Jose Ibarra was found guilty on all counts for the murder of Laken Riley as the sobering trial concluded on Wednesday.

Judge Patrick Haggard announced that Ibarra was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstruction of a 911 call, tampering with evidence, and peeping Tom.

Riley’s family cried as Haggard read the verdict.

Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez’s office is not seeking the death penalty for Ibarra.

Ibarra is a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and was able to easily enter the United States illegally in 2022 due to the Biden-Harris administration’s open-border crisis.

Prosecutors made the case that Ibarra hunted down Riley while she went for a jog. Using data from her smartwatch, authorities were able confirm that Riley fought off Ibarra for nearly 20 minutes before he smashed her skull in with a rock. Ibarra’s DNA was found underneath Riley’s fingernails.

Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, a soft-on-crime prosecutor, and her office are not seeking the death penalty for Ibarra but instead are seeking life in prison without possibility of parole.

In response to the verdict, President-elect Donald Trump said on Truth Social, “JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY! … Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have. We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you.”

Trump further said the nation’s borders will be secured and illegal immigrants will be removed from the country so cases like this does not happen again.

Riley’s parents read their impact statements after the verdict was rendered, pleading with Haggard to sentence Ibarra to the maximum sentence of life without parole.

John Phillips, Riley’s stepfather, read one of her last journal entries, which was a letter to her future husband about wanting to have a God-fearing and God-loving family.

“I want you to know I am think about you. I am working everyday to become the best wife I can be by working through my current relationships to best prepare me for ours and our kids one day. I am focusing on God and what He defines as a faithful, Christian wife and so I can best embodied those characteristics,” Phillips read from Riley’s journal.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include statements from Riley’s family and President-elect Donald Trump.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Politics, Crime 

Laken Riley was only 22 years old when she was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

The nursing student had innocently gone for a jog on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia, where 26-year-old Jose Ibarra then decided to take her life.

Ibarra was found guilty on all counts Wednesday morning in the fast-moving trial.

The prosecutor explained to the jury that the immigrant had been walking around different apartment complexes essentially hunting for a woman to rape, when he saw Laken Riley jogging by herself on a Sunday morning.

“She fought so hard for her life, she fought so hard for her dignity, she was almost completely unclothed,” Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” comments after listening to the prosecutor’s opening statement.

“Because of how hard she fought, she wasn’t completely exposed, but when the police officer found her laying there with her skull crushed in by the rock that Ibarra allegedly picked up and hit her with, at least half of her body was completely naked because he tried and failed, thank the Lord, to rape her before murdering her,” Stuckey says.

Riley was reportedly wearing a smartwatch at the time, which revealed that her heart rate had spiked during the 17-minute attack.

Her attacker has been confirmed to be a member of Tren de Aragua, a dangerous Venezuelan gang that has infiltrated and plagued parts of America with extreme violence.

He had also been arrested by the NYPD a year after he entered the United States in August 2023, but not because he was here illegally. Rather, Ibarra was arrested because he committed the crime of acting in a manner to injure a child and had a motor vehicle license violation.

Now, it’s been revealed that Ibarra, along with other illegal immigrants, was granted a free humanitarian flight from New York to Georgia.

“So he was the beneficiary of Biden’s catch-and-release policy at the border. So he was detained when he tried to cross illegally in 2022, and then he was released into the interior of the United States per Biden’s policies, and then he was the beneficiary of a catch-and-release policy because of progressive soft-on-crime policies in New York,” Stuckey comments.

“And not only that, but he was actually given the gift, as a reward for the crimes that he had committed, he was given the gift of a free, taxpayer-funded flight from New York to Georgia, where he eventually killed Laken Riley,” she adds, disgusted.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Sharing, Video, Upload, Camera phone, Free, Video phone, Youtube.com, Relatable, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Laken riley, Laken riley murder, Tren de aragua, Venezuelan gang, Jose ibarra, Catch and release, Illegal immigration 

Two unidentified men who incited rioters on January 6, captured video throughout the U.S. Capitol for hours, and stood feet from Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt when she was shot are drawing new attention as the fourth anniversary of the tragic day looms.

A Blaze News video investigation found that the duo assisted and shadowed a large group of protesters from the Capitol’s West Plaza to the House Speaker’s Lobby before Babbitt was fatally shot.

The pair later met secretly with U.S. Capitol Police at the edge of Capitol grounds and shared at least one video clip as evidence before the Babbitt shooting investigation was even officially under way. Capitol Police did not make a video or audio recording of their talks with the men. One of the men sat in an unmarked squad car and showed USCP special agents at least some of his video, security footage reviewed by Blaze News showed.

‘What evil do you think he is up to?’

The men have been the subject of intense social media speculation for some time. They warranted just a few paragraphs in the now-closed Babbitt shooting investigation conducted by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department.

Nicknamed “Frick and Frack” by a YouTube satirist, the men have long been considered important material witnesses in the killing of Babbitt, 35, of San Diego. They have not been publicly identified, arrested by the FBI, or charged by federal prosecutors.

As the FBI Jan. 6 arrest total heads toward 1,600, it’s not fully clear how aggressive the bureau will continue to be in the wake of former President Donald J. Trump’s landslide re-election on Nov. 5. Despite a reported DOJ decision to focus only on violent cases leading up to Jan. 20, the FBI recently arrested a 74-year-old cancer patient for nonviolent Jan. 6 misdemeanors.

Analyzing more than 22,000 hours of Capitol Police security video posted on Rumble by a U.S. House committee, Blaze News tracked the movements of Frick and Frack from the early violence on the West Plaza to their meeting with police and to them walking west away from Capitol grounds at 4 p.m.

Babbitt, an Air Force and National Guard veteran who came to Washington, D.C., to hear then-President Trump speak, was shot at nearly point-blank range at 2:44 p.m. by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd.

She died a half-hour later at a Washington hospital. The death was classified a homicide by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to pursue charges against Byrd, who said he feared for his life when the 5’2″ Babbitt began climbing into the window.

‘I cannot believe I am witnessing this. A woman was shot and is dead!’

The shooting triggered a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government brought by Judicial Watch Inc. on behalf of widower Aaron Babbitt and his late wife’s estate. The DOJ secured a change of venue from Babbitt’s hometown of San Diego to the friendly confines of federal district court in Washington, D.C. Judicial Watch is appealing the change of venue. The suit is proceeding into discovery.

As that litigation and the extensive investigation that underpins it begin their long journey through the federal courts, questions have grown about the identities of more than a dozen material witnesses who either took part in rioting near the Speaker’s Lobby entrance or captured video that could be valuable evidence in the shooting. Frick and Frack are prominent on that list.

The list of unidentified material witnesses (see chart) includes #RedOnRedGlasses (second from top left), a provocateur captured on video apparently launching a long two-by-four like a javelin through a window at the Senate Wing Door at 2:12 p.m., creating the first breach of the Capitol Building.

Nearly two dozen material witnesses to the shooting of Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, have not been publicly identified or questioned about what they saw outside the Speaker‘s Lobby. Sam Montoya/Open Source Video

Open-source videos reviewed by Blaze News from the hallways near the main U.S. House entrance show #RedOnRed attempting to kick in heavy wooden office doors. He ended up in the front line at the Speaker’s Lobby entrance. Babbitt nearly landed on his feet when she fell back to the floor, mortally wounded. Despite ample video evidence of his acts — and clear video views of his face — the man has not been publicly identified or arrested by the FBI.

#MrFlyEyes (upper right) attempted to kick in the Speaker’s Lobby doors after three Capitol Police officers abandoned their post guarding the entrance, video showed. His phone indicated he was capturing video during the melee.

#PushyKeffiyeh and #NoProHelmet (lower left) operated at least four cameras during and after the shooting. It is not known if their video — or footage captured by potentially dozens of others — was sought or obtained by police.

Frick and Frack

The somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to the pair of key witnesses as “Frick and Frack” is drawn from 20th century American pop culture.

A world-famous comedic skating duo known as Frick and Frack performed spectacular on-ice feats for tens of millions of U.S. fans from 1939 until late 1953. Their ice-folly antics and derring-do seemed to defy the laws of physics. Their on-rink names have since become synonymous with a closely matched set or a pair of inseparable friends.

Comedic ice skating duo and Ice Follies touring show members Frick and Frack, circa 1950. “Frick” (Werner Groebli) is seen on the left, and “Frack” (Hans Rudolf “Hansruedi” Mauch) is on the right. Photo by European/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

At the Capitol, the 21st-century Frick and Frack were always within feet of each other during a crucial two-hour span on Jan. 6, Capitol Police security video revealed. When crowds of protesters pressed around them, Frick held onto Frack’s backpack to make sure they did not get separated in Capitol hallways.

Despite their ample presence on closed-circuit security cameras and open-source video, Frick and Frack do not appear on the FBI’s Jan. 6 most-wanted page or the “Perp Sheet” page maintained by the online sleuths of Sedition Hunters. However, Frick is listed as Insider 2047 and Frack is Insider 2325 on the Sedition Hunters’ list of 3,268 “Sedition Insiders” who entered the Capitol.

Sedition Hunters added a page devoted to Frack on March 4 that included nine photographs. That page, however, is not hot-linked to Frack’s thumbnail photo on the Sedition Insiders page. A reader would have to search the site by insider number or hashtag (#BehindTheLineGuy) to find the detail page.

