literally because it no longer has to appeal to the standards that you’ve come to expect as an American, wanting something a little bit better,” Doyle says.

“And I’m not saying that, you know, peak American culture, the best stuff we’ve ever done are, like, your old blockbusters. … I’m just saying, if everything seems like it’s just kind of getting stupider and more stale, it is because it is not made for you anymore,” he continues.

“It is made for the lower common denominators, and you’re just going to kind of have to put up with it, I suppose,” he adds.

Want more from John Doyle?

To enjoy more of the truth about America and join the fight to restore a country that has been betrayed by its own leaders, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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When it became clear in December that the complete release of the Jeffrey Epstein files would be delayed, various Democrats suggested that President Donald Trump might be trying to conceal damning and previously unknown details about his relationship with the child sex offender.

For example, Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), a recipient of contributions from Epstein, suggested that “this is nothing more than a cover-up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past.”

Unfortunately for Schumer and other Democrats apparently desperate for dirt on the president, one of the newly released files reveals that Trump was anything but an ally to Epstein — that he reportedly thanked law enforcement for going after the pervert and stressed the importance of also focusing on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and co-conspirator.

‘She is evil.’

A document dated April 23, 2020, details an interview conducted by FBI agents the previous year with a law enforcement official regarding his department’s investigation into Epstein in the 2000s and his personal conversation on the topic at the time with Trump.

Although his name is redacted, the document appears to indicate that the interviewee became chief of the Palm Beach Police Department in 2001.

Michael Reiter — the man who served as chief of the PBPD from 2001 to 2009 and launched the first investigation into Epstein — confirmed to the Miami Herald that he was interviewed by FBI agents in 2019 and spoke with Trump in July 2006.

RELATED: Massie drops bombshell after review of unredacted Epstein files, helps put name to alleged co-conspirator

Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

According to the FBI’s 302 summary of its interview, the interviewee told the feds that “TRUMP was one of the very first people to call when people found out that they were investigating EPSTEIN.”

In addition to noting that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and that people in New York knew Epstein was disgusting, Trump told the chief that he was “around EPSTEIN once when teenagers were present and … ‘got the hell out of there.'”

Trump expressed gratitude to the interviewee for doing something about the sex offender, stating, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him; everyone has known he’s been doing this,” the FBI said in the 302 document.

Trump also mentioned Epstein’s “operative” Ghislaine Maxwell in his conversation with the chief, noting that “she is evil and to focus on her,” said the document.

Maxwell, 64, was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse minor girls as young as 14 with Epstein, going all the way back to the early 1990s.

An FBI official told the Herald, “We are not aware of any corroborating evidence that the president contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said in response to the newly released document, “Trump didn’t play their game, he helped expose it. And when they couldn’t blackmail him they tried to smear him.”

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For nearly three decades, Washington has insisted that America’s immigration chaos stems from outdated laws, insufficient authority, or humanitarian necessity.

Last week, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shattered that narrative.

For the first time in decades, a federal court treated immigration law as law, not a suggestion.

In Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, a divided panel did something radical by modern standards: It enforced immigration law as Congress wrote it. The result ranks as one of the most consequential immigration rulings in a generation — and a direct rebuke to the legal fiction that has shielded millions of illegal aliens from mandatory detention for decades.

What the court actually said

The case turned on a simple question with enormous consequences: Do illegal aliens who entered the United States unlawfully — often years ago, without inspection or lawful admission — get discretionary bond hearings while in removal proceedings?

The Fifth Circuit answered no.

Writing for the majority, Judge Edith H. Jones, joined by Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, held that any alien present in the United States who has not been lawfully admitted is, by statute, an “applicant for admission.” Congress supplied that definition in 1996.

Under the law, applicants for admission who cannot show they are “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted” shall be detained pending removal proceedings.

“Shall” means mandatory. It leaves no room for discretionary bond hearings. It applies regardless of how long the alien has remained unlawfully in the country.

Physical presence does not confer the legal status or constitutional entitlements that accompany lawful admission, much less citizenship.

This ruling rejects the long-standing practice of treating interior illegal aliens as governed by the bond statute. As the Fifth Circuit panel made clear, that statute applies after lawful admission. It does not override Congress’ command for those who were never admitted at all.

