Slain Idaho firefighters mourned, remembered; shooting suspect's ex-roommate says he noticed change in demeanor



Amid his shock and grief, Gabe Eckert — president of the Coeur d’Alene Firefighters' union — recalled his final memory of John Morrison, battalion chief of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department.

Eckert told USA Today that he and Morrison recently were on a backyard patio smoking cigars and discussing how they both could keep advancing forward in crucial aspects of life.

'How devastating for these men to go to work and not come home over something so senseless.'

"We talked about being better fathers, we talked about being better leaders, and we talked about being better firefighters," Eckert recounted to the paper. "I’m so incredibly grateful that that gets to be my last memory with him."

Morrison and Frank Harwood — battalion chief of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue — have been identified as the two firefighters who were fatally shot in an ambush Sunday in the woods on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d'Alene.

Wounded in the attack was firefighter Dave Tysdal of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, USA Today said, adding that the department's chief, Tom Greif, said Tysdal was recovering after two surgeries.

Greif and Chief Christopher Way of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue announced in a joint news release the "return home to Coeur d’Alene" for Morrison and Harwood on Tuesday morning in a "procession of emergency vehicles" coming from nearby Spokane County in Washington state. "Our agencies want to thank the community for their overwhelming support during this difficult time," the release said.

"This community lost two dedicated public servants," Eckert noted at a news conference, according to USA Today. "These men were dedicated firefighters; they were dedicated to their community. These guys were hard workers who loved their families."

Harwood, 42, had been with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue for 17 years, Way told the paper, adding that he was married with two children.

"He did an amazing job," Way noted to USA Today. "This loss is felt by so many."

Morrison, 52, had been with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department since 1996, Greif added to the paper.

Edward A. Kelly, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said in a statement that the "ambush killing of two firefighters ... is nothing short of horrific" and that "in no civilized nation should first responders be targets for violence."

One longtime Idaho resident told Blaze News, "I feel for their families. How devastating for these men to go to work and not come home over something so senseless. We are flying flags at half-staff until after the funerals."

RELATED: Church security team member who reportedly shot gunman dead outside sanctuary recalls moment when 'evil came to our door'

Around 1:21 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were dispatched after receiving a call about a brush fire; about 40 minutes later, first responders reported coming under gunfire.

First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios, the Associated Press reported: “Everybody’s shot up here ... send law enforcement now."

“This was a total ambush," Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said. "These firefighters did not have a chance."

Investigators used cell phone data to locate a signal that hadn't moved since about 3:16 p.m., USA Today said, adding that authorities just after 7:40 p.m. announced that they had discovered the suspect's body. A weapon reportedly was near the body.

"It appears that he shot himself," Norris told journalists, according to BBC News.

Authorities believe the gunman intentionally set the fire to lure firefighters to the scene.

The shooting suspect was identified as Wess Roley, the Associated Press reported Monday, citing a law enforcement official. The AP added that the official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss the investigation.

Norris told BBC News that Roley, 20, was homeless and attacked fire crews after they asked him to move his vehicle, in which he had been living.

"There was an interaction with the firefighters," Norris added, according to BBC News. "It has something to do with his vehicle being parked where it was."

Norris told BBC News that authorities believed the gunman used a high-powered rifle to fire rapidly at first responders; the outlet added that a shotgun was recovered along with several bullets or fragments, possibly from a rifle. Officials noted to BBC News that more guns may be hidden on the mountain.

A man who said he roomed with Roley for a short time told KING-TV he noticed a change in Roley's demeanor toward the end of his six-month stay.

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Norris also ruled out a suggestion seen on social media that Roley was connected with "Islamic jihad," BBC News noted — and believe it or not, Norris said at a news conference that Roley once aspired to be a firefighter.

Indeed, Dale Roley — the suspect's grandfather — told the New York Times that his grandson had an interest in becoming a forest firefighter. The elder Roley added to BBC News that his grandson "had been in contact to get a job with a fire department" and "wanted to be part of a team that he sort of idolized."

USA Today characterized Wess Roley as a transient with a history of "minor" run-ins with police, mostly about trespassing suspicions, authorities said.

