Teacher Claims Conflict Of Interest In Suit Against FCPS’s Alleged Retaliation
After Perez alleged a school staff member enabled a minor’s abortion, she says she faced multiple incidents of retaliation.After Perez alleged a school staff member enabled a minor’s abortion, she says she faced multiple incidents of retaliation.The Democrats’ convenient case of political amnesia
Joe Scarborough just rediscovered the Constitution.
On MSNBC, the “Morning Joe” co-host warned last week of the grave dangers of Donald Trump using government power against political enemies. Nodding journalists agreed. Scarborough cautioned that Trump and his team would face a “wicked cycle” of retaliation and retribution after leaving office if they pursued politically motivated prosecutions.
One problem: Democrats already did exactly that.
After years of weaponizing the law against Trump and his staff, the left now pleads for “restraint.” With Letitia James, James Comey, and John Bolton all facing charges, the same people who cheered every politically driven indictment now claim to fear the abuse of justice. They are suffering from sudden, selective, highly political amnesia.
Faced with the blowback they earned, Democrats are pleading for a truce they don’t intend to honor.
The classic argument against weaponizing state power goes like this: Don’t use the system against your opponents, because one day your opponents will use it against you. It’s a reasonable principle — assuming both sides still share the same rules. But once one side has crossed the line, the warning loses its force. You can’t tell your enemy not to fight back while you’re still swinging.
For decades, liberals held conservatives in check by preaching against escalation. Republicans, as the self-styled party of small government, were inclined to agree. They saw the use of political power itself as dangerous, so the threat of mutual destruction kept them compliant. But that restraint vanished the moment Democrats arrested protesters, jailed administration officials, and prosecuted a president they impeached not once but twice.
Warnings against escalation work only while both sides respect the boundary. Once the first blow lands, the only way to restore order is to make the aggressor regret crossing the line. Like a street fight, it’s not easy to stop mid-swing. The longer it continues, the less likely anyone is to walk away peacefully.
Democrats justified their abuse of power with the same excuse they use for everything: Trump is different. He’s a “unique threat,” a proto-dictator, the embodiment of every dark impulse in Middle America. The system, they insisted, had to “make an example” of him to save democracy. Somewhere deep down, they knew they were opening Pandora’s box. They just didn’t think they’d ever have to live with the consequences.
Now they’re living with them.
Progressives can sense the danger but won’t admit it. Having normalized political prosecutions, they’re trying to erase the record. They pretend the last eight years never happened — that Trump wasn’t convicted on a stack of bogus charges, that administration officials weren’t arrested, that meme-makers and protesters weren’t jailed.
“Be careful about jailing your political opponents — they might jail you.”
That warning rings hollow when your political friends and allies have already gone to prison.
Democrats’ gamble seemed safe because they assumed Republicans would never retaliate. They counted on the party’s traditional cowardice. And for years, they were right. The GOP has rarely shown the will to wield power even when it wins elections.
But Donald Trump is not a typical Republican. He doesn’t forgive, he doesn’t forget, and he really doesn’t like to lose. If you give him the chance to settle the score, he will.
Even now, as the political pendulum swings against them, Democrats have learned nothing. They insist that every prosecution of Trump was legitimate and every case against their own is tyranny. Their warnings about “political retribution” sound empty because they are. The reckoning they unleashed was inevitable.
RELATED: From lawfare to ‘barfare’: Another way to target Trump allies
They disturbed the equilibrium. Now the balance returns.
Deprived of moral credibility and electoral power, the left is turning to the only weapon it has left — violence. Having lost the White House, progressives no longer believe in the system they once claimed to defend. They spent years calling Trump “Hitler,” his voters “Nazis,” and his administration “fascist.” When you’ve already declared your opponents subhuman, how do you climb down from that?
You don’t. You take to the streets.
The rhetoric has reached its natural conclusion. If Trump is Hitler and the country re-elected Hitler, then democracy itself is illegitimate. By that logic, terrorism isn’t a crime — it’s justice. And that’s exactly where the left is headed.
The party that claimed to fear tyranny created the conditions for it. The people who warned of political persecution perfected the art. Now, faced with the blowback they earned, Democrats are pleading for a truce they don’t intend to honor.
They wanted a world without restraint. They got it.