No other federal appellate court has squarely held that mandatory detention applies not only to recent border crossers but also to long-term illegal aliens living in the interior who entered without inspection years — even decades — ago.

Long-delayed enforcement

Nothing in the Fifth Circuit’s decision turns on novel statutory interpretation. Congress enacted this framework in 1996 to eliminate incentives for evading inspection and remaining unlawfully in the United States.

What changed was not the law but the willingness to enforce it.

After the Board of Immigration Appeals acknowledged the plain meaning of the disputed section in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, DHS implemented a policy treating illegal entrants as Congress defined them: applicants for admission subject to mandatory detention.

The response was immediate and predictable. District courts across the country rushed to block the policy, issuing a wave of rulings restoring bond eligibility.

The Fifth Circuit is the first appellate court to say what should have been obvious all along: Courts do not get to rewrite immigration statutes because enforcement is politically uncomfortable.

RELATED: We escaped King George. Why do we bow to King Judge?

Photo by Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge via Getty Images

Asylum is not a loophole

One of the most persistent myths in immigration discourse claims that filing for asylum legalizes illegal entry. It does not.

Congress made illegal entry a federal misdemeanor. The statute contains no asylum exception. Illegal entry remains a crime even for those who later request asylum.

Asylum also does not create a “right to remain.” It is discretionary relief from removal.

Federal law allows an alien to apply for asylum after illegal entry. That provision does not cure inadmissibility, erase criminal violations, or entitle the applicant to release from custody.

When an alien crosses the border illegally — between ports of entry — the alien violates federal law and becomes inadmissible for lack of valid entry documents. That inadmissibility triggers expedited removal.

The law allows an alien to request asylum after unlawful entry, but it does not legalize the entry, erase inadmissibility, or prevent removal. In this posture, asylum is defensive. The alien raises it after DHS initiates removal proceedings, and the alien receives it, if at all, as discretionary relief — not as a right to remain.

Aliens who enter without valid documents remain inadmissible and subject to detention or removal.

Mandatory detention applies to many asylum seekers. Under the statute:

Illegal entrants go into expedited removal unless they establish a credible fear.When an alien claims credible fear, the alien remains detained pending final adjudication.Release runs through limited DHS parole authority, not judicial bond hearings.

The Supreme Court confirmed this framework in Jennings v. Rodriguez (2018), holding that the statute mandates detention and does not allow courts to invent bond hearings where Congress declined to authorize them.

Law on the books vs. law in practice

The detention statute does not suffer from ambiguity. The conflict lies elsewhere.

Congress criminalized unlawful entry without exception. Congress also enacted the asylum provision through the Refugee Act of 1980, permitting any alien “physically present” in the United States or arriving at the border to apply for asylum regardless of manner of entry. That provision does not exempt such individuals from prosecution, detention, or removal. It does not repeal the detention mandate.

The Refugee Act incorporated aspects of the U.N. Refugee Convention and Protocol, including Article 31’s discouragement of “penalization” for unlawful entry in limited circumstances. Article 31 does not prohibit detention, prosecution, or removal. It confers no right to unlawful entry or release pending adjudication. Nothing in the treaty framework — or U.S. law — displaces Congress’ mandatory detention commands.

RELATED: Federalism cannot be a shield for sanctuary defiance

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Over time, however, executive agencies — and sometimes courts — expanded a limited non-penalization principle into a broader immunity regime. Officials treated asylum eligibility as a basis to avoid detention, delay removal, and suspend enforcement mandates Congress never repealed.

That is not discretion. It is dereliction. It nullifies the statute Congress enacted.

Until Congress revisits asylum law or alters treaty commitments, that structural tension will invite exploitation — regardless of what the detention statute requires.

Why this ruling matters

By enforcing the law as written, the Fifth Circuit restored a foundational principle of sovereignty: Illegal entry does not generate superior legal rights.

The dissent warns that enforcing the statute could produce large-scale detention. That warning is not a legal argument. It is a policy objection rooted in disagreement with the statute Congress enacted.

This ruling binds only Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi — for now. Other circuits have signaled resistance. A split is coming. Supreme Court review seems likely.

