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Category: blaze media
Diversity quota allowed UK man with child rape accusations to become a cop — he then committed more horrific rapes
A man who was allowed to become a police officer despite child rape accusations was later convicted of a horrific campaign of rape that included a child under 13 years of age.
The victims of 24-year-old Cliff Mitchell described him as “the devil” and “a pathetic excuse of a man” over the horrific abuse he committed as a U.K. police officer.
‘You are the devil. You disgust me. I hope you suffer for the rest of your life.’
Even worse, Mitchell was allowed to become an officer despite the past child rape allegations because he fit a diversity quota when officials were driving to recruit more officers.
Mitchell’s application was denied in 2020 over the 2018 allegations, but an admission panel overturned the decision and allowed him to join the force.
Prosecutors said Mitchell used a knife to kidnap one of his victims in Sept. 2023. He tied her arms with cable ties and put tape over her mouth before raping her. Mitchell laughed at her cries and told her no one would believe her because he was an officer.
Mitchell was convicted of 10 counts of rape, 4 counts of rape of a child under 13, one count of kidnap, and a breach of a non-molestation order.
“You deserve to spend the rest of your life in a cell because you are a serious danger to every woman walking the streets,” one of the victims said to Mitchell in court. “You are the devil. You disgust me. I hope you suffer for the rest of your life.”
The other victim, who said she lives in fear, also excoriated him in court.
“I’m holding you to account for your actions; you took away my self-worth,” she said. “You are a pathetic excuse of a man.”
“Cliff Mitchell is clearly a deeply troubled young man. … (His) serious offending appears to have arisen for desire for control,” Mrs. Justice May said at his sentencing. “The fact he was a police officer, albeit for a short time, will make imprisonment a harsher experience for him.”
Astoundingly, the drive for diversity and an increased demand for recruitment led to other questionable people being allowed to become officers.
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Diversity hire rape, Uk cop commits rape, Rape diversity, Cliff mitchell child sex rape, Politics
The conspiracy that gave Liz Wheeler ‘chills’: Was there a FIFTH plane on 9/11?
September 11, 2001, remains the most tragic day in American history, but almost a quarter-century later, mysteries surrounding the events of the day have yet to be solved.
And one TMZ documentary that BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler admits shockingly gave her “chills” involves United Flight 23, which was grounded when the World Trade Center was hit. However, the plane may have been another one that hijackers were attempting to weaponize.
“I watched the creepiest — I’m talking chills up and down your arms — documentary recently. The absolute creepiest. It was actually a documentary done by TMZ, believe it or not. I’m not particularly into celebrity gossip,” Wheeler says.
“It’s actually quite a well-done piece of investigative journalism about September 11, 2001,” she adds.
The narrative that the documentary challenges claims that four planes were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists on 9/11, and the documentary provides evidence that there was actually a fifth.
“What if I presented evidence to you today that there was actually another plane — another plane that was supposed to be hijacked too? And not only was there another plane that had hijackers on it, but the government found out about it afterward. And so did the airlines. They knew about it. And to this day, they’re covering it up,” Wheeler explains.
The documentary features the claim, according to a flight attendant, that one passenger on the plane was a man who was wearing a burka.
“How would you react if you were on an airline and there was not only a person in a full burka — not just a hijab, a full burka with just the eye slits — but a person with hairy hands, a person that the flight crew were pretty certain was a man?” Wheeler asks.
There was a male “bodyguard” sitting next to the man in the burka, who flight attendants recalled was “sweating profusely.”
But these were not the only Middle Eastern passengers of note aboard the flight.
“So we have four Middle Eastern passengers in first class. Someone, an individual dressed in a full burka with just eye slits. … The other man in the tan suit was trying to peer into the cockpit using his son as an excuse,” Wheeler explains.
These same passengers argued with the flight crew about taking off quickly instead of being delayed to hand out food.
“As if that’s not creepy enough, once the news broke that the plane was not going to be taking off because the other planes on 9/11 had hit the towers, had hit the Pentagon, these same passengers asked a question of the flight crew,” she continues.
One of them asked, “Did they get the White House?”
Once they were all deplaned and the airport was being evacuated, someone on the ground noticed that there were people back on the aircraft, 20 minutes after the plane was locked.
When it was investigated, it was discovered that the hatches to the plane had been reopened.
“So, what does that mean? Did someone enter the airplane through the floor hatch to remove, I don’t know what, evidence, weapons after everyone exited the plane?” Wheeler asks. “Well, that’s not just a hypothetical question. A weapon that had been planted on a plane was found at JFK.”
When TMZ reached out and even filed a Freedom of Information Act request, the organization was ignored.
“How can you not think that this is a government cover-up?” Wheeler asks, shocked. “The 9/11 commission didn’t even interview the pilot of that plane.”
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Police shoot New Jersey man who allegedly charged them with machete — then find gruesome scene inside his home
The shooting of a machete-armed man led to a horrific discovery inside his home, according to New Jersey police.
Piscataway police said they were called to the residence on River Road on Monday at about 5:30 p.m. on a report of a man with a knife.
‘I just want to let the general public know this is not somebody coming in, knocking on the door. This is all folks that all knew each other.’
Police said they found a man armed with a machete and tried unsuccessfully to stop him with the use of tasers. When he lunged at them with the machete, they shot him and killed him.
When officers entered the residence, they found three bodies.
The bodies are believed to belong to the man’s grandparents and his mother.
Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler spoke to reporters outside of the home and said that the 911 caller was the suspect’s father, who was the sole survivor.
“You have to understand, there is a husband that is about to bury a wife, parents, and a son,” the mayor said.
“So out of respect to the household, for the rest of the family members, but they were all related,” he added. “I just want to let the general public know this is not somebody coming in, knocking on the door. This is all folks that all knew each other and were related to each other blood-wise.”
Officials said there had been no prior incidents at the house involving police. A later report said the mother was 60 years old, the grandparents were 86 and 84 years old, and the suspect was 29 years old.
Police indicated that they died of stabbing wounds.
Neighbors of the family told WABC-TV that their previous interactions with them had been all been pleasant.
RELATED: Police arrest teens in gruesome carjacking death of elderly woman, two are 15-year-old girls
“Very nice lady. Very nice, quiet neighborhood. It’s so tragic that something like this happens,” said Keith Heron, a neighbor of the family’s.
The deaths are being investigated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office as well as the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
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New jersey machete man, Nj police kill man, Machete man’s family dead, Piscataway machete deaths, Politics
I joined a cult — and I’m not leaving
A few years ago, I went all in on CrossFit.
Not casually. Not “a couple of sessions a week.” I mean fully immersed. Dawn classes. Protein evangelism. Callused palms held up like merit badges. A vocabulary that slowly became unintelligible to my friends and family.
Effort has been engineered out of daily existence. The result isn’t ease but restlessness. So people voluntarily buy pain.
It worked, too. I got strong. Very strong. But eventually, the thing that had promised discipline started to feel devotional. The workouts were brutal, yes, but the culture grew insistent — about identity, about belonging, about the strange idea that redemption could be loaded onto a barbell.
