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A Massachusetts man in September walked into a New Bedford emergency room holding a bloody knife in his hand and claiming that a serial killer had stabbed his girlfriend to death, according to multiple reports. But the man now faces life in prison.

Tyler Baglini, 32, reportedly had a history of mental health issues and substance abuse, according to his attorney. After Baglini allegedly experienced an “episode” on Sept. 20, his girlfriend urged him to get help.

‘But I know the truth. I know how savage, how horrific, and how violent his actions were.’

Citing court documents, People magazine reported that Baglini’s girlfriend — 31-year-old Kerri Fidalgo — sent a text message to Baglini at 9:57 a.m. Sept. 20 that read: “Tyler, we can talk later. After you get checked out. You need help. You need to get better. You’re having an episode and you’re paranoid. Everything will be OK, but you need help. I love you. I care about you. Please.”

Police said Baglini wrote back: “Goodbye, I really loved you and I forgive you. Time to go to hell; you were the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Citing court documents, WPRI-TV reported that Baglini appeared at St. Luke’s Hospital at 12:39 p.m. and used a public phone there to call his parents multiple times — as well as Fidalgo twice. Baglini told family and his girlfriend that he was checking himself in for mental health issues — but he didn’t and left the hospital at 12:53 p.m., according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Baglini sent a photo of a knife to Fidalgo around 3:40 p.m.

Baglini later that afternoon reportedly staggered into the emergency room of St. Luke’s while holding a bloody knife and claiming that a serial killer had stabbed his girlfriend to death.

A prosecutor said Baglini’s “kitchen knife” had “blood on the blade,” according to WJAR-TV.

WPRI added that Baglini entered the hospital just before 5 p.m. and said the stabbing took place at her Atlantic Street apartment.

Fidalgo’s oldest sister, Kaila Whalen, reportedly became alarmed when police showed up that afternoon to do a welfare check on her sister.

“As my Portuguese-speaking grandmother fired questions at me in panic, I brushed her off and ran downstairs to Kerri’s apartment, desperate to understand what was happening,” Whalen told WPRI. “I had no idea what I was about to walk into. I didn’t know I would find my sister lying on her living room floor, motionless, surrounded by her own blood.”

Whalen added to WPRI that she remembered seeing her sister’s eyes open and her hands raised as if she was trying to protect herself, which Whalen told the station is an image that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Whalen recounted to WPRI, “No one should ever have to find someone they love like that. I was frozen in horror, screaming. My mind was racing, but [my] feet wouldn’t move.”

Still, she was able to run back upstairs for the officers, who called for backup and began CPR, according to WPRI.

“I remember how frantic and forceful it seemed, like it was hurting her. It was too much to bear, so I dropped to my knees in her kitchen and begged God to spare her life. I have never felt so hopeless — so useless,” Whalen recalled to WPRI.

Assistant Bristol County District Attorney Karen O’Sullivan said Fidalgo had been stabbed 14 times in the neck, head, and torso, and her injuries were consistent with attempts to defend herself, according to the Herald News.

Fidalgo was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the police report.

RELATED: ‘It’s all my fault’: Father’s chilling confession leads deputies to car trunk with his 4 dead children inside, police say

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said Baglini was arrested Sept. 20 and charged with murder.

Boston.com reported that Baglini was held overnight at Saint Luke’s Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

Last week at the sentencing hearing, Fidalgo’s mother unleashed her fury on Baglini.

“I have watched him sit here in this courtroom, quiet and timid, as if he couldn’t possibly have done what he did,” Melissa Fidalgo, Kerri’s mother, told the judge before sentencing, according to the Boston Globe.

“But I know the truth. I know how savage, how horrific, and how violent his actions were,” she continued, according to the Globe. “I hate that he thought he had the right to take my daughter’s life. I hate that he took her from us, from the family that loved her so deeply, from the future she was building, and from the world that was brighter because she was in it.”

Baglini’s attorney, Michael Hussey, said during sentencing that his client has a history of substance abuse and mental health issues that were “probably of little concern to anyone in this room, and probably of little value to this court.”

Judge Raffi N. Yessayan responded, “Whatever other issues he may have, he’s a batterer. He’s a domestic abuser. I look at his record, and that’s clear. That’s why I didn’t let him hide in the corner.”

Baglini pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years, court records show.

Kerri’s youngest sister, Jazelle Fidalgo, described her sister as “a mother, role model, protector, and best friend.”

“Whenever I needed advice or comfort, she was the person I called,” Jazelle told WPRI. “She made me feel safe. She believed in me more than anyone ever could. She pushed me to chase my dreams and see my worth, and to never give up on myself. She was the person who stood by me through everything — my shoulder to cry on and my source of strength when I didn’t have any left.”

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​Murder, True crime, True crime news, Stabbing, Massachusetts, Tyler baglini, Kerri fidalgo, Crime, New bedford 

From the get-go, Blaze Media has been bringing you unfiltered, pro-America content from some of the best voices in conservative media. And we’re only getting bigger.

On November 7, we welcome investigative firebrand and founder of American Reformer Christopher Rufo — alongside ex-academic renegade and CEO of Passage Publishing Jonathan Keeperman, aka Lomez — to ignite the front lines in our war on woke culture.

“Rufo & Lomez” is your new go-to podcast for all things politics, culture, and controversy. From dissecting the news, discourse, culture, and art through an anthropological lens to revealing the power structures, taboos, and hidden narratives shaping the modern world, this fiery duo will bring raw, no-holds-barred energy from start to finish. Expect incendiary debates, revelatory deep dives, and unapologetic takedowns that arm you with the truth in an era of elite strongholds.

In anticipation of the show’s launch, we encourage you to subscribe to “Rufo & Lomez” on YouTube for instant access to every episode.

We can’t wait for you to join the fray this Friday with “Rufo & Lomez” — it’s going to be intense, intellectually biting, and rebellious in all the right ways. We’ll see you there.

Want more from Rufo & Lomez?

To enjoy more of the news through the anthropological lens of Christopher Rufo and Lomez, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Rufo & lomez, Chris rufo, Lomez, Jonathan keeperman, Blazetv, Blaze media, Culture, Politics 

There’s no doubt that President Trump’s recent “60 Minutes” interview with Norah O’Donnell was really a master class in negotiation — as his answers left the interviewer speechless and unable to criticize him.

“I know you have said that Xi Jinping wouldn’t dare move militarily on Taiwan while you’re in office, but what if he does? Would you order U.S. forces to defend Taiwan?” O’Donnell asked the president.

“You’ll find out if it happens. And he understands the answer to that,” Trump responded.

“Why not say it?” she asked, before pressing further and asking Trump what he means by “he understands.”

“Why not communicate that publicly to the rest of us? What does he understand?” she asked.

“I can’t give away my secrets. I don’t want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what’s going to happen if something happens. The other side knows, but I’m not somebody that tells you everything because you’re asking me a question,” Trump responded.

“But they understand what’s going to happen. And he has openly said and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” he added.

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck is impressed with Trump, but the interviewer — not so much.

“Presidents never say that. They never say that. Can you imagine? What a stupid question that is,” Glenn says on “The Glenn Beck Program.”

And Trump’s strategy has been working wonders internationally.

“The Democrats won’t say it, but everybody has always said, ‘I wish we just had a good negotiator on our side. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had somebody who looked at the country like a business and could just run it like a business and knew how to negotiate?’” Glenn says.

“We have the best negotiator I think we’ve ever had. I can’t think of anybody who’s better than that,” he adds.

Trump was also questioned by O’Donnell about ICE raids

“Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows. Have some of these raids gone too far?” she asked.

“No, I think they haven’t gone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” Trump responded firmly.

“You’re OK with those tactics?” O’Donnell asked, shocked.

“Yeah, because you have to get the people out. You know, you have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries because they were, you know, criminals,” Trump said.

“It is such a popular issue to get rid of people who are violent criminals in this country,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere says, and Glenn agrees.

“Seventy percent of the American people agree with the ICE raids. Seventy percent. No matter what the mainstream media makes it look, that’s the latest poll,” he says.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sharing, Video phone, Camera phone, Upload, Free, Video, Youtube.com, The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Trump, President trump, 60 minutes, 60 minutes trump interview, Norah o’donnell, Master class, Negotiation, Trump taiwan, Trump china, Ice raids, Immigration crisis 

Karine Jean-Pierre, the former White House press secretary under the Biden administration, is facing more criticism over her disastrous book tour.

Jean-Pierre began her tour in October to promote her new book, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines.” She has been relentlessly mocked, even by those on the left, for repeatedly mentioning identity politics.

‘Lady, please do your book tour and then shut the f**k up! Please.’

During an October 29 episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” the Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur and Katie Miller, a former deputy press secretary and wife of U.S. Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller, found rare common ground criticizing Jean-Pierre for frequently mentioning that she identifies as a black LGBT woman.