Neither page shows that Frack has been identified by law enforcement. According to Sedition Hunters, 815 people on the insiders list have been identified but not arrested.

On social media, Sedition Hunters published Frack’s photo with a green “Identified” label on it but did not provide his name.

When questioned on July 21 by X user Silvio Costa about the identity of Frick and Frack, Sedition Hunters posted: “Why do you assume they are not Trump supporters?? I mean seriously?? The guy in the red hat is a family nurse practitioner that lives in California. What evil do you think he is up to[?]”

When Costa asked how Sedition Hunters knew the man is a “family nurse practitioner,” he did not get a response. Elsewhere in the same thread, Sedition Hunters wrote, “The FBI knows exactly who these two men are.” The post did not indicate how Sedition Hunters was aware of this.

Blaze News reached out to Sedition Hunters for more information but did not receive a reply by press time.

Based on video and photo evidence from Jan. 6, Frack appeared to be about 35 years old and 6 feet tall with a husky build, dark hair, and a thick, dark beard. Frick was about 55, 5’7″ tall, balding with a grey mustache, and slimmer build but with a potbelly.

According to video, Frick threw off his primary role as an observer at the bottom of the Northwest Steps by leaning police bicycle-rack barricades against the massive balustrade to help protesters climb onto the stone railing and move up to the Capitol. This is what Jan. 6 prosecutors have typically labeled as participation in a riot or “storming the Capitol.”

The provocateur and shooting witness known only as “Frick” used bicycle racks to help protesters climb onto the balustrade of the Northwest Steps at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Department of Justice

Video released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed Frick placing two such makeshift ladders in place. He also handed up what appeared to be a piece of lumber to rioters above.

Similar battering rams were used in various places on the Capitol grounds to smash windows on Jan. 6, including the one to the right of the Senate Wing Door just after 2:10 p.m.

Frack also apparently placed a section of bicycle rack against the side of the stairway that was used by dozens of people to climb onto the balustrade. Video shot by journalist Ford Fischer showed Frack grabbing and handing two sections of bike-rack barrier up to protesters 10 feet above him.

Frack took a long section of heavy cardboard tubing as if to hand it up to those standing above him, but he leaned the ramrod against the balustrade instead, video showed. A similar-looking tube was used to smash windows adjacent to the Lower West Terrace tunnel later that day.

Bodycam footage from an unknown MPD officer walking nearby at 2:03 p.m. showed Frick and Frack pausing their activity at the balustrade to watch brawls that broke out between rioters and police just north of the West Plaza. This included hand-to-hand combat, with some rioters trying to wrestle riot sticks from police and others discharging bear spray at officers.

The entire crowd — including provocateur witnesses Frick and Frack (inset) — watch a brawl between rioters and Metropolitan Police near the Capitol‘s West Plaza just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.Metropolitan Police Department bodycam

A three-man undercover team from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Electronic Surveillance Unit was in this same area a short time later, according to video from one of the officers leaked on the video platform Rumble in March 2023. They walked up the Northwest Steps about 10 minutes after Frick and Frack.

Investigator Nicholas Tomasula captured video on a GoPro Hero 8 camera as he climbed onto the balustrade and went up the Northwest Steps toward the Capitol. Video shows he encouraged protesters to keep going and took part in crowd chants — so much so that federal prosecutors were later forced to admit that he acted as a provocateur in the west side crowd.

Surveillance Unit members Detective Michael Callahan and Detective Ricardo Leiva ascended the Northwest Steps just a few strides behind Babbitt, who was captured on security video nearing the Upper West Terrace at 2:21 p.m.

‘Chill out! Chill the f**k out, bro! Hey, chill out!’

Earlier, Leiva was heard on video predicting that someone would get shot that afternoon, according to an August 2023 court filing by Jan. 6 defendant William Pope. According to Pope’s court filing, Leiva’s five-minute cellphone video from his walk up the Northwest Steps was blacked out and the audio was garbled.

Leiva told MPD internal affairs investigators that when he saw a rioter breaking a Capitol window, he approached him and said, “Hey, what’s up, man, you’re doing an amazing job, awesome, awesome, awesome,” Pope’s court filing said.

On their journey from the West Plaza to the Capitol, Frick and Frack proceeded to the nearby scaffolding erected to support seating for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. Open-source video used in a Jan. 6 criminal case and reviewed by Blaze News showed the men shielding their eyes from tear gas that swirled around them on the plaza at around 2 p.m.

Moments later, video shot by convicted Jan. 6 provocateur John Sullivan showed the men climbing the steps under the scaffolding.

Northwest Steps

Eventually, two streams of protesters inside and outside the scaffolding coalesced into a kinetic force that rolled through the police line on the upper Northwest Steps at 2:09 p.m., security video showed. After the initial wave of protesters cleared the way, Frick and Frack walked onto the Upper West Terrace at 2:10 p.m.

Capitol Police security video from camera 0925 — Upper Terrace West — showed Frack and Frick walked through the field of view at 2:12 p.m.

While Frack walked out of camera view and proceeded to a sub-terrace that overlooks the Capitol lawn, Frick threw his arms up in the air as if celebrating the huge crowds approaching the Capitol from the west, video showed. The pair’s movements were also captured from above by camera 0908 — West Dome.

The men entered the Senate Wing Door at 2:13:54 p.m., making them among the first protesters to breach the Capitol Building.

Frick almost immediately moved to the right and stooped down to pick up a heavy wooden stand that the first rioters kicked over before they jumped through a window into the lobby, security video showed.

Frick and Frack joined the quickly growing crowd in the Crypt at the U.S. Capitol before moving up a level to the Speaker‘s Lobby.Photo by Sam Montoya, used with permission

The men joined a stream of protesters heading south toward the Crypt. The tightly packed group stood off against a thin line of Capitol Police in the Crypt, chanting slogans and berating officers for not moving out of the way. After about 10 minutes, protesters plowed past the overwhelmed officers to the other side of the Crypt.

The group eventually ascended one level via a winding staircase and continued toward Statuary Hall, the Great Rotunda, and, eventually, the U.S. House of Representatives, video showed. The large group included dozens of protesters who eventually ended up in the hallway outside the Speaker’s Lobby.

Toward the Speaker’s Lobby

Frick and Frack shadowed the crowd from the Crypt and eventually reached the Will Rogers corridor near the main House door. En route, they filmed protesters in the Great Rotunda, Statuary Hall, and the jam-packed Statuary Hall Connector.

The unruly crowd in the Will Rogers corridor pushed through the police line at 2:36 p.m. and filled in the small hallway directly outside the House Chamber. Babbitt lingered along one wall, checking her phone but staying out of the fray.

Just around the corner, Frack physically intercepted Zachary Alam, who would shortly lead a rioting and vandalism spree just outside the Speaker’s Lobby. Alam broke away from the crowd and approached Capitol Police Sgt. Nelson Vargas, according to video captured by protester and Jan. 6 defendant Paul Kovacik.

“Hey! Hey! Hey, buddy,” Alam shouted as he leaned in to read the officer’s name tag. “Nelson Vargas, where is the bathroom?”

Frack placed his right hand on Alam’s upper chest and led him away from Sgt. Vargas, the video showed. An audible off-camera voice said, “I don’t think we will.”

Alam continued down the hallway toward the Speaker’s Lobby, while Frick and Frack walked into the Sam Rayburn Room on a brief detour. Video shot by independent journalist Tayler Hansen showed Frick taking Frack’s photograph standing next to a giant painting of President George Washington.

‘We don‘t want to hurt nobody. We just want to go into the House!’

The men then trailed Babbitt past the East Stairs and down the hallway toward the Speaker’s Lobby.

Babbitt and Hansen were the first protesters to turn the final corner and approach the double doors at the Speaker’s Lobby entrance. They were preceded just minutes before by Capitol Police Sgt. Timothy Lively and Capitol Police Officers Kyle Yetter and Christopher Lanciano, the trio who took up guarding the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby.

Frack entered the hallway with Frick holding on to the bottom strap of his tan backpack. They positioned themselves near the front of the crowd as dozens of protesters quickly packed the small hallway. Frack held up a cell phone — first in his left hand and later switched between hands — and trained it on the USCP officers as the crowd’s behavior turned bellicose and ugly.

Alam — who was recently sentenced to eight years in prison on Jan. 6 convictions — placed himself front and center in the bedlam, punching the glass in between Lively and Yetter. Babbitt — a former military policewoman in the Air Force and Air National Guard — seemed to sense the brewing trouble and shouted at the police trio to “call f*****g help!”

After Alam punched the door between Lively and Lanciano, Lanciano shoved him backward. Hansen shouted at Alam, “Chill out! Chill the f**k out, bro! Hey, chill out!”

An unidentified man known only by the hashtag #HuskyMario pleaded with the officers to let the crowd pass. “We don’t want to hurt nobody. We just want to go into the House!” he shouted. Another rioter known by the hashtag #2BlueJacket got within inches of Lanciano’s face with a two-handed middle-finger taunt.

The crowd was out of control.

Taking a black helmet handed to him by rioter Christopher Grider, Alam began smashing the windows of the entrance. In the far left hallway corner, Sullivan lobbied one of the USCP officers to leave the area. Babbitt tried to confront the violent Alam, but he brushed her aside, video showed.