Norris told the paper that Roley came from an “arborist family" and appeared to have fired from up a tree.

A social media post from his mother indicated that Roley moved from Arizona to Idaho in 2023 to work for his father's tree-trimming company, BBC News said, adding that she wrote in October 2024 that Roley was "doing great living in Idaho."

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Former teacher, 26, accused of having sex with 16-year-old male student



A former teacher in Michigan is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old male student, WDIV-TV reported.

Jocelyn Sanroman, 26, of Pontiac is accused of having a sexual relationship with the teen in 2023 while she taught at Oakside Prep Academy in Waterford Township, WDIV added. Waterford Township is about 40 minutes northwest of Detroit.

'This defendant is accused of using her position of authority to exploit a minor victim.'

Sanroman confided in a fellow teacher that she was having sex with a student, and that teacher in turn told police, the station said, citing prosecutors.

Sanroman was arraigned Monday on three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, WJBK-TV reported.

If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison, WDIV said.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday told Blaze News that Sanroman turned herself in Monday. Jail records indicate she was booked Monday morning and released Monday afternoon. The sheriff's office added to Blaze News that while Sanroman didn't post bond, she's responsible for a $20,000 personal bond if she doesn't appear at her July 10 probable cause conference.

RELATED: Florida middle school teacher sent nude photo, engaged in 'lewd conduct' with 14-year-old student: Police

"Any time any member of the school staff, teacher, coach, is trying to develop a relationship with you, it doesn’t matter who initiates it; it’s a crime," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald told WJBK in a separate story.

McDonald added to WJBK that while a 16-year-old can consent, it's different when the other party is a teacher.

The prosecutor noted to WJBK that she also was a teacher when she was the suspect's age, "but I'm also a parent."

"School is supposed to be someplace where your kids feel safe," McDonald added to WJBK.

“This defendant is accused of using her position of authority to exploit a minor victim,” McDonald noted to WDIV. “These allegations represent the ultimate breach of trust placed in educators by parents and the community. As a former teacher myself, I applaud the teacher who contacted police about this situation, protecting other students from further exploitation.”

A news crew from WJBK paid a visit to the former teacher's home but said no one was there.

RELATED: Ex-head counselor at all-boys' Catholic HS pleads guilty to sexual abuse of student after nude pics, office tryst revealed

An Oakside Prep Academy spokesperson told WJBK that school officials "acted immediately after learning about these allegations." The spokesperson added to WJBK that "these are troubling allegations that are unsettling to everyone in our school community" and that students' "safety and well-being remains our top priority."

News of this latest teacher-student sex scandal comes on the heels of a headline-grabbing case out of New York state where a 22-year-old now-former school district employee is accused of sending nude photos of herself to a 14-year-old boy.

RELATED: School district speaks out after now-former employee, 22, accused of sending nude photos of herself to 14-year-old boy

Anamaria Milazzo. Image source: Chemung County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Office

The Chemung County Sheriff’s Office last month said Anamaria Milazzo from the town of Elmira was arrested on charges of disseminating indecent material to minors in the second degree — a class E felony — and endangering the welfare of a child, which is a class A misdemeanor.

The Daily Voice said Milazzo was arrested June 16 and that she had worked as a teaching assistant since December 2024. Milazzo was issued an appearance ticket to appear in the Wellsburg Village Court at a later date, the sheriff's office said.

The school district in question — the Greater Southern Tier Board of Cooperative Educational Services — noted in a statement provided to WETM-TV last week that Milazzo "was put on leave as soon as we were first made aware of the allegations by law enforcement and has not been present at BOCES since that time. She has resigned and will not be returning to campus."

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Voters loved the socialist slogans. Now comes the fine print.



Zohran Mamdani’s surprise victory over Andrew Cuomo in last week’s New York City Democratic mayoral primary catapulted a full-bodied Democratic Socialist program onto the national marquee. In his midnight speech, he claimed, “A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few.” His win marks Gotham’s sharpest left turn in a generation — and that’s saying something.

The recipients of his promise are slated to receive an economic makeover that treats prices as political failures. His platform freezes rents on more than 1 million apartments, builds 200,000 publicly financed “social housing” units, rolls out city-owned grocery stores, makes buses fare-free, and lifts the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, all bankrolled by roughly $10 billion in new corporate and millionaire taxes.