“I don’t care about her skin color or sexuality, but my God, she cares about it,” Morgan stated after playing several clips of her book tour interviews. “When people talk about DEI and they look at the way she’s been handling her book tour, all they’re hearing is identity politics.”

Miller agreed, contending that Jean-Pierre was not qualified for the press secretary job.

“I do totally cringe. I hate to say it, but I half agree with Katie here,” Uygur replied, clarifying that he did believe Jean-Pierre was qualified, but adding, “She’s obsessed with identity politics, and I can’t stand it.”

RELATED: Karine Jean-Pierre’s memoir ROASTED: A review so savage, Glenn Beck wants to hug the critic

Former President Joe Biden, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Jean-Pierre was confronted about Miller’s and Uygur’s criticisms during a Tuesday episode of the podcast “Higher Learning.” Host Van Lathan asked Jean-Pierre to explain why she feels it is important to identify herself as a “black, queer woman.”

“If anything, I get criticized for saying I’m a black, queer woman. I don’t get shielded from saying I’m a black, queer woman,” she replied. Jean-Pierre claimed that mentioning her identity puts “more of a target” on her.

“It pisses me off that people who have not walked in my shoes, who have no idea who I really am as a person, get to tell me how I get to identify myself or not,” she continued. “You can’t tell me how I get to call myself. Like, screw you.”

RELATED: Karine Jean-Pierre’s humiliating book tour is even worse than you think

Karine Jean-Pierre. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for SiriusXM

On Sunday, political analyst James Carville mocked Jean-Pierre for dodging a question during an interview with the New Yorker “because she’s a black, lesbian female.”

“Lady, please do your book tour and then shut the f**k up! Please,” Carville said.

Former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates also voiced disagreements with Jean-Pierre. During a Monday interview with Spectrum 1 News, Bates said he “disagree[d] with the reasoning that she has put forward for leaving the party,” referring to Jean-Pierre’s decision to identify as independent after Democrats “betray[ed]” Biden.

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​News, Karine jean-pierre, Jean-pierre, Kjp, Cenk uygur, Katie miller, Biden, Biden administration, Biden admin, Joe biden, Piers morgan, Politics 

The great British statesman Enoch Powell observed nearly 50 years ago: “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.” Dick Cheney is no exception to Powell’s hard rule.

Our newspapers and publications in the coming days will be rife with surreal and false remembrances of the former vice president, who died Tuesday, age 84.

Surreal, because Democrats who spent a lifetime vilifying the man will laud him in death as a great statesman who opposed President Donald Trump and the populist right, while members of his own party will hold his legacy in significantly lower esteem.

Fake, because political commentators are incapable of remembering a time before Trump and can only “remember” the past by projecting their present emotions onto it.

When reviewing the former vice president’s complete antipathy for President Trump, it’s difficult to see it as having been anything but deeply personal.

Before many of my colleagues seem able to remember, Cheney was the consummate political badass, an archetype of ruthlessness, a meme before the meme wars. His economics and foreign policy deserve their exile from today’s Republican Party, but in his day, he bucked hard against the Republican urge to compromise with the rising American left and showed little sympathy for the wails of his opponents.

Cheney refused a role as polite, controlled opposition. He wielded political power without apology and helped rebuild the executive authority and culture Trump and the populists now wield to great effect. In a final irony, Cheney’s arrogance abroad — using military power to secure American energy interests and spread democracy — achieved neither. Instead, his failures cleared the way for the populist revolt that remade his party beyond recognition.

First, Dick Cheney the badass. He left Wyoming for Yale on a scholarship — and quickly flunked out. Undeterred, he returned — and flunked out again. Yale decided he wasn’t cut out to be a Yalie after all.

Despite his considerable intelligence, young Cheney headed back west, took a job as a power-company lineman, and began dating Lynne Ann Vincent, the woman who would become his wife of 61 years.

But his time back in Wyoming didn’t start off so well. Five days before the 2000 election, when news broke that George W. Bush had been arrested for drunk driving a quarter-century earlier, Cheney trumped his boss (for the first of many times), revealing he had two DUIs. It was Lynne, the more disciplined scholar, who convinced him to get his act together and go back to school.

“Lynne, after spending a semester in Europe, had graduated summa cum laude from Colorado College,” Cheney later wrote about those early days. “And I was sleeping off a hangover in the Rock Springs jail.”

After earning his degree, Cheney went to Washington, where his lifelong friend Donald Rumsfeld recruited him into Richard Nixon’s White House. When President Gerald Ford made Rumsfeld defense secretary, Cheney succeeded him as White House chief of staff.

After Ford’s defeat in 1976, Cheney ran for Congress. At 37, he suffered the first of five heart attacks while campaigning — but still won, beginning a five-term House career that ended when President George H.W. Bush named him secretary of defense. In this role, he successfully prosecuted the Gulf War.

After Bush’s loss to Bill Clinton in 1992, Cheney left public life, only returning after Bush’s son tapped him to find the best possible vice president for his ticket. In typical Cheney fashion, he found himself — and accepted the oft-derided job only if it came with a broad and influential portfolio of responsibilities.

Haunted by what he saw as the post-Watergate diminishment of the presidency, Cheney spent eight years under George W. Bush pushing for a more muscular executive branch. He championed an aggressive, sometimes vicious foreign policy, restrained the administration’s more liberal impulses, and redefined the modern presidency for a generation.

But the years in Washington didn’t tame the old Wyoming lineman’s temper. During a Senate-floor photo op in 2004, he told Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to “go f**k yourself.” Charles Krauthammer wrote one of the better columns on the incident, calling it one of the great political moments of the era. When the comedian Dennis Miller brought it up in 2010, Cheney grinned and called it “sort of the best thing I ever did.”

His scowling visage became a fixture in the deeply Democratic press of the 2000s. When C-SPAN caught him lurking in the bushes while Bush delivered a Rose Garden address, the images instantly went viral. Far from shrinking from his villainous reputation — he embraced the nickname “Darth Vader” — the vice president reveled in the left-wing media’s scorn.

One of his lasting frustrations was his boss’ refusal to pardon Scooter Libby — the longtime aide wrongly accused of leaking a CIA agent’s identity. Bush and Cheney’s relationship never recovered.

By all appearances, Cheney seemed the sort of man who might have welcomed Donald Trump’s rise. He came from a blue-collar state, and the administration that followed his had toyed with prosecuting him for war crimes. Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, even flirted publicly with the idea. Trump, in contrast, pardoned Cheney’s friend Libby during his first term.

Yet Cheney chose a different course — one that would define, and in many ways tarnish, his legacy.

His hostility toward Trump wasn’t ideological; it was personal. Trump had done much that Cheney once claimed to value: building close ties with Israel’s hawkish leadership, confronting Iran, reasserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, and strengthening NATO by forcing European allies to pay more for their own defense. Their disagreements on trade hardly explain Cheney’s claim that “in our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic” than Trump.

The truth is that beyond simply challenging the foreign-policy blob consensus, Trump was the first Republican candidate for president since Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) to explicitly attack the Bush administration’s record on 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan. As president, Trump completely disavowed the reckless and destructive decades of war in the Middle East and Central Asia.

When Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) joined Democrats in their campaign to destroy Donald Trump after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the Republican base mocked her and unceremoniously ejected her from power. She lost her leadership post, her primary, and the loyalty of the movement her father helped build. That humiliation cut deep. For a man as proud — and prideful — as Dick Cheney, the rejection did not sit well.

His bitterness during Trump’s first term hardened into something darker. Cheney lent credibility to the Russia hoax and, in one of his final political acts, endorsed Kamala Harris. It was a sad, almost tragic coda to a long and consequential career.

In the end, Cheney fulfilled Enoch Powell’s old truth about politics — one he would have recognized but never admitted. “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure.” Powell’s words have echoed through this story from the start, but they fit Cheney too perfectly to ignore.

He left politics the way he lived it: defiant, scowling, and unwilling to bend. The man who once told a U.S. senator to “go f**k yourself” had one final message for the movement he ultimately could not control. Rest in peace.

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​Opinion & analysis, Politics, Cheney 

U.S. sales of Pfizer’s Comirnaty shots have taken a nosedive since the Trump administration updated its immunization schedules last month and dropped the universal collective recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.

The pharmaceutical company’s revenues for the third quarter of 2025 are down 6% — amounting to a $1 billion drop — compared to the same stretch the previous year.

‘CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks.’

Pfizer indicated in its latest earnings statement that “the operational decrease was primarily driven by a year-over-year decline in COVID-19 product revenues largely due to lower infection rates impacting Paxlovid demand as well as a narrower vaccine recommendation for COVID-19 in the U.S. that reduced the eligible population for Comirnaty.”

Sales of Comirnaty were down 25% in the United States, and sales of Paxlovid, an oral antiviral medication that treats mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults, were down 52%.

When his agency dropped the universal recommendation last month for Comirnaty — a controversial vaccine used at a time of population-wide immunity to treat an endemic virus fatal in roughly 1% of confirmed cases — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jim O’Neill stated, “CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.”

