Charlotte school district attendance plummets after immigration raid, sparking concerns about illegal alien numbers



With the launch of Operation Charlotte's Web in North Carolina over the weekend, some have speculated that law enforcement has stumbled upon a large number of illegal aliens in a major city.

Social media was set ablaze on Monday and Tuesday as early reports were released about school attendance in one of the largest school districts in the country.

'President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won’t.'

On Monday night, WSOC-TV reporter Joe Bruno posted on X: "A spokesperson for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools says unofficial attendance data from today indicates that approximately 20,935 students were absent from school today. This accounts for approximately 15% of students enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools."

RELATED: 'Climbing into the ceiling tiles': DHS immigration raids hit Charlotte, where 1 in 6 residents are foreign-born

Photo by Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, highlighted the report, saying, "So a conservative estimate is that one-seventh of a major southern public school district is here illegally."

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools attendance data obtained by Blaze News, attendance did indeed drop precipitously on the Monday following the commencement of Operation Charlotte's Web.

Data from November 17 reveals that 30,399 students were absent, a number significantly higher than early reports suggested. Only 79.0% of the 145,030 students enrolled in the district attended school on Monday.

The vast majority of those absences, moreover — 28,136 — were marked as unexcused.

Blaze News also obtained data from the previous Monday.

On Nov. 10, 132,043 of the 144,909 students enrolled, or 91.1%, were in attendance. Only 12,866 students were absent, most, again, unexcused.

This constitutes a roughly 12% drop in attendance week over week, though there are likely other factors that contributed to this significant drop.

Operation Charlotte's Web, one of the Trump administration's latest immigration enforcement operations, was launched on Saturday. The operation is set to target Charlotte, North Carolina, a well-known sanctuary city where one out of every six residents was born in a foreign country.

"Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release Saturday. “We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed. There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won’t.”

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NASCAR owner sells vehicles to ICE — and liberals are outraged



Hendrick Motorsports Technical Solutions is under fire for its willingness to engage in commerce with the federal government.

The company, founded by former NASCAR driver Rick Hendrick, is related to Hendrick Motorsports, one of NASCAR's top teams. Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins in Cup Series, the most Cup Series championships at 14, and has consistently ranked among the most valuable teams, including being named most valuable by Forbes in 2020 at $315 million valuation.

'We're not going to support them.'

Originally reported by the Washington Post, Hendrick recently sold more than two dozen vehicles to the Trump administration for use with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Earlier this year, we sold 25 standard Chevrolet Tahoes to the federal government," a Hendrick Companies spokesperson said, per WBTV-TV. "The vehicles were unmodified, and we fulfilled the commercial sale. We do not participate in or control how agencies equip, brand, or use vehicles after purchase."

The federal government paid $2.25 million for the Tahoes from Hendrick in North Carolina and dished out another $174,000 to other companies for custom wrappings, the Post reported.

Due to the lack of an open-bidding process, ICE was required to submit their justification for skipping any competitive bargaining.

"The agency's need for the services is so urgent and compelling that providing full and open competition would result in unacceptable delays and seriously hinder the government’s recruiting initiative," the contract states.

It added, "Urgency is warranted as these vehicles must be deployed to the streets immediately to provide a visible law enforcement presence, support public safety operations, and reinforce recruitment efforts."

The lack of bidding was not the point of focus for anti-ICE activists online. Rather, it was the simple fact that Hendrick was working with the federal agency.

RELATED: Court upholds school's ban of 'Let's Go Brandon' clothing in free speech dispute

AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 2: Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports (L) and NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsport team owner. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

For example, a man from Georgia said that Hendrick "should be harassed" for being a "damned crook who needed to buy a pardon from Clinton."

He added, "I don't care who ICE buys vehicles from, but I would never put a dime in that crook's pocket."

Another X user seemingly called Hendrick an "Evil f**king man" for supplying ICE with vehicles.

In a video shared online, a woman addressing the people of Charlotte said, "You know how ICE is driving around those new SUVs? You can thank Rick Hendrick at Rick Hendrick Auto ... just remember that the next time you're in the market for a car!"

"We're not going to support them," another woman said about Hendrick Motorsports, using a filter that gave her devil horns. She then promoted a different Ford dealer in North Carolina, touting that the dealership has "Hispanic salesmen" who can speak Spanish.

"Go there, they're amazing! They're not doing all this mess," she declared.