If Mamdani’s program collapses under its own weight, the case for limited government will write itself in boarded-up windows and outbound moving vans.

A week later, reality is beginning to set in.

Mamdani means what he says. On his watch, public safety would become a piggy bank. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Mamdani posted, “No, we want to defund the police.” He wasn’t being metaphorical. His current blueprint would shift billions from the NYPD into a new “Department of Community Safety” — even as felony assaults on seniors have doubled since 2019.

Mamdani’s program may feel aspirational to affluent progressives, yet to many New Yorkers it lands like an ultimatum.

Forty-two percent of renter households already spend more than 30% of their income on shelter; now they are told higher business taxes and a slimmer police presence are the price of utopia, which helps explain why tens of thousands of households making between $32,000 and $65,000 — the city’s economic backbone — have left for other states in just the past few years.

Picture a deli cashier in the Bronx. She’s not reading City Hall memos, but she feels the squeeze when rent rises and her boss mutters about new taxes. She doesn’t frame her frustration as a debate about “big government” — but she knows when it’s harder to get by and when it’s less safe walking home. The politics of the city aren’t abstract to her. They’re personal.

Adding insult to injury, the job Mamdani wants comes with a salary of roughly $258,750 a year — more than three times the median city household income — plus the chauffeurs, security details, and gilt-edged benefits package that accompany the office. Telling overtaxed commuters that their groceries will now be “public options” while banking a quarter-million dollars in guaranteed pay is the policy equivalent of riding past them in a limousine and rolling down the window just long enough to raise their rent.

Layer onto that record a set of statements many Jewish New Yorkers regard as outright hostility. Mamdani is one of the loudest champions of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement; last year he pushed a bill to bar certain New York charities from sending money to Israeli causes and defended the chant “globalize the intifada,” drawing sharp rebukes from city rabbis. The day after Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, he blamed the bloodshed on “apartheid” and “occupation.”

All this lands in a metropolis with the world’s largest Jewish community outside Israel — about 1.4 million residents — whose synagogues, schools, and small businesses have weathered a steady rise in hate crimes. For them, a would-be mayor who treats Israel as a pariah and shrugs at chants of intifada isn’t dabbling in foreign policy; he’s telegraphing contempt for their safety and identity at home.

Republicans see an inadvertent gift. Mamdani’s New York will soon be measured against the lower-tax, police-friendly model many red states — especially my home, Florida — have advertised for years.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program has mailed more than 7,800 after-tax checks of $5,000 to officers relocating from 49 states, including hundreds from New York precincts, while Florida touts a 50-year low in index-crime reports and unemployment below the national average. IRS data shows Florida netted 33,019 New York households in the latest year, with average adjusted gross income near $185,000.

Project those trend lines a few years and Mamdani’s New York grows grim: a shrunken police force responding to more 911 calls; fare-free buses draining MTA dollars and stranding riders; municipal groceries undercutting bodegas until subsidies vanish; office-tower vacancies sapping property tax receipts just as social housing bills come due. The skyline still gleams, but plywood fronts and “For Lease” placards scar street level. Meanwhile states that fund cops, respect paychecks, and let entrepreneurs stock the shelves siphon away residents and revenue.

RELATED: Don’t let rural America become the next New York City

Terraxplorer via iStock/Getty Images

Republicans running in 2026 scarcely need to draft the attack ads, yet they must pair fiscal sobriety with moral urgency — protecting the vulnerable, rewarding work, and defending faith. Mamdani’s primary victory shows romantic egalitarianism still electrifies young voters; statistics alone won’t counter a pledge of universal child care and rent freezes. This indeed won’t be a case of “promises made, promises kept.”

If his program collapses under its own weight, the case for limited government will write itself in boarded-up windows and outbound moving vans.

Should the city somehow thrive — safer streets, balanced books, real wage gains — progressives will demand that Congress replicate Mamdani’s policies nationwide. That is federalism at its most honest: two competing philosophies running side by side under the same national sky, with citizens free to relocate from one laboratory to the other.