RELATED: Naomi Wolf continues to expose COVID vaccine: ‘A depopulating technology’

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The CDC’s decision came just months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration forced Pfizer to slap a damning warning on its Comirnaty vaccine noting the estimated unadjusted incidence of heart conditions following administration of the 2023-2024 formula of the shot, as well as the longitudinal results of a 2024 study concerning cardiac manifestations and outcomes of vaccine-associated myocarditis in American youths.

The FDA also required Pfizer to describe the new safety information in the adverse reactions section of its vaccine information insert such that it now notes that “the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis during the period 1 through 7 days following administration of the 2023-2024 Formula of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was approximately 8 cases per million doses in individuals 6 months through 64 years of age and approximately 27 cases per million doses in males 12 through 24 years of age.”

While the FDA has approved the drug for use in individuals who are 65 years of age and older or 5-64 years old who suffer from at least one underlying condition putting them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19, it revoked the emergency use authorization for the shot in August.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla reportedly suggested on a Tuesday call with analysts that the company is looking for opportunities outside the United States, stating that the company’s catalog of vaccines constitute a “key area of focus in international markets.”

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​Vaccination, Vaccine, Comirnaty, Pfizer, Clot shot, Died suddenly, Covid-19, Pandemic, Covid, Drugs, Big pharma, Politics 

With socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani poised to become New York City’s next mayor, BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales is sounding the alarm on what she says could be a “major catastrophe.”

“As well as the polls can tell, he is about to win as mayor in New York City. And, you know, you might think, like, ‘Well, let’s just let him run this New York City, this leftist s**thole, into the ground. Just let him do that. You get what you vote for, that’s fine,’” Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”

“Well, the problem is that his policies could bankrupt the city, which we’ve already talked about, and he could have just another mass exodus from New York, which would really spell trouble for the state,” she continues.

And a mass exodus could definitely be in the cards if he wins, as indicated by a new Daily Mail poll that asked New Yorkers if they plan to stay or leave if Mamdani gets elected.

Nine percent of those who answered the poll said that they would “definitely leave.”

“You’re like, ‘Oh, it’s only 9% — 59% said they would stay; 25% said they would consider leaving. Only 9% said that they would definitely leave.’ But 9% of New Yorkers is 765,000 people. I mean, that would be one of the biggest mass exoduses in American history,” Gonzales says.

“Now, then you take into consideration that 25% who are considering leaving. If they left, that’s 2.12 million people leaving New York City. Now, you’re talking about an economic collapse for the city, just because Zohran Mamdani wins,” she continues.

But it gets worse, because it’s not going to be the poor that are leaving.

“His plan to tax the rich is behind this. The top 1% of earners in New York pay around half the city’s income taxes. So, who is going to pay for all of this s**t if all of the top earners are leaving?” Gonzales asks.

“We already saw this play out in places [like] California. When you rely on the top 1% of earners and the top 1% of earners actually have a whole lot of income, disposable income, to just move — if you elect a radical Muslim communist, they’re just going to do that. And then you won’t be able to tax them,” she continues.

“So, how is he going to pay for all of this free s**t — the government-run grocery stores, the free buses? I’ll use air quotes because we all know none of this is actually free. Then all the other city services are going to start circling the drain. You’re going to have fewer funds for police, for fire, for transit,” she says.

“Then comes real estate issues. You’ll have a rise in vacancies. The property values, in turn, are going to plunge. The lenders are going to get hit. More rich people are going to snap up properties across the country, which is going to cause real estate to rise everywhere else,” she adds.

And all of this will lead to “New York City becoming unrecognizable as the global powerhouse that it once was.”

“We’re talking about a major catastrophe here,” she adds.

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.

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The United Services Automobile Association is one of the most venerable names in banking and insurance, a company that prides itself on its service to members of the military and their families. In recent years, however, USAA has run into serious financial trouble due to a combination of mismanagement, fashionable diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and the firm’s increasing reliance on incompetent and untrustworthy H-1B workers, most of whom are from India.

A significant number of current and former USAA employees have come forward to discuss what they describe as a toxic workplace culture, which has led to an alarming number of employee suicides, and the company’s outsourcing of critical functions to H-1Bs and Indian consultancies, putting at risk the financial data of its customers, which include high-ranking members of the U.S. armed forces.

What began as a cost-cutting strategy in the early 2000s now threatens the stability of an institution long trusted by veterans.

Insiders granted anonymity to avoid retaliation say USAA’s decline began in the 2000s under then-CEO Robert G. Davis, who outsourced IT and other core functions to H-1B contracting firms such as Tata Consultancy Services. Those firms imposed contracts requiring USAA to maintain minimum staffing levels, creating chronic overstaffing. Idle contractors were reportedly assigned “busywork” to meet quotas, with conference rooms converted into laptop farms where workers sat “packed like sardines.”

One insider described the result as “incredibly incompetent” operations. Projects that U.S.-based employees could complete on time were instead handed to H-1B contractors who often lacked the necessary skills and required retraining.

From cost-cutting to collapse

At the same time, USAA repeatedly laid off American staff and replaced them with foreign workers, driving labor costs higher and eroding institutional knowledge. Davis retired abruptly in 2007, but his successors continued his policies, expanding USAA’s offshore footprint with new IT centers in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Chennai, India.

Insiders say H-1B contractors at USAA often lack basic programming skills, compounding inefficiency. In one case, a credit card processing problem baffled contractors for six months until the company brought back a retired American employee, who solved the problem in a matter of days. The constant visa turnover worsens the issue. Skilled H-1Bs leave after six years, draining institutional knowledge. Turnover is even higher at USAA’s Guadalajara facility, where Indian employees reportedly fear cartel violence.

Bureaucratic bloat magnifies these problems. Each team has dual directors, and many systems rely on outdated software. That dysfunction has drawn scrutiny from federal regulators, who fined USAA for failed audits and violations of anti-money-laundering laws. Those failures forced the company to sell off divisions, including real estate, and pushed USAA into persistent losses through much of the decade.

Customers have also felt the effects. Many complain that poorly trained H-1B staff struggle to handle basic service requests. One customer said resolving a fraud alert took hours — and that he now contacts USAA’s top executives directly to get results.

Security risks and cultural decay

USAA’s growing dependence on H-1B contractors and overseas labor has created potential security and compliance risks, according to multiple insiders. The company has outsourced anti-money laundering work to Tata Consultancy Services, which reportedly performs much of that work in India. As a result, the personal financial data of U.S. service members and veterans may be stored or processed abroad.

USAA also shares customer data — including names, addresses, and birth dates — with LexisNexis, with no option for customers to opt out. One customer said he only discovered this practice after receiving a notice in the mail.

RELATED: The visa that ate America’s tech jobs

subodhsathe via iStock/Getty Images

Inside the company, these policies have coincided with a marked decline in morale. Mass layoffs of veteran employees have preceded at least three suicides, including one who shot himself in a company parking lot. A former director described intervening to stop another potential suicide. Tensions intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when USAA defied Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning vaccine mandates.

Employees describe a sharp cultural shift away from USAA’s traditional military ethos toward a mishmash of corporate diversity programming. The company has hosted Diwali celebrations and mandatory DEI events while facing allegations of religious discrimination against Christian employees. One former employee has taken a case to arbitration. Internal surveys reportedly show employee satisfaction at just 33%.

An institution on the brink

Analysts say the company’s reliance on foreign labor and internal instability have eroded its reputation for customer service and financial stewardship. What began as a cost-cutting strategy in the early 2000s now threatens the stability of an institution long trusted by veterans.

Whether USAA can recover will depend on its ability to restore confidence — both among employees and the members it was established to serve.

​Opinion & analysis, Usaa, H-1b visas, India, Cheap labors, Unemployment, Wages, Laptop farms, Banks, Insurance, Outsourcing, Incompetence, Diversity equity inclusion, Woke capital, Woke business, Robert g. davis, Tata consultancy services, Jobs americans will do, Contractors, Cartel violence, Guadalajara cartel, Anti-money laundering laws, Audits, Big tech, Customer service 

Some polling locations were targeted by bomb threats on Election Day, but officials said that no voting was disrupted because of the incidents.

The New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said they were investigating an “elaborate swatting attempt” at some New York City polling locations.

County officials then said that the threats were all ‘malicious, intimidation-driven acts intended to disrupt the democratic process.’

Police sources said that “terroristic” threats were sent via email about the polling locations at Washington Heights, the West Village, and Midtown.

At the same time, New Jersey police were responding to bomb threats in at least seven counties.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way also serves as the state’s highest election official and said there were “no credible threats” and encouraged voters to resist intimidation.

“We are doing everything in our power to protect voters and poll workers and coordinate closely with state, local and federal partners to ensure a smooth and safe election,” she added. “We encourage every eligible voter to exercise their right to vote before 8:00 p.m. today.”