I left CrossFit because it started to feel like a cult. Manson family vibes, minus the desert and the murders. It had a creed, but a shallow one: Pain conferred status, while rest felt vaguely shameful. And like most people who escape one intense, borderline insane tribe, I did the most predictable thing imaginable. I joined another.
Enter Hyrox.
20 miserable meters
If CrossFit thrives on variety, Hyrox runs on ritual. The same test. Every time. Everywhere. Eight one-kilometer runs, each broken by a workout station designed to sap dignity and drain glycogen in equal measure.
Sled pushes that turn legs to jelly. Burpee broad jumps that make grown adults negotiate with God. Farmer’s carries that compress your entire life into 20 miserable meters. Lunges, rowing, wall balls, the works. No mystery. No surprises. No excuses. You know exactly what’s coming. Which somehow makes it worse.
What began as a handful of lunatics in a warehouse now stretches from Boston to Brisbane. Americans, in particular, go absolutely gaga for this brand of glorified self-flogging. Last year, some 70,000 Americans lined up to compete in Hyrox races.
It’s measurable. It’s standardized. It has timing chips, age brackets, and leaderboards that humiliate you with forensic precision. And as a fully indoctrinated Hyroxer, I can’t pretend I’m above it. I get it.
Something primal
I’ve raced in the U.K., Ireland, and Thailand. Thailand, in particular, feels surreal. You’re preparing for an event designed to dismantle your nervous system while palm trees nod approvingly, someone hawks knockoff iPhones nearby, and ladyboys shout suggestive comments. And yet amid the madness, something primal asserts itself. Suffering, it turns out, is a universal language.
Hyrox isn’t “for everyone,” and it shouldn’t be sold that way. There’s a strange modern habit of presenting extreme physical challenges as all-purpose answers. As if every personal demon can be exorcised with sprints. For some people, this stuff is genuinely stabilizing. Structure helps. Training gives shape to days that might otherwise dissolve. Discipline can be a lifeline.
For others, though, it’s avoidance, plain and simple. I’ve met men and women who, without an outlet this intense, would almost certainly be annoying their lawyers or alarming psychiatrists. Not everything can be lifted, lunged, or rowed into submission. Eventually the joints revolt and the scoreboard stops flattering you.
Comfortably numb
The global popularity tells us something slightly uncomfortable about the moment we’re living in. Modern life is comfortable to the point of numbness. Effort has been engineered out of daily existence. The result isn’t ease but restlessness. So people voluntarily buy pain. They pay for race entries, overpriced shoes, and punishing workouts simply to feel alive again. Hyrox doesn’t negotiate. You run, or you don’t. You move the sled, or it doesn’t move. The feedback is immediate and unforgiving.
And it’s precisely that simplicity that has prompted the next, inevitable escalation: Olympic ambition.
Hyrox’s new Science Advisory Council, a small army of researchers from New Zealand, the U.K., and Europe, signals a sport that wants legitimacy. Standardization, data, physiology, performance analysis — the entire scientific kitchen sink has been thrown at the 2032 dream. On paper, it makes sense. The format is fixed. The judging is clean. The variables are controlled. If breakdancing can make it into the Olympic ecosystem, why not a race that looks like a PE teacher’s revenge fantasy?
Why not, indeed.
RELATED: Women can crush pull-ups too: 5 steps to doing your first
Wundervisuals/Getty Images
Going mainstream
The Olympics have always been a little ridiculous. They celebrate niche obsessions elevated to national honor. People dedicate their lives to throwing things, jumping over things, sliding on ice in improbable positions. Hyrox fits right in. It’s absurd, yes, but so is speed-walking. So is synchronized swimming. Absurdity has never been a barrier to inclusion.
The more interesting question isn’t whether Hyrox deserves Olympic status. It’s what happens to a cult when it goes mainstream, when something built in warehouses and back alleys gets handed a global spotlight. Like an underground punk band suddenly piped through stadium speakers, intensity changes when scale takes over. What once thrived on proximity starts to lose its edge.
Whatever happens, I’ll line up again. Dublin. Bangkok. London. I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, I know what’s in it, and I’m still reaching for another cup. There’s no exit interview. No recovery program. I’m not a philosopher. I just know that in a world drowning in opinions and moral lectures, it’s a relief to face a problem that can only be solved by putting one foot in front of the other, until you can’t.
Hyrox, Crossfit, Physical fitness, Exercise, Lifestyle
Arkansas mayor who was praised as youngest black mayor accused of inappropriate Snapchat messages with 14-year-old boy
The mayor of an Arkansas town who was praised as the youngest black mayor in history has been accused of paying off a 14-year-old boy to keep quiet about inappropriate Snapchat messages.
Earle Mayor Jaylen Smith, 21, is being investigated by the Arkansas State Police after receiving a tip from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
‘The mayor did pay my son $500 to not tell me, but he ended up telling me anyway.’
A woman told WREG-TV that the mayor had met her son in 2024 at Earle High School, where her son attended. The mayor gave her son clothes and money, according to the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, and then made sexual advances via Snapchat messages.
She provided correspondence from a person she said was the mayor, but WREG said it was not able to independently verify that the account belonged to the mayor.
She said that she told her son to tell the man to stop contacting him but that he persisted. She alleges that the man then paid him money to keep it quiet.
“The mayor did pay my son $500 to not tell me, but he ended up telling me anyway,” she said.
Smith denied the claims vehemently in a statement Friday.
“I want to speak directly and clearly to the people of Earle: the accusations being reported are false. I am innocent. Truth matters, and in time, the truth will stand on its own,” reads the statement in part.
“While I would like to directly and unequivocally address the allegations against me, I have been advised to reserve any substantive statements regarding the allegations until a later date,” he added.
WREG reported that the superintendent of Earle Schools expressed concern in Nov. 2024 over the mayor visiting the campus. The district’s attorney sent a letter asking the mayor to ask permission prior to visits and to express the purpose of those visits.
Smith had been elected in 2022 just months after graduating from high school when he was 18 years old. He is not currently facing charges.
Earle is a town of about 1,700 residents located 30 minutes west of Memphis.
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Earle mayor jaylen smith, Inappropriate snapchat messages, Arkansas black mayor, Messages with teen boy, Crime
This media spin on the ICE shooting will make you sick
Mainstream media is spinning the ICE shooting incident to paint Renee Nicole Good as a hero instead of an agitator, and while BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales admits that life lost is “always a tragedy” — she’s not pleased with the media’s biased reaction.
“When life is lost, it’s always tragedy. But this is one of those things that’s like, guys, I don’t know. Don’t do that. Don’t commit crimes. Don’t impede ICE’s work. Don’t do that,” Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”
Good was a mother of three who was attending a protest with her wife, who, following the tragic death, was seen yelling that it was her fault for forcing her wife to join her.
“This is a woman who unfortunately lost her life due to the consequences of her own actions. And so it’s just incredible to see the media slobbering all over her as if she were some hero, as if she didn’t do this to herself,” Gonzales says.
One article from NBC News on the story is headlined, “Woman fatally shot by ICE agent remembered as ‘one of the kindest people.’”
Another article from the Washington Post is titled, “Woman killed by ICE in Minneapolis was a mother of 3 and a poet.”