For now, the lab results favor the model that backs the blue, protects the paycheck, and keeps the ladder of opportunity in good repair. Voters — and U-Hauls — are already keeping score. By decade’s end, the scoreboard will show which vision truly loved New York’s working families and which merely loved the sound of its own ideals.

Mall shoplifter actually jumps from 2nd level trying to evade police. His bright idea is no medal-winner.



Houston police said a few officers were working extra jobs at the Galleria mall two weekends ago when they got a call about a theft suspect, KRIV-TV reported.

Police said officers spotted the suspect and tried to detain him, the station said.

'Wherever you go or whatever you try, they're going to catch you.'

"I saw this man sprinting and cops chasing after him," Martyn Norris, who saw the whole scene playing out, told KRIV.

But the suspect chose a getaway route officers had no interest in mimicking.

You see, there's an ice skating rink on the mall's first floor — and the suspect was on the second floor.

You guessed it.

Norris told the station the suspect actually yelled, "Come get me!" — and then for some reason that even the suspect may not have yet determined, he jumped from the second floor overhang down to the ice rink.

"He jumped straight down, tried to land," Norris added to KRIV, "and when he hit the ice, his legs literally went out from under him — they snapped."

There is video out there of the actual jump and landing, but the following news video doesn't show that — just the aftermath.

RELATED: Blaze News original: Have a laugh at supremely stupid crime suspects who gift-wrapped their arrests for cops — part 1

In the unedited video, the man's feet shoot out away from his body as he hits the ice; his left foot and ankle appear dislocated and flop freely from his lower leg as he attempts to move.

KPRC-TV reported that the man was taken to a hospital with "serious injuries" — and also was charged with theft and evading police.

His identity has not been released, KRIV said.

"Please think twice because this is one of the most heavily populated police areas ever," Norris noted to KRIV. "Wherever you go or whatever you try, they're going to catch you."

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Trump’s DOJ unleashes largest health care fraud bust ever, protecting taxpayer dollars



President Donald Trump's Department of Justice conducted the largest health care fraud takedown in the agency's history, involving $14.6 billion in intended losses.

The DOJ announced on Monday that it has filed criminal charges against 324 individuals — including 96 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals — for their alleged participation in the scams.

'These criminals didn't just steal someone else's money; they stole from you.'

Despite the billions of dollars in intended losses, the federal government seized $245 million in cash, cryptocurrency, luxury vehicles, and other assets.

Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prevented more than $4 billion in fraudulent claims and revoked billing privileges for 205 providers.

RELATED: Trump takes aim again at prescription drug prices — could drop '30% to 80%'

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"Civil charges against 20 defendants for $14.2 million in alleged fraud, as well as civil settlements with 106 defendants totaling $34.3 million, were also announced as part of the Takedown," the DOJ reported.

The massive schemes allegedly involved transnational criminal organizations, fraudulent wound care, prescription opioid trafficking, and telemedicine and genetic testing fraud.

According to the agency, 29 individuals faced charges for their alleged participation in transnational criminal organizations that submitted over $12 billion in fraudulent claims to American health insurance programs.

Another five defendants were charged in connection with a $703 million Medicare scheme that used theft and deceptive marketing to obtain beneficiaries' identification numbers and other personal information.

"The defendants allegedly used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of Medicare beneficiaries purportedly consenting to receive certain products. According to court documents, the beneficiaries' confidential information was then illegally sold to laboratories and durable medical equipment companies, which used this unlawfully obtained and fraudulently generated data to submit false claims to Medicare," the DOJ reported.

Forty-nine defendants faced charges for their alleged participation in a telemedicine and genetic testing scheme that involved $1.17 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

RELATED: Trump set to unleash DOJ probe on ActBlue's alleged fraudulent donation scheme

Matthew Galeotti, the head of the DOJ's Criminal Division. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Attorney General Pam Bondi described the takedown as "record-setting."

"Make no mistake — this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities," Bondi declared.

Matthew Galeotti, the head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, stated during a Monday press conference, "In a takedown this large, I can't possibly describe all of the work that went into dismantling each scheme."