Polling sites in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic Counties all received the emailed bomb threat, according to N.J. Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

“Law enforcement officers have responded at each affected polling place, and they have worked swiftly to secure these polling locations and ensure the safety of every voter,” Platkin added in a statement. “Some of these polling locations have already reopened to the public. At others, voters will be directed to a nearby polling location to cast their ballot.”

County officials then said that the threats were all “malicious, intimidation-driven acts intended to disrupt the democratic process” but assured voters that polling sites were safe and secure.

RELATED: DHS: Deadly Dallas ICE shooting came a month after bomb threat at same office

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Dept. of Justice was responding to the threats.

“We are on it. This Dept. of Justice is committed to free, fair and safe elections,” she wrote on social media.

Some New Jersey schools were closed for the day out of an abundance of caution over a threat made to a polling site at a high school.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed on Tuesday further disturbing details about the Biden administration’s Operation Arctic Frost, which targeted at least nine Republican lawmakers.

‘It was a clear effort by the Biden White House and the Biden DOJ to go after the president.’

Documents previously published by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) exposed that the operation sought the private cellphone records of Republican politicians.

The investigation into Arctic Frost unveiled that the Biden administration provided Trump’s phone to special counsel Jack Smith, Bondi announced on Tuesday.

“During the Arctic Frost Investigation, we found that Special Counsel seized President Trump’s government-issued phone,” Bondi wrote in a post on X.

Bondi called the action by the Biden administration “UNPRECEDENTED.”

“In addition, Special Counsel subpoenaed all of President Trump’s PERSONAL phone records,” she continued. “We can never again allow this kind of government weaponization in America.”

RELATED: Liberal media remains DEAD SILENT on Biden FBI’s Arctic Frost operation against conservatives

Attorney General Pam Bondi, President Donald Trump. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Bondi stated that the latest findings were provided to Congress.

Conservatives flooded Bondi’s post with comments asking if any arrests would follow these new revelations, expressing that many are tired of the political theater and want to see justice served.

“Why not move forward with charges?” one X user asked. “Why hand it to Congress … so it can die in committee and resurface as campaign soundbites? We’re tired of the theater. We want accountability.”

“America is sick and tired of talk,” another user wrote. “We want major arrests and long prison terms. I really do not know how else to make this more clear. Our guy has a MUG SHOT, his personal home was raided by armed law enforcement with shoot to kill orders. He has had multiple attempts on his life.”

RELATED: ‘Not. One. Story.’ Liberal news outlets’ silence regarding Biden’s ‘enemies list’ is deafening

Special Counsel Jack Smith. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted to Bondi’s announcement during Tuesday’s press briefing.

“I think this is just further evidence of the egregious overreach and weaponization of government that took place under the previous White House against then-former president and now-President Donald J. Trump,” Leavitt said. “It was a clear effort by the Biden White House and the Biden DOJ to go after the president.”

The Department of Justice declined to comment beyond the AG’s statement.

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​News, Pam bondi, Department of justice, Attorney general, Donald trump, Trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Jack smith, Biden administration, Biden admin, Biden, Joe biden, Politics 

In the lead-up to Election Day in New York City on Tuesday, President Donald Trump posted several attacks on Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is expected to win despite his socialist views.

On Tuesday morning, Trump posted: “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!”

Mamdani, whom Trump called a “100% Communist Lunatic” back in June, is considered to be the front-runner heading into the election, particularly after he gained the endorsement of New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other Democrat leaders.

RELATED: LGBTQ champion Zohran Mamdani faces backlash over photo with ‘anti-homosexuality’ Ugandan lawmaker

Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

On Monday afternoon, Trump threatened to withhold all extra federal funds in the event that Mamdani wins the election “because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival! It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad.”

The post continued: “His principles have been tested for over a thousand years, and never once have they been successful. I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE. He was nothing as an Assemblyman, ranked at the bottom of the class and, as Mayor of potentially, again, the Greatest City in the World, HE HAS NO CHANCE to bring it back to its former Glory!”

Trump also told voters that they “have no choice” but to vote for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, since “a vote for Curtis Sliwa [R] is a vote for Mamdani.”

Trump’s criticisms of Mamdani, which date back at least to late June, ramped up in the last week. On October 29, Trump said, “The more people learn about Mamdani, the less they like him!”

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The elections today are undoubtedly important, especially the one taking place in New York City — where the entire city risks falling to socialism at the hands of Democrat voters.

Gen Z is reportedly coming out in droves for Mamdani, with early voting data recording 117,042 adults ages 18 to 29 casting ballots in the election. This is 16% of the vote share, which is higher than previous elections for this age group.

Democratic socialist Mamdani is favored to win and would be the first Muslim mayor and first Asian American mayor of the nation’s largest city.

BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere wonders what a Mamdani win would mean for the Democrat Party as a whole.

“The question is, is he going to be the face of the party?” Burguiere asks.

“I think the answer to that is the Democrats don’t actually want that. They don’t like his package. They like the fact that he, you know, can come out, and he’s packaged as a very, you know, happy-go-lucky candidate that’s saying important things about affordability,” he explains, adding, “But they do not want this to happen.”

“What conservatives need to do if Mamdani does win is to step back and say, ‘Holy crap, that’s the face of the party.’ That’s who they’re running against. You know, the guy you’re saying is a moderate in that swing-state election. Actually, he’s Mamdani and that will be true more often than it is not,” he continues.

There is one man running against Mamdani who Burguiere believes would do a great job, but unfortunately, the odds are not stacked in his favor.

“I’m a New Yorker. I was born in New York, but I have very little sympathy for New York City. They were the ones that picked Mamdani. They were the ones that showed Cuomo that he has a chance of winning, which helped him in the race. They’re the ones that are ignoring Curtis Sliwa, who’s been just a good guy who likes the city and should be the next mayor,” Burguiere says, noting that while he’d “be the best one,” the other two are essentially the same to him.

“I don’t really care honestly who wins out of Cuomo or Mamdani,” he says, adding, “I think they both suck and they both do incredible damage to the city. It’ll be worse than it is now because of these two people.”

Want more from Stu?

To enjoy more of Stu’s lethal wit, wisdom, and mockery, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Free, Sharing, Upload, Video phone, Camera phone, Video, Youtube.com, Stu does america, Stu burguiere, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze online, Blaze originals, Zohran mamdani, Andrew cuomo, Curtis sliwa, Nyc mayoral election, Nyc mayor, Eric adams, Socialism, Democratic socialist, New york city doomed, New york city mayor 

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is leading the charge to ensure Americans are no longer “inadvertently subsidizing” groups with terrorist links, Blaze News learned.

Roy introduced legislation Tuesday that would eliminate the tax-exempt status for extremist groups with close ties to terrorist organizations, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. Roy is setting his sights on groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which has been found to have ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and even Hamas.

‘This must end.’

“It is absurd that the U.S. has provided organizations with ties to terrorism tax-exempt status in the U.S. — resulting in the American people inadvertently subsidizing terror against themselves,” Roy told Blaze News.

“It is ridiculous, and we should have ended this long ago,” he continued.

RELATED: EPA moves to slash Obama-era gas can regulations: ‘VENT THE DARN CAN’

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Roy’s bill, dubbed the No Tax Exemptions for Terror Act, would go after organizations that take advantage of the tax exemption intended for charities, which is broadly defined. Although groups like CAIR define themselves as charities, the FBI identified the group as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation investigation and demonstrated how CAIR’s founders partook in a meeting with Hamas supporters in 1993.

“No organization with ties to terrorism should receive a tax benefit,” Roy told Blaze News. “For example, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) should immediately be stripped of their 501(c)(3) status.”

RELATED: Conservative firebrand Chip Roy bids Congress farewell, targets new political venture

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“CAIR has ties with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other extremist organizations that routinely use violence and commit horrific acts to advance their political agenda,” Roy added. “CAIR’s national executive director even praised Hamas’ barbaric October 7 attacks against Israel.”

“This must end,” Roy told Blaze News. “CAIR and other non-profits with ties to terrorism should immediately be stripped of their 501(c)(3) status.”

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​Chip roy, Cair, Tax exempt status, Council on american islamic relations, Muslim brotherhood, Hamas, October 7, House republicans, Texas, Politics 

Tommy Robinson has long drawn the ire and attention of British establishmentarians by raising hell about the fallout of mass immigration, the failure of multiculturalism in England, the threats posed by radical Islam, and the cover-up of the Pakistani rape-gang scandal.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, various other politicians, and even some woke clergymen have condemned him; multiple social media platforms have banned him; and he was even told to stay clear of an entire city.

‘Thank you for raising the flag of England whilst so many cowards cowered.’

The desperation to shut Robinson up or, at the very least, make him go away manifested last year in the form of an unjustified police stop, which resulted in his indictment on a terrorism charge under the British equivalent of the Patriot Act.

To the likely chagrin of Robinson’s detractors in parliament and to the delight of his supporters on the scene, Judge Sam Goozee of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court cleared the 42-year-old activist on Tuesday, agreeing with the defense that the stop was unlawful and that police discriminated against Robinson because of what he stands for and his political beliefs.