Frack appeared to make several hand gestures at the officers. His gaze seemed to focus on Lanciano on the right. Frack’s right hand made a sweeping motion and pointed down to the stairway behind them along the wall. It is difficult to hear whether he said anything to the officers because a nearby rioter kept bellowing, “Break it down!”

Frack filmed the violence by rioter Zachary Alam at the Speaker‘s Lobby entrance.Sam Montoya, used with permission

Frick grabbed the arm of protester Linwood Robinson Sr. and appeared to motion for him to step back and switch places, video showed. Shortly after, Frick led Frack down the stairs to a landing, almost colliding with a four-man Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team ascending from the Hall of Columns.

The CERT unit — similar to a SWAT team — was responding to a radio call of “shots fired, House floor,” broadcast just before 2:43 p.m. That call was later determined to be a false alarm.

It does not appear that Frack communicated with the first CERT member, Steven Robbs, except to put his hands up. He spoke to the next two officers — CERT leader Don Smith and Officer Brandon Sikes, video showed.

‘If they encountered anyone hostile, they would not bypass that threat.’

Frack pointed up to someone in the crowd while addressing Smith. On video shot by Frack, a voice was heard saying, “Watch the fuzzy-hat guy” — a reference to Alam and his floppy-ear Canada Goose cap.

As Officers Lanciano, Lively, and Yetter descended the stairs, Frack twice put his hand on Yetter’s back in an apparent show of support, video showed. Frack wore a wedding ring on his left hand and a Punisher pinky ring on his right hand. Punisher is a Marvel character popular in comics, military, and law enforcement circles.

As the three officers passed Frack, the sound of a shot rang out when Babbitt was gunned down at 2:44 p.m. The officers began going back up the stairs.

Video shot by Montoya and Frack showed that Alam bolted down the stairs after the gunshot. After briefly grabbing Alam by the arm, Robbs let him go and moved up the stairs to render medical aid to Babbitt.

For a time, Frack, Frick, and Alam stood behind the police line as the CERT officers scanned the crowd for possible threats. Alam was seen on video going through his backpack, although he did not change his outfit as some on social media have claimed.

Frack puts his hands up at the approach of Steven Robbs of the Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team, then tells CERT team leader Don Smith, “Watch the fuzzy-hat guy.”Sam Montoya/used with permission

In a transcribed interview with the FBI in January 2022, CERT leader Smith described two men on the landing who kept “trying to get my attention.”

“He goes, ‘Keep an eye on this guy.’ The guy that I had brought down, and he had glasses like that, he’s a skinny dude, um, short hair,” Smith said. “And he said … ‘Looks like he’s trying to grab, get ready to grab — stuff off your vest.’”

The scene on the stairs just before and after the shooting was dangerous and tactically unsound, according to former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend, who spent five years on an FBI SWAT team.

“You never want anyone who hasn’t been vetted as a friendly behind you,” Friend told Blaze News. “And even then, you leave someone with them.”

‘You’re protecting the real monsters and you’re shooting the people!’

“They deployed a tactical team in a crowd-control situation. That’s not something they train [for],” Friend said. “But even if that’s deemed appropriate — such as an active-shooter scenario — the team would stick together and clear areas piece by piece. If they encountered anyone hostile, they would not bypass that threat.”

Smith said he asked the two men to help control the crowd and keep a watchful eye on Alam.

“I turned to these two guys, I said, ‘Look, they’re going to listen to you more than they are going to listen to me,’” Smith told the FBI. “I said, ‘Please, can you plead with them to go ahead and back up so we can go ahead and help this, you know, help this girl.’”

After a few moments, Frack descended the stairs to near the second landing, then turned around, looked up, and screamed, “Back up! Back up! You guys, back up!” according to a short segment of his heavily redacted cellphone video obtained by Judicial Watch and reviewed by Blaze News.

Frack returned to the top landing before three Capitol Police CERT officers carried Babbitt down the stairs head-first to the Hall of Columns at the South Door.

In the initial chaos after Babbitt was shot, some rioters in the hallway obstructed police efforts to back the crowd up. Some bellowed at officers with the mistaken accusation that one of them had shot Babbitt. It was later learned that the plainclothes Lt. Byrd inched out of his hidden position just inside the doorway and fired one shot at Babbitt as she climbed into a broken-out glass side panel on the north side of the doors.

Frick and Frack look on as Capitol Police CERT team carries a dying Ashli Babbitt down the steps.Sam Montoya/used with permission

A Capitol Police bicycle officer angrily forced California physician Dr. Austin Brendlan Harris to abandon his efforts at rendering medical aid to the dying Babbitt. The officer shoved Harris down the hallway. The two briefly shouted at each other and scuffled, video showed.

Harris turned on the officer and said, “My trauma bag!” He was then handed his medical kit that was still sitting near Babbitt. He shouted, “You’re protecting the real monsters and you’re shooting the people!”

Three CERT officers picked up Babbitt and awkwardly carried her down the steps head-first with her backpack still hanging from her shoulders. Frack and Frick watched from the top landing as Babbitt’s massive internal gunshot wound left drops of blood on the stairs, according to video obtained from journalist Sam Montoya and reviewed by Blaze News.

Protesters vented their rage as they watched Babbitt being carried away. “Are you kidding me? She’s f*****g dead, you piece of s**t! She’s dead!” one man bellowed. “You guys are f*****g heroes!” another taunted.

Montoya was noticeably emotional while recording the scene.

“This is so sad,” he said on camera. “I cannot believe I am witnessing this in the U.S. Capitol. I cannot believe I am witnessing this. A woman was shot and is dead.”

“I don’t know her name,” Montoya said, his voice cracking, “but she had a family! I just pray that this ends peacefully. No one else needs to get hurt. Nobody needs to get hurt.”

‘Officer-involved event‘

A large contingent of MPD officers in fluorescent yellow jackets descended on the hallway to remove the rioters and restore order. Frick and Frack remained behind the police line on the steps. Shortly before 3 p.m., they apparently approached USCP Deputy Chief Eric Waldow and Capitol Police K-9 technician Bruce Acheson to present themselves as witnesses to the shooting.

Word of that development quickly went out over Capitol Police radio.

At 2:59 p.m., Waldow asked for the crime scene unit, someone from the Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Criminal Investigations Section to meet with two witnesses to an “officer-involved event that took place at the House gallery.”

The wording of that dispatch is significant because after he shot Babbitt at 2:44 p.m., Lt. Byrd made a false claim over the radio that he was being shot at and was preparing to return fire.

As dozens of heavily armed tactical officers from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and other agencies rushed into the Capitol after that radio call, Lt. Byrd did not update his dispatch to indicate that he was the shooter or state whether the shooting scene was secure.

Frick and Frack (left) are escorted to a meeting with Capitol Police. An unmarked squad car (upper right) arrives at the south barricade with Capitol Police officers. Special Agent Richard Larity (lower right) and Sgt. Sarah Smithers approach Frick and Frack for a meeting inside the squad car. U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

Officers outside and around the corner from the Speaker’s Lobby still had their sidearms drawn 30 minutes after the Babbitt shooting. Tactical teams swept each floor of the Capitol with M4 rifles alternating between a “low-ready” posture and “on target,” security video showed.

Canine technician Acheson escorted Frick and Frack to the Hall of Columns and out the South Door, security video showed.

All of the other protesters and rioters from the Speaker’s Lobby hallway — including Alam — exited the Capitol via the East Front House Door, according to a security camera over the entrance. As far as is publicly known, none of them was detained for questioning about the shooting, and none of their witness accounts appeared in the MPD or U.S. DOJ shooting investigation reports.

Secret meeting

A security camera that covers the South Barricade Plaza captured Acheson with Frick and Frack emerging from behind District of Columbia Fire and EMS Engine 6 at 3:02 p.m. Acheson led them to the USCP South Barricade kiosk, where they stood awaiting the team of officers summoned on the radio a few minutes prior.

An unmarked squad car with three Capitol Police officers who would question Frack and Frick pulled in near the South Barricade at 3:02:08 p.m., crossing paths with D.C. Fire and EMS Rescue 10 with Babbitt on board.

Special Agent Richard Larity, Sgt. Sara Smithers, and a female USCP special agent emerged from the squad and walked to the police kiosk to meet Acheson with the two witnesses. They escorted Frack and Frick to the squad car. At 3:08 p.m., Frack got into the back seat, where he spent the next 27 minutes, video showed.

While Smithers and her colleague interviewed Frack, Larity spoke to Frick outside the vehicle. At 3:16 p.m., Sgt. Michael Sanchez of the Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility stopped at the squad car to speak to Larity, security video showed.

An ambulance carrying mortally wounded Ashli Babbitt crosses paths with a Capitol Police unmarked squad car just outside the Capitol‘s south barricade on Jan. 6, 2021. Inside the squad car are three officers who will question shooting witnesses “Frick” and “Frack.”U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

Just before 3:36 p.m., Frack emerged from the squad car. He and Frick shook the officers’ hands and walked away.

While Smithers went to meet Capitol Police crime scene officer Mark West to photograph and process the Babbitt crime scene, Frick and Frack stood against a stone wall along the sidewalk, checking their phones.

Capitol Police did not respond to a Blaze News request for comment about the interview or what their officers were told by Frick and Frack.