“She could rhyme well, so you know, she must have been a good gal. Now she was a mother of three, only apparently had one of them living with her. We don’t know why, but she was a mother, and she was basically Dr. Seuss, and also she was an avid writer and hobby guitarist who won a poetry prize in 2020,” Gonzales comments.
“I don’t gloat in her death,” she continues. “I don’t mock her death. I don’t wish ill will on her family. In fact, I find it absolutely tragic. I find it absolutely tragic that this child that she had custody of ‘cause the dad was dead, her 6-year-old is now an orphan.”
“I find that horribly sad. But I find the coverage of this in the mainstream media to just be absolutely disgusting,” she says, pointing out that the mainstream media’s coverage of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by Capitol Police officers on January 6, couldn’t have been less favorable to the victim.
“NBC News,” Gonzales reads, “Woman killed in Capitol was Trump supporter who embraced conspiracy theories.”
The subhead that followed wasn’t any better, reading, “Social media profiles connected to Ashli Babbitt were almost singularly focused on radical conservative topics and conspiracy theories.”
“Oh, she was just a crazy right-wing nut job who had it coming,” Gonzales says.
The L.A. times called the January 6 protest a “deadly insurrection” when it reported on it.
“Here’s the funny thing,” Gonzales says, “the deadly part of it was Ashli Babbitt.”
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EXCLUSIVE: Renee Nicole Good tied to VIOLENT extremist group?
Renee Nicole Good, the woman who was shot and killed by an ICE officer while driving her car at him, wasn’t just reportedly tied to a violent extremist group.
Good was a dedicated anti-ICE activist and mother of three who was putting her 6-year-old son into a charter school that boasts that social justice is the school’s number-one priority and prioritizes involving children in political and social activism.
According to counterterrorism expert and investigative researcher Ryan Mauro, this charter school is likely how Good first stumbled upon Minnesota ICE Watch.
“It was actually fairly easy research to do, because they were openly radical. It turned out this isn’t really about the issue of protecting undocumented migrants, illegal immigrants, and protecting people from the abuse of the law enforcement,” Mauro tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck on “The Glenn Beck Program.”
“It’s actually about doing things like eliminating America and setting cop cars on fire. You go to their social media page, and it doesn’t take much work, actually, to find instructions on how to assault police in order to free people, open up cop car doors, and pull people out,” Mauro says.
“They do not recognize the United States as a legitimate country. They have posts that refer to it as Turtle Island,” he adds.
“Oh my gosh, they’re Turtle Island people,” Glenn laughs.
“Turtle Island — I’m not even sure it has a ton of merit, but it goes to this belief that a lot of the anarchists and communists spread out there, saying that just like Israel should be referred to as Palestine, then all of North and Central America should be referred to as Turtle Island, because they say that the indigenous people, the Native Americans, that’s what they all referred to it as,” Mauro explains.
“I’m not finding a ton of verification that that’s actually true. But that’s what they say, in order to basically indirectly call for the destruction of the United States. … And so when they start talking about ‘liberating Turtle Island,’ that’s what they’re calling for,” he continues.
And while social media posts from Minnesota ICE Watch will have a simple caption like, “How to start a community defense center in your neighborhood,” the photograph accompanying it will be “a cop car on fire.”
“So when they say to set up your community defense center in your local neighborhood, that’s a violent intention. That’s how you build an insurgency,” Mauro tells Glenn, who points out that in a fiery speech after the shooting, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) began “empowering and activating a neighborhood revolutionary guard.”
“This is a group that is telling you as neighbors, ‘Here’s how we get together and protect your neighborhood from these evil police,’” Glenn says. “This is what’s happening, and the governor is encouraging it and speaking the same language.”
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‘REVOLTING LIES!’ DHS obliterates media framing of gang-affiliated illegal aliens shot in Portland as ‘married couple’
The Department of Homeland Security has gone after numerous news outlets for offering a sympathetic portrayal of two illegal aliens who were shot by federal agents in Portland on Thursday.
One article was posted to social media by KPFQ on Friday and was immediately assailed by the official DHS account for referring to the illegal aliens as a “married couple.” The article was sourced from CNN, which also faced the wrath of the DHS.
‘The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico Moncada[,] is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua GANG MEMBER.’
The man and woman were shot during an operation by federal officers who were later identified as agents of U.S. Border Patrol.
The DHS released a statement indicating that the two illegal aliens were affiliated with the dangerous Tren de Aragua criminal gang and that the vehicle driver swerved to hit agents before they were shot. The pair were hospitalized.
On Friday, the DHS lambasted CNN for continuing to describe the pair as a “married couple” and to downplay their alleged gang affiliation.
“REVOLTING LIES!” the agency said about a video of CNN’s report.
DHS went on to say that the couple was better described as a gang member and “his prostitute” rather than an “innocent” married couple.
“The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico Moncada[,] is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua GANG MEMBER,” the agency wrote. “He illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration. Since then, he was arrested for DUI and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He has a final order of removal.”
The DHS identified the passenger as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras and said she had been involved in a prior shooting. She was also affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang and had an active role in the prostitution ring.
The DHS account scolded KQFX-TV for the same report, which was sourced from CNN.
KIRO-TV reported that hundreds of activists protested the shooting at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland. Portland Police arrested six people at that protest.
The Portland shooting came one day after the controversial lethal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by an ICE agent. The woman had driven her car into the agent, and he shot her in self-defense.
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Dhs vs media, Luis moncada and yorlenys contreras, Tren de aragua members shot, Portland cbp shooting, Politics
Trump pulls US out of ‘racist’ UN forum pushing ‘global reparations agendas’
President Trump has made several moves this week that will have globalists, climate activists, and other international grifters up in arms.
On Wednesday, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum removing the United States from over 60 international organizations as part of a longer-term plan to put American interests first.
‘America will no longer lend its credibility to racist organizations.’
In an executive order signed in February 2025, President Trump ordered the secretary of state to review the United States’ membership in many international groups to determine whether cooperation with those groups is in American interests.
The memorandum said that the president had since reviewed the secretary’s report and “determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support” for 66 organizations and has officially withdrawn the U.S. from them.
These organizations include 35 “non-United Nations Organizations” and 31 United Nations organizations.
RELATED: Trump administration saves billions in simple move globalists and climate activists alike will hate
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Some of the U.N. organizations that the United States removed itself from are the U.N. Economic and Social Council, the International Law Commission, the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, the U.N. Democracy Fund, the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the U.N. University.
Also included in that list is the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, an organization that United States officials have called “racist.”
“America will no longer lend its credibility to racist organizations,” State Department principal spokesman Tommy Pigott told the New York Post.
“Radical activists who embrace DEI ideology and seek to compel the United States to adopt policies mandating race-based wealth redistribution, in organizations such as the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, will no longer be entertained,” he added.
According to an article on the United Nations’ website, the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent seeks “slavery reparations” and fashions itself as a forum to “shape … global reparations agendas.”
According to the Post, Trump administration officials have alleged that the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a subsidiary of the United Nations Human Rights Office, runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and Equal Protection clause with its focus on “victim-based social policies.”
