Homeowner fatally shoots squatter in his vacant house — but attorney says self-defense may be hard to prove



An Oklahoma homeowner was arrested and jailed after fatally shooting a squatter in his vacant residence earlier this month — and an attorney is saying a self-defense claim may be difficult to prove.

Timothy Smith, 59, is facing charges of first-degree manslaughter and reckless conduct with a firearm after shooting a squatter in his vacant house in Oklahoma City on May 1, KOCO-TV reported.

'At trial, I'm sure the defense will be self-defense. What's going to make that difficult? He told the police that he didn't see a weapon in the hand of the victim.'

Smith on Friday remained behind bars in the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Jail information indicates Smith's next court date is June 18 and that he's also charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Smith told detectives he and his daughter checked on his house after having previous issues there with homeless people, KOCO reported.

Smith entered the home with a gun and found Justin King in the back bedroom with a woman, the station said.

Smith and his daughter told the pair to leave, but Smith said King stepped toward him, KOCO reported.

With that, Smith aimed at "the area" of King, and the gunshot struck King in the neck, the station said.

Criminal defense attorney Ed Blau told KOCO a self-defense claim on Smith's part is complicated because Smith was not living in the home at the time of the shooting.

"There's not the death penalty for squatting in the state of Oklahoma," Blau told the station. "You can't just take a gun in and shoot somebody."

Blau added to the station that a self-defense argument also may be difficult to prove because Smith admitted to detectives that he did not feel threatened.

RELATED: Couple returns from vacation to find squatters who ate their brisket, drank their alcohol, and left meth in car, police say

"It would be difficult to have a stand-your-ground defense hold up," Blau noted to KOCO.

The attorney added to the station that "at trial, I'm sure the defense will be self-defense. What's going to make that difficult? He told the police that he didn't see a weapon in the hand of the victim."

Blau also told KOCO that while Oklahoma's Castle Doctrine allows homeowners to use force against intruders in their primary residences, it's different for vacant houses.

"If a trespasser or a burglar breaks in or comes into your home that you live in, and you're there, you can pretty much shoot them or do whatever you want to with them because of the Castle Doctrine here in Oklahoma," Blau told the station. "In a situation like this, an abandoned house, it's much different. You can't go in, put yourself in a situation, and say, 'This is my house, so I felt I had the right to shoot him.'"

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Whitlock: ‘Fatherless culture’ to blame for latest mass shooting



A “Sunday Funday” lakeside party went off the rails after 23 people were injured just outside Oklahoma City in a mass shooting.

According to reports, three people were in critical condition, four were listed as serious, and no arrests have been made.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock points out that the flyer for the party showed young men smoking weed — which should have served as a warning to attendees.

“At some point we have to acknowledge and admit that any time there are large groups of young black people — and by young, that may stretch all the way up to age 40 and under — that there’s going to be violence,” Whitlock says.


“And that’s a very uncomfortable thing to say, but this is the price of a matriarchal, fatherless culture — this type of chaos and violence,” he continues, showing clips of the party that were uploaded to social media.

One clip shows women bent over and twerking all over the party, while other attendees dance around them to rap music.

“We see these videos constantly. And there’s no national conversation. There’s no outrage. There’s no violence in the streets. There’s no protests. There's no nothing,” Whitlock says. “It blows my mind.”

“If no one else wants to talk about it, we will,” he adds.

While the media constantly report on mass shootings carried out by young white men, they often ignore those that are happening much more often.

“Once a week we see one of these videos — every weekend in Chicago. I can’t ignore it, and I can’t false equivalence it and say, ‘It’s just the same as mass school shootings, and you won’t talk about that,’” Whitlock explains.

“I’m just not going to play into it,” he adds.

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Republicans must reject Big Tech land grabs or start losing elections



Republicans are continuing their uninterrupted streak of woefully underperforming in elections. However, in the first of its kind referendum on Big Tech data centers, voters are showing that a party that embraces land sovereignty over Big Tech dystopian land grabs will win the day.

Sadly, Republicans have chosen to be on the losing side of the issue.

The public is being asked to shoulder a burden to facilitate a supposed technology whose benefits are very unclear and dubious.