At 3:42 p.m., Frick handed what appeared to be a two-way radio to Frack, who spoke into it numerous times over the next two minutes, security video showed. Frack looked at a street sign at the intersection of Capitol Plaza Southeast and Independence Avenue Southeast, then walked back toward the Capitol.

The interaction of Frick and Frack with Capitol Police was documented in a one-page supplement included with the MPD’s Babbitt shooting report. Described as “Attachment 19,” the summary said a Capitol Police special agent met with a witness at about 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. The interview was not recorded, and the witness was not identified.

The summary said the witness showed the special agent a video clip and provided a copy of the file with the proviso that “he was willing to email the longer version in the future.” Judicial Watch obtained a heavily redacted copy of the video from Metropolitan Police as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in 2021.

The video is truncated and does not include the portions Frack filmed before the shooting that could shed light on what he or others said to the USCP officers. It is not known whether Frack spoke to police investigators or the FBI again or if he provided the rest of the video he shot on Jan. 6.

The unidentified shooting witness known as “Frick” ambles past the East House Steps at 3:51 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. His partner or companion, “Frack,” waited on a park bench at the edge of Capitol grounds while Frick took a brief jaunt. The pair left Capitol grounds some nine minutes later. U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The men proceeded to Independence Avenue at 4 p.m. and walked west. A Capitol Police security camera atop the Rayburn House Office Building last showed the men on the plaza of the Hubert Humphrey Building at 4:24 p.m.

Based on how the DOJ has prosecuted more than 1,560 other cases, the behavior of Frick and Frack would likely be classified as incitement and rioting at the bottom of the Northwest Steps, where they apparently enabled dozens of people to climb onto the staircase and proceed to the Capitol.

Given their early entrance into the Capitol, mere minutes after the breach of the Senate Wing Door and windows, there is a good chance they could have been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, a 20-year felony count that was all but taken off the table by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark June 28 decision.

Their behavior at a minimum would draw what defense attorneys call the “standard four,” basic misdemeanor charges for alleged trespassing, disorderly conduct, and “parading” at the Capitol.

Since the men do not appear to be a target of Capitol Police, the FBI, or the DOJ, the explanation for their presence and actions before, during, and after the fatal Babbitt shooting will likely fall to the attorneys at Judicial Watch and its $30 million Babbitt lawsuit.

The FBI and DOJ have said they will continue making Jan. 6 arrests leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.

Blaze News contacted the FBI, Capitol Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for more information on the men. The FBI and Capitol Police did not respond by press time.

Daniel Ball, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., said: “We don’t comment on the existence or status of investigations into specific individuals.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Politis, January 6, Frick and frack, Politics 

UFC President Dana White explained that he believes Donald Trump won the 2024 election in the same manner he has built his brands.

During the post-fight press conference for UFC 309, White was asked what effect the election of Trump will have on his company, given that so many of his fighters relate to the president.

At the event, multiple fighters spoke to Trump ringside, including heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who even thanked the president and handed him his belt.

“If you saw the election, the entire country relates with Trump right now,” White said, noting Trump’s swing-state victories. “It feels like somebody hit the reset button.”

White added that his feeling was that the electorate wanted a “blowout” for one candidate or the other in order to avoid any discrepancies in which direction to take the country in.

“I think everybody’s tired of the bulls***, man. We’re all tired, we all just want to live our lives, and run our businesses, and raise our families,” the CEO went on.

‘Nobody trusts them and nobody believes them.’

Acknowledging that most of the media members in front of him weren’t Trump supporters, White carved out Trump’s path to victory, describing that it was through nontraditional means.

Explaining his “philosophy,” White said he has created relationships with online influencers and podcasters for years, allowing him to circumvent traditional media, which he said is greatly disliked by voters.

“The two most-hated people in this world right now; the media and the politicians. Nobody trusts them and nobody believes them,” White claimed.

The method of directly speaking to voters through podcasts, influencers, and social media is the exact same methodology that built White’s slap-fighting brand, Power Slap.

“The way Power Slap was built is the way this election was won,” the 55-year-old said.

UFC/YouTube

White described the difference he has seen in major “blue” cities like New York leading up to and after the election; citing experiences where random people are running up to him and offering their thanks.

This, coupled with a positive shift in energy, is what has led to the feeling of a “weight that’s been lifted off the country.”

“Things are already getting better [Trump’s] not even in there yet,” White said.

Trump has been heralded for his embrace of new media. Appearances on podcasts with comedians like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and young influencers like the Nelk Boys and Adin Ross no doubt led to 18-29-year-olds showing up at the polls.

Exit polls showed huge gains among young men for Trump, where he won by 14 points over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump also made gains with young female voters and increased his support by seven points over 2020 from 33% to 40%.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Fearless, Trump, Dana white, Ufc, Mma, Sports 

President-elect Donald Trump
announced last week that he wants to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland with Florida firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). The prospect of a Republican AG willing to play hardball sent a great many Democratic lawmakers and liberal media personalities into fits of frenzy.

Sunny Hostin of Disney’s “The View,” the co-host who unwittingly
helped derail the Harris campaign, handled the news worse than others. Unlike other talking heads, Hostin had to immediately walk back her baseless smears Tuesday — likely out of fear of a crushing defamation lawsuit.

Days after
blaming “uneducated white women” and Hispanic men for Trump’s landslide victory, Hostin launched into an unhinged rant and characterized Gaetz as a sex offender.

‘These are baseless allegations.’

“Within the Department of Justice, you know, you have the sex crimes unit, which is what I was a part of. Child sex crimes and child trafficking. How could you nominate someone with allegations of child trafficking across — or trafficking across state lines and having sex with a 17-year-old?”
said the former federal prosecutor. “My understanding further on in the interview, they discuss the fact that once he finds out that she’s 17, he stops having sex with her.”

Hostin appears to have been referring to Florida attorney Joel Leppard’s
recent claims about what one of his unnamed clients alleged in a 2017 testimonial.

Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer
told ABC News, “These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing.”

A source familiar with the DOJ’s investigation
suggested that case was dropped in part because there were significant doubts on the part of the prosecutors that they could prove that Gaetz actually had relations with the supposed woman or knew of her age.

Just minutes after uncritically regurgitating Leppard’s unsubstantiated claims as fact, Hostin was given a legal notice to read and
did so with a sullen face:

Matt Gaetz has long denied all allegations, calling the claims “invented” and saying in a statement to ABC News that “this false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.” That DOJ investigation was closed with no charges being brought.

Whoopi Goldberg subsequently announced, “We’ll be right back,” and the show cut to commercials.

Gaetz
responded on X only with the eyes emoji.

Responding to Hostin’s required reading of the legal notice, “The Chad Prather Show” host Chad Prather
wrote, “Make her do it every day.”

Although also an expert in talking nonsense, former Republican Rep. George Santos was less than sympathetic,
writing, “I love when ABC humiliates this witch! LOL.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Matt gaetz, Gaetz, Sunny hostin, Disney, The view, Harridan, Leftist, Democrat, Hostin, Smear, Attorney general, President-elect, Donald trump, Politics, Media 

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just wake American citizens up to corruption in the health care industry but to the figureheads intentionally leading them away from the truth, and ultimately, health.

“When I’m looking around in America, I see ordinary Americans becoming very suspicious of the health care industry, very suspicious of vaccines, they feel like there’s not much they can do other than just say no to things, say no to the junk food, say no to the vaxes,” James Poulos of “Zero Hour” tells Sen. Rand Paul.

“The government needs to turn over a new leaf and try being honest. Because of their vast dishonesty, people are hesitant. People don’t believe the government anymore,” Paul responds.

And that distrust is for good reason.

“It appears as if the government perhaps is more concerned with the profit of Pfizer and Moderna than they are actually with the truth,” Paul explains. “There never was proof actually with children or adults that the vaccine stopped transmission, but there was also never any evidence for children that it reduced hospitalization or death.”

“Why? Because no children were going to the hospital or dying to begin with,” he continues. “In fact, when Anthony Fauci was challenged on this, he said, ‘Well, they show that kids will make an antibody if you give them a vaccine,’ and I informed him that I could give your kid a hundred vaccines, they’ll make antibodies every time. It doesn’t mean they need them.”

While the Democrats are now afraid that RFK Jr. will do away with vaccines all together, their fear is misguided — as RFK Jr. does not plan to eradicate vaccines but rather offer families choice.

“This is the problem with these people,” Paul says. “They’re now advocating for things that seem to enrich a billion dollar company but don’t seem to have factual evidence that it’s beneficial to your child. So now people are distrusting them on everything.”

“There probably are vaccines that your kids should probably take, and it still should be your choice. I’m a big person on voluntarism and choice, but at the same time, people are suspecting everything the government tells them, because we’ve had such a spate of dishonesty,” he adds.

Want more from James Poulos?

To enjoy more of James’s visionary commentary on politics, tech, ideas, and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Camera phone, Video phone, Video, Free, Upload, Sharing, Youtube.com, Zero hour, Zero hour with james poulos, James poulos, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze media, Anthony fauci, Covid-19, Vaccine skepticism, Anti-vax, Rfk jr, Voluntarism, Libertarianism 

Conservative CNN contributor Scott Jennings mocked chief media correspondent Brian Stelter’s reporting that offered a new explanation for why “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with President-elect Donald Trump after years of unhinged criticisms against their former friend.