Notably missing from the list is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, even though Trump’s February executive order called for an investigation into it. Specifically, the executive order said, “The review will include an evaluation of how and if UNESCO supports United States interests. In particular, the review will include an analysis of any anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organization.”
Trump and the Treasury Department also ordered the United States’ “immediate” withdrawal from the Green Climate Fund on Thursday.
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Politics, United nations, Unesco, Green climate fund, Globalists, Climate, United states, Trump, President trump, Secretary of state, Permanent forum on people of african descent, Ecosoc, Un university, Un, United nations human right council
Somali refugee quits Maine city council hours into term amid gun charge and residency scandal — but blames exit on racism
A Somali refugee who was sworn in as a Maine city council member earlier this week announced his resignation less than 72 hours later amid pending gun-theft charges and other troubling allegations.
Iman Osman, 36, won the city council election in November to represent Lewiston City Council’s Ward 5. Osman previously held a position on the Lewiston School Committee after the mayor nominated him to fill a vacancy.
‘The level of attacks, the vitriol, the racism, and the threats have gotten to the point where he felt like it was in the best interest of his family, his community, and the city to step aside.’
The Lewiston City Council swore in Osman on Monday. However, on the same day, council members voted to initiate an investigation into him.
Authorities charged Osman with crimes related to gun theft in early December after he was accused of obtaining stolen firearms belonging to two separate estates. He has denied all criminal charges and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, the Maine Wire reported.
Osman’s position on the city council came under further scrutiny when he was accused of falsely listing a condemned building owned by his brother as his residence. There has been speculation that Osman listed the bogus address to secure his previous position on the Lewiston School Committee and his seat on the Lewiston City Council. Critics have raised concerns that Osman does not live in the ward he was elected to represent, which would make him ineligible to serve.
Amid the ongoing controversy and the council’s plan to investigate his residency, Osman submitted his resignation letter to the mayor and city council president on Thursday morning.
“This decision has not come lightly; it stems from my unwavering commitment to the very community I have dedicated my entire life to serving,” Osman wrote in his resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Maine Wire.
“Last year, I ran for City Council because I believed we needed a new voice in city government,” he continued. “Despite racist opposition, I defeated an incumbent to become the first Black man ever elected to the Lewiston City Council. In my time in public office, I have faced vicious personal attacks that not only target me but also seek to silence the marginalized voices I have always sought to uplift.”
RELATED: Somali refugee joins Maine city council despite gun charges and residency red flags
Image source: Lewiston City Council YouTube screenshot
Osman’s resignation letter did not address any of the allegations against him.
“He was absolutely confident that he would have prevailed in the residency investigation introduced by the city council on Monday,” Kiernan Majerus-Collins, Osman’s attorney, told WMTW. “But the level of attacks, the vitriol, the racism, and the threats have gotten to the point where he felt like it was in the best interest of his family, his community, and the city to step aside.”
“The fact that the Trump administration is targeting Somali and Somali-Americans across the country absolutely played a role in ginning up the kind of hatred and threats of violence that ultimately forced him to conclude that he could no longer serve in public office at this time,” he added.
Council President David Chittim. Image source: Lewiston City Council YouTube screenshot
Steve Robinson, the editor in chief of the Maine Wire, addressed city council members during the public comments section of Thursday’s meeting. He alleged that the Wire reporter, Jon Fetherston, had received threats and experienced intimidation due to his coverage of city council matters. Fetherston has been attending city council meetings and reporting on the claims against Osman.
“Earlier today, [Fetherston] had vehicles driving around threatening him, intimidating him, making gun hand gestures at him. So I would just like to know what is the city council going to do about issues like that, where someone who is conducting routine, basic journalism is facing threats of intimidation and gun violence,” Robinson stated.
Fetherson previously told Blaze News that it is “obvious” that Osman is lying about his residency.
“On the very first night of him being sworn in as a city councilor, Mr. Osman took the oath of office and swore to defend the Constitution, yet he then voted on the matter of whether the council should investigate his own residency instead of recusing himself, casting a ‘no’ vote,” Fetherston told Blaze News. “In my almost 40 years of elected office and/or reporting, I have never seen a bigger blow to democracy and disrespect of the election process than what has occurred with Iman Osman and how ‘leadership’ in Lewiston has handled this situation.”
When reached for comment, City Council President and Ward 6 Councilor David Chittim told Blaze News that members unanimously voted on Thursday to discontinue the investigation into Osman’s residency.
“His resignation effectively removed him from the council’s purview,” Chittim explained, adding that per the Lewiston City Charter, the city council is required to fill the vacancy by appointment.
When asked about the alleged harassment against a Maine Wire reporter, Chittim replied, “Last night the council heard allegations that a reporter for the Maine Wire has been harassed. I do not know how or whether the council will respond to these allegations.”
The city’s communications director and the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.
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News, Lewiston city council, Maine, Lewiston school committee, Iman osman, Jon fetherston, Somali fraud, David chittim, Politics
‘Financial calamity’: Bessent blasts Minnesota Democrats’ massive fraud fiasco, launching sweeping interventions
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a press conference on Friday to address the rampant fraud in Minnesota that has exploded in headlines over recent weeks.
“I am optimistic that we are going to put an end to this waste, fraud, and abuse, that we are going to have recoveries for the American people, and that we are going to hold people accountable, set an example, and make sure that federal aid gets to the people it was intended for and not to these fraudsters,” Bessent stated.
He hammered the state’s left-wing leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz (DFL), for forcing residents to endure their “egregious negligence” and allowing taxpayer-funded welfare fraud to “spiral out of control.”
“Billions of dollars intended for hungry children, housing for disabled seniors, and services for children with special needs, were diverted to people who cheated the system — some of whom are not even American citizens,” Bessent continued.
Minnesota fraudsters stole at least $300 million in taxpayer funds intended for children in need, the secretary estimated.
He announced that the Treasury Department is actively investigating these issues, confirming that some of the funds could have been transferred out of the country to terrorist organizations, such as Somali-based al-Shabaab.
President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Bessent assured the American people that President Donald Trump and his entire administration are committed to “restoring accountability” and putting Minnesota “back on the right track.”
In response to the pervasive fraud schemes, Bessent announced several new initiatives, including investigations into money service businesses that may have transferred funds overseas, a geographic targeting order for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties that lowers the reporting threshold for overseas transfers to $3,000, and a new IRS task force to investigate COVID-era fraud.
Additionally, he noted that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert to financial institutions to help them identify and report fraud tied to federal child nutrition programs. The Treasury Department is also training Minnesota law enforcement officials on how to detect such schemes.
“We will not let the incompetents and recalcitrants of Governor Walz stop law enforcement from holding these perpetrators accountable,” Bessent declared.
The new protocols placed on Minnesota will serve as a “genesis and a launching pad” for a national rollout.
RELATED: Bessent delivers bad news to Somalis on welfare: No more wire transfers to the homeland
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
A reporter pressed Bessent about Walz’s potential role in the state’s failure to identify and stop the fraud.
“We are actively pursuing all leads to see the level of involvement, whether it’s limited to just negligence and incompetence, or is something more than that,” Bessent responded.