“That judge’s verdict is a slam down against the police,” Robinson told reporters outside the courthouse. “Read what he says. Read about the evidence. It was corrupt. It was unlawful.”

“I’m frustrated still. I should be happy. I’m not happy because I shouldn’t be put through this time and time again,” Robinson added.

RELATED: The UK wants to enforce its censorship laws in the US. The First Amendment begs to differ.

photo by Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images

On July 28, 2024 — a day after organizing a political rally — Robinson was detained by Kent police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act while attempting to travel to Spain, where he now lives. During his detention, Robinson was told to give police the PIN necessary to access his phone.

Robinson allegedly told police, “Not a chance, bruv. … You look like a c**t, so you ain’t having it,” adding that his phone contained sensitive “journalist material” regarding “vulnerable girls.”

Alisdair Williamson, Robinson’s lawyer, emphasized during the trial that Robinson “was stopped unlawfully, detained unlawfully for 40 minutes, and asked questions that were something to do with his political beliefs.”

Judge Goozee evidently agreed, finding on Tuesday that the stop did not appear motivated by any genuine suspicion of terrorism but rather by Robinson’s beliefs, which altogether qualify under the law as a protected characteristic. The judge also took issue with the police officers’ apparent selective amnesia regarding the incident and credibility.

Goozee said in his ruling, “I cannot put out of my mind that it was actually what you stood for and your beliefs that acted as the principle reason for the stop,” the Guardian reported.

“I cannot convict you,” the judge added.

In addition to questioning what happens now to the counterterrorism officers who unlawfully targeted him, Robinson thanked Elon Musk after the trial, stating, “I’m forever grateful. If you didn’t step in to fund my legal fight for this, then I’d probably be in jail. So today, free speech won!”

Elon Musk responded, “Thank you for raising the flag of England whilst so many cowards cowered.”

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A father-to-be reportedly slipped into a coma after being involved in a car accident while his girlfriend was driving on Super Bowl Sunday earlier this year.

But he eventually woke up from the coma just long enough before his death to give a chilling revelation to law enforcement about his girlfriend and the car crash, according to multiple reports.

‘I don’t care what happens, you’ll get what you deserve.’

Daniel Waterman, 22, was involved in a car crash on Interstate 95 in Flagler County on Feb. 9, Law & Crime reported, citing the warrant arrest affidavit. Waterman was in the car with his girlfriend — 24-year-old Leigha Mumby — who reportedly was driving a 2019 Honda Passport.

The car collided with a tree, police said, adding that no other vehicles were involved.

Mumby sustained serious injuries, according to police.

But Waterman suffered severe, life-threatening injuries, including a “C6-7 fracture, cervical spine injury, clavicle fracture, femur fracture, hip dislocation, epidural hematoma, pneumothorax with pulmonary contusion, zygomatic and temporal contusion, [and a] talus fracture,” according to the affidavit.

Waterman fell into a coma — but recovered enough to communicate with investigators on May 15.

Syracuse.com, citing Waterman’s mother, reported that he could barely speak, so police pointed to letters on a board while Waterman made sounds to indicate which letters he wanted to use.

The outlet reported that during the 90-minute interview with police, Waterman revealed that the car crash was not an accident.

While driving down the interstate, Waterman and Mumby got into an argument about a text message he received from a female friend in New York — and the fact that Leigha found out that day she was pregnant, according to the affidavit.

Waterman told the investigator who interviewed him that he and Mumby “exchanged expletives” and “Leigha began driving recklessly.”

Waterman’s mother, Heather Waterman, told Syracuse.com that her son was sending text messages to a friend about the Super Bowl the night of the crash because Waterman was a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and the friend was a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

Waterman’s cousin, Jessica Stappenbeck, told FlaglerLive.com that just minutes before the crash, Mumby texted her the following from Waterman’s phone: “This is what he gets for being a liar and a cheater.”

Stappenbeck said Waterman told her on the day of the crash that he didn’t know what to do about the pregnancy and that he “didn’t like how Leigha was handling the situation.”

Stappenbeck said Waterman and Mumby watched the Super Bowl at her home, but the couple left before the end of the game.

RELATED: Watch wild dashcam video of hit-and-run crash that led to bizarre chain of events culminating in arrest of rock star’s wife

According to the arrest affidavit, the last thing Waterman remembered before the crash was Mumby telling him, “I don’t care what happens, you’ll get what you deserve.”

The affidavit said the vehicle “swerved off the roadway, colliding with a tree, making Daniel incapacitated.”

An officer stated in the affidavit, “I have reason to believe Leigha made these statements and immediately swerved off the road to crash her car.”

The arrest affidavit said the car’s event data recorder found the vehicle was speeding between 93 and 95 miles per hour approximately three to five seconds before the crash.

“The brakes were not applied, ABS was inactive, and stability control was not engaged,” the affidavit read.

The affidavit also noted that the vehicle was “aggressively maneuvering” about four seconds before the collision.

In July, Mumby was arrested on charges of reckless driving causing serious bodily injury and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the affidavit.

Mumby was booked into the Flagler County Jail and subsequently released after posting a $150,000 bond.

Syracuse.com reported that Waterman died from pneumonia Oct. 8 at the Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York.

Following Waterman’s death, prosecutors added vehicular homicide to Mumby’s previous charges on Oct. 24, according to People magazine.

John Hager, an attorney for Waterman’s family, told Fox News, “There are no real winners in this situation. It’s a terrible, horrible situation, and the fact that these charges were filed, I think were right and just, and the family is satisfied with how the state attorney’s office in Flagler County has been working diligently and is satisfied with the current charges being filed.”

Hager told WTVT-TV, “This was not an accident. Evidence showed she didn’t use the brakes — the car was speeding up at the time of impact.”

Hager added, “The family believes the new charge is appropriate and are relieved to see justice moving forward.”

What’s more, Waterman’s death has ignited a paternity battle over Mumby’s baby. Hager told WOFL-TV that Mumby recently gave birth to Waterman’s child.

Waterman’s mother told Syracuse.com that her son took online parenting courses in August, and his dying wish was for his parents to get custody of the child.

“We’ll do whatever we can do to bring her to us,” the mother told Syracuse.com. “He wanted her raised in New York with his family.” Hager told the Daytona Beach News-Journal that Waterman was visiting from New York at the time of the crash.

An obituary for Waterman posted to Syracuse.com said he “left this world on October 8th, far too soon following a tragic act of violence.”

“Daniel passed away after courageously fighting for eight months from injuries sustained in a crash,” the obituary added. “Daniel was an excited, soon-to-be father of a baby girl. He wanted nothing more than to come home to her and to the family who loved him so dearly.”

Mumby is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 19.

The Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ requests for comment.

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​True crime, True crime news, Daniel waterman, Homicide, Vehicular homicide, Florida crime, Car accident, Car crash, Leigha mumby, Crime, Super bowl sunday, Super bowl, New york state 

As the tight gubernatorial race in New Jersey reaches its final stretch, a deputy attorney general last week left his secure government career to speak out on pivotal political issues impacting his home state.

After a 14-year public service career, during which he worked on high-pressure cases as a deputy AG, assistant prosecutor, and defense attorney, William Holmes announced that he felt compelled to resign.

‘I cannot, in good conscience, work under someone who would label me a racist or white supremacist simply for sharing some of Kirk’s views.’

He referred to the celebration of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, along with New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill’s comments about Kirk, as the final straw.

Holmes expressed deep concern that Sherrill would secure a victory against Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli on Tuesday.

“I disagree with her on many issues, but what troubles me most is her recent characterization of Charlie Kirk’s views as ‘racist’ and ‘anti-American,'” Holmes wrote in a post on Facebook addressing his recent decision to resign. He called Sherrill’s “reckless labels” of Kirk’s views “disqualifying.”

Holmes was referring to a statement released by Rep. Sherrill (D-N.J.) on Kirk’s murder. While she condemned the “horrific” assassination, she called Kirk’s views “vile” and accused him of trying to “roll back the rights of women and Black people.”

RELATED: Republican candidate narrows the gap in NJ governor race with the help of key Dem endorsements

Image source: William Holmes

“Any person who is trying to hold a position of great power should at the very least try to understand the arguments of their political opponents. The ignorant labeling by Sherrill shows she made no such attempt,” Holmes told Blaze News.

He further scrutinized Sherrill for remaining silent about Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones’ text message scandal, in which he wished death on a Republican rival and his children.

“I resigned because I want to urge people not to vote for Mikie Sherrill and to give Jack a chance. Her inflammatory comments, made before Kirk was even laid to rest, cannot be ignored,” he wrote. “I cannot, in good conscience, work under someone who would label me a racist or white supremacist simply for sharing some of Kirk’s views.”

Holmes acknowledged that resigning was a risky decision, but he emphasized the importance of freely discussing political matters.

