Former Mississippi political candidate and naval officer Michael Cassidy is facing felony hate crime charges for decapitating a satanic statue in Iowa.
The co-founder of the Satanic Temple that put the statue up claimed putting the statue in a public forum was an expression of religious freedom. Cassidy drove to Iowa to see it for himself and felt so strongly that it shouldn’t be there that he proceeded to destroy the statue.
In the charges against Cassidy, prosecutors cited a violation of individual rights under Iowa’s hate crime statute. In addition, they say evidence suggests Cassidy destroyed the statue due to the victim’s religion.
“I fail to see the victim here,” Sara Gonzales says. “Is the victim the statue? The victim is the person who created this beautiful statue that nobody wanted?”
The creators of the statue are claiming the cost to replace it is between $750 and $1,500.
“Our dark gods are cheap these days,” Chad Prather jokes.
Though he’s facing legal repercussions, Cassidy is now being hailed as a hero by many on the right — and the proof is in the GiveSendGo campaign that has raised over $105,000 for his legal defense.
While Gonzales is happy he’s being helped, she doesn’t find it comforting that Cassidy now has to take on the law.
“It’s just depressing because it’s like, well, they finally stood up and did something and what are the thanks? That they get thrown into prison? Who the hell is going to stand up next time?” Gonzales says.
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Actress Ellen Barkin issued a vitriolic tweet on Monday in which she declared her hatred for all Republicans.
She prefaced the brief belligerent declaration by apologizing for her comments and profanity, before promptly proceeding to spew invective.
"I'm sorry to have to say this. I'm sorry for my language. But. I f[*****] hate these motherf*[****] Republicans. Every last one. F*[**] them one and all," Barkin tweeted.
\u201cI\u2019m sorry to have to say this. I\u2019m sorry for my language. But.\n\nI fuckin hate these motherf*king Republicans. Every last one. F*ck them one and all.\u201d— Ellen Barkin (@Ellen Barkin) 1684800559
Her hostile post has attracted significant attention, earning more than 4,000 retweets, over 12,000 replies, and more than 31,000 likes so far.
"You're so enlightened and stuff," BlazeTV host Chad Prather tweeted in response to Barkin's comments.
"I'm so sad to hear you talk this way. I love your past work, but a comment like the one you made is so hateful and over the top that I can no longer be a fan," someone else tweeted.
"Welcome to the inclusive, welcoming and love everyone movement," another person quipped.
"Such reasoned and compelling intellectual discourse. Sure to really help. Way to go," someone else wrote.
"I have no clue who you are, but you don’t seem very nice," another person remarked.
"I'm sorry to have to say this, but I can do it without using foul language. The feeling is mutual. I loathe these liberals. All of them," someone else wrote.
Ironically, the tweet Barkin currently has pinned to the top of her Twitter account speaks about love. "'Without love there can be no justice.' 'Without justice there can be no love.'...bell hooks," the tweet reads.
\u201c\u201cWithout love there can be no justice.\u201d\n\u201cWithout justice there can be no love.\u201d...bell hooks\u201d— Ellen Barkin (@Ellen Barkin) 1592691496
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A jury in Chicago found disgraced actor Jussie Smollett guilty on five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct in December 2021, concluding that the former "Empire" actor had staged a fake hate crime against himself, then lied to police about it.
Instrumental in the scheme were two Nigerian-born brothers whom Smollett paid to place a noose around his neck, rough him up, and shout racial and homophobic slurs in view of a street camera.
Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo — aspiring actors whom Smollett knew from the Chicago set of "Empire" and from the gym — recently broke their silence and spoke candidly to Fox Nation about their dealings with Smollett in a new special entitled "Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax."
The Osundairo brothers denounced Smollett in the interview as a "crazy fraudster" who sought to deceive the people of Chicago and the broader American public in order to advance his career and status as a "poster boy for activism."
"I thought he was a good actor, but I also was thinking that this guy's a fraud. This guy is really sitting here just lying to these people, lying through his teeth and not caring," said Abimbola. "I think he shed a tear. ... This dude crazy, man. He shed a tear, man. This dude wild."
Smollett's apparent indifference to the possible incrimination of two innocent supporters of then-President Donald Trump as a result of his hoax did not stagger the brothers so much as the actor's commitment to the deception after the fact.
In his first interview after staging the hate hoax, Smollett tearfully told ABC's "Good Morning America" in February 2019, "I will never be the man that this did not happen to. I am forever changed. ... And I don't subscribe to the idea that everything happens for a reason, but I do subscribe to the idea that we have the right and the responsibility to make something meaningful out of the things that happen to us, good and bad."