In a first of its kind local referendum, voters in Port Washington, Wisconsin, voted by a margin of 2-1 for a referendum that will require all future data center projects in the area to be approved by a vote of the city’s residents.

The referendum was sparked in the wake of Oracle and OpenAI’s Stargate facility setting up shop in the area. The proposed 1.3 gigawatt facility will consume the power equivalent of over one million households.

The referendum does not undo the Stargate project but will prevent any future project worth more than $10 million from getting approval without the public input.

Over 1,000 residents signed the petition that put this measure on the ballot. "We are not against development," added Michael Baester, founding member of Great Lakes Neighbors United, which spearheaded this campaign. "We are for development that the community understands, supports, and has chosen together. Tonight proves that when citizens organize and engage, their voices can be heard."

What is so important nationally about this vote is that Port Washington was carried by Trump 52-48 in 2024. It is the quintessential swing city that sways the Wisconsin vote, and by proxy, the entire country’s electorate.

Such an emphatic result from a swing town demonstrates the potency of the data center issue.

According to Politico, other communities around the country are set to vote on similar ballot measures.

Imagine if Republicans could get on the right side of the data center issue. What might that do for their failing election efforts?

In Festus, Missouri, a solid conservative jurisdiction, voters ousted four GOP councilmen who recently approved rezoning for a $6 billion data center. Two of them were defeated by margins greater than 2-1.

Thus the grassroots opposition to data centers is just as virulent in red America as it is in swing areas that have already soured on Trump because of the economy.

Oklahoma is a state where Trump carried every county, yet voters there are firmly opposed to data centers.

After Google tried to bribe the locals in Osage County to support a hyperscale data center, the Rock Volunteer Fire Department turned down a $250,000 donation from the company. This is a county Trump won by 41 points.

The opposition is just as stiff in the cities. Last month, the Tulsa City Council voted unanimously to halt construction of new data centers for nine months. All 19 speakers at the meeting voiced support for the moratorium.

Across the state in Oklahoma City, the city council recently voted to rezone over 800 acres of farmland for a Google data center. The council is now facing a recall petition.

Portage County, Ohio, is a prototypical rust belt, blue-collar county that traditionally voted Democrat but migrated to the GOP under Trump. The president carried the county by 15 points in 2024. Last week, the Ravenna City Council moved forward with a 12-month moratorium on the centers after a crowd filled the city council chambers to speak against the proposed projects.

In many respects, the ubiquitous opposition to data centers is a reflection of the sheer pervasiveness and magnitude of these projects, targeting nearly every county in states like Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Arizona and numerous places in the majority of other states.

According to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the grid operator in most of the Midwest, by 2030, the proposed hyperscale data centers in Indiana will use an amount of electricity equivalent to twice that used by the entire state.

None of this makes any sense nor is it sustainable, especially for a product that increasingly fails to produce a degree of profit that could come close to paying for all the capital expenditure and power.

This is why red-state RINOs like those in drought-stricken Texas continue to shower these companies with lavish sales tax breaks.

RELATED: Data centers are a hidden tax on your burger

lchumpitaz/Getty Images

We don’t offer 30-year abatements like this to any other industry, but this is what data centers require to remain solvent because their hardware depreciates so quickly. According to the state comptroller, Lone Star voters will subsidize $3.2 billion in tax breaks to the largest companies on the planet over the next two years.

Four of the largest states targeted for data centers — Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia — are languishing through a severe and sustained drought.

Industry apologists are trying to gaslight people into believing that their closed-loop systems will somehow not affect the water flow, but it’s inconceivable that it won’t have a short-term effect and also pose health concerns when recycled back into the water table.

An application from Amazon to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management indicates that the sanitary system it is constructing for two of its hyperscales in New Carlisle is designed to use more than 1.6 million gallons per day on hot summer days.

This is “only” the equivalent water use of about 5,000 households, which pales in comparison to some other facilities and to the magnitude of the power use. Keep in mind that the entire population of this town is just under 1,900.

