An LGBTQ activist in Georgia has been arrested after police allegedly confiscated a stash of several illegal drugs and a weapon from his residence.
The case relates to 49-year-old Jeremy Hobbs, the president and founder of Colgay Pride. According to its website, Colgay Pride is "a prominent resource for young people and adults" associated with LGBT "communities" in the Chattahoochee Valley area.
A press release from police claimed that Hobbs had been under investigation for months, ostensibly in connection with a possible "drug-related crime."
'We apologize to our allies, colleagues and partners for the distress caused by these developments.'
As a result of that investigation, last Wednesday morning, police went to Hobbs' residence in Columbus, Georgia, a sizeable city of some 200,000 residents just east of the Alabama border. Colgay Pride also shares his address.
At the home, officers with the Columbus Police Department's Special Operations Unit reportedly found drug paraphernalia as well as a hefty drug haul, including 5.4 grams of crack cocaine, nearly 21 grams of meth, and almost 24 grams of liquid GHB, sometimes referred to as the "date rape" drug. Police also allegedly found a .38 revolver, though whether the firearm was lawfully registered is unclear.
Hobbs was then arrested "without incident," the police statement said. He has since been assessed a bevy of drug-charges: possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of VGCSA schedule I drug with intent to distribute, and possession of drug-related objects. He was also charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Hobbs has already pled not guilty to the charges and was issued a bond totaling more than $25,000. It is unclear whether he has paid it.
Colgay Pride has since released a statement, claiming to have the "utmost concern and regret" about the "serious" accusations against Hobbs.
"The board does not condone the alleged actions and we will cooperate with law enforcement in the coming investigations regarding our operations and finances. We believe that all persons are innocent until proven guilty, including Mr. Hobbs. We offer our support to Mr. Hobbs’ family at this time. Our organization will meet to discuss our next steps, including a transition in leadership and strategy in the interim period," its statement said.
Colgay Pride has also suspended its scheduled events "until further notice."
"With humility, we ask for the understanding and solidarity of the local community in this period. We apologize to our allies, colleagues and partners for the distress caused by these developments."
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Television show "RuPaul's Drag Race" has raised $2 million in a little over a year to help the ACLU with a legal defense fund to protect drag queen performances.
The television show is a series about men dressed as caricatures of women competing in pageant-style events in front of judges. The show has raised a reported $2 million in just 14 months for the ACLU's initiative, the Drag Defense Fund.
According to the ACLU, the fund goes toward the legal defense of "LGBTQ rights, including censorship of drag performers themselves."
"The ACLU is committed to the importance of drag as a First Amendment right and an important form of artistic expression. It will also fuel the ACLU’s expansive advocacy work in support of the LGBTQ community," the ACLU wrote in 2023.
Several jurisdictions have put bans on drag shows on public grounds, typically under the guidelines that the shows are explicit and not suitable for minors.
Just months after the legal defense fund was established, the ACLU sued Texas over what the group called an "unconstitutional drag ban."
The lawsuit addressed Texas' SB12, which restricted "sexually oriented performances" on the "premises of a commercial enterprise, on public property, or in the presence of an individual younger than 18 years of age."
A federal judge also barred city officials in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from implementing a ban on drag performances being performed on public property. The judge's order came after the ACLU of Tennessee brought a lawsuit forward.
The ACLU said at the time that the order "confirms that the community's free speech rights will be protected at the BoroPride Festival."
The civil liberties group also claimed that that its legal defense fund was keen on fighting "censorship" in the classroom related to "LGBTQ" topics.
Partners of the fund include MTV and World of Wonder, according to Variety. The latter is a streaming platform for drag queen television shows.
"Drag has a long history in the queer community as not only a source of joy and creativity but as a source of power. Thanks to the hard work and promotion of MTV, World of Wonder, and the queens of ‘Drag Race,’ the Drag Defense Fund continues to fuel our work defending LGBTQ rights across the country at a time those rights are under relentless attack," ACLU attorney Josh Block told Variety.
The lawyer specifically works on gay initiatives for the company as well as what was referred to as the HIV Project.
"We’re so thankful for this partnership and the support it provides our critical work defending LGBTQ people, our rights and our families," he added.
The ACLU also coupled the fight against particular policies with the defiance of what they called "anti-trans legislation." They referred to the bills as "bald attempts" at stifling the freedom of people expressing themselves and an attempt to "restrict [their] right to bodily autonomy and self-determination."
"RuPaul's Drag Race" has been running for 16 seasons.
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A progressive activist confronted a reporter to tell him that he should leave her part of the country because there is no more room. At the same time, the pink-haired woman was claiming international students should be allowed to stay in the country once their visas expire.