Stelter reported that according to “two sources,” Scarborough and Brzezinski wanted to meet with Trump because they were “credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration.”

As Stelter talked about his reporting, Jennings chuckled at the reasoning offered by the unnamed sources. Jennings pointed out the two hosts did not say that fear was the reason for the meeting when they revealed what happened at at Mar-a-Lago.

‘So there is an environment, Scott, where there are understandable concerns.’

“If that’s what happened and if that’s what they truly believed, why didn’t they go on TV and say that? ‘We went down there to meet with the president to tell him that, hey, anyone who’s been critical of you, you know, you should treat us like journalists and not like the enemy,'” Jennings said.

“They didn’t go on TV and say that. They went on TV and portrayed it much differently. So what I hear you saying in your reporting is they had a motive that they weren’t willing to disclose to their audience, which I think should get them more scorn today than they were already getting to begin with,” he continued.

“I understand some people might think this is paranoia inside MSNBC, for example. There are some people who think these fears I’m describing are way overblown. But then there’s others who are worried about prosecution. So there’s a wide range of concerns right now,” Stelter explained.

When Jennings asked what exactly people in the media industry are so afraid of, Stelter said, “Last week, Steve Bannon said, ‘Lawyer up, you MSNBC producers.’ So there is an environment, Scott, where there are understandable concerns.”

Scarborough and Brzezinski’s sit-down with Trump at his South Florida estate has been met with laughter from MAGA supporters and intense criticism from the liberal camp. For years, especially in the days leading up to the election, both hosts used their program to claim Trump was very dangerous for the country.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Politics, Media 

Last week, Jason Whitlock made a bet that Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes will lose two of their last three games of the season. If he is proved wrong, however, Jason promised he would fly himself to a bowl game and cheer on Sanders’ team decked out in Buffaloes gear.

After the Buffaloes’ 49-24 victory over the Utah Utes last weekend, it looks like Whitlock might be packing his bags soon.

“I’m being inundated over the weekend with people suggesting I owe Deion Sanders an apology,” he says.

While he’s willing to admit that he was “wrong about what their record would be this year,” Jason is not willing to apologize.

“I am going to be transparent and say I’m wrong, but I’m not apologizing,” he says.

“After they lost to Nebraska, after they should have lost to Baylor, I was real confident that the wheels were going to fall off, and the wheels did not fall off. This team has improved throughout the course of the season,” he admits. “Hats off to Deion; hats off to Colorado.”

However, Jason still doesn’t “respect the way Deion has gone about” running his football program and never has.

From the gold chains he wears and the rappers he brings into the locker room to the flagrant materialism he promotes and his lack of humility — “none of it’s consistent with my values; none of it’s consistent with Christian values,” says Whitlock.

He also doesn’t approve of the media’s celebration of Sanders when it’s not deserved.

“You went 4-8 last year, and Sports Illustrated named you Sportsman of the Year; you were in last place in the Pack 12 last year, and Sports Illustrated called you Sportsman of the Year; ‘60 Minutes’ did two features on you in a year’s span,” Jason criticizes.

On top of that, players like Travis Hunter begin to take on an “egomaniacal” demeanor under Deion’s leadership.

“Travis Hunter has started to mimic Deion’s attitude and Deion’s lack of humility,” says Jason.

Even still — if the Buffaloes win another game, Jason will keep true to his word and cheer on the Buffaloes at a bowl game this year. Next weekend when the team takes on the Kansas Jayhawks, Jason will know whether or not he’ll be ordering Colorado gear.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Fearless, Deion sanders, Colorado buffaloes, Travis hunter, Blazetv, Blaze media, Colorado boulder 

Lorie Smith is the owner of 303 Creative, a graphic design firm based in Colorado.

While generally happy to produce work for any paying customer, Smith
wanted to offer wedding-related services exclusively to straight couples because complicity in the celebration of homosexual unions would otherwise “compromise [her] Christian witness.” Since Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act would have forced her to do just that, she took the Democrat-run state to court — and won.

Months after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled 6-3 in Smith’s favor and a federal circuit court barred the state from enforcing the CADA’s communication and accommodation clauses against the designer, Colorado officials have come to a settlement, agreeing Tuesday to pay a hefty sum to the guarantors of their defeat.

“As the Supreme Court said, I’m free to create art consistent with my beliefs without fear of Colorado punishing me anymore,” Smith
said in a statement. “This is a win not just for me but for all Americans — for those who share my beliefs and for those who hold different views.”

Smith’s
original complaint filed in 2016 claimed that Colorado law stripped her and her organization “of the freedom to choose what messages to create and to convey in the marriage context.”

‘The First Amendment’s protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy.’

The complaint cited a
section of the CADA that prohibits a person to refuse, withhold from, or deny the “full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations of a place of public accommodation” to an individual on the basis of sexual preference, “gender identity,” and “gender expression.” Another clause in the CADA prohibits individuals from advertising that refusal.

The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court to restore the constitutional freedoms of Smith and 303 Creative “to speak their beliefs and not be compelled to speak messages contrary to those beliefs, and to ensure that other creative professionals in Colorado have the same freedoms.”

The case ultimately got kicked up the Supreme Court, which decided in June 2023 that the First Amendment bars Colorado from coercing a website designer to create content with which she disagrees.

Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in the high court’s majority opinion, “The First Amendment’s protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy. In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.”

“All manner of speech — from ‘pictures, films, paintings, drawings, and engravings,’ to ‘oral utterance and the printed word’ — qualify for the First Amendment’s protections; no less can hold true when it comes to speech like Ms. Smith’s conveyed over the Internet,” wrote the conservative justice.

“Consistent with the First Amendment, the Nation’s answer is tolerance, not coercion,” added Gorsuch.

‘No government has the right to silence individuals for expressing these ideas.’

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion for the leftist minority that the ruling was “profoundly wrong” and will “mark gays and lesbians for second-class status.”

Other social liberals similarly bemoaned the court’s affirmation of free speech, including CNN talking head Van Jones, who
said, “If you care about inclusion and equal opportunity and care about folks who don’t have much and are trying to make it today, this is a tragedy.”

Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser, who unsuccessfully represented the state,
said at the time that the ruling was “far out of step with the will of the American people and American values.”

According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal group that represented Smith, the Supreme Court’s decision has already been cited nearly 1,000 times in court opinions, briefs, and various legal publications.

Colorado’s Civil Rights Division agreed this week to pick up the bill for the CADA’s defanging, covering over $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees.

Weiser’s office
confirmed to the Denver Gazette the settlement over the fees but declined to comment.

Kristen Waggoner, the CEO and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, stated, “The government can’t force Americans to say things they don’t believe, and Colorado officials have paid and will continue to pay a high price when they violate this foundational freedom.”

“For the past 12 years, Colorado has targeted people of faith and forced them to express messages that violate their conscience and that advance the government’s preferred ideology. First Amendment protections are non-negotiable,” continued Waggoner. “Billions of people around the world believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman and that men and women are biologically distinct. No government has the right to silence individuals for expressing these ideas or to punish those who decline to express different views.”

Smith expressed hope that “that everyone will celebrate the court’s decision upholding this right for each of us to speak freely.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Faith, Religion, Freedom, Colorado, Democrat, Coercion, Supreme court, 303 creative, Lorie smith, Court, Adl, Alliance defending liberty, Politics 

In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, the Los Angeles City Council rushed to approve a “sanctuary city” ordinance on Tuesday.

The city council passed the measure in a unanimous vote, with council member Hugo Soto-Martinez (D) calling it “a very clear message” that the city refuses to “cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in any way.”

‘That’s not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California.’

“We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence, crimes,” Soto-Martinez said.

Before the ordinance is enacted, the city council will vote on it one last time. Mayor Karen Bass (D) has the authority to veto the measure but has already been vocal about her support, the Associated Press reported.

“This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better,” Bass said.

The news outlet noted that it remains to be seen whether the newly passed ordinance will have any significant impact, given that the Los Angeles Police Department has for decades adhered to Special Order 40, a policy that prevents officers from asking about immigration status or making arrests based on an individual’s immigration status.

Additionally, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has vowed to protect illegal aliens. He told KTTV this week that he can guarantee that his department will not be working with ICE to detain foreign nationals who are unlawfully in the country.

“That’s not in our interest to do that. That’s not in the interest of public safety in Los Angeles or California,” McDonnell claimed.

The state also has sanctuary policies in place to shield illegal immigrants from deportation efforts.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stated last week that he and other state leaders are working to “Trump-proof” the state.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “I can promise to the undocumented immigrant community in California that I and my team have been thinking about you for months and the harm that might come from the Trump administration 2.0. We’ll do everything in our power and use the full authority of our office to defend you.”

Tom Homan, the incoming border czar for the Trump administration, has committed to deploying additional ICE agents to sanctuary jurisdictions, aiming to expedite the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants with or without local authorities’ cooperation.

“If they’re not gonna help us, then we’ll just double the manpower in those cities. They don’t want ICE agents in their neighborhoods, but they don’t let ICE agents in the jail. They don’t understand, if you let us in the jail, that’d be less agents in your neighborhood,” Homan told “Fox News Live” on Saturday.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Immigration, Illegal immigration, Open borders, Donald trump, Trump, Los angeles, California, Gavin newsom, Los angeles city council, Karen bass, Jim mcdonnell, Los angeles police department, Lapd, Rob bonta, Tom homan, Sanctuary cities, Sanctuary jurisdictions, Politics 

President-elect Donald Trump has begun applying pressure to Republican senators in an attempt to ensure his Cabinet picks get confirmed.