"These criminals didn't just steal someone else's money; they stole from you. Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers who fund these essential programs through their hard work and sacrifice," Galeotti continued. "When criminals defraud these programs, they're not just committing theft; they're driving up our national deficit and threatening the long-term viability of health care for seniors, disabled Americans, and our most vulnerable citizens."

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Male, female — both just 17 years old — accused in road rage shooting



A male and female — both just 17 years old — were charged in connection with a road rage shooting in Georgia.

Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office — with assistance from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office — said they arrested Miranda Myers of the 200 block of Gustav Court in North Augusta as well as Cameron Howard of the 4100 block of Sapling Lane in Augusta for a road rage shooting that took place just before 4:30 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 20 at mile marker 196.

There was no word on what sparked the incident, the station reported.

A driver told police he was heading west on I-20 when a white female — Myers — pulled up beside him in a blue Tesla, WJBF-TV reported. The driver said a black male passenger — Howard — pointed a gun out of the window and fired five to six shots at his car, the station added.

RELATED: Road-rage suspect uses hatchet to repeatedly smash windows of crashed car — and the act is caught on cellphone video

Image source: Richmond County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office

Richmond County Sheriff’s Office officials found a gray Toyota Camry with multiple bullet holes, WJBF reported.

The station said the Tesla left the scene, taking exit 194 — Belair Road — in Columbia County.

One victim was shot once in his ankle, WJBF said, and the other victim was shot once in her left shoulder.

Both victims were taken to Doctors Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, the sheriff's office said.

There was no word on what sparked the incident, the station reported.

Myers and Howard both were charged with two counts of aggravated assault, the sheriff's office said, adding that Howard also was charged with one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

RELATED: Road rage suspect opens fire on fellow motorist in Chicago, cops say. But victim is a concealed carrier — and wins shootout.

Image source: Richmond County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office

The sheriff's office on Monday afternoon told Blaze News that both Myers and Howard are in the Charles B. Webster Detention Center on their listed charges. The sheriff's office added to Blaze News that there is no bond for aggravated assault, and they will be held until their first court appearance, where bond will be determined or denied.

The following is a sampling of comments about the arrests on the sheriff's office Facebook page:

  • "Man they’re so young!" one commenter said. "They have no idea how this one act will haunt them for the rest of their lives. I’m glad they were caught, and I hope this is a lesson learned, and it stops here."
  • "Whoever owns the Tesla has money and will be bailing one of them, if not both, out," another user said. "My guess is ... their money will pay for the charges to be reduced to misdemeanors, and they’ll never really be held accountable because 'they can’t ruin their lives.' I’ve seen it too many times, and rarely do the kids not repeat or do worse subsequently."
  • "I pray every time I’m on the road for God’s safe watch and protection," another commenter said. "My grandbabies are with me so much of the time, and these are the kind of drivers on the road with you!"

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'Total ambush': Gunman attacks Idaho firefighters responding to wildfire



Idaho firefighters were dispatched around 1:21 p.m. Sunday after receiving a call about a brush fire in the woods on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d'Alene; roughly 40 minutes later, first responders reported coming under gunfire.

'These firefighters did not have a chance.'

Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris initially announced that first responders were "actively taking sniper fire," and he added that "we don't know if there's one, two, three, or four [shooters]."

First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios, the Associated Press reported: “Everybody’s shot up here ... send law enforcement now."

More than 300 law enforcement officers and the FBI responded to the scene, the New York Times reported.

RELATED: Church security team member who reportedly shot gunman dead outside sanctuary recalls moment when 'evil came to our door'

Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images

Two firefighters were shot and killed; a third firefighter was wounded.

Norris said it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle, the AP reported, adding that the sheriff said he instructed deputies to fire back.

Authorities later discovered the body of the suspected gunman with a weapon nearby. They moved the body as the fire spread. It wasn't clear how the alleged male gunman died.

Authorities believe the gunman intentionally set the fire in order to lure firefighters to the scene.

RELATED: Child molesters can now be marched in front of firing squads in Idaho

Norris described the attack as a "total ambush."

"These firefighters did not have a chance," he added.

Norris indicated the suspected gunman acted alone, and his identity has not been released. Law enforcement declined to say what kind of weapon they found with the suspected gunman.