There’s a reason why 65% of voters oppose all data center construction, including a clear majority of all demographics, ideological groups, and income levels, despite all of the lobbying and electioneering by Big Tech.

The public is being asked to shoulder a burden to facilitate a supposed technology whose benefits are very unclear and dubious.

Republicans can continue ignoring this grassroots revolt, but they will do so at their own peril. Nothing motivates voters more than the preservation of their own communities. That is one thing that still unites a divided America.

'I can’t breathe': 'Trans' attorney caught throwing tantrum in wild courtroom video



An Oklahoma City attorney, who identifies as “transgender,” was arrested for contempt of court during an early February hearing after repeatedly interrupting the judge and resisting arrest, according to a video circulating on social media.

A clip of the video shared on X showed Hopkins Law and Associates attorney Rob Hopkins, a female who claims to identify as a man, shouting at the judge overseeing the hearing and another attorney involved in the case before being arrested by multiple officers.

'Wanted to be a "tough guy" and then started screaming for a female officer when officers treated him like a guy.'

Despite the judge instructing Hopkins to stop, the attorney continued to interrupt her.

“You interrupt me one more time, you are being held in direct contempt of court,” the judge remarked. “And you can wipe that smirk off your face.”

After the judge again accused Hopkins of interrupting her, the lawyer appeared to toss a phone on the ground in frustration.

When the judge scolded Hopkins for throwing the phone, the attorney responded, “I did not throw. It fell off the bench. Please stop stating things that are not true, ma'am.”

RELATED: NHL team to have 'Cowgays' sing national anthem on LGBTQ+ night — and the backlash is brutal

Spencer Weiner-Pool/Getty Images

The judge instructed Hopkins to “settle down,” claiming the lawyer was “red in the face.”

Hopkins blamed the judge’s alleged targeting on the idea that it was “maybe because I’m a transgender attorney practicing all over the state.”

Hopkins began shouting at another attorney, claiming he was lying about the client Hopkins was representing in the case.

“Get out of my face, sir,” Hopkins yelled several times at the other attorney.

The chaos reached a fever pitch when two officers approached Hopkins and attempted to initiate the lawyer’s arrest for contempt of court. However, Hopkins resisted.

“Stop resisting,” one officer instructed.

“I’m not resisting,” Hopkins claimed, while refusing to be handcuffed by the officers.

After several failed attempts to put handcuffs on Hopkins, the officers began to wrestle the attorney to the ground before the incident devolved into a chaotic struggle.

“I can’t breathe,” Hopkins yelled multiple times. “Help! Somebody call 911.”

Two more officers entered the courtroom to assist in Hopkins’ arrest.

“Get a female officer, now!” Hopkins demanded.

RELATED: Olympic Committee adopts new policy on 'trans' athletes

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Online commentators criticized Hopkins for demanding to be identified as male and then requesting a female police officer during the arrest.

“Totally unprofessional,” Collin Rugg wrote. “Wanted to be a ‘tough guy’ and then started screaming for a female officer when officers treated him like a guy.”

“How shallow the delusion is even for them. Their identity is constantly evolving depending on the victimhood quotient in any given moment,” one individual stated.

Hopkins shared a video on Facebook after the incident, announcing that Hopkins Law and Associates would be closed.

“We are closing our doors, but we would like to thank you all for your kindness, support, and most of all loyalty for the last 13 years! If your matter remains open no worries we will be wrapping it up with a nice bow before then! And if for any reason it remains outstanding we will get it to the end zone!” the firm wrote in a separate post.

Hopkins Law and Associates did not respond to a request for comment.

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Heartless: Male accused of stealing from paraplegic's apartment — and right in front of defenseless victim



A paraplegic man in Oklahoma City said he's been robbed twice in the space of a month and fears for his safety, KWTV-DT reported.

Alan Prudhome noted to the station he believes those who stole from him did so believing that his disability makes him an easy target.

'I wake up to somebody trying to take my bag off me that I keep everything in.'

"Someone had pried the door open, went in and stole my TVs, my laptop, my computer," Prudhome told KWTV regarding what went down at this apartment. "Took a bunch of random things."

Also stolen were cash and medicine — and even Prudhome's wheelchair, as well as hand controls he used to help him drive it, the station said.

Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Prudhome filed a police report believing it was a one-time incident, KWTV reported — but just a week later, an even worse incident occurred.

"I wake up to somebody trying to take my bag off me that I keep everything in," Prudhome recalled to the station. "I was like, 'What are you doing?'"

Prudhome told KWTV a second individual later identified as Johnny Johnson walked out of his closet with a box of his belongings.

"I said, 'Why are you [doing] this to me?'" Prudhome noted to the station. "He said, 'It happened to me,' and I said, 'You're not paraplegic; you can do for yourself.'"

After Prudhome called police, officers arrested Johnson in the area but never located the second suspect, KWTV reported.

Prudhome told the station the two suspects from the second burglary live in the same apartment complex as him, but he wasn't sure if they were involved in the first break-in.

Johnson was charged with one count of first-degree burglary and remained in custody Tuesday at the Oklahoma County Detention Center, jail records show. His bond is $15,000, and his next court date is Oct. 23, jail records also indicate.

Prudhome set up a GoFundMe to help him make up for his losses, and it's raised just over $11,000 of a $16,000 goal.

Then over the weekend, more good news came his way.

After hearing Prudhome’s story, Stacy Reddig — owner of Wheelchairs for Veterans — told KFOR-TV, “I just cannot believe that somebody would steal this man’s medical equipment, so we jumped all over it."

Redding's organization donated a brand-new manual wheelchair to Prudhome, which will help him get around easier, KFOR reported.

“I can go where I need to go, and I don’t have to worry about not being able to get to appointments,” Prudhome added to KFOR.

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Female with 'anger issues' fires gun amid argument, but bullet pierces wall of uninvolved neighbor — and tragedy strikes



Things were as uneventful as you can imagine for 45-year-old Billy Sorrels late Friday night.

He was sitting in bed in his Oklahoma City residence while a 12-year-old boy sat near him playing video games, police told KOTV-DT.

'The bullet has to go somewhere.'

But at that time, Sorrels' next-door neighbor — 30-year-old Elisha Kirby — fired a round from her gun while she was in the doorway of her home, police told KWTV-DT.

Kirby — who later told cops she had "anger issues" — was arguing with a woman when she fired the round, police told KOTV.

Police said the bullet went through a wall and hit Sorrels, KOTV added.

The child in the bedroom reported that he heard "an explosion," turned around, and saw Sorrels bleeding from his face, the Oklahoman reported.

RELATED: Insane video: Unhinged male beats on bus driver, pulls him from seat while bus is motoring down street — then comes the crash

Image source: Oklahoma City Police Department

“Bullet apparently just narrowly missed the kid,” Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City police told KOTV.

Police were called to Sorrels' residence near Southeast 44th Street and Sunnylane Road to investigate a shooting, KOTV noted, adding that officers found Sorrels collapsed dead on his front porch.

Investigators found a rifle near Sorrels' bed and figured the victim shot himself, KOTV reported.

But Sorrels' family found a bullet hole in the wall and called police to come back, KOTV noted, adding that Knight explained that "investigators were able to piece together where the shot came from."

Kirby in an interview with authorities confessed to shooting the gun that killed the victim, the Oklahoman said, citing the affidavit.

RELATED: Thug allegedly robs woman at gunpoint for pair of shoes. The whole thing ends rather painfully for him.

Oklahoma City. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

What's more, the affidavit states that Kirby admitted to having "anger issues, and she let the anger get the best of her," the paper said, adding that Kirby said she "thought she had fired her gun in an upward direction and did not mean to shoot in the direction of the victim's apartment."

Knight told KOTV, “The bullet has to go somewhere. It went right through a wall, struck the man, ultimately killing him.”

Kirby was arrested early Sunday on a charge of second-degree murder and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center, jail records state.

An official with the Oklahoma County Criminal Court on Wednesday told Blaze News that Kirby likely will be arraigned in a video hearing by Friday.

KOTV, citing police records, reported that it wasn't the first time Kirby has been jailed over firing a gun. The station said in February she was arrested in connection with a shooting in which she injured herself.