In the past two weeks, Trump has announced over a dozen nominations to various Cabinet and federal positions, most notably tapping Republican former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general. Although his candidates have the wholehearted support of the president-elect, the Trump transition team is doing the legwork to ensure Gaetz gets confirmed.

‘They want someone who’s gonna shake up Washington, D.C.’

Republicans took back the Senate majority this election cycle, flipping seats in West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. If Trump’s nominees were to be confirmed during the next Congress, they would be able to afford to lose only three Republican votes, assuming that Vice President-elect JD Vance would also weigh in.

This leaves little wiggle room for nominees like Gaetz, prompting Trump’s pressure campaign to secure GOP Senate votes.

Several senators have already expressed skepticism about Gaetz. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said Gaetz was not a “serious nomination” and said she was “shocked” by the pick.

There has been a mounting effort, particularly from Vance, to persuade GOP senators who may have reservations about Trump’s nominees. Earlier on Wednesday, Vance was spotted ushering Gaetz and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida around Capitol Hill, making their pitch to senators in the form of phone calls and closed-door meetings. Trump has reportedly even placed some of these calls himself to ensure Gaetz is confirmed.

These efforts have paid off in some respects. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma came out in support of Gaetz despite historically being a critic of the nominee.

“I think the president wants a hammer at the DOJ, and he sees Matt Gaetz as a hammer,” Mullin said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday.

“His picks have been maybe unconventional, but we hired an unconventional president,” Mullin continued. “The American people wanted that. They don’t want politics as usual. They want someone who’s gonna shake up Washington, D.C.”

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, a Trump ally, warned his own conference about voting against nominees like Gaetz.

“Republicans: If you’re not on the team, get out of the way,” Tuberville said following Gaetz’s nomination.

“If you want to get in the way, fine,” Tuberville continued. “But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate too if you try to do that.”

The Trump transition team is facing an uphill battle with some of its nominees, but that has not deterred the president-elect.

Trump was asked by a reporter at Tuesday’s SpaceX launch in Texas about whether he was reconsidering Gaetz’s nomination.

Trump’s one-word answer was, “No.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Matt gaetz, Donald trump, Cabinet picks, Jd vance, Trump cabinet, Trump administration, Lisa murkowski, Markwayne mullin, Marco rubio, Tommy tuberville, Spacex, Attorney general, Senate, Senate republicans, Politics 

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) announced on Tuesday that another whistleblower has come forward to accuse the Federal Emergency Management Agency of political discrimination.

The new development followed a House Transportation and Infrastructure hearing where Congress members grilled FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about a now-terminated hurricane relief supervisor who admitted to ordering workers to avoid homes with signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump.

In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, then-supervisor Marn’i Washington gave the directive to her team while administering aid in Lake Placid, Florida. She claimed the instruction was in accordance with FEMA’s “avoidance” and “de-escalation” tactics to avoid “politically hostile” homes.

“This is not isolated,” Washington stated, adding that the avoidance doctrine was also deployed outside Florida.

During Tuesday’s congressional hearing, Criswell rejected Washington’s claims, insisting that the incident was isolated to the single rogue employee. She noted that an ongoing internal investigation had not found any evidence of a culture of political discrimination.

“I do not believe that this employee’s actions are indicative of any widespread cultural problems at FEMA. FEMA, however, has taken appropriate action to ensure that this matter is fully investigated, and I am committed to ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again,” Criswell told the committee.

“We are working with the inspector general to determine whether or not this is broader than this, but the evidence that I have seen so far shows that this was an isolated incident, and it has not gone beyond what this one employee did,” she stated.

However, after the hearing, Comer revealed that a second whistleblower had stepped forward with similar accusations.

Comer shared the development in a post on X, writing, “My staff just made contact with a new whistleblower who provided a credible account that a FEMA contractor visited the home of an elderly disabled veteran’s family around October 10.”

“While there, he recommended that the family remove Trump campaign materials and signs from their house and yard, stating that his FEMA supervisors view Trump supporters as domestic terrorists,” Comer continued. “The elderly homeowners were so frightened by this and afraid that they would not recover their loss that they removed the signs. Nevertheless, FEMA has not returned to their residence.”

He noted that the alleged incident took place in Georgia, not Florida.

FEMA did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.

— (@)

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Federal emergency management agency, Fema, James comer, Donald trump, Trump, Hurricane, Hurricane milton, Hurricane helene, Deanne criswell, Politics 

Just days before the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 23, 1963, Americans are no closer to knowing the whole truth about what happened at Dealey Plaza in Dallas that day. In fact, the Biden administration is taking steps to ensure that the truth may never be known.

On Friday, Oct. 18, Joe Biden’s Justice Department took further action to block the release of secret records related to the assassination. The government filed a summary judgment motion to assert control over congressional records related to JFK’s murder. This marks the latest effort by the Biden administration, which has moved since 2021 to prevent the release of remaining assassination documents held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction.

The Justice Department’s moves contradict the 1992 John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which explicitly prohibits the president from exercising authority over congressional and non-executive branch records. The JFK Records Act also mandated the full public disclosure of all assassination records by Oct. 26, 2017.

On Oct. 19, 2022, the nonprofit Mary Ferrell Foundation, a privately operated archive specializing in records related to the Kennedy assassination and other major events of the 1960s and 1970s, filed a lawsuit against Biden and the National Archives. The lawsuit demands the release of all assassination records in compliance with the 2017 statutory deadline. The suit also seeks court orders requiring the National Archives to maintain a complete public directory of assassination record identification forms and fulfill other responsibilities mandated by law.

The idea for the lawsuit emerged after two successive presidential administrations missed the deadline to release all assassination records. However, it was President Biden’s actions after 2021 that triggered the lawsuit. Biden’s decisions effectively dismantled the standards set by the JFK Records Act, allowing executive agencies like the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service to withhold records. These agencies, which have long resisted releasing assassination documents, have even admitted to destroying some of the records.

The Justice Department’s motion for summary judgment would undermine the intent of the JFK Records Act. The law aimed to strip executive agencies of their authority over assassination records and establish an accountable, enforceable process for reviewing and releasing these documents. From 1994 to 1998, the Assassination Records Review Board, an independent agency established under the law, issued legally binding orders to review, postpone, or release millions of documents. These decisions ensured that postponements adhered strictly to the limited criteria outlined in section 6 of the law.

The Justice Department’s attempt to assert presidential control over congressional records is especially baffling. Multiple sections of the JFK Records Act explicitly state that the president’s authority applies only to executive branch records. Section 9(d)(1) clearly limits presidential power, underscoring that it does not extend to congressional assassination records.

Section 7(l) of the JFK Records Act explicitly states that the House and Senate Oversight Committees retain ongoing control and oversight over the management of assassination records, even after the ARRB concluded its work.

When Congress passed the JFK Records Act 32 years ago, lawmakers expressed deep concerns that executive branch agencies, with their history of obstructing investigations into the assassination, would continue to block the release of records. The Senate unanimously ratified the Act and filed a report emphasizing its intent, providing an interpretive guide for courts to refer to in cases involving the Act. The Senate’s apprehension about presidential control over congressional records leaves no room for misinterpretation.

Since Kennedy’s assassination 61 years ago, federal agencies have aggressively collected and locked away documents and evidence related to his murder. Each time the government attempts to conceal or restrict critical information about the assassination, it sparks a massive and visceral public reaction. This occurred when the infamous Zapruder film was first broadcast in 1975, 12 years after the assassination, and again after Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning 1991 film brought public attention to the government’s secret troves of JFK assassination records.

“The JFK Assassination Chokeholds” chronicles over 60 years of government obstruction surrounding the Kennedy assassination. It details how recent presidential orders have effectively sealed thousands of records from public disclosure, directly violating the unanimous will of Congress and the expressed desires of the American people.

​John f kennedy assassination, John f kennedy files, Joe biden, Cia, Fbi, Congress, Jfk records act, Justice department, Conspiracy, Opinion & analysis 

Putin has been clear: If Ukraine fires long-range missiles into Russia, the country will consider the missile-supplier, as well as other NATO countries, its enemies in its war against Ukraine.

“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, in the war in Ukraine,” he said back in September.

And now America finds herself on that precarious edge of what many are saying will be the next world war, as President Biden has authorized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch ATACMS missiles deeper into Russian territory following a major shift in policy that occurred over the weekend.

The Ukrainian government has been persistent in urging Washington to approve ATACMS for a while now, but Biden has remained reluctant to greenlight the initiative to avoid more U.S. involvement in the war.

But now that that’s changed, there are two burning questions we’re all asking: What does it look like for Russia to consider the United States its enemy in the war? And why would President Biden do this?

Glenn Beck and his head writer and researcher Jason Buttrill explore the possibilities.

– YouTube

www.youtube.com

World War III?

“Biden has put us at the brink of World War III,” says Glenn.

“The threat of that is obviously a lot higher,” agrees Jason, who’s a former Department of Defense intelligence analyst.

However, “I think Putin’s response will probably be to take out those missiles as quickly as possible.” Even though “the threat of a nuclear weapon is there,” the chances are, “Putin is not going to nuke a city.”