RELATED: ICE takes down alleged 'wanted terrorist' illegal alien trucker

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 04: Host Kim Coon speaks to NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsport team owner, Rick Hendrick. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

A self-professed left-wing NASCAR fan, meanwhile, wrote on X, "i have very low expectations of people in nascar, but rick hendrick selling vehicles to f**king ICE is probably a new low."

A senior official from the Department of Homeland Security told the Post last week that "ICE is a law enforcement agency, and like all other law enforcement agencies, has a fleet of vehicles that includes those with ICE branding."

The official's statement continued, "Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE finally has the resources to grow its workforce to support ICE's mission, and that will include all types of additional vehicles."

"These specific vehicles will supplement the existing ICE fleet and support operations across the country," the DHS statement concluded.

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'Climbing into the ceiling tiles': DHS immigration raids hit Charlotte, where 1 in 6 residents are foreign-born



The Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations have expanded to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Operation Charlotte's Web launched on Saturday, as federal agents aimed to arrest criminal illegal aliens.

'An illegal alien from Mexico gets deported 4 times, strolls back to Charlotte, then racks up a hit & run AND a DUI/DWI?'

Of the 900,000 residents in Charlotte, 150,000 are foreign-born, according to CBS News.

The Department of Homeland Security blamed "sanctuary politicians" for the state's failure to honor 1,400 detainer requests, choosing instead to release offenders back onto the streets.

"Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. "We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed. There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won't."

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino stated that, on the first day alone, federal agents arrested over 80 individuals. He noted that most of those arrested have "significant criminal and immigration history."

RELATED: Anti-ICE mob turns hostile, breaching barriers outside detention facility — several officers injured

Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

A leftist activist confronted Bovino over the weekend while federal agents were arresting an alleged illegal alien, according to a video uploaded to social media.

"Are you doing nice things?" the activist asked Bovino.

"Absolutely, making the community safer for you," Bovino responded.

The Border Patrol commander highlighted some of the recent Charlotte arrests on X.

"Let's paint this picture for you. An illegal alien from Mexico gets deported 4 times, strolls back to Charlotte, then racks up a hit & run AND a DUI/DWI?" Bovino wrote. "It's time to go back home."

RELATED: VIDEO: Leotarded liberals protest ICE facility with '80s-themed aerobics class

Gregory Bovino. Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

"Who's at the same grocery store as you?" he wrote in a separate post. "This illegal alien from Honduras with a criminal history. He has arrests for aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon & DUI. He has also been removed from the U.S. twice, so now that he's here AGAIN, he committed a felony by re-entering the U.S."

Reports surfaced on Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot an individual amid the ongoing operations; however, those claims were debunked by McLaughlin.

"This criminal illegal alien from Mexico had a panic attack and was taken to the hospital where he attempted to escape by climbing into the ceiling tiles from the hospital bathroom. He was unsuccessful and was apprehended inside the ceiling by law enforcement," McLaughlin stated. "He has a prior arrest for assault."

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Gun-wielding homeowner wastes no time after he says burglar kicked in his door at midnight, ran toward him when told to stop



A North Carolina homeowner told WRAL-TV he was in his bathroom getting ready for bed around midnight Wednesday when he heard someone kick in the door of his home in southeast Raleigh.

The homeowner told the station that when he got to the living room, the intruder was standing there.

'If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself.'

"I had my gun, and I was telling him to get down! Get down! Or get out! Then he just ran to me," the homeowner, who didn't want to be identified, told WRAL.

With that, the homeowner fired shots, the station said.

When Raleigh police arrived at the scene on Rose Lane, they found 26-year-old Christian Beasley with a gunshot wound, WRAL reported.

Police told the station that Beasley was taken to a trauma center and was stable — and that after he's released from the trauma center, he'll be processed on charges of first-degree burglary and damage to property.

RELATED: Gun-wielding male kicks down door of home, opens fire at homeowner. But his target is armed too.

The homeowners told WRAL that they had no choice but to defend themselves and their home.

"If somebody breaks in your home, you have to protect yourself," the homeowner's wife added to the station. "And that's what he did. He had to protect us. We did not know what he was going to do."

Police told WRAL the homeowner will not face charges at this time but that the incident is under investigation. The station added that forensics investigators gathered evidence at the front door and inside the house.