“I’ve had to bite my tongue on many issues, such as how bail reform was implemented, the assassination attempt on President Trump and the coverage of it afterwards, and of course, Charlie Kirk’s recent death and the aftermath of it,” Holmes told Blaze News. “I understand some of the reasoning as to why a prosecutor needs to stay silent and how it could affect the public’s trust. However, I also know that if my co-workers knew I had strong conservative views, it would likely ruin any chances of a promotion while serving under a Democratic leadership.”

RELATED: NJ’s blue wall may be cracking in governor race, new poll shows — GOP hopeful racks up Democrat endorsements

Jack Ciattarelli. Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images. Mikie Sherrill. Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images

Holmes contended that “debate is the best forum for discovering truth.” He stated that labels like “Nazis,” “racists,” and “fascists” are used to dehumanize conservatives and discourage debate.

“I hope others are willing to come forward and speak out and defend their beliefs. The more people who are willing to speak out and criticize the ignorant labels by people who do not even bother trying to understand our beliefs, the harder it will be to silence us,” he said.

As of Saturday, RealClearPolling had Sherrill with an average advantage of just 3.3 points over Ciattarelli, and some recent polls show just a 1-point advantage.

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​News, New jersey, William holmes, Attorney general, Ag, Mikie sherrill, Jack ciattarelli, New jersey governor race, New jersey gubernatorial race, Charlie kirk, Turning point usa, Politics 

Since last November, I’ve warned Republican voters not to believe the happy talk coming from friendly media. Nothing suggests the Democratic Party is collapsing — or that Donald Trump has “killed wokeness,” as Eric Trump claimed recently. The fight against the woke left and its Democratic Party embodiment continues, and the results remain mixed.

Trump has made real progress in removing DEI programs from the federal government and institutions that take federal funds. Yet schools, corporations, and other major organizations continue to find new ways to keep the ideology alive.

The Democratic Party is not collapsing. Its radicals are thriving. Black voters are not abandoning it. Conservatives need to stop pretending otherwise.

In blue and purple states, even the most extreme woke policies — like letting biological males compete in women’s sports or enter girls’ locker rooms — barely move voters. More than half the electorate in places like Virginia, New York, Illinois, California, and Oregon appear comfortable with positions that conservatives describe as “80-20 moral issues.” The electoral evidence for such optimism doesn’t exist.

Polls show Democrats holding barely a 30% approval rating — but Republicans don’t fare much better. A recent Gallup survey found the GOP only three points higher in popularity, while Democrats lead by 20 points on “acceptable philosophical positions.”

Democrats also hold a massive financial advantage and dominate the institutions that shape culture and opinion: public-sector unions, schools, universities, corporate media, and Hollywood. Their radical wing isn’t dragging them down; it’s defining them. Just ask Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Zohran Mamdani, or the other progressive Democrats who keep winning elections.

As Ben Domenech recently noted, Democrats’ “bloodthirsty rage” keeps them united — even behind candidates like Jay Jones, the Virginia attorney general hopeful who once texted that he wanted to shoot a Republican lawmaker in the head and hoped the man’s children would die. Strategically, the Democrats may be right to stand by him. On the eve of Election Day, Jones was running neck-and-neck with incumbent Republican Jason Miyares, a capable and articulate attorney general trying to survive in an increasingly blue state.

Jones, who is black, will likely dominate the black vote — a reality Republicans must face. Black voters have come to view hostility toward the mostly white GOP as an expression of group identity. The small gains Trump made with black voters in 2020 haven’t changed that dynamic in a meaningful way.

Republicans should stop pretending they can transform black voting habits and instead focus on persuadable groups: white Christian men, Orthodox Jews, and Hispanics. Some subgroups, such as African immigrants and West Indian evangelicals, remain open to outreach — but the broader trend is clear.

The left’s cultural dominance was driven home for me recently when I learned that local elementary school students came home singing about “Daddy’s new boyfriend.” Teachers in our district overwhelmingly belong to the hard-left American Federation of Teachers and have no hesitation promoting its ideology. Even when warned against it, they keep injecting political dogma into the classroom.

RELATED: Pity equals power for the progressive class

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Our borough’s school board still has a Christian majority, but it faces relentless pressure from activist feminists determined to take control of local education. The county newspaper, once a reliable conservative voice, now reads like an MSNBC transcript. And for the first time, our state representative is a progressive Democrat.

These are not isolated anecdotes. I live in a community that once voted Republican by habit — a borough in Pennsylvania’s traditionally red 11th Congressional District. Yet the signs of political drift are unmistakable. The left controls the institutions that shape belief, and that control gives it momentum. As a result, this place is turning purple.

Conservatives need to stop pretending otherwise. We are the weaker side in a long struggle against a relentless opponent. The Democratic Party is not collapsing. Its radicals are thriving. Black voters are not abandoning it. And wokeness, far from being “dead,” continues to define American life — from boardrooms to classrooms to city hall.

The first step toward winning any war is admitting you’re losing one.

​Opinion & analysis, Elections, Eric trump, Donald trump, Wokeness, Woke agenda, Leftism, Socialism, New york city mayoral race, Zohran mamdani, Islam, Virginia, Abigail spanberger, Jay jones, Political violence, New jersey, Democratic party, Republican party, Polls 

Using the revenue of some of the tariffs that liberal critics have fought vigorously, President Donald Trump has helped vulnerable American mothers and, in the process, neutralized some of Democrats’ supposed “leverage” in what is nearly the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) recently admitted that while the Democrat-induced government shutdown has been painful for families across the country, it is somehow necessary because “it is one of the few leverage times [Democrats] have.”

In their quest for leverage, Democrats have jeopardized critical food assistance and health care for the nearly seven million poor American pregnant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, infants, and at-risk children who rely on the special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program known as WIC.

‘American families deserve certainty from their government.’

The WIC program, which received roughly $7 billion in fiscal year 2024, is federally funded through the annual appropriations process. The National WIC Association warned last month that unless additional funding was injected into the program, millions of families would lose their benefits as of Nov. 1.

“NWA is calling on the White House to make additional emergency funds available to avoid a short-term crisis for the millions of American families who count on WIC while Congress negotiates full-year funding for FY 2026,” Georgia Machell, president of the NWA, said in an Oct. 21 statement.

“WIC is a lifeline for nearly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and young children. Even short-term disruption to WIC’s healthy food benefits, lactation support, nutrition education, screenings, and referrals can have long-term negative impacts on families,” added Machell.

On Friday, the Trump administration tapped a fund of unused Section 232 tariff revenue in order to make $450 million available for the WIC program, reported Reuters.

RELATED: Here are the 4 Republicans who betrayed Trump AGAIN, joining Democrats to undermine the MAGA agenda

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Federal funding records reportedly show that the money was transferred to the WIC program on Friday from the tariff revenue fund, which was made available to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for commodity disaster assistance. The USDA drew $300 million from the same fund last month to keep the WIC program liquid.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated last month, “The Trump White House will not allow impoverished mothers and their babies to go hungry because of the Democrats’ political games.”

Machell noted in the wake of the White House’s rescue of the program that “this additional funding is a welcome relief, but it is a stopgap, not a solution,” stressing the need for an end to the shutdown.

“American families deserve certainty from their government, not the constant anxiety of short-term fixes, especially when their children’s health is at stake,” said Machell.

While the administration swooped in to bolster the WIC program, it did not similarly drain its pool of tariff revenues to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, having indicated that it lacks the authority to use emergency funds for SNAP.

Not only did the transfer temporarily deprive Democrats of the ability to use American pain as political leverage, it served as yet another point in favor of Trump’s tariffs.

House Democrats prophesied in April that Trump’s tariff policy would lead to economic collapse. Even though such calamity has yet to manifest, Senate Democrats passed resolutions last week to eliminate some of the president’s global and country-specific tariffs, namely those imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

According to an Oct. 31 report from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank focused on tax policy, “Trump’s imposed tariffs will raise $2.4 trillion in revenue over the next decade on a conventional basis” and had raised $174 billion in revenue between January and September of this year.

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On October 21, Karine Jean-Pierre’s memoir, “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,” was released. In the book, the former White House press secretary critiqued the Biden administration for its dysfunction, blamed Joe Biden’s abrupt withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on a Democrat coup, publicly announced her departure from the Democrat Party, and advocated for political independence as a path forward for Americans.

And people absolutely hate it.

From the Washington Post to Politico and beyond, Jean-Pierre’s book has been met with relentless criticism, with reviewers slamming the memoir as cringeworthy, grievance-driven, and profoundly unconvincing.

But there’s one scathing review that stands out among the rest. In fact, it’s so unapologetically scorching, Glenn Beck read the entire critique aloud on an episode of “The Glenn Beck Program.”

Titled “A Book So Bad It Shattered Liberals’ Faith in DEI,” the review comes from journalist and editor Andrew Stiles at the Free Beacon, who pulled no punches in eviscerating Jean-Pierre’s memoir as a self-indulgent disaster wrapped in identity politics.