“The biggest threat will be a tactical nuclear weapon,” which is “a low yield weapon made specifically for the battlefield,” Jason predicts.

“Let’s say there’s some ATACMS surrounded by several battalions of Ukrainian troops. Well, the only way to be sure that they take it out is to use a tactical low yield nuclear weapon that will take out that entire battle space, including the ATACMS,” he explains, adding that is “the more likely scenario.”

Even though this wouldn’t be the kind of nuclear warfare everyone fears, it “would still be a big international faux pas if [Russia] did something like that,” and it would certainly “be escalatory.”

Undoubtedly, it would put the United States in a precarious position.

“Do we allow them to press the button on it and fire that missile, or do we send actual U.S. assets in to take out the areas inside Russia so they don’t even have time to press the button?” asks Jason.

If the latter happens, “Then it escalates to a completely different level.”

Why now?

“Why would we do this?” asks Glenn.

Jason’s theory is “regime survival.”

When it comes to “the DOD-security-military complex … I think that they are terrified of any change in the status quo with the Trump administration,” he says. “I think that they would love to see us push to a point of no return, where we can’t do the things that Trump said that he was going to do.”

“I think they are driving us to a point of no return, where Trump and his Cabinet have no choice but to continue,” he adds. “That’s the only reason that makes sense two months before they take power.”

To hear more of the conversation, including whether or not Russia wants the U.S. more involved in the war, what’s going on with the undersea communications cables in the Baltic Sea that were suddenly cut on Monday, and British Airways losing communications with its aircraft following a major IT outage, watch the clip above.

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.

​The glenn beck program, Glenn beck, Blazetv, Blaze media, Ukraine russia, Russia ukraine war, Atacms, Atacms missiles, President biden, Trump administration, Putin, Zelenskyy 

While blue cities and states across America vow to protect illegal aliens from deportation in President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, Texas now stands apart, having offered a large swath of land to help facilitate such deportations.

On Tuesday, Dawn Buckingham, a medical doctor and the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, sent Trump a letter, offering just over 1,400 acres of land along the U.S.-Mexico border in Starr County, Texas, “to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”

According to the letter, they recently secured Fronton Island, the largest island in the Rio Grande and a hotbed for human trafficking and cartel violence.

Buckingham claimed that the state purchased the property just a few weeks ago to build another mile and a half of Trump’s wall. She also noted that the previous owner was hostile to efforts by law enforcement to secure the border.

“Her actions enabled cartel members and violent criminals to sexually abuse migrant women and children on this land for some time,” Buckingham wrote.

Buckingham told Fox News, the first outlet to report the letter, that she fully supports the MAGA agenda regarding illegal immigrants, especially those who have gone on to commit other crimes in the U.S.

“I am 100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals.”

According to Buckingham, the land in Starr County is particularly well-suited to a holding facility since it’s mostly flat and therefore “easy to build on.” She also noted that it is conveniently located near the Rio Grande and international airports.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the Texas Tribune.

Regardless of whether Trump accepts the offer, Buckingham and other Texas officials have already made major strides in protecting the U.S. border. According to the letter, they recently secured Fronton Island, the largest island in the Rio Grande and a hotbed for human trafficking and cartel violence.

While clearing the island of brush and vegetation and installing razor wire along the river, officials discovered evidence of “weapon caches and even improvised explosive devices,” Buckingham wrote.

Since that initiative to secure Fronton Island, “All cartel-related activity has dropped to zero,” she said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Mass deportations, Illegal aliens, Illegal immigration, Border security, Trump, Rio grande, Texas, Dawn buckingham, Politics 

Over the weekend, Vivek Ramaswamy, who is poised to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk, met with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo to elucidate their plans to slash federal agencies regardless of Deep State opposition.

Dave Rubin plays the clip of their conversation.

“Are you expecting to close down entire agencies?” Bartiromo asked, referring to Trump’s claims that he intends to shut down the Department of Education.

“We expect mass reductions; we expect certain agencies to be deleted outright; we expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated; we expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are over-billing the federal government — so yes,” was Ramaswamy’s blunt answer.

Bartiromo’s next question was how he plans to get around “the Deep State.”

“Didn’t President Biden put in plans to ensure that you’re not going to be able to fire those people at all? How do you get around that?” she asked.

“President Biden has made a lot of changes trying to entrench the administrative state,” Ramaswamy confirmed, noting that the “Supreme Court has slapped them on the wrist numerous times” for this.

However, granted that we have “a president of the United States like Donald Trump elected with the mandate he’s been given, both chambers of Congress belong to Republicans, a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court,” he’s hopeful that major change will happen.

“If we don’t downsize the federal government now, it’s never going to happen in the future,” he told Bartiromo, adding that “the key is to move quickly, to move effectively.”

“Have you thought about moving some of these departments or agencies out of Washington?” Bartiromo asked next.

“Yes,” Ramaswamy stated, noting that they should be able to drastically cut federal agents by simply requiring employees to report to work in person.

“A lot of them won’t want to do that,” he said.

Further, they intend to “move many of [the agencies] out to be where they’re more accountable to the people.”

While the plan sounds brutal, Ramaswamy said that their intention “is not to be cruel.”

“Most of them … are individually good people, and we want to be compassionate and generous in how we handle this transition, but the real issue is there’s just too many of them,” he explained. “We shouldn’t have 4 million civil servants who aren’t even elected or can’t be removed from their positions. It’s anti-democratic.”

Dave can’t wait to see Ramaswamy and Musk “find all the missing money and the ridiculous inefficiencies.”

“Not only will businesses really start flourishing, but you will have more money in your pocket,” he says.

Further, the DOGE plans to be 100% transparent in weeding out unnecessary agencies. In a recent tweet, Elon Musk outlined the DOGE’s plans to be transparent.

“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. Any time the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know! We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining.”

“This is what we’ve all wanted!” says Dave.

To hear more about the plans for the DOGE, watch the clip above.

Want more from Dave Rubin?

To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​The rubin report, Dave rubin, Doge, Elon musk, Vivek ramaswamy, Federal government, Slashing government agencies, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Before relinquishing power in January, President Joe Biden may turn America’s proxy war with Russia into a direct nuclear conflict.

Elements of the Biden administration, various lawmakers from both major parties, Ukrainian officials, and others appear convinced that attacks on Russia using American long-range missiles might put Kyiv in a
better bargaining position should the Eastern nations ever sit down to negotiate an end to the war, which has lasted over 1,000 days and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Critics have suggested not only that the move might protract the war, which the
majority of Ukrainians now want to end with immediate negotiations, but that it might trigger a nuclear holocaust or at the very least prevent — by design — President-elect Donald Trump from brokering peace upon taking office.

Missiles fired

After authorizing Ukraine’s use of long-range missile systems against targets in Russia — a move long resisted by U.S. officials concerned about escalation and identified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a trigger for war between Washington and Moscow — Kyiv launched six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System missiles Tuesday morning at a weapons depot in Karachev, a Russian city 70 miles inside the country, in the Bryansk region.

‘We must not fear doing more now.’

According to CNN, Russian air defenses allegedly shot down five of the ATACMS supersonic missiles, and the sixth was damaged. Pieces of the damaged missile rained down near a military facility, causing a fire but resulting in neither death nor damage.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the attempted missile strikes and suggested that these and subsequent long-range missile strikes would be interpreted as U.S. military actions.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said in a statement, “The [Russian] president mentioned this several times. If long-range missiles are going to be applied from Ukraine into Russian territory, it will also mean that they are operated by American experts, military experts, and we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia and will react accordingly.”

In his Tuesday address to the European Parliament, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We must not fear doing more now.”

“While some European leaders think about, you know, some elections or something like this at Ukraine’s expense, Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own. The more time he has, the worse the conditions become,” said Zelenskyy.

The Institute for the Study of War indicated that as of June, Putin had captured roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, with Russian forces occupying 75% of the total area of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts.

“Today is the best moment to push Russia harder, and it’s clear without certain key factors Russia will lack real motivation to engage in meaningful negotiation,” added Zelenskyy.

Hours later, Russia reportedly conducted missile strikes on Kharkiv, Dnipro, Chernihiv, and Sumy, as well as drone attacks inside Ukraine.

The U.S. embassy in Kyiv announced Wednesday morning that it was shutting its doors, citing the potential of a “significant air attack.”

Nuclear, mine policies updated

Russian state media indicated that Moscow revised its nuclear doctrine this week in hopes of “making conventional warfare unachievable,” qualifying attacks by a non-nuclear state in conjunction with the support of a nuclear state as a joint attack, satisfying the need for for nuclear deterrence.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Federation’s security council, noted on X, “Russia’s new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they’re located. That means World War III.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that he would also respond with nukes to conventional attacks on Russia or Belarus. Russia has over 5,000 nuclear warheads and boasts a supersonic missile with a range of 625 miles.

Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, claimed that the West realizes “the revisions Putin outlined have largely undermined the attempts by the United States and NATO to achieve a strategic defeat of our nation. Furthermore, the expanded criteria for using nuclear weapons essentially rule out the possibility of defeating the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told the Associated Press, “I’m unfortunately not surprised by the comments the Kremlin has made around the publication of this new, revised document,” adding that Russia has routinely sought to “coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior.”