WRAL said its Breaking News Tracker captured video of people coming out of the house, adding that they got in the back of police cruisers but did not appear to be under arrest.

Commenters on WRAL's Facebook post about the shooting seemed completely on the homeowner's side:

  • "Lookie there ... the burglar found the consequences of his actions," one commenter said.
  • "The homeowner deserves a medal!" another user declared. "Every home should be protected like this!"
  • "I'd done the same thing," another commenter wrote. "Let someone try and break into my house."
  • "It’s about time these criminals got it," another user stated.
  • "Sorry to hear he was taken to a trauma center, should have been taken to a morgue," another commenter said.
  • "America's fighting back!!!" another user exclaimed.

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Roy Cooper Enraged Victims' Families When He Took 15 Convicted Killers Off Death Row on His Final Day as Governor. Now He’s Pitching Himself as a Tough-on-Crime Senate Candidate.

On his final day as North Carolina governor, Senate hopeful Roy Cooper (D.) commuted the sentences of 15 convicted killers on death row, a move that blindsided and enraged the families of their victims. It’s another piece of his record on crime that Cooper will have to contend with as he attempts to sell himself as a tough-on-crime candidate.

The post Roy Cooper Enraged Victims' Families When He Took 15 Convicted Killers Off Death Row on His Final Day as Governor. Now He’s Pitching Himself as a Tough-on-Crime Senate Candidate. appeared first on .

Exclusive: Trump To Appoint Dan Bishop As US Attorney In North Carolina

President Donald Trump is set to appoint Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Deputy Director Dan Bishop to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, senior White House officials confirmed to The Federalist. Bishop, who served as a conservative stalwart in Congress since 2019, could start serving as U.S. attorney as […]

'It's all my fault': Father's chilling confession leads deputies to car trunk with his 4 dead children inside, police say



A North Carolina father was charged with the murders of his four children after authorities said he called 911 to make a chilling confession to police.

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was arrested at his home in Zebulon — roughly 20 miles northeast of Raleigh — on Tuesday.

'It's a lot to explain, but in a nutshell, it's all my fault. This is my fault. This is bad.'

Dickens was charged with four counts of murder. Dickens faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.

Dickens is being held without bond in the Johnston County Jail.

Just after 10 p.m. Monday, the Johnston County Sheriff's Office said it received a call from Dickens that "he had killed his children."

Dickens was heard saying in the 911 phone call, "I killed my stepson. It's a lot to explain, but in a nutshell, it's all my fault. This is my fault. This is bad."

Dickens said he didn't "cut" or "shoot" anyone but admitted to "beating on them sometimes" and that he "over-disciplined" his stepson. He added that the situation "spiraled," and "it got worse and worse and worse." Dickens also said he was a "coward" and admitted to using marijuana and consuming alcohol.

Dickens said he was attempting to "do the right thing" and revealed that he was "trying to turn himself" in to law enforcement. The suspect said he was "willing to do whatever" officers request of him when confronted by police. Deputies were soon dispatched to Dickens' property.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, "Mr. Dickens stated to deputies that his 3-year-old son was inside the house alive and four of his other children were deceased inside the trunk of a vehicle in the garage of the residence. Mr. Dickens' 3-year-old son was located and found unharmed in the residence."

Police also said a "preliminary investigation discovered what were believed to be multiple bodies in the trunk of a vehicle in the garage."

Investigators determined that the human remains in the vehicle "had been there for a long period of time."

Deputies accused Dickens of killing his three biological children, aged 6, 9, and 10, as well as his 18-year-old stepchild.

The sheriff's office did not specify how the children died or identify a possible motive.

In a Wednesday press conference, Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell accused Dickens of beginning to murder his children months ago.

Bizzell said 6-year-old Leah Dickens likely was killed in May, 9-year-old Zoe Dickens was estimated to have been killed in August, 10-year-old Wellington Dickens was killed in either late August or early September, and 18-year-old stepchild Sean Brassfield probably was killed in September.

Don Pate, captain of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office's Criminal Investigations Division, said at the news conference that officers noticed an odor of "decay" as soon as they entered the residence.

Pate said there was "evidence of criminal activity," including alleged attempts to clean up crime scenes within the house.

Sheriff Bizzell noted that social services took the one surviving child for a medical evaluation and is now "safe."