Harrison Faulkner, a journalist with outlet True North, was reporting from protests in Prince Edward Island, Canada, about whether or not international students from India plan to leave the country when their visas expire. The students have been actively protesting in the region, demanding for the right to stay.
In a recent monologue about the topic, Faulkner simply stated that those who do not have the right to be in the country should be deported and that the service industry is not in dire need of more unskilled immigration.
He also pointed out that the protest group in question had published joint videos with the local Revolutionary Communist Party.
While conducting interviews, protesters told Faulkner that his video contained a series of falsehoods but were unable to name any. The group leader even complained about Faulkner's stance that Canada should "deport" people who are no longer allowed to be in the country.
"Who are you to make that decision?" the man asked. "How would you know? Are you from here?"
"Are you from here?!" Faulkner responded.
"I am here, I'm since one and a half year, are you here since one and a half year?"
"No, but I am a Canadian," the reporter noted.
The protest leader then ushered his group away from Faulkner, saying, "We are done with them." At that point, a local resident with pink, braided hair confronted the journalist and got in his face.
"I'm Canadian!" she yelled. "I live here. These are my people too. They're not just yours."
'If you live in the country without a legal permit, then you have no business being in Canada.'
"I'm not claiming they're mine at all," Faulkner replied.
The activist told the reporter to stop posting videos and then refused to back out of his space. "I'm not going to step back. I'm going to step in your face. You have no right. ... If you don't have the information, the accurate information ... you got everything wrong!" she claimed.
When the activist claimed Faulkner said that immigrants were "holding Canada hostage," he corrected the woman and said his claim was that there is no more room for an influx of service workers.
"It doesn't matter, there's no space for anybody on this island. Trust me," the woman said. "There's no space for anybody, that's including you!" she added while pointing in his face.
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Faulkner told Blaze News he wanted to speak to protesters "in good faith" and find out under what legal basis they had entered the country. He also wanted to know whether they would leave the country if ordered to by the government.
"If you live in the country without a legal permit, then you have no business being in Canada," Faulkner explained.
"The protest leader tried to shut down my interviews and said that I have no idea what happens in P.E.I. There was nothing else he said that I got wrong. Even though he claimed I didn't tell the truth," Faulkner recalled.
"Then this woman, who has attached herself to this protest, confronted me and told me to go home. She told me that my ancestors are immigrants. She also said P.E.I. is full, and there's no space for anyone else."
'The schools pander to these students as champions of diversity, but actually exploit them.'
Faulkner added that both individuals appeared to believe they can treat media in an intimidating fashion and didn't like that he showed up to ask questions.
The issue of foreign students overstaying their welcome has garnered nationwide protests. The international students have complained that they should be allowed to stay in Canada after their studies conclude, despite having no legal reason to do so.
Justin Trudeau's Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, recently made a shocking suggestion, stating a good way to decrease the number of temporary residents in the country would be to make them permanent.
"The fact people are already here, their impact on affordability has already been baked in, so it's smart," Miller said, according to state broadcaster CBC. "But it doesn't mean by extension that everyone's entitled to stay here or be here in Canada."
Independent reporter Mocha Bezirgan has been covering the same issue in other parts of the country for many months. He said that both the Indian and Canadian governments have misled the students.
"From my coverage of international students in Canada, they are being exploited by their own people. They are also given false hopes by the colleges and universities. The schools pander to these students as champions of diversity, but actually exploit them," he told Blaze News.
"The government of Canada has either erroneously or intentionally miscalculated the amount of international students they should be receiving, and this creates unrest, it creates unemployed, and this is not ok," he added.
The Canadian government has announced a goal to decrease the number of temporary residents in the country from 6% of the population down to 5% in three years.
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If you enjoyed watching Sara Gonzales on "The News and Why It Matters," just wait until you see her new show, “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered,” which just launched this past Monday on BlazeTV.
This rebrand will have all the same raw and real political analysis of America’s most pressing topics but with more of Sara’s fabulous biting sarcasm and less filter.
“What better time to launch a new series, especially when the country is engaged in a full-on constitutional crisis at our southern border with the possibility of an armed conflict?” she says.
Tune in Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET or on demand at blazetv.com to hear your favorite spicy Latina unpack topics such as the border crisis, the relentless LGBTQ+ agenda, DEI madness, and the endless list of lies the government continues to feed us.
In Sara’s most recent episode, she tackles Taylor Swift’s potential role in the upcoming election, Biden’s intentionally orchestrated border catastrophe, and the escalating tensions in the Middle East, among other topics.
Check it out below.
To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred take to news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
The now-former head of a Canadian LGBT activist group has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against children. Sean Gravells served as president of the North Peace Pride Society from 2018 until Friday, when the group announced his removal from the board following a Jan. 3 vote.
Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, told Canadian state media Monday that Gravells, 39, has been accused of molesting an individual under the age of 16, sexual interference of a person under 16, possession of child pornography, and importation or distribution of child pornography.