When asked whether Somali government officials directed their citizens to relocate to Minnesota to exploit vulnerable systems, or whether the fraudsters were acting on their own, Bessent replied, “We do not know the depth, breadth, and collusion in this financial calamity that Governor Walz has allowed to have happen.”
“Was this directed from overseas? Is it an endogenous flourishing of these fraudsters that Governor Walz allowed to grow right here in the backyard and take advantage of hardworking people of Minnesota? We’ll see. … We will get to the bottom of it,” he continued.
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News, Scott bessent, Treasury department, Department of the treasury, Minnesota, Fraud, Minnesota fraud, Tim walz, Irs, Internal revenue service, Somali, Somali fraud, Politics
‘Don’t make a bad decision’: ICE officer warns smug leftists allegedly trailing agents in their SUVs
Tensions are running high in Minneapolis after an ICE officer shot and killed a leftist who struck him with her vehicle on Wednesday.
Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three who was part of the local “ICE Watch,” had reportedly been trailing ICE agents in her SUV. Good was later confronted by an ICE officer who ordered her to exit her vehicle. She refused to cooperate, then turned and accelerated her vehicle toward another agent, who fatally shot her.
‘Don’t interfere.’
Just days after the shooting, ICE agents were filmed confronting another leftist woman in an SUV, pleading with her not to “make a bad decision.”
“If I continually see you following us, interfering with us, honking your horn, blocking our cars, you’ll have a very high probability of making a really bad decision of being arrested today,” the ICE officer warned.
RELATED: VIDEO: Unhinged anti-ICE extremists hurl profanities at agents in Minneapolis: ‘Get the f**k out!’
Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
The woman gave a smug response to the agent’s warning, telling him to have a “terrible day.”
“Well, bad decisions, that’s funny coming from you,” she said. After the agent told her to “have a great day,” she replied with, “I hope you have a terrible day.”
The officer walked away from her car to speak with another woman sitting in the passenger seat of an SUV that had allegedly been trailing the officers. The woman filmed the officer but refused to lower her window to speak with him as a car horn blared in the background.
RELATED: Trump team calls out ‘depravity’ of Jimmy Kimmel’s response to lethal ICE shooting
Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
“Don’t make a bad decision today,” the officer told the other leftist. “Don’t interfere.”
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Ice, Ice agents, Renee nicole good, Unhinged leftist, Anti-ice, Deportations, Minneapolis, Jacob frey, Tim walz, Politics
Radical teen who plotted to kill Trump and lived with corpses of slain parents pleads guilty
After a Wisconsin teen failed to turn up to school for two weeks early last year, officers from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department were asked to conduct a welfare check on his family home. When they arrived at the residence on Feb. 28, 2025, officers made a horrific discovery.
The teen, 18-year-old Nikita Casap, brutally murdered his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, on Feb. 11, stuffed their bodies under blankets, and proceeded to live with their rotting corpses for weeks before fleeing the state.
Casap’s parricide was evidently a means to an even darker end: financing an assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
‘As to why, specifically Trump, I think it’s obvious.’
Casap, whose family was visited by the FBI in November 2023 regarding unspecified internet IP activity, pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, each of which carry a mandatory life sentence.
When asked by Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Ralph Ramirez whether he understood the implications of his guilty plea and whether he had in fact murdered his mother and stepfather, Casap said, “Yes, Your Honor,” the New York Post reported.
RELATED: ‘Julia,’ son of wealthy Democrat donor, identified as suspect in Vance home attack
Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
In exchange for Casap’s guilty plea, prosecutors dropped various other charges against the murderer, including two counts of hiding a corpse and theft of property over $10,000.
Hours after the bodies of Casap’s victims were discovered on Feb. 28, police in WaKeeney, Kansas, captured the teen, who had fled in his stepfather’s SUV.
Officers found Mayer’s .357 magnum revolver and multiple boxes of .357 magnum and .38 special ammunition in the car along with the victims’ phones and wallets, jewelry, various electronic devices, and a large amount of American and European currency.
According to a federal search warrant, investigators found evidence indicating Casap was a nihilistic violent extremist — someone engaged “in criminal conduct within the United States and abroad, in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability.”
In a March 10 interview with WSCO, one of Casap’s classmates recalled that the killer told him that he had been in contact with a Russian via Telegram and was planning to assassinate Trump.
FBI agents found messages from Casap to a Telegram user with the handle “Angel of Death” discussing how to convert a drone into a long-range attack drone capable of avoiding detection and dropping an explosive, a Molotov cocktail, or poison. He also discussed how long he would have to hide before relocating to Ukraine.
Investigators also found a three-page document entitled “Accelerate the Collapse” in which Casap discussed murdering Trump in order to trigger a political revolution and America’s collapse to “save the white race” from “Jewish controlled” politicians.
“As to why, specifically Trump, I think it’s obvious,” Casap wrote. “By getting rid of the president and perhaps the vice president, that is guaranteed to bring in some chaos. And not only that, but it will further bring into the public the idea that assassinations and accelerating the collapse are possible things to do.”
The FBI apparently also found textual conversations indicating Casap was supportive of the teachings of the Order of the Nine Angles, a satanic pedophile cult known for anti-Semitism, hatred for Christianity, identitarianism, and admiration for Adolf Hitler and other loathsome historic figures.
Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese reportedly told reporters that she will implore the judge to deny Casap any chance at parole, noting that the killer is “a danger to the community.”
Casap is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5.
Federal charges have not yet been filed; however, an FBI affidavit notes that there is cause to believe Casap committed numerous federal crimes, including conspiracy to assassinate the president and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction utilizing interstate or foreign commerce.
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Crime, Assassination, Donald trump, Nikita casap, Waukesha, Wisconsin, Leftist, Accelerationist, Nihilist, Evil, Murder, Homicide, Politics
LAUGH FACTORY: Carbon-copy comics cry ‘Epstein’ on cue
Late-night hacks didn’t get the memo.
Sure, Democrats have been using the Epstein card for the better part of the year. Whenever President Donald Trump does anything they don’t like, which is anything, period, they claim it’s a distraction from the Epstein files.
Pratt wouldn’t be the first reality-show star to make waves in politics. Turns out that guy was a natural, in between McDonald’s shifts …
Because — all together now — the walls are closing in.
Except the Biden administration had access to said files for four years and never released them. Because, as we know, if there were incriminating details about Trump within them, Team Biden would have kept them safely tucked away from sight.
Sure, Jan.
Except now the “distraction from the Epstein files” defense is even sillier than ever. Why? We’ve already seen some of those files, and so far the only politician whose reputation suffered a hit was President Bill Clinton.
So what happened when Team Trump expertly corralled the criminal Venezuelan strongman Nicholas Maduro in a lightning strike they’ll make a movie about some day?
Team Late Night said the stunning raid was … no, really … a distraction from the Epstein files.
Kimmel. Fallon. Colbert.
Same talking points. Same complete lack of shame …
The timing couldn’t be better.
Move over, Tim
Our political culture is teeming with jackasses, from code-switch princess Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) to Minnesota’s soon-to-be-unemployed Gov. Tim Walz (D). That title might be too mild for former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann.