RELATED: 'Haunt me the rest of my life': Father reportedly kills family and himself in murder-suicide on same day as son's graduation

During the news conference, Bizzell revealed that Dickens' wife, 37-year-old Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, died at her home on April 21, 2024. Jones was three months pregnant at the time of her death and had suffered from "excessive bleeding the night prior, but refused to go for medical treatment," Bizzell stated.

Sheriff Bizzell said investigators previously determined that Jones died from complications from a miscarriage, and doctors ruled that her death was "natural."

Bizzell said there are currently no plans to exhume the remains of Jones following the murder accusations against her husband.

A neighbor told WRAL-TV that she "never saw a child outside playing" at Dickens' home.

Neighbor Fran Majkowski continued, "I never saw him mowing a lawn. ... The only time I ever saw them was the day they moved in, and like I said ... it was very ... you just get the feeling someone is to themselves."

Debra Riley, who lives next door to Dickens, said he "became more of a recluse" after his wife died.

Charles Moore, Dickens' great uncle, told WRAL that the father was an Iraq War veteran.

Moore noted, "He was in the service, and he had a problem ever since he came back, I think."

Moore claimed he last saw Dickens about a year ago, and he "seemed fine."

Neither the Johnston County Sheriff's Office nor the Johnston County Public Defender's Office, which was appointed to represent Dickens in court, immediately responded to Blaze News' request for comment.

Dickens is scheduled to attend a probable cause hearing on Nov. 13, according to court records.

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Alleged shoplifter caught on video brutally beating 18-year-old supermarket employee who confronted him: 'Senseless'



An alleged shoplifter in a North Carolina supermarket was caught on surveillance video brutally beating an employee who confronted him.

Detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are working to identify two individuals involved, WBTV-TV reported.

'When we have self-checkouts, it just presents an opportunity for people who are not doing the right thing, thieves, to take items and commit crimes.'

Police told the station the physical attack took place Oct. 20 at the Food Lion in the 2200 block of Park Road in Charlotte.

Two people were in the self-checkout area of the supermarket attempting to steal items when an 18-year-old Food Lion employee confronted them, Detective Ashley Phillips told WBTV.

Surveillance video showed one of the alleged shoplifters speaking with the employee and then walking with the employee into a back room, the station said.

Another surveillance camera captured the attack in the back room. Video shows one of the suspects grabbing the employee in the neck and chest area and slamming the employee against a large container against a wall, punching the employee, and then appearing to stomp the employee on the floor.

Surveillance video then shows the two alleged shoplifters leaving the Food Lion with the stolen items following the beating, WBTV reported.

RELATED: Shoplifters beat up store worker, 60, who runs after them. Then they hit him with car several times; he dies in parking lot.

“It’s unfortunate. Any act of violence is senseless,” Phillips told the station. “When we have self-checkouts, it just presents an opportunity for people who are not doing the right thing, thieves, to take items and commit crimes.”

Phillips added to WBTV that employees who witness illegal activity in the workplace shouldn't attempt to intervene.

“We want to suggest to everyone that is in a store working as an employee, just step back and observe, then collect as much information as you can and call 911 so that way police can respond, and you don’t have to interfere with someone committing a crime," she noted to the station.

Phillips added to WBTV that she's hopeful someone will recognize the alleged shoplifters through the surveillance videos and still images: "They’re very clear. I’m hoping that someone will see it and call it in. We get some good tips, and I’m very grateful for that."

Those with information about the Food Lion incident are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, the station said, adding that tipsters can remain anonymous and receive a cash reward if they have information that leads to an arrest. Community members can also submit tips about crimes through the P3 Tips app, WBTV noted.

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Meet the Violent Career Criminals Who Received Reduced Bail, Walked Free Thanks to Roy Cooper’s Judicial Appointees

A violent repeat offender who skipped court before raping a 29-year-old woman in a porta-john. A career criminal who racked up 37 felony charges, including strangling a woman to stop her from calling 911. These are some of the offenders who received substantially reduced bonds or walked free thanks to judges appointed by former North Carolina governor and Senate hopeful Roy Cooper (D.).

The post Meet the Violent Career Criminals Who Received Reduced Bail, Walked Free Thanks to Roy Cooper’s Judicial Appointees appeared first on .

Indiana Governor Calls Special Session To Redraw Congressional Maps

'If Indiana doesn’t act like it wants to win, it shouldn't be surprised when it loses,' said Indiana state Sen. Liz Brown, a supporter of redistricting.