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Why Is Trump’s DOJ Hiding An FBI Informant’s Deposition On The Oklahoma Bombing?

An attorney in Utah is working to unearth the truth through his ongoing lawsuit for surveillance footage of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Oklahoma Republicans Are Helping Green Energy Cronies Scam Taxpayers Out Of Billions

Funding 'green energy' companies with tax dollars may pick a few winners, but taxpayers lose, as with startup Canoo in Oklahoma.

Insane video: Unhinged male beats on bus driver, pulls him from seat while bus is motoring down street — then comes the crash



Surveillance video caught the terrifying moments when a passenger began physically attacking a bus driver — and pulling the driver from his seat — while the bus was still motoring down a busy street Saturday in Oklahoma City.

The scary scene culminated with the bus crashing into a building.

What are the details?

Oklahoma City’s Public Transportation Department released the video Wednesday showing the attack on one of its EMBARK bus drivers, KFOR-TV reported.

“The suspect asked to be let off at the intersection of Britton and Western," Oklahoma City Police Lt. Jeff Cooper told the station. "The bus driver told him he couldn’t do that."

The bus driver, following city policy, reportedly told the passenger he could let him off at the next designated stop, KFOR noted.

With that, video shows the passenger suddenly throwing punches at the driver:

Image source: X video screenshot via @tcblume

The passenger soon pulls the driver out of his seat and into the aisle — and the bus is still moving:

Image source: X video screenshot via @tcblume

As you no doubt are guessing, the bus without a driver behind the wheel is not long for its lane — and it soon veers off the road.

Video shows the bus finally crashing into a business, KFOR said.

Image source: X video screenshot via @tcblume

Here's the clip:

OKCPD arrest an Embark passenger for attacking a bus driver this past weekend, sending the bus into a building at Britton & Western. The passenger demanded to get off the bus at a railroad track, against regulations. What happened to the other passengers at 4:30/6pm @kfor pic.twitter.com/TRNazMI0rb
— Tara Blume (@tcblume) April 24, 2024

The bus driver's seat belt stayed on throughout the attack, and the station said it saved the driver from being thrown through the windshield.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What happened next?

Police identified 23-year-old Tihron Harrison as the passenger who attacked the bus driver, and police said Harrison ran from the scene, KFOR said. But cops soon caught up to Harrison, took him to a hospital to get evaluated, and arrested him, the station said.

23-year-old Tihron Harrison: "ran from the scene but was later caught by police, taken to the hospital to get checked out, then arrested." pic.twitter.com/5ljGTOCi58
— Stridewalker (@Stridewalker1) April 25, 2024

“Obviously [the driver] had some bumps and bruises," Jason Ferbrache, director of the city's Public Transportation and Parking Department, told KFOR. "We got him to medical facilities right after, and he’s off work now but doing well."

Ferbrache added to the station that the bus driver did everything he could to follow the city’s policies while keeping people on board safe.

“When you run into a situation like that, no matter how much training you have, it’s very difficult to prepare for somebody really assaulting you while you’re operating a vehicle in motion,” Ferbrache noted to KFOR.

Video shows moment Embark bus slams into OKC business after driver was attackedyoutu.be

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Oklahoma will become the latest state to criminalize illegal immigration — if Gov. Stitt gets on board



The Biden administration has proven unwilling or at the very least unable to prevent millions of illegal aliens from stealing into the United States. Facing the fallout of the federal government's failure to effectively enforce immigration law and secure America's borders, Republican lawmakers across the country have begun empowering their respective states to pick up the slack.

Oklahoma is poised to become the latest state to criminalize illegal immigration, assuming Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) does not ultimately side with Democrats and future waves of illegal aliens on the issue.

The bill

The state House passed House Bill 4156 last week in a 77-20 vote along party lines. The state Senate followed suit on Tuesday, approving the bill in a 39-8 vote. The bill is now headed to Gov. Stitt's desk for ratification.

HB 4156 would have the Sooner State recognize that a person "commits an impermissible occupation if the person is an alien and willfully and without permission enters and remains in the State of Oklahoma without having first obtained legal authorization to enter the United States."