None— (@)
Smollett lashed out at those who questioned his story, saying, "It’s not necessarily that you don’t believe that this is the truth. You don’t even want to see the truth. ... I have to acknowledge the lies, and the hate. And it feels like if I had said it was a Muslim, or a Mexican, or someone black, I feel like the doubters would have supported me much more. A lot more."
TheBlaze previously reported that in his first post-conviction interview in June 2023, Smollett reflected on his remarks on "Good Morning America" and doubled down, saying that "every single word that [he] said in that interview was the truth."
The Osundairo brothers told Fox Nation that Smollett's serial lying was "insane. That's when I really saw a different side of Jussie. Like, dude, really? This is when I knew that this dude was like a super villain."
Despite Smollett's rhetoric about racial justice, the brothers noted that he prioritized his lie over their well-being, having hanged them out to dry and refused to accept any accountability over what happened.
"I did feel betrayed by Jussie and what he had done. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't ready to say anything. Like, I was mute," said Abimbola.
After helping Smollett craft a hoax the nation's most powerful Democrats unquestioningly accepted as true, the Osundairo brothers told Fox Nation they flew to Nigeria, where they contemplated whether they had done a good job.
When pressed on whether they played "believable white supremacists," Abimbola laughed, saying, "One hundred percent! Look at me."
While Abimbola quipped about his performance, it was evidently good enough to convince Vice President Kamala Harris:
None— (@)
However, they did not ultimately fool law enforcement officials, who were waiting for the brothers upon their return to the United States.
"When I was getting off the plane, the customs agent was checking everyone’s passport, and when they got to me, they pulled me aside," said Abimbola. "Two big-a** police officers came up – I was like damn, it’s over with. They got me."
Forty-seven hours after being detained, the brothers opened up to police, noting that Jussie's motive, while not made explicit during their conversations, was undoubtedly about increasing "his star level."
"He wanted to be the poster child for activism," said Olabinjo.
Abimbola added, "He wanted to be the hero for gay people, for black people."
Judge James B. Linn speculated about Smollett's motivations before issuing his sentence, saying, "You wanted to make yourself more famous" through the elaborate, "premeditated" caper and then "you threw a national pity party for yourself."
As for their own motives, the brothers indicated they had hoped Smollett "could probably help us out with our careers."
The Osundairo brothers reconstructed Smollett's hate hoax for Fox Nation:
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Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida, who recently won the state's Democratic gubernatorial primary, is framing the election as a contest between love and hate.
"Ron DeSantis WILL lose this November. It's a story as old as time: Hate will lose, love will win," Crist tweeted on Friday.
\u201cRon DeSantis WILL lose this November. \n\nIt\u2019s a story as old as time: Hate will lose, love will win.\u201d— Charlie Crist (@Charlie Crist) 1661557644
Earlier this week, Crist said that he does not want the votes of DeSantis supporters, suggesting that they harbor hate within their hearts.
During an appearance on MSNBC this week, Crist said of the governor, "He is on the battlefield of hate, I am on the battlefield of love."
In another tweet on Friday, Crist claimed that DeSantis is taking away people's liberty. "Don't be fooled by Ron DeSantis's far-right propaganda — he doesn't protect freedom, he takes it away."
He has also referred to the governor as "anti-freedom Ron."
Reports indicate that on Saturday Crist is expected to announce Karla Hernandez-Mats as his running mate.
Hernandez-Mats is the president of United Teachers of Dade, a left-wing teachers union. She has previously shared a cartoon on social media that appears to take a swipe at parents — in the cartoon, a group of individuals wearing what look like frightening Halloween costumes say that they are heading to a school board meeting.
"For any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real. God be with us. #antivaxxers #disinformation #misinformation" Hernandez-Mats tweeted last year when sharing the cartoon.
\u201cFor any of you following the school board meetings, you know that the craziness is real. God be with us. #antivaxxers #disinformation #misinformation\u201d— Karla Hern\u00e1ndez (@Karla Hern\u00e1ndez) 1634867231
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is currently running for re-election, announced this week that he is pledging $100,000 to support Crist.
Crist previously served as Florida governor from early 2007 until early 2011, but after winning that job as a Republican, he lost a 2010 U.S. Senate bid as an independent. He lost the state's 2014 gubernatorial contest as a Democrat. Crist is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Del Ray leftists aren't alone in their authoritarian tactics — or in their inability to recognize their authoritarianism.
Eventbrite unpublished two events from Purple for Parents Indiana, which fights to protect kids from indoctrination and sexualization.
The SPLC has long been known for tarnishing organizations with Christian missions or conservative ties as ‘hate groups.’
After being targeted by MSNBC, Colorado’s conservative Woodland Park School District is correcting the record.
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Hate Speech or Hate HOAX?