Now, the professionals are coming back to stake their claim to the moniker.
A fifth “Jackass” movie is heading our way this June. The surprise project finds 50-something Johnny Knoxville and friends returning to their painful shtick that started on MTV too many years ago to count. OK, the show debuted in October 2000.
The boys have done everything from covering their bathing-suit areas with bees to literally sticking together courtesy of superglue.
What’s left? Maybe they can watch CNN for 24 hours straight without losing what’s left of their concussed minds …
Smear factor
One of the best running jokes in “This Is Spinal Tap” involves the group’s drummer. Or drummers, to be more precise. Sadly, playing the skins for the heavy metal band meant putting your life on the line. Literally. Think spontaneous combustion and choking on someone else’s vomit.
And, even more strange, a bizarre gardening accident.
On that scale, it’s a miracle that Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear is still with us. The 66-year-old rocker “smashed the s**t out of his foot” while gardening, at least according to the band’s Instagram account.
The Foo Fighters did star in the horror comedy “Studio 666,” so they have a healthy sense of humor. Did they turn a generic accident into a Tap-like riff?
Either way, he’ll be replaced on the current tour until his bones heal up. Let’s hope the band cranks it up to 11 upon his return …
From ‘The Hills’ to his honor?
Reagan. Ventura. Schwarzenegger. Franken. Trump. Pratt?
Reality-show veteran Spencer Pratt has been a thorn in the side of California Democrats following last year’s devastating Palisades fires. Pratt saw both the devastation left by poor land management and the feeble rebuilding efforts in his state.
Now, he’s doing something about it.
Pratty announced he’ll be running against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the city’s next election.
“Let’s make LA camera ready again!” he posted.
Pratt doesn’t have any real political experience, but could he be any worse than the current clown car running roughshod over the state? And, to be fair, he wouldn’t be the first reality-show star to make waves in politics. Turns out that guy was a natural, in between McDonald’s shifts …
RELATED: BURN NOTICE: ‘Hills’ heel Spencer Pratt to run for Los Angeles mayor
Photo by MEGA/GC Images
McCarthy’s ‘View’ rue
Jenny McCarthy has singled out “The View,” and it ain’t pretty.
The model turned actress recalled her time on the feminist talk show on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” noting how its tone morphed during her one-year stint with the ABC chatfest.
She joined the gaggle to talk pop culture and other frothy subjects. Instead, the show took a political turn. No thanks, she said at the time.
“They’ve asked me to come back for, like, reunion shows,” McCarthy said. “I was like, over my dead body would I ever step foot in that place.”
Here’s betting Meghan McCain has a similar take on any reunion talk.
Entertainment, Culture, Jeffrey epstein, Donald trump, Venezuela, Stephen colbert, Jimmy kimmel, Jimmy fallon, Late night tv, Toto recall
Stu Burguiere slams Minneapolis meltdown after ICE shooting: ‘What did you think would happen?’
The political fallout from a fatal ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis has quickly spiraled into open warfare between city leaders, state officials, and federal authorities — and Mayor Jacob Frey (D), who most recently was seen butchering the Somalian language in support of those accused of fraud — had some choice words for ICE officers.
“I do have a message for our community, for our city, and I have a message for ICE. To ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite,” Frey said.
“We’ve dreaded this moment since the early stages of this ICE presence in Minneapolis. Not only is this a concern that we’ve had internally; we’ve been talking about it. They are not here to cause safety in this city,” he continued.
“What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: that is bulls**t. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying,” he added.
“Kristi Noem heard Jacob Frey being a douche and decided to respond to him for whatever reason, even though he obviously didn’t deserve a response,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere comments.
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Noem responded in a press conference. “It’s very clear that this individual was harassing and impeding law enforcement operations. Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself.”
However, Tim Walz disagreed, threatening to deploy the National Guard and firmly stating that “Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight.”
“Your own party has been turning Minnesota into a nonstop heap of political debate and nonsense for years and years and years and years, going back to George Floyd. This is kind of what the state is now.”
Minneapolis is even closing its public schools for an entire week in the wake of the shooting.
“Look, nothing great here,” Stu says. “There’s no wonderful solution. There’s no wonderful outcome. We can’t be like, ‘Oh gosh, you know, everything was heroic and perfect.’ What we can say is something pretty obvious, like no one wants this to happen.”
“I’m really sad that a person died. I didn’t want her to die. I’m really sad about it. But one little piece of advice that you can take into your own personal lives as you go out into the world: Don’t drive your car at cops,” he continues.
“Like that’s the end of it, right? What would you think would happen to you if you went out to a parking lot as a police officer’s there, standing there, and you just drove your car at them? What the hell do you do think would happen? Every single person in the world, I think, would expect a police officer to fire on them,” he adds.
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VIDEO: Unhinged anti-ICE extremists hurl profanities at agents in Minneapolis: ‘Get the f**k out!’
Anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement extremists have come out of the woodwork after the lethal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, and Blaze News has exclusive footage of some of their unhinged demonstrations.
The footage shows chaotic chants and epithets tossed by dozens of activists against agents outside of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in the Minneapolis area.
‘What have you done?! What have you done?! You terrorize our community! What do you know? Bunch of cowards!’
The video was recorded by Blaze News on the ground among the protesters.
“F**k you, you fascists pigs!” yells one protester.
“You murderers!” yells another.
“F**king cowards!” yells another female protester. “None of you served this country, but I have! I served this country for 10 years! What have you done?! What have you done?! You terrorize our community! What do you know? Bunch of cowards!”
Federal agents have been using flash-bang grenades and chemical irritants to persuade protesters to back off.
At one point, the group chants, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”
Another man wearing a “Black Lives Matter” shirt leads a chant of “F**k ICE!” that turns into “Get the f**k out!”
The woman killed by an ICE agent Wednesday was identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Macklin Good from Colorado. New footage from the cell phone of the agent who shot Good was released Friday and showed their interaction before he fired into her vehicle.
Two protesters were reportedly detained on Friday at the protests outside of the facility. The woman who was detained admitted that she had hit a federal vehicle with her hand in comments to CNN after she was released.
RELATED: Trump team calls out ‘depravity’ of Jimmy Kimmel’s response to lethal ICE shooting
“They didn’t know who was in charge of what. They just kept calling other people,” said the woman who identified herself only as Jessica.
She added that she hit the vehicle “because they pissed me off. Just being here pisses me off.”
Concrete barriers were also installed outside of the facility to protect agents.
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Anti-ice protests minneapolis, Minneapolis ice shooting, Anti-ice protesters, Blaze news exclusive footage, Politics
Shocking cellphone video of Minneapolis lethal shooting from ICE agent’s perspective released — and JD Vance reacts
As protests continue to escalate, new footage has surfaced that captures the interactions between Renee Good, her romantic partner, and the federal agent who shot Good in self-defense.
The video shows Good behind the wheel of a red SUV with a second woman, believed to be Good’s romantic partner, standing outside the red SUV and taunting the agent as he walks around the car with his cell phone recording. The footage was obtained by Alpha News.
‘What the press has done in lying about this innocent law enforcement officer is disgusting.’