Gravells, who indicated in a 2022 Meta post that he had gone to work for WESCO Distribution, is alleged to have victimized children in northern British Columbia in or around Fort St. John. Whereas the alleged molestation is said to have occurred on Dec. 29, the child porn charges occurred on Dec. 31.
The North Peace Pride Society, which has scrubbed the alleged pedophile's biography from its website, appears to have been sponsored in recent years by various Canadian banks and local institutions.
The NPPS has hosted events for minors in recent years, such as its May 2022 "Pride Teen Night" for teens ages 13-18.
Gravells told EnergeticCity.ca ahead of an apparently all-ages drag show in 2022, "We've got, potentially, a young person who's never tried drag before, but they really want to try. So we're going to help them out as much as we can with costumes, makeup. We can't do everything for them, but we can definitely provide some guidance."
The NPPS said in a Jan. 5 statement, "On December 31, 2023, one of our board members was arrested and is facing severe charges inconsistent with the North Peace Pride Society's mission and code of conduct."
"While some board members work directly with youth through library programs, this person was not among them," said the statement. "All board members involved in youth program have undergone criminal record checks."
It's presently unclear whether Gravells previously had a criminal record.
The NPPS vowed that moving forward, all of its board members would be subjected to "record checks to uphold the highest standards."
A spokesman for the federal police operating in Fort St. John declined to provide state media with additional details regarding Gravells' arrest.
McLaughlin indicated he appeared in provincial court on Jan. 1 and his arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 29.
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A New York City social justice activist and his girlfriend were dressed to the nines and on their way home from a wedding in Long Island early Monday morning when a deranged man ambushed them, slaughtered the activist, spit into the aggrieved woman's face, then fled the scene.
Extra to documenting the horrific incident, surveillance footage has provided police with a clear image of the suspect, who remains at large.
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The footage shows Ryan Carson, 32, and his girlfriend — allegedly BLM activist Claudia Morales, named in a leftist's GoFundMe campaign linked to Carson's death — seated at a bus stop bench near Malcolm X Blvd. near Lafayette Ave. in Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News.
The suspect can be seen walking past the couple around 3:50 a.m., ostensibly without exchanging any words. Carson and his girlfriend stand up shortly thereafter and begin walking in the same direction.
Things take a turn for the worst when the suspect, who had begun kicking over parked scooters for no apparent reason, says to Carson, "The f*** are you looking at? ... Imma kill you right now!"
Carson, who was 6' 4", backs up, repeatedly telling the thug, "Chill, chill."
Despite Carson's attempts to create some distance with a straight arm, the thug manages to punch him in the face.
Gripping his jaw, Carson begins to run, tripping over the bus bench, while his girlfriend pleads with his attacker. Indifferent to the woman's pleas, the thug can be seen chasing Carson down and — in the uncensored footage — stabbing him in the chest repeatedly.
The thug spits in the face of Carson's girlfriend, kicks his mortally wounded victim, then flees the scene.
A woman appears toward the end of the footage, calling out what sounds like "Brian" and yelling, "I'm so sorry!"
The New York Post reported that investigators believe that the woman who apologized in the footage knew the attacker.
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After calling 911, Morales, reportedly a past critic of the police, cradled Carson until first responders arrived. The Daily News noted that Morales hadn't immediately realized Carson had been stabbed, thinking he had only been punched.
Carson was taken to Kings County Hospital Center, but there was little to be done. Carson's heart had been pierced.
Carson originally moved to New York City from Massachusetts in 2010 to attend the Pratt Institute and ultimately became a senior solid waste campaign manager at the New York Public Interest Research Group.
The NYPIRG noted in a statement, "Ryan was a beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment."
Blair Horner, Carson's former boss at the NYPIRG, said, "It's incomprehensible. ... He was so young," reported WABC-TV.
"A life full of promise is snuffed out. And the world is a worse place for it, and we'll miss him dearly," added Horner.
City council members and other politicos offered their condolences, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D), who called Carson a "rising talent and an extraordinary activist," and Mayor Eric Adams, who said Carson's "giving spirit was a buoy to all."
According to the New York Police Department, there have been 304 murders in the city so far this year. Murders jumped significantly in 2020 amid the onset of the BLM riots and the pandemic.
The Mayor's Management Report, released last month, revealed that overall felony crime this fiscal year is up 6% over 2022.
"Robbery increased by five percent, felonious assault increased by eight percent, and burglary increased two percent," says the report. "Grand larceny increased by five percent and grand larceny auto increased by 20 percent."
The New York Post indicated that the overall crime spike accounts for an over 35.6% jump over pre-pandemic times.
No arrests had been in the case of Carson's murder as of late Tuesday.
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