When that moment arrives, the court will face a question it has avoided for years: Does immigration law mean what it says — or only what politics permits?

The Fifth Circuit has answered.

For the first time in decades, a federal court treated immigration law as law, not a suggestion.

​Fifth circuit, Immigration, Border security, Asylum, Court of appeals, Trump administration, Asylum seekers, Us border, Opinion & analysis, Immigration and customs enforcement, Deportation 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation sought help from the public to identify an individual they say was armed when he tampered with the cameras at Nancy Guthrie’s home before her disappearance.

The mother of NBC News journalist Savannah Guthrie went missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, weeks ago. According to the FBI, she was last seen at the residence on Jan. 31.

‘The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.’

On Tuesday, the FBI released video and images from a security camera from the missing woman’s front door. An FBI press release said the man was armed.

A post from FBI Director Kash Patel said the video had been recently recovered.

“Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors — including the removal of recording devices,” he wrote on the X platform. “The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems.”

The 84-year-old woman is considered a vulnerable adult because she has a heart condition that requires daily medication, she has a pacemaker, and she has difficulty walking.

RELATED: Delaware man allegedly kidnapped 11-year-old girl he met on Roblox and drove her 135 miles away, police say

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s return, as well as the arrest and conviction of anyone “involved” in her disappearance.

This is a developing story.

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Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy is shocked by the amount of backlash he is receiving.

Kenworthy, a silver medalist for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, made a post last week showing his followers how to contact the Senate in order to complain about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

‘Maybe that’s the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform.’

Kenworthy provided a sample script that his followers could use, which included, “Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities.”

The hyperbolic narrative was just one part of Kenworthy’s post, however, as the attached photo read, “F**k ICE,” written in the snow. While it is not clear how it was written, or if it was a digital edit, the positioning of skis around the yellow text implied that it was made with urine.

On Monday, Kenworthy made a follow-up video explaining that while he now competes for Great Britain — stating he does so to honor his mother — he is still half American and loves the United States.

“I care about the U.S., and I care about what’s happening there,” the 34-year-old stated.

What followed, though, was the skier saying that the intense backlash he has faced from the post was likely a product of him “speaking up.”

“A lot of the messages have been awful; people telling me to kill myself, threatening me, wishing that they’ll get to see me blow my knee or break my neck during my event, calling me slurs. Like, it’s insane,” he continued. “And maybe that’s the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform. And so maybe this video is just going to invite more hate and vitriol, but I think it’s important to say what we feel and stand up for what we believe in and stand up to injustice.”

RELATED: Olympic ski jumpers may be injecting their penises with acid to jump farther

At the same time, the Olympian said that everyone has the freedom to “love the U.S. and be proud to be an American” while still thinking “it can be better” and “improve.”

Without ever mentioning the nature of his anti-ICE photo, Kenworthy went on to say that he does not support ICE and believes the agency is “absolutely evil and awful and terrifying.”

This was followed by a bevy of claims, such as American citizens “have been murdered in the street, executed in the street, and the officers are essentially acting with, like, impunity because their identities are covered.”

“There’s no accountability. It’s really scary,” he continued, claiming ICE is “racially profiling people, rounding up black and brown folks, and kidnapping them, putting them in unmarked vehicles with no arrest warrant, no probable cause.”

Kenworthy added, “They’re being held without any sort of due process. It’s crazy. It’s scary.”

RELATED: Skier Hunter Hess changes tune after saying he has ‘mixed emotions’ about representing USA: ‘I love my country’

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

The skier, born in Essex, England, concluded that the “majority” of those being apprehended by the federal agency are “good” and “hardworking people” who are “nonviolent and have no criminal history and just came to the U.S. seeking a better life.”

Kenworthy described this as “literally the foundation story of the U.S.”

The British-American will compete in the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe qualification at the Winter Olympics on February 19, which begins at 4:30 a.m. ET.

The finals will air February 20 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

This is the same event as Hunter Hess, the American skier who recently walked back his comments regarding disagreements he has with U.S. policy. Hess said that “it’s a little hard” to be representing the United States and that he had “mixed emotions” about it.

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