“That’s OK, we don’t change our plates every morning, just so you know. It’ll be the same plate when you come talk to us later,” the second woman tells the agent as he records their license plate.
“That’s fine. U.S. citizen,” she adds. “You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.”
Then the agent orders the driver out of the car.
“Get out of the car. Get out of the f**king car!” he says.
The second woman instead tries to get back into the car as Good quickly puts the car into reverse before gunning straight for the officer.
Shots ring out, and the agent yells in surprise.
“F**king bitch,” he adds.
Many commenters of the video pointed out that the woman looks straight at the agent when she swerves into him.
Among those was Vice President JD Vance, who scolded the media for their coverage of the incident.
“What the press has done in lying about this innocent law enforcement officer is disgusting. You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” he wrote.
RELATED: Two people shot by federal officers in Portland only a day after lethal ICE shooting
Vance was reiterating earlier criticism of the media.
“Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her — you should be ashamed of yourselves. Every single one of you.”
Donald Trump Jr. added in response to the video: “This video proves that he was right and they were all full of s**t as usual!!!!”
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Fed agent’s cellphone footage, Minneapolis ice shooting, Jd vance on minneapolis, Anti-ice protester killed, Politics
Trump treated Venezuela for what it is: A criminal enterprise with a flag
People who know me know I don’t have much patience for fancy talk. In Chester County, when a meth dealer sets up shop next to a school, we don’t hold a town hall about his “socioeconomic anxiety.”
We don’t send a strongly worded letter. We kick down the door, put him in handcuffs, and shut the operation down.
By arresting a narco-terrorist masquerading as a president, Donald Trump didn’t break the law. He restored order.
For the last 20 years, America forgot that simple rule. We acted like social workers trying to “fix” the world’s worst neighborhoods while they picked our pockets.
Last weekend, that stopped.
President Trump’s decision to go into Venezuela and extract the dictator Nicolás Maduro wasn’t just a military operation. From where I sit as a 30-year lawman, it looked like the biggest drug bust in history.
It was also a master class in overwhelming force.
For years, Washington has acted like a terrified homeowners’ association. Too scared to enforce the rules. Too worried about offending the neighbors — even the ones throwing rocks through our windows.
Our governments let China buy the house across the street. They let Iran park its van in the driveway. They let Maduro turn Venezuela into a trap house for every cartel and terrorist west of the Atlantic.
And yet for two centuries, this hemisphere had a “No Trespassing” sign on the lawn. We called it the Monroe Doctrine. It was the original neighborhood watch rule: Foreign powers with bad intentions don’t get to cozy up to corrupt regimes in our back yard.
For too long, we let that sign fade while our enemies set up shop.
Early Saturday morning, the sheriff in the White House decided it was time to back the warning with a warrant — and missiles.
RELATED: Venezuela was the stage. China was the target.
Photo by Liu Bin/Xinhua via Getty Images
Trump didn’t ask the U.N. for a permission slip. He didn’t check whether Europe felt “comfortable” with the plan. He recognized a threat inside his jurisdiction — and he neutralized it.
The media is now crying about “international norms.” That makes me laugh. In my line of work, the only norm that matters is the bad guys go to jail and good citizens sleep safely.
And let’s be clear about the charges. I don’t care whether the poison was cocaine, meth, or fentanyl. If you played any role in trafficking drugs that end up in the United States, you’re part of the conspiracy. Period.
Some people might ask why a sheriff in rural South Carolina cares about a dictator 2,000 miles away.
Here’s why: The decisions made in Maduro’s palace didn’t stay in Caracas. They ended up in the veins of our neighbors and in the wreckage of families right here in Chester County.
I see that damage every day. For years, sheriffs across this country have begged Washington to stop the flow at the source. It’s about time a president acted against a head of state who deliberately created a welcoming environment for criminal networks that kill Americans.
By arresting a narco-terrorist masquerading as a president, Donald Trump didn’t break the law. He restored order.
I expect this to be only the beginning. And I hope it sends a message — from cartel bosses to street-level runners: Pay attention. If the United States is willing to break down the door of a sitting dictator, imagine what it is willing to do to you.
The era of impunity is over.
And one last thing for those insisting this was all about oil or money. For years, Americans bought energy from countries that hate us because we were too polite to use what we have at home. Those days are ending.
RELATED: From Monroe to ‘Donroe’: America enforces its back yard again
Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
If Venezuelan crude ever flows to American refineries again, it won’t just lower gas prices. It will tell every dictator on earth that their leverage is gone.
As Americans, we’ve spent too long hating to lose more than we love to win. Our foreign policy has been driven by fear — fear of bad press, fear of escalation, fear of diplomatic friction. We played not to lose.
You don’t build a safe community — or a strong nation — by playing defense. You build it by loving to win. By making bold, decisive moves that protect your people.
This operation was a win.
So to the hand-wringers: relax. The world isn’t ending. It’s getting cleaned up.
The sheriff is back on the beat, the bad guy is in handcuffs in the back seat, and for the first time in a long time, the good people can set off a few fireworks.
Welcome to the new neighborhood.
Opinion & analysis, Venezuela, Narco-terrorism, Drug trafficking, Cocaine, Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Nicolas maduro, Donald trump, Arrest, Monroe doctrine, Sheriff, Warrant, Caracas, South carolina
Dad fires gun outside son’s middle school after being denied entry, prompting lockdown: Cops. Later he curses out judge.
A Michigan father is accused of firing a gun outside his son’s middle school earlier this week after being denied entry, which prompted a lockdown.
Police in Romulus — which is about a half hour southwest of Detroit — said Shawntez Marshaun Gregory, 44, just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, drove to Romulus Middle School, approached the front doors, and told the school secretary through the intercom, “I am here to get my son. I want my son now!”
‘This case is every parent’s nightmare.’
Police said the secretary recognized Gregory as someone who’d been barred from school property and reportedly displayed unstable behavior in the past — and that in this instance, he was “extremely upset” and had a gun.
With that, police said the secretary called 911 and put the school on lockdown. The secretary then heard gunshots, dropped to the floor, and told 911 he was trying to gain entry to the school by “shooting at the locks,” police said.
Police said arriving officers took Gregory into custody, recovered a gun, and found seven spent rounds.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Gregory with multiple felonies, including false report or threat of terrorism; intentional threat to commit act of violence against school, school employees, or students with specific intent to carry out or overt act; carrying a concealed weapon; possession of a weapon in a weapons-free school zone; reckless use of a firearm; and two counts of felony firearm in connection to the incident, WXYZ-TV reported.
Prosecutors told the station that Gregory was about a foot away from the building when he fired the gun seven times — but not directly at the school.
“This case is every parent’s nightmare,” Worthy said in a statement, WXYZ said, adding that no one was harmed.
What’s more, in regard to police saying the secretary recognized Gregory as someone who’d been barred from school property, it turns out he had a no-trespassing order from the school and was not allowed near his son since Gregory also has been accused of attempting to kidnap him, the station said.
Then came Gregory’s arraignment on Thursday at 34th District Court, WXYZ said.