Stiles, calling the book “the worst political memoir ever written in the history of the English language,” opened his damning evaluation by mocking Jean-Pierre for being “the highest-ranking openly queer, French-born black woman with a hyphenated surname to publicly renounce the Democratic Party for being mean to Joe Biden.”

“Imagine writing a book so bad it could shame Democrats and liberals into second-guessing their cult-like devotion to DEI,” he wrote.

Stiles highlighted the irony of Jean-Pierre’s rise to prominence — something that was celebrated as “a triumph for diversity and representation” — only for reporters and colleagues to turn around and reveal that she was “ineffectual,” “unprepared,” “dumb,” and “the most incompetent and irrelevant White House press secretary ever.”

Her biggest accomplishment, said Stiles, is that she will forever be “a cautionary tale of what can happen when a desire to ‘make history’ takes precedence over everything else.”

He went on to address Jean-Pierre’s disastrous book tour, condemning the disgraced ex-spokeswoman for “[fumbling] her way through interviews, repeatedly invoking her lived experience as a trailblazing black woman and openly gay pioneer,” and blurting out so much “drivel” even liberals have renounced their support. He gave the example of Jean-Pierre’s interview with the New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner, during which she claimed the “broken White House” phrase in the subtitle of her book is “actually a reference to Donald Trump’s administration.”

Stiles then turned his unsparing eye to the content of “Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines,” which he hilariously called “mercifully brief,” yet “intolerably long.” “Like her rambling press briefings, Jean-Pierre’s prose is riddled with contradictions that boggle the mind,” he penned.

“A more discerning editor could have whittled down her meandering attempts to explain why anyone should care that she’s an independent now, but they had to fill the pages somehow. In so many words, she explains that leaving the party was a tantrum-like plea for attention — a deeply personal quest for ‘new ways to be acknowledged’ that is ‘also about self-care.”’

Stiles noted Jean-Pierre’s hope that her memoir will spark “more nuanced political conversations.”

“It has certainly provoked a conversation — shockingly nuanced in the context of Democrat Party politics — just not the one she was expecting,” he concluded.

“I love this review. I want to hug the person who wrote this review,” laughs Glenn.

To hear Stiles’ full review and Glenn’s commentary, watch the video above.

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In the span of less than 10 minutes after a huge crowd of protesters filled the U.S. Capitol West Plaza beneath the inauguration stage on Jan. 6, Capitol Police repeatedly used lethal force on the crowd, targeting people in the head, neck, face, and upper body — actions one use-of-force expert called “criminally negligent.”

During that brief span, at least 16 people were shot with kinetic-impact projectiles, including nine who took shots to the top of the head, face, and base of the neck, according to Capitol Police surveillance video obtained by Blaze News.

‘We need munitions! Unload! Unload it all! Take ’em out!’

The rounds are designed to be shot at or below the waist or skipped off pavement to strike the legs and cause trauma and “pain compliance.” None of the rounds observable on the surveillance footage struck below the belt, putting all of the observable rounds in dangerous and potentially lethal territory.

The targeting of the crowd and one graphic, bloody injury to a protester’s face enraged the crowd and appeared to lead to a large escalation of violence toward police, including the throwing of water bottles and flagpoles and the use of pepper spray and bear repellent, the video showed.

Deputy Police Chief Eric Waldow claimed in a U.S. Capitol Police radio dispatch about 1:11 p.m. that his officers were using “indirect firing,” but the department’s surveillance video contradicts that claim.

Waldow also said he gave “repeated warnings” to the crowd to disperse or face chemical munitions, but video shows he did not have a bullhorn, and no warnings could be heard on ground-level video or the USCP surveillance video.

He ordered Capitol Police grenadiers to open fire on the crowd at 1:06 p.m.

“I got a crowd fighting with officers, pushing, throwing projectiles,” he broadcast. “I have given warnings about chemical munitions. I need the less-than-lethal team positioned above me to identify the agitators and start deploying. Launch, launch, launch!“

Stan Kephart, an expert witness on police use of force who reviewed the Jan. 6 surveillance video, said firing crowd-control weapons from an elevated platform into a dense crowd and striking targets above the shoulders is both “criminally negligent” and “potentially a lethal act.”

“There is a wealth of clear and convincing evidence here that police were not trained or equipped to move, disperse, and arrest stragglers,” Kephart told Blaze News. “Instead they adopted a punishment tactic, inflaming the crowd and resulting in injury that they are responsible for.”

‘If you really want to start a riot, shoot them in the head.’

The grenadiers who fired on the crowd from the “crow’s nest” outcropping during the first hour included training officer Shauni Kerkhoff, Sgt. Adam Descamp, and Sgt. Gary Sprifke, Blaze News has learned. Officer Bret Sorrell stood in the crow’s nest holding a riot shield, video showed.

Blaze News asked for comment from Capitol Police Public Information Officer Timothy Barber and Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan, but did not receive a reply.

The number of protesters struck with deadly force by crowd-control weapons in the early minutes of Jan. 6 is much higher than previously known, the surveillance video showed.

The fusillade of so-called “less-lethal” crowd-control weapons came in response to thousands of protesters who streamed onto Capitol property after a lightly defended police line near the Peace Memorial was breached at 12:53 p.m. Most of the early crowd ended up on the West Plaza beneath the “crow’s nest” outcropping where presidents-elect take the oath of office.

The massive, amped-up crowd caught Capitol Police off guard. There was insufficient security to defend the Capitol — in part because many officers were diverted to respond to two pipe bombs discovered during a 25-minute span at the nearby Democratic National Committee building and the Capitol Hill Club next to the Republican National Committee building.

RELATED: BBC allegedly deceptively edited Trump’s Jan. 6 speech into riot lie

Protester Joshua Black of Leeds, Ala., is led away by a medic after being shot in the face with an FN 303 projectile launcher round at the U.S. Capitol about 1:06 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.Metropolitan Police Department

Surveillance video captured from the Lower West Terrace captured the flight of .68-caliber yellow marking rounds and red pepper rounds from powerful FN 303 projectile launchers. Produced by FN America, the FN 303 is powered by 3,000-psi compressed air. Rounds travel at 300 feet per second. A Tippmann 98 pepper-ball rifle was also used on the crowd. Most of the rounds were fired from less than 50 feet away, video showed.

Targeting the head with kinetic-impact projectiles is prohibited by manufacturers and industry safety standards due to the risk of fatal injuries. It is considered lethal force. The website of FN Herstal, parent company of FN America, stresses the point, saying the company “forbids users from aiming at the head.”

“The primary effect of the projectile is trauma, which directly neutralizes the aggressor,” the FN America website says. “Secondary effects from the projectiles can be delivered via a chemical payload depending on mission requirements.”

Operators of less-lethal crowd-control weapons are trained not to aim at or strike the head, face, eyes, ears, throat, neck, spine, kidneys, or groin.

A retired U.S. Army special forces operative who has used the FN 303 launcher and other less-lethal weapons in overseas missions said firing at heads from an elevated perch “will cause such rage afterward.”

“If you really want to start a riot, shoot them in the head,” he told Blaze News.

The bombardment of the early crowd is the latest controversy on weapons and tactics used by Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 6.

Minutes after the less-lethal projectile launchers were unleashed, MPD flowed onto the West Plaza, spraying protesters with high-velocity oleoresin capsicum, commonly known as pepper spray.

After pushing protesters back and forming a police line with bicycle-rack barricades, MPD officers began lobbing dozens of suspected incendiary grenades into the crowd and firing 40mm shells containing plastic pellets, beanbags, and tear gas. Some 40 munitions were fired or lobbed into the packed crowd on the north side of the plaza over the course of an hour, video showed.

At 1:18 p.m., a Capitol Police supervisor broadcast instructions to keep firing at the crowds. “We need munitions!” he shouted to dispatch. “Unload. Unload it all! Take ’em out!”

Pain compliance

Kephart said the descriptor “less-lethal” weapon depends on the launchers being used in a proper and responsible manner as specified by the manufacturer. Otherwise they can easily be lethal weapons.

“All launchers and chemical munitions are ‘pain compliance’ devices first and predicated on compliance, with the pain of the launcher’s impact or the gas, or singularly the beanbag or dowel impact pain. That is why they are to be fired at the belt line or skipped off the ground.

“Additionally, the accuracy factor in deploying these launchers is poor,” Kephart said. “Unlike a rifled bullet, the projectile wobbles in flight due to the absence of rifling stabilizing it in flight.”

A U.S. Department of War less-lethal weapons expert and training instructor told Blaze News that firing into a tightly spaced crowd has great risks that he would not have taken that day. He examined the surveillance video at the request of Blaze News.

‘The escalation of force totally amplified these small groups of people.’

“I know, myself, wouldn’t have felt comfortable sending those rounds into a crowd knowing they would impact face/head target areas and definitely not guaranteed for the intended target,” said the expert, who asked not to be identified by name or title. “Nor would I have advised those around me to do the same. As an instructor, you lead by example, especially being on the line and controlling those around you, and maintaining integrity/continuity/accountability for every round.”