RELATED: Male, 70, at Tesla protest accused of driving his car into Trump-supporting counterprotester

Photo by Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images

One fatally shot firefighter was from the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department; the other was with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. The firefighter who survived the shooting was "fighting for his life" after surgery, Norris said, but was in stable condition.

The AP said in the evening the bodies of the slain firefighters arrived in the nearby city of Spokane, Washington — and escorted by a procession of fire and law enforcement vehicles. The outlet added that firefighters and others saluted as the vehicles passed by.

Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) wrote in a post on X, "Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho. This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more. Teresa and I are heartbroken."

RELATED: Leftist mayor ignores deep-red state law, flies racial LGBTQ flag

"As this situation is still developing, please stay clear from the area to allow law enforcement and firefighters to do their jobs," he added.

Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a post on social media, "Thank you to our incredible @FBI agents on the ground assisting local authorities in Idaho. We are praying for all."

A shelter-in-place order was lifted Sunday night, the AP said.

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Pastor crucified in bed as anti-Christian hate turns deadly



Just down the road from my house, a pastor was crucified in his bed — crown of thorns and all.

That’s not the start of a horror movie. It’s the real story of Pastor William Schonemann of New River Bible Chapel in Arizona. His murder in May received almost no media coverage until last week, when the suspect not only confessed to the killing but admitted he had plans to assassinate four more pastors in Arizona — and others across the country.

As a pastor who lives not far from where this happened, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was I on his list?

If the killer had cited Christian teachings while attacking a Planned Parenthood activist or drag performer, Los Angeles would be on fire and the Palestinian flag would fly from city hall.

The motive? The suspect claimed to be on a divine mission to “purify Israel” of anyone who teaches that Jesus is the Son of God. His logic was as deranged as it was deadly: You can’t kill the Son of God — so Jesus isn’t the Son of God. Therefore, anyone who says otherwise must die. He targeted pastors who preach that God forgives repentant sinners through Christ.

In other words, he hunted Christians.

This wasn’t an isolated attack. Just last week, a deacon in Michigan stopped a would-be shooter from opening fire inside a church. Whether through violence or through the daily pressure campaign of soft totalitarianism from elected leftists — who impose radical gender and social ideology — Christians face growing persecution in America.

RELATED: Nigerian Christians face latest massacre by militant Muslims

Getty Images

So here’s the question: Will these attacks on Christians be prosecuted as hate crimes?

U.S. law defines a hate crime as violence motivated by bias against a protected class. Religion qualifies. A man confesses to murdering a pastor because he preached the gospel. That’s not just homicide — it’s a textbook hate crime.

Crickets instead of courage

So where’s the outrage?

The answer is simple. We’ve allowed a media and university culture to take root that treats Christianity not just as wrong — but as evil. Christians, they insist, stand in the way of liberation, especially sexual liberation. The man who murdered Pastor Schonemann didn’t need a gender studies degree to absorb the worldview pushed by most public universities and entertainment platforms.

LGBTQ centers, DEI bureaucracies, and entire academic departments teach students that Christianity is repressive, outdated, and harmful. Professors tell them Christians cannot be victims of oppression because Christians are the majority. We must be decolonized, dismantled, or disappeared.

Curriculum has consequences.

Most people never enroll in Gender Studies 401, but they absorb the ideology from those who do. Graduates of these programs run media outlets, direct Netflix specials, and draft corporate policy. So when Amazon Prime pushes queer identity as liberation, the implied message is clear: Christian morality is the enemy. And when that message gets repeated often enough, unstable people act on it.

A chilling double standard

Now imagine the reverse. Had the victim belonged to a different religion — particularly one deemed “marginalized” or “indigenous” — CNN would run wall-to-wall coverage. MSNBC hosts would cry on air about America’s hatred. The Justice Department would announce investigations before the body cooled.

If the killer had cited Christian teachings while attacking a Planned Parenthood activist or drag performer, Los Angeles would be on fire and the Palestinian flag would fly from city hall.

But Pastor Schonemann preached Christ crucified. And so, the outrage is muted.

Time to act

Calling out this double standard matters, but it’s not enough. Pointing fingers at leftist hypocrisy only gets us so far. It’s time for action.