With Judge Lisa Martin presiding, WDIV-TV reported that Gregory swore 14 times, told the judge to get a real job, put his fingers in his ears, and said it was the “the fakest s**t I’ve seen in my life.”
He also refused to answer the judge’s questions, WXYZ said.
During the virtual hearing, Martin asked Gregory to state his name for the record, and he replied by saying, “Nope, good f**king bye. Don’t need to talk to me, quit f**king playing with me,” WDIV replied.
As bond was being discussed, WDIV said Gregory stated, “This is the fakest s**t I’ve seen in my life. … You’re going to actually act like this, huh? That s**t is fake. Sorriest s**t and racist in my life. Bunch of racists doing stuff. So I’m done. I’m done talking. We can go, and I can go back and get ready to go back home now. I’m done playing around.”
Gregory then verbally attacked the judge, WDIV said: “You are one of the dumbest black person [sic] I’ve seen in my life, about the dumbest [expletive] I’ve seen in my life. I hate to say that because it’s some racist right here. I hate to say that, though, but don’t waste my time. There’s a racist right here, so don’t waste my time, no more. Tired of f**king with all of y’all. So don’t waste my time.”
The judge then adopted the police department’s recommendation and remanded Gregory without bond, WDIV said.
“Why don’t you get a real job?” Gregory added to the judge, according to WDIV. “Go get a real job.”
Gregory remained Friday in the Wayne County Jail.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 20, WDIV reported.
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Arrest, Court hearing, Cursing out judge, Father, Felony charges, Firing gun, Lockdown, Michigan, Middle school, Son, Crime
Aftermath of a slaughter: Universal Ostrich Farms vows to hold Canada accountable
Like many of us, Katie Pasitney entered the new year with a resolution.
Hers, however, is not personal or private, but public and political: to hold the Canadian government accountable for what it did to her family, their farm, and the more than 300 ostriches whose blood still stains their British Columbia property.
Pasitney describes the cull as ‘one of the biggest heinous acts of animal cruelty probably in Canadian history.’
Pasitney recently spoke to Align after what she calls the worst Christmas season of her life — describing weeks of shock, trauma, and severe depression in the wake of the government’s November 6 culling of Universal Ostrich Farms’ entire herd.
Death sentence
The culling was the sad and brutal end to a nearly year-long legal fight — one that thrust Pasitney into the spotlight as the farm’s spokesperson, making her case in widely shared, self-produced videos.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the birds killed under its “stamping out” policy after a possible case of avian influenza in December 2024. After a brief pause that gave the farm hope that the order might be reconsidered, the CFIA formally rejected an exemption request on January 10, 2025 — roughly a month before the federal government announced the purchase of 500,000 avian influenza vaccines.
From that point on, the walls began to close in on Pasitney and her mother, Karen Espersen, co-owner of the farm. The two spent much of the year fighting the CFIA in court, accumulating legal bills while the federal government racked up legal victories. Throughout the ordeal, the playing field appeared tilted: The government was largely permitted to advance a single argument — that the cull must proceed because it had already been ordered.
Doomed fight
Prominent Americans including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, and businessman John Catsimatidis publicly supported the farm. Despite political pressure and repeated questions in Parliament about the CFIA’s handling of the case, federal ministers consistently deferred to the agency and the courts as the legal process unfolded.
To Pasitney and her supporters, it often seemed as if Ottawa was content to let lawfare grind the family down.
It did not matter, Pasitney argues, that the birds showed signs of herd immunity. It did not matter that there was no evidence of disease for months. The CFIA refused to conduct further testing. After the farm lost its appeal in federal court, CFIA officials arrived on Sept. 23, took control of the property, and prepared to carry out the kill.
The Supreme Court of Canada briefly intervened, agreeing to hear an appeal and issuing a temporary stay. But CFIA officials remained on site with what they described as “custody” of the ostriches. Over the next seven weeks, Pasitney and her supporters documented what they say was harassment and mistreatment of the birds by CFIA inspectors. Independent counts showed the ostrich population continuing to decline.
Into the ‘kill pen’
On November 6, the Supreme Court declined to intervene further. The execution could proceed.
That evening and into the early hours of Nov. 7, CFIA marksmen shot hundreds of ostriches while Pasitney and her supporters looked on. It took roughly 1,000 rounds to kill the herd.
Even after the slaughter, the CFIA maintained a quarantine over the property. The family was not permitted to retrieve spent shell casings or remove hay bales used to construct what Pasitney calls a “kill pen.”
Raw memories
I spoke with Pasitney on Jan. 3 in a video interview from the farm in Edgewood, British Columbia, which still resembles a war zone. She is seeking to have the quarantine lifted so cleanup can begin, but she is equally focused on holding the CFIA — and the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney — accountable.
The memories remain raw. Pasitney describes the cull as “one of the biggest heinous acts of animal cruelty probably in Canadian history,” saying the ostriches were forced to witness one another being shot “in fear and panic for hours,” while her family endured what she characterizes as 11 months of state-sanctioned intimidation.
RELATED: Massacre at Universal Ostrich Farms: Canada kills hundreds of birds despite no evidence of avian flu
Universal Ostrich Farms
Suppressing the science?
Demonstrating the science, she says, was always her goal. “They suppressed our real science,” Pasitney argues. “There was no testing for almost 300 days. There was no surveillance, no proof of active disease — and still they came in and they stripped us of our freedoms.”
She also questions how the agency handled biosecurity on the ground. CFIA officials maintained that their protocols required full protective equipment only in designated quarantine or “hot” zones, a distinction that allowed inspectors, police, and contractors outside those zones to operate without hazmat suits or full PPE. To Pasitney, that contrast — between claims of an ongoing viral threat and what she observed on site — raises serious doubts.
“There was no viral threat,” she says. “Show us proof of active illness.”
“It is clear that there was never a quarantine,” Pasitney adds. “They would have disinfected their vehicles. They would have worn consistent PPE. They would have had a certified company handling biohazardous waste. They wouldn’t have left our animals killed out in the field overnight. … They definitely wouldn’t have left this hay-bale mess out there, littered with blood, littered with shell casings. There’s no quarantine. Let’s just be honest. This was all a theatrical display of punishment for using our voices.”
Pasitney further alleges that not all ostriches were destroyed during the operation, claiming some birds were removed from the property. “They stole our science,” she says. “They stole ostriches.” She urges anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward.
‘Wake up’
Pasitney insists her fight was never just about one farm.
“Our poor farmers are under attack everywhere across our country,” Pasitney says.
By accountability, she means a full reckoning: review of CFIA outbreak protocols, recognition of farmers’ rights, and an end to what she calls one-size-fits-all policies like stamping out.
She is now working to organize a national federation for farmers — one that, she says, will ask basic but urgent questions: Who protects the people who feed the country? Who holds regulators to account?
Pasitney is reluctant to talk about fundraising but says she has little choice. The quarantine, she notes, eliminated all income: no product sales, no tours, no feathers, no eggshells — nothing.
“At the end of the day,” she says, “the government still stripped us from absolutely everything. And we are fighting.”
Align interview, Universal ostrich farms, Rfk jr, Mark carney, Culling, Avian flu, Culture, Letter from canada