The U.K. and other NATO members condemned the “irresponsible rhetoric” and reiterated their support for Ukraine.

The Biden administration had a policy update of its own.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Post reported that Biden authorized the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine.

“When they’re used in concert with the other munitions that we already are providing Ukraine, the intent is that they will contribute to a more effective defense,” said one of the officials.

While the U.S. is not one of the 164 parties to the Ottawa Convention, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, Biden reportedly resurrected an Obama-era policy in 2022 banning the transfer and use of American antipersonnel land minds outside Korea.

Reactions

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck suggested that the Biden administration is painting Russian President Vladimir Putin “into a corner.”

“A man who is a bloodthirsty killer — you don’t keep backing him into a corner, or what happens? Eventually he says, ‘I’ll have absolutely no credibility’ [with] his people who have just been bombed with U.S. missiles, which he just said two days ago will be an act of war,” said Beck. “We have entered a moment of madness. What Joe Biden did is impeachable.”

‘Americans do not want World War III.’

A day prior to the ATACMS strikes, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
insisted that Biden had committed “an unconstitutional Act of War” that qualified as an impeachable offense.

— (@)

Texas Rep. Keith Self (R)
penned a letter to Biden Tuesday, challenging his decision to authorize Ukraine’s use of ATACMS against Russia.

While Self suggested the missile systems might have proved strategically useful earlier in the conflict, at this stage in the war, their use is “counter-productive to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s stated goal towards a negotiated peace.”

‘This is the faceless power of failing experts in action.’

“If this desperate move by your administration represents an attempt by deep-state operatives to hamstring the incoming Trump presidency, it’s a dangerous miscalculation,” wrote Self. “I am very concerned that this miscalculation could have catastrophic results. Americans do not want World War III.”

“January 20 can’t get here fast enough,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. “It looks like a green light for escalation on the part of Ukraine. … What would happen if Russia would launch and retaliate missiles into the territory of a NATO member? Then our treaty obligations would be triggered. Then we’re talking about a full-scale war.”

Hawley noted further that the man who authorized the use of the long-range missiles against a nuclear power was considered too decrepit by his own party to stay in the presidential race earlier this year.

Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson
stressed that “what is happening in regard to Russia and Ukraine while we have no functional President is one of the last, most reckless and outrageous acts from the supposed ‘adults in the room’ who have consistently driven our nation towards the cliff the last four disastrous years.”

“This is not ‘democracy,'” continued Peterson. “This is the faceless power of failing experts in action: thwarting the will of the people in the midst of the final ‘lame duck’ period of an aging dementia patient of a President. This is a form of masochistic, suicidal recklessness enacted by weak men.”

Peterson added on “Blaze News Tonight,” “There is really something that I think that is despicable about the self-assured foreign policy expert in this country. Of all the different sectors of
government experts who get degrees, foreign policy people dress themselves up in the suits and in the trappings of -isms and -istics, and, ‘We know all this stuff and we have domain knowledge that you don’t have.’ They’re consistently the most evil, dangerous, and really foolish sector of the entire government complex.”

— (@)

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Atacms, Missile, War, World war iii, Nuclear, Nuclear war, Impeachment, Joe biden, Zelenskyy, Ukraine, Putin, Russia, Ukrainian, Peace, Donald trump, Glenn beck, Matthew peterson, Mines, Politics 

Bucks County Board of Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D) is backpedaling on her pledge to count illegal ballots in the Senate election between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick.

While multiple news outlets declared McCormick the winner, Casey has refused to concede the race, instead demanding a recount since the results were within the 0.5% margin that could trigger such a review.

‘Misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.’

The recount has sparked concerns about election integrity after Ellis-Marseglia basically admitted she planned to defy the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s order not to count undated or misdated mail ballots.

“People violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia stated. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

Again, on Monday, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that undated and misdated ballots cannot be counted.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley accused Democrats of “brazenly trying to break the law by attempting to count illegal ballots” to “steal the seat” from the Republican candidate.

“The RNC has filed four lawsuits over this already and will fight for as long as necessary,” Whatley said. “This is the exact kind of left-wing election interference that undermines voter confidence.”

On Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) broke his silence on the matter, claiming that there was “a lack of legal clarity surrounding undated mail-in ballots that caused significant confusion and put counties in a challenging legal position.”

He stated that county officials “were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t — likely facing legal action no matter which decision they made on counting.”

“As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage the faith in our electoral process,” Shapiro stated, presumably referring to Ellis-Marseglia’s previous statement.

“The rule of law matters in this Commonwealth, and as I have always said, it is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions,” he added.

Whatley called Shapiro’s statement “better late than never.”

“Heartening to see. Once Democrats came to the conclusion that even ignoring the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can’t scrape up enough ballots to win … Governor Shapiro suddenly discovers that he stands with the rule of law,” Whatley said.

Later that day, Ellis-Marseglia appeared to backpedal on her previous comments, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

She blamed a “misinterpretation of [an] inartfully worded statement on my part.”

“I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused,” she said.

Ellis-Marseglia claimed that the court’s reaffirmed ruling on Monday provided some much-needed clarity.

“This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity,” she said. “We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity.”

Blaze News reached out to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn to determine whether her office plans to open an investigation into the matter. However, Schorn did not respond to a request for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Bob casey, Dave mccormick, Election 2024, Election, Josh shapiro, Michael whatley, Gop, Republican national committee, Rnc, Politics 

A Chicago woman is fighting to keep her home after a government mix-up led officials to sell her house from underneath her on account of supposedly “delinquent taxes.”

Robin McElroy bought her home in the Morgan Park area of Chicago back in 2012. Since then, she said she has paid the taxes owed on the property and even kept receipts of her payments.

“I do not like wasting money. … I pay my bills,” McElroy told CBS News.

Despite those consistent payments, in 2019, McElroy began receiving notices that her property taxes were in arrears and that her property was in danger of being sold.

McElroy demanded an explanation. In April 2019, she received a letter from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office confirming that the county assessor’s office had accidentally mixed up McElroy’s property identification number — the unique 14-digit number used for tax-related purposes, according to Yahoo News — with that of her next-door neighbor.

She was then told that there were “no grounds to proceed with a sale” of her home, that the assessor’s office would make an “internal correction,” and that the issue would be resolved. “Don’t worry about it,” she recalled being told.

‘I want what’s rightfully [owed] to me.’

It turns out, McElroy still had plenty to worry about since the “internal correction” the letter promised apparently never took place. Earlier this year, she received a letter from Cook County Circuit Court informing her that her house had been “sold for delinquent taxes.”

In fact, the letter added that McElroy actually owed the new homeowner three years’ worth of rent. Bearing no ill will, McElroy expressed sincere concern for all the trouble that the other homeowner has had to endure as well.

“This lady should not have to be put in this position to go through all of this headache and heartache,” she told CBS News. “This is stressful.”

McElroy has since hired a lawyer — paid for out of pocket — to help her straighten out the problem.

CBS News has also been in contact with the assessor’s office. While a spokesperson there declined an on-camera interview, the office did confirm that the property identification numbers had been corrected, that McElroy is current on her taxes, and that officials are currently working with a legal team to resolve the problem.

McElroy remains skeptical.

“You guys can point fingers all day long. I don’t care,” she told CBS News. “I want what’s rightfully [owed] to me.”

McElroy had a deadline earlier this month to file a response in court, the outlet added. Whether she filed that response and whether the court has issued any other rulings remain unclear.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Chicago, Property taxes, Assessor, Delinquent taxes, Robin mcelroy, Morgan park, Homeowner, Politics 

“Morning Joe” contributor Mike Barnicle lamented that a growing number of Americans are no longer getting daily news from channels like MSNBC but are instead getting news from social media platforms.

MSNBC has seen a decline in viewership since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory against Vice President Kamala Harris. Since Election Day, the liberal network has experienced its lowest l of viewers in nearly 10 years, nearly a 40% drop since the election season.

While MSNBC has seen a great drop in viewers, such declines are not unique to the cable news outlet.

‘We meet news consumers where they are because they’re not here, and that’s the problem.’

The Pew Research Center reported that one in five Americans say they get their news from social media influencers. More news influencers identify as Republican or conservative (27%) than as Democratic or liberal (21%).

“Mike, that’s the challenge. You grew up in a newsroom. … I mean that’s a challenge for a lot of mainstream media sources is do they make themselves relevant again,” host Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday. “Here, 20% of adults who actually get influencers on social media. Maybe somebody who makes baskets and while they’re making baskets, they look up and say, ‘Vote for candidate X.'”

“I don’t know how we make ourselves relevant again because we can’t compete with 20-second snippets on an iPhone, walking up the street and getting your entire news digest of the day in less than a minute on your phone as you’re walking in a crowd with coffee in one hand and your phone in the other. I don’t know how we catch up to that,” Barnicle replied.

MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson suggested the channel start doing its own 20-second videos in order to reach a wider audience. “We [should] meet news consumers where they are because they’re not here, and that’s the problem,” he said.

Pew Research’s study further found another reason for influencers’ success in a market where the mainstream media has a very low approval rating: 77% of news influencers have no affiliation or background with a news organization.

The rise of independent media during the election cycle — and Trump appearing on those platforms — has been credited with helping Republicans win the presidency by reaching the younger, male voters and convincing them to turn out on Election Day.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​Politics, Media