First, Christians must expose the incoherence of the ideologies used to justify this persecution. These movements promise justice but cannot define it. They claim to liberate, yet they demand conformity and submission. As a philosophy professor, I’ve challenged my own university’s faculty to debate these ideas. So far, silence. But shining light on the hollowness of their worldview creates space for the truth — and for grace.

Second, Christians must stop funding the institutions that despise us. Public universities are not neutral. They’ve become temples of anti-Christian dogma. Professors hide behind “academic freedom,” but the Constitution does not require taxpayers to bankroll propaganda. We must say: “No more. I won’t pay you to teach my child to hate the truth.”

After the murder, Pastor Schonemann’s son noted that the media seemed more interested in the killer than in his father’s life and witness. He’s right. And when the media finally does speak, don’t be surprised if it’s to ask: “Why do Christians deserve this?”

Universities are not neutral

Years ago, I sat on a panel at Harvard Law School. It was just before the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. One panelist — an Ivy League professor of some renown — smiled and said, “Christians like to be persecuted, so let them be.” The audience applauded. No one flinched.

It’s time for Christian parents to wake up. The age of the “neutral” university has ended. Our children are not just being taught to tolerate different views — they are being indoctrinated to hate what is true, good, and beautiful. They are told in no uncertain terms: Christianity is the problem.

Until we demand equal protection under the law — and stop funding our own cultural executioners — the attacks will continue.

The killer in Arizona refused dialogue. He chose violence to silence the truth. Ask yourself: How different is that from the message preached by DEI activists and gender ideologues who say we must either conform or disappear?

They’ve told us exactly what they believe. It’s time we take them at their word.

The Democrats get their left-wing battering ram



For anyone who read my commentary last week, it should be no surprise that I am overjoyed that state Rep. Zohran Mamdani trounced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Cuomo is a repulsive creep who, as governor, killed thousands of elderly New Yorkers by filling nursing homes with COVID-infected patients. He then lied persistently about his misdeeds. Adding insult to injury, Cuomo groped and mishandled vulnerable women, an offense that led to his resignation in disgrace.

Except for Mamdani’s use of the verboten term 'socialist' and his outspokenly anti-Israeli positions, someone like him fits quite well into the present Democratic Party.

Finally, Cuomo removed bail for violent criminals, something he tried to cover up in his primary race by promising to be “tough on crime.” The fact that Wall Street plutocrats — led by the feckless former mayor, Michael Bloomberg — were backing this shameless reprobate made me even more eager to see him defeated.

Clearly, I am not happy to see Mamdani victorious because I agree with his politics. Looking at the positions he advocates, I can’t find one that doesn’t turn my stomach — but that is also the case when listening to Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.

I’ve been told that Mamdani is worse than these other leftists because he calls himself a socialist and bleeds for Hamas. Let me register my doubts that once in office (if he manages to win the general election) he would do anything to nationalize anything. His Upper East Side Manhattan backers, who poured out to vote for him, wouldn’t allow him to act like Castro or Lenin.

What Mamdani would likely do if elected mayor would be to make all the horrible conditions produced by New York’s big-city government even worse. Streets, outside the opulent neighborhoods inhabited by Mamdani’s benefactors, will be overrun by criminal thugs. New York City will become even more of a magnet for LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter exhibitionists, and normal people will move out of the urban zoo even faster than they’re doing right now.

Mamdani fits right in

Those claiming that Zohran Mamdani marks some unprecedented plunge into leftist madness haven't been paying attention. High-ranking Democrats such as the Squad, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii have long paved the way. Cultural leftists already infest Congress and crowd the statehouses. Aside from Mamdani’s unapologetic use of the word “socialist” and his anti-Israel posturing, he fits quite well in the modern Democratic Party. Nothing about him signals a deeper descent than what voters already hear nightly on MSNBC.

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Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In the general election, Mamdani may end up splitting the left-wing vote with fellow Democrats, including Mayor Eric Adams, who plans to run as an independent. That kind of vote-splitting could hand the race to Republican Curtis Sliwa, who has positioned himself as the law-and-order candidate. He’s the only one I’d actually like to see win. Still, I won’t pretend I wouldn’t enjoy the irony if Mamdani pulled it off. A Mamdani victory would deliver maximum schadenfreude.