An illegal alien convicted of committing an "impermissible occupation" is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding one year and/or by a fine not exceeding $500. Additionally, an illegal alien convicted under the new law would be required to leave the state within 72 hours of his conviction or release from custody.

For repeat offenses, illegal aliens will be charged with felonies punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a heftier fine. Again, upon conviction or release — whichever comes first — unlawfully imported convicts will be sent packing.

The legislation stresses that the presence of illegal aliens inside Oklahoma "is a matter of statewide concern," and as such, all local governments are to be barred from adopting sanctuary policies that conflict with HB 4156.

Gov. Stitt told Public Radio Tulsa last week, "President Biden is not using the tools in his belt to secure the southern border. So, yes, states are stepping up to say we're going to make it very difficult to come here illegally, not follow our rules."

“I'm not going to make a decision right now whether I'll sign it or not,” Stitt said, days ahead of the state Senate's successful vote on HB 4156. "There's too many variables on what's in the bill. Our team, we'll look at it, and we'll review that."

The framing

Republican state Sen. Tom Woods said in a statement, "I am proud to have taken this vote that will better protect Oklahomans and crack down on illegal immigration in our state."

"The failed border policies by the federal government have made it necessary for states to take the law into their own hands and craft policies to ensure we know who is coming here and eliminate criminal organizations," continued Woods. "The influx of illegal immigration has created a dire situation, and we are seeing an increased amount of illegal marijuana grows, drugs, and organized criminal activity that needs to be eradicated. This bill will give law enforcement the tools necessary to deport criminals."

State Sen. Jessica Garvin (R), the first Hispanic woman elected to serve in the Oklahoma legislature, defended the bill, stressing it was incumbent upon those who seek to migrate to the United States to do so legally.

"My grandparents legally immigrated to the United States from Mexico and went through the naturalization process to become citizens," Garvin said in a statement. "Their journey is emblematic of the appropriate pathway to citizenship, and the majority of legal immigrants want others to come here through the proper channels as well."

Democratic state Sen. Michael Brooks of Oklahoma City blasted the bill, suggesting it would have been better to alternatively give state IDs or driver's licenses to migrants "who comply with specific requirements, including paying state and federal income tax."

Echoing the recent suggestion by Denver's Democratic Mayor Mike Johnson, who suggested that illegal aliens serve to provide businesses with an exploitable workforce, Brooks stressed, "Immigrants make up seven percent of Oklahoma's labor force, most often in hard-to-fill jobs in hospitality, agriculture, and construction. ... Oklahoma has 33,000 undocumented immigrants who pay about $26 million annually in state income tax. We're already facing workforce shortages. How will we fill those jobs or make up that $26 million?"

Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R) underscored that the "Oklahoma legislature is taking the necessary action to protect our citizens. Doing nothing is unconscionable and this legislation is the appropriate measure to keep Oklahomans safe and uphold the rule of law."

The pattern

Whereas Democrat-run states and cities have in years past adopted sanctuary laws and policies at odds with federal immigration law, a growing number of Republican-run states are embracing laws and policies in the spirit of federal law.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ratified Senate Bill 4 in December, making illegal entry into the Lone Star State a class B misdemeanor and enabling state officials to deport illegal aliens. The law would have gone into full effect last month were it not for the meddling of the Biden Department of Justice, presently tying up the legislation in the court system.

"Four years ago, the United States had the fewest illegal border crossings in decades," Abbott said in a statement. "It was because of four policies put in place by the Trump administration that led to such a low number of illegal crossings."

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) ratified a bill on April 10 enabling state police to arrest and deport certain illegal aliens. Reynolds reiterated, "The Biden administration has failed to enforce our nation’s immigration laws, putting the protection and safety of Iowans at risk."

Republican legislators in the Louisiana Senate passed Senate Bill 388 earlier this month. If passed by the state House and ratified, then illegal aliens caught by local authorities could face up to one year in prison and $4,000 in fines.

State Sen. Valarie Hodges (R) noted on X, "It is imperative that, WE, as a State, protect our citizens in this time of invasion from the crime, drugs, and human trafficking that come with an open border."

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