One of the Capitol Police officers whom video showed firing on the crowd with a Tippmann 98 pepper-ball rifle was Shauni Kerkhoff, a certified trainer on the proper use of crowd-control weapons. Pepper balls struck protesters in the early crowd in the head and face. Two riot-gear-clad Capitol Police officers were also struck with pepper rounds, including one who took a shot to the rear of the helmet.

A now-former Capitol Police Civil Disturbance Unit officer who was on the police line beneath the grenadiers said verbal warnings would have been worthless with the extreme crowd noise and stiff winds on the West Plaza. Blaze News asked the former officer to review the surveillance video.

“You really think people were listening with all the noise?” asked the officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He [Waldow] probably saw everything that was going on and panicked, or at least that’s what I feel when I hear him say ‘launch!’ multiple times.”

The former Civil Disturbance Unit officer said repeated attempts to push through the early police line were made by small groups. “I think they could have been contained easily, but the escalation of force totally amplified these small groups of people,” he said.

RELATED: Analysis: FBI’s Jan. 6 pipe bomb update omits key evidence, withholds video

A bystander puts a compress on a bleeding wound punched in Joshua Black’s face by a crowd-control projectile on Jan. 6, while a protester registers his disapproval.Special to Blaze News

The Department of War expert said emotions can be inflamed when crowd-control weapons are used improperly.

“Some of the intended targets and where they hit enticed the crowd to react emotionally and feel they were being targeted or felt the need to protect themselves,” he said. “First aid for the crowd within the crowd was provided, but that’s also enough for an already emotional crowd at that point to [go] one of two ways: become louder and more emotional or take some type of action to start defending themselves.

“In my line of work, [that’s] something you want to avoid altogether,” he said. “It does not take much for a crowd to become unruly or violent.”

The FN 303 launcher was implicated in the 2004 killing of a Boston woman shot in the eye socket by police during a Boston Red Sox American League pennant celebration.

The fusillade of projectiles was fired by grenadiers from the Capitol Police Civil Disturbance Unit, the first of whom arrived in the “crow’s nest” outcropping at 1:01 p.m., security video showed.

Amped-up crowds

From the time the crowd filled in the plaza and police began to establish a hastily formed line, protesters were seen in animated, heated discussions with police. One man carried a sign that read “Expose Election Fraud” on the top and “Playing for Blood” on the bottom. A few rows behind him, a man held up a black baseball bat while another raised an empty axe handle.

A large man in a tan coat and black cap was pushed back by an officer with a riot shield, causing him to fall. As he began to get up, an officer under the scaffolding to the south tossed a tear-gas canister at the feet of protesters and the cloud of gas swirled out into the crowd.

Police used their shields to start pushing the crowd back. Scuffles broke out along the farthest southern police line, with protesters surging and then being pushed back by police. Two of the men in the scrum were a short time later targeted for less-lethal weapons fire.

‘They shot him in the f**king face!’

At approximately 1:06:29, a grenadier fired a .60-caliber fin-stabilized projectile from a compressed-air FN 303 launcher that struck a black-cap-clad protester in the head. The impact blew the man’s hat off, video showed. The round bounced off his head and struck a nearby riot officer.

Just prior, video showed the man was in the second row of a group surging toward the hastily assembled police line. As police pushed the group back, the projectile screamed past the Trump 2020 flag the man carried, striking him in the left side of the head.

Seven seconds later, a man in a tan jacket was struck by a projectile on the brim of his Make America Great Again cap. The round deflected off the cap and struck his upper right chest. He flinched, grabbed his head, and crouched down, video showed.

RELATED: FBI sent 55 agents to the Capitol Jan. 6, none for ‘crowd control,’ former Chief Steven Sund says

A crowd-control projectile fired by U.S. Capitol Police strikes a protester in the head on the U.S. Capitol West Plaza at 1:06 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police

Some 30 seconds later, a man wearing a light blue sweatshirt near the police line was struck in the back at the base of his neck. The projectile ricocheted into the crowd. When the man turned around, another round struck his upper chest and dropped to the ground.

A man in a blue sweatshirt who was pushing an officer was shot in the back at about 1:07 p.m., video showed. The projectile ricocheted west into the crowd. The man next to him, who was also scuffling with officers, was targeted for projectile fire, but the round struck his backpack and fell to the ground.

Joshua Black of Leeds, Ala., was the next person to take a potentially lethal shot from above. At 1:07 p.m., video showed the yellow FN 303 projectile striking him in the left cheek. Unlike some of the other projectiles, this one did not bounce off or ricochet. It punched through Black’s cheek and embedded in his mouth.

Black bled profusely, the blood forming a pool on the ground that was still visible hours later. Bystanders immediately tended to his wound. One of them turned to the crowd and shouted, “They shot him in the f**king face!”

“This is a peaceful protest,” a woman shouted, according to ground-level video obtained by Blaze News. “Peaceful!” Another bystander shouted, “We are witnessing tyranny. We are witnessing tyranny right now.”

While Black was getting attention for his wound, a pepper ball fired from above struck a Capitol Police CDU officer in the back of the helmet, sending a cloud of pepper powder into the air. A second shot narrowly missed another officer’s head and exploded on the officer’s riot shield, video showed.

‘Typically, I aim for the ground.’

The bloody scene surrounding Black caused numerous members of the crowd to begin shouting and pointing at the line of riot-gear-clad Civil Disturbance Unit officers on the plaza. Several pointed up to the inauguration balcony in an accusatory fashion, while others issued middle-finger salutes, video showed.

Waldow ordered the less-lethal unit to target a man wearing a baseball batting helmet and carrying an axe handle with an American flag attached to one end.

“Have the less-than-lethal target the subject with the baseball hat and the axe handle and the subject with the gas mask and the American shirt, the American flag shirt. He’s assaulting an officer now,” Waldow said on police radio.

Shortly, an FN 303 round zoomed at the man’s face, appearing to clip his chin before striking his gloved hand. Minutes later, video showed blood running down the man’s left cheek. The man was shown on surveillance video at the police line minutes earlier, but it’s not clear if he shoved or struck an officer.

RELATED: Judge allows Jan. 6 lawsuit alleging excessive force in DC jail to proceed

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Shauni Kerkhoff shows a rubber bullet to soldiers of the Maryland Army National Guard’s 115th Military Police Battalion, Salisbury, Md., during a joint training event in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2021.U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Arcadia Hammack

A short distance away, a man in a blue winter coat was struck in the right side of the neck or base of the skull by a projectile. The round bounced off his head and struck a nearby man in the leg.

The man in the blue jacket knelt down to lend aid to the man who had been shot in the back moments earlier. After he stood up, he realized he was tracking through Black’s blood on the ground. He pointed down at the huge bloodstain and looked at the police line. He then went to the line and began shoving officers.

At this point, a sizeable group was now battling with police. Several men in the crowd aimed liquid and foam pepper spray at the officers. Projectiles, including flagpoles, water bottles, and traffic cones, were heaved at the police line, video showed.

Police surged into the crowd in what appeared to be an attempt to check on the injured Black. While officers tried to help Black off the ground, a rioter in a bicycle helmet and a dark face covering aimed a stream of pepper spray at several officers and might have hit the supine Black as well, video showed.

Training officer testified

Kerkhoff, who joined the U.S. Capitol Police after college in 2018, was the first witness against Guy Wesley Reffitt in the first Jan. 6 federal criminal trial in March 2022. She told a jury that she fired pepper balls at Reffitt as he scaled the Northwest Steps. When that didn’t stop Reffitt, she said, another officer fired at Reffitt with the FN 303 launcher.

She testified that she was a trainer for the Tippmann 98 rifle and the FN 303 launcher. Three weeks after Jan. 6, Kerkhoff was a less-lethal weapons instructor at a joint training event with the Maryland Army National Guard’s 115th Military Police Battalion.

In her trial testimony, Kerkhoff said the pepper-ball rifle is meant to cause some pain to the target to coerce compliance.

“So it has a small amount of pain compliance. So it should hurt a little bit. So that should deter actions,” Kerkhoff said in her March 2, 2022, testimony. “As well as when the ball hits something, it will — it is filled with PAVA powder, so it will launch that PAVA powder into the air and will affect the nasal passages as well as the eyes, causing stinging, burning.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler asked her, “What do you aim for when you first start launching?”

“Typically, I aim for the ground,” Kerkhoff replied.

Noting her previous testimony about experience with the Tippman 98 rifle, Nestler asked Kerkhoff about her knowledge of the more powerful FN 303 launcher. “Was that something you were trying to use or are you just familiar with?” Nestler asked.

“No, I am an instructor on both of those weapons,” she replied.

The former Civil Disturbance Unit officer told Blaze News that Kerkhoff left the U.S. Capitol Police about six months after Jan. 6 and that he had since been unable to reach her. Her colleagues heard she went to work for a three-letter federal intelligence agency, he said.

“She immediately wiped her social media, phone numbers, and email accounts,” he said. “Nobody was able to reach her after that.”

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