Democrats forsake the working class

For decades, New Yorkers and denizens of other major cities have sabotaged themselves at the ballot box — electing pro-criminal politicians, embracing every deranged social experiment, and lately drooling over criminal illegal aliens. Despite the hand-wringing on Fox News, these urban voters aren’t victims of the Democratic Party. They’ve reshaped it. They turned a once-working-class coalition into a hive of government dependents and ideological psychopaths.

Justice demands that these “progressives” live with the consequences of their own political choices. They asked for this. Let them have it — good and hard. The tragedy, of course, is that normal people will suffer too. Those without the money to flee to private buildings with armed security or relocate entirely will pay the price. That’s why I hesitate to cast Mamdani as some kind of avenging angel.

Still, even with the obvious costs of a Mamdani administration, his rise might accelerate a trend that’s both inevitable and necessary. Sane people with means will keep fleeing cities run by criminals and ideologues. Those who stay behind — those who cheer on the chaos — can live with the rot they helped create.

Nothing new under the sun

Let me close with a brief speculation about politicians like Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, Mamdani, and their counterparts in Europe — figures who somehow blend radical leftist politics with expressions of Islamic fervor. On paper, devout Muslims ought to align with the Christian right on most social issues. And many Muslim parents across the country have taken a stand, loudly opposing LGBTQ+ indoctrination in schools.

So why don’t Muslim politicians follow suit? Two possible explanations come to mind. Either they’re mimicking the old communist playbook — aligning with fringe social movements as a means to power — or they’re using Islamic identity as a wrecking ball to level what’s left of Western tradition and cohesion.

Let’s not pretend both options are equally likely. I suspect it’s the latter.

A version of this article was originally published in Chronicles.

Teen allegedly assaults man, strips him naked, douses his wounds in bleach, stuffs plunger in his mouth — but he isn't done



A Tennessee teen is accused of a series of bizarre crimes, including assaulting a man, stuffing a plunger in his mouth, and pouring bleach on him. But that allegedly was just for starters.

WCNC-TV reported that the Sevierville Police Department received a call around 8:45 a.m. Sunday regarding concerns about 19-year-old Charles Dakota Coffman. WATE-TV said the caller urged a welfare check out of concern that Coffman might have killed someone and kidnapped a little girl.

Court records say that Coffman confessed to dragging the victim into the bathroom, stripping him naked, and dousing his wounds with bleach.

Police forced entry into a residence and discovered a naked man in a bleach-soaked bathroom with a serious head injury, according to WCNC.

The victim was rushed to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma and other potentially serious injuries, according to court records WATE obtained.

According to WATE, neither the victim's Ford automobile nor the girl — a 3-year-old, according to WCNC — were at the home. A detective reportedly issued a "be on the lookout" police alert for the vehicle.

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Citing arrest warrants, WBIR-TV reported that police spotted the stolen Ford automobile and initiated a traffic stop. Coffman, the little girl, and a woman reportedly were in the vehicle.

Police arrested Coffman, and the child was transported to the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for an evaluation.

Coffman informed investigators that he received a call from his mother, who was in jail at the time, WBIR reported. Coffman claimed his mother instructed him to pick up the 3-year-old girl.

It turns out that Coffman's mother and the victim of the plunger attack are the legal guardians of the little girl, according to WBIR.

Coffman reportedly took an Uber ride to the house with the woman who was in the stolen car that police pulled over.

According to court records, Coffman told detectives he got into a physical fight with the victim, slammed him to the floor, punched him in the face several times, and shoved a plunger into his mouth.

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Court records said Coffman confessed to dragging the victim into the bathroom, stripping him naked, and dousing his wounds with bleach.

Coffman also admitted to taking the girl from the home and stealing the vehicle.

According to the arrest warrant WBIR obtained, Coffman's mother told investigators she hadn't recently spoken with her son — and added that she "did not and would not" permit her son to take custody of the 3-year-old girl or the victim's vehicle.

Coffman was charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, theft, and tampering with evidence, according to jail records.

Coffman remains detained at the Knox County Jail.

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