The real spyware threat could be in your pocket
U.S. intelligence agencies are on high alert after CNN reported that Iran is actively preparing cyberattacks aimed at critical government and military infrastructure. But the real threat may already be inside the wire — not from foreign hackers at a keyboard, but from mobile phones unknowingly or deliberately carried into the nation’s most sensitive facilities.
The devices we carry every day are now among our greatest national security vulnerabilities.
In 2025, secrets aren’t stolen with a crowbar. They’re stolen with an app.
Despite years of post-9/11 investments in hardened infrastructure, the federal government has been remiss in investing in a sensor network to keep pace with the risks of wireless technology now embedded in daily life.
When the first iPhone was introduced in 2007, it ushered in a new era of hyper-connected mobility. Since then, innovation has continued to explode, bringing countless benefits but also exposing serious vulnerabilities.
Our most secure government facilities are wide open to wireless threats.
Today, up to 90% of secure government facilities rely on little more than the honor system and self-reporting to keep unauthorized wireless devices — mobile phones, smartwatches, rogue transmitters — out of sensitive compartmented information facilities, special access program facilities, and other high-security zones. In an era of Pegasus spyware and remote malware, this should be viewed as a national security malpractice.
Portable security risks
The modern smartphone is a traitor’s dream — portable, powerful, and everywhere. It records audio and video, it transmits data instantaneously via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks, and it connects to everything — from commercial clouds to encrypted chat apps. And yet these devices are routinely brought into facilities housing classified intelligence data, most often undetected and without consequence.
Take the case of Asif W. Rahman, a former CIA analyst who held a top-secret security clearance and was recently sentenced to three years in federal prison for photographing classified information and transmitting it to unauthorized recipients, who then posted the material to social media. Snapping and sharing photos of classified government documents using a smartphone is stunningly simple, with no high-tech espionage or daring break-ins required.
Every week offers new examples like this. People inside the Department of Defense and State Department have been caught photographing screens, copying documents, and walking classified data right out the door. These are crimes of opportunity, enabled by lax enforcement and outdated security measures.
If a wireless intrusion detection system were in place, the device would have triggered an alert and stopped these breaches before they became major national security failures.
Exploiting our weaknesses
Now, with Iran probing for cyber vulnerabilities, the risk of insiders being exploited or coerced into facilitating digital breaches through personal devices has never been higher. And it can happen without a trace if the right wireless defenses aren’t in place.
In 2023, the secretary of defense issued a memo directing all Defense Department offices to install wireless intrusion detection systems to monitor unauthorized devices. The technology works. It detects any device that emits a wireless signal — such as phones, smartwatches, or even printers with Wi-Fi — inside a restricted area. Yet the directive remains largely unfunded and unenforced.
RELATED: After the bombs, Iran sharpens its digital daggers
Near-peer adversaries, terrorist groups, and criminal syndicates are exploiting wireless threats to their advantage. They don’t need sophisticated tradecraft and specialized technologies. They simply need to compromise and leverage someone with access and a phone. And with thousands of secure facilities across the country, that opportunity presents itself every day.
In light of the latest intelligence warnings, we need to fund wireless intrusion detection across all SCIFs and SAPFs and educate agency leaders on the vulnerabilities posed by modern smartphones.
We need to hold bad actors accountable — not retroactively or as part of a congressional committee hearing, but by making sure they never have the opportunity to compromise the integrity of national security in the first place.
Protecting digital secrets
The U.S. government has spent billions building concrete walls, locking doors, and implementing network-specific defenses to protect its secrets. But in 2025, secrets aren’t stolen with a crowbar; they’re stolen with an app.
Until we treat the wireless threat with the same seriousness, those secrets will remain just one text message or compromised phone away from unauthorized disclosure of highly classified information.
You can’t protect your most sensitive state secrets if you are blind to the threat. Without action, these vulnerabilities will only grow more dangerous — and more missions and lives may be put at risk.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.
Only Trump had the guts to do what every president has promised
The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.
Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.
We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.
It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.
Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.
The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.
The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.
Operation Midnight Hammer
The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.
RELATED: Iran fires missiles at US troops on bases in Qatar and Iraq
To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.
As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.
They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.
If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.
This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.
What comes next
We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.
Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.
That would be catastrophic.
The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.
The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?
Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.
Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.
Now we pray
We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.
The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.
He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.
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'Eye for an eye': Support soars for father charged with murdering deputy just 1 day after different cop shot his son dead
As the murder case proceeds against Rodney Hinton Jr., the Ohio father accused of murdering a recently retired sheriff's deputy on May 2 — just one day after Hinton Jr.'s son was fatally shot by police — a disturbing undercurrent is gaining momentum.
Not unlike the support that's poured in for teenager Karmelo Anthony — charged with murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf in Frisco, Texas, last month — some supporters of Hinton Jr. are calling him a "hero" and a "saint" and even "Father of The Year."
'He is holding his head high in the courtroom while surrounded by cops because he feels good about what he did. He defended his son in the only way he knew how.'
Authorities said Hinton Jr. was at the Cincinnati police station May 2 to view police bodycam video showing the fatal police shooting of his son, Ryan Hinton, which took place the day before. A detective testified that Hinton Jr. was emotional after viewing the video and later on May 2 drove his car into retired Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Henderson, who was helping direct traffic near a University of Cincinnati graduation.
Henderson died as a result of his injuries, and authorities charged Hinton Jr. with murder, contending his alleged act was in retaliation for the police-involved shooting death of his son. Hinton Jr., who remains in jail, has pleaded not guilty — and his attorney said it will be by reason of insanity. Hinton Jr.'s trial will proceed later this year or in early 2026, and the prosecution will seek the death penalty.
Yet, despite what Hinton Jr. is accused of, he has gained quite a few fans.
In an X post that's been viewed four million times, the user wrote, "Eye for an eye" above a video showing Hinton Jr. walking out of a courtroom with his head tilted back and his chin jutting forward. "A father’s revenge. Keep ya head up!"
Another X post — which uses a similar video showing supporters of Hinton Jr. waving to him in court and the defendant reacting with a look of defiant satisfaction — declares that, "No matter what happens to Rodney Hinton Jr. he immortalized forever!!" The post has been viewed more than 350,000 times.
Other notable reactions:
- "Rodney Hinton Jr. did his duty," another X user said.
- "Rodney Hinton is a hero," another X user said. "This is exactly the energy we should have for these state sanctioned killers when they come after one of our own."
- "All I’m saying is this. If a cop killed my son ... I’m airing out the precinct," another X user said. "Rodney Hinton Jr. is a saint and a hero."
- "Rodney Hinton’s actions ... make complete sense as the reaction of a parent witnessing state violence dolled [sic] out by actors who will never be held responsible," another X user said. "I’d go so far as to say he’s totally justified."
But all of the aforementioned cheering for Hinton Jr. are relative blips on the radar compared to the opinions below supporting him. Check them out for yourself:
Longtime cultural critic and writer Touré says Hinton Jr. 'got an eye for an eye' — and 'as a Black father, I respect him'
Longtime cultural critic and writer Touré penned the following on Instagram about Hinton Jr.: "So many times Black folks have lost our children to cops and imagined some way of getting back at police. I’ve envisioned cathartic violence in my mind’s eye as a response to a police killing, but I could never do it. But Hinton did. He got an eye for an eye. He is holding his head high in the courtroom while surrounded by cops because he feels good about what he did. He defended his son in the only way he knew how. I’m not saying whether he was right or wrong; I’m saying he did what millions of us have thought of doing after another police murder of a Black teenager. I could never do what he did, but as a Black father, I respect him."
Touré also posted a separate video in which he dramatically declares that Hinton Jr. "is a lot like" Luigi Mangione:
They both committed political assassinations. They both un-alived specific people as a way of protesting a system. They both committed violent homicides yet received wild outpourings of respect. They both made powerful statements about America by protesting a system that they feel was oppressing them. They both felt destroyed and despondent after an American system betrayed them. They both lost the will to live and discover the power that you have and the things that you can do when you no longer care about your own life. They both inspire people to say, "I hear his message. I respect his feelings. I respect his pain." These are both revenge on the system ... where they have selected a specific individual to stand in for the entirety of the system. And you would expect the average person to say, "Wow! Violence is wrong!" But in both these situations people are saying, "I understand why he was violent." Don't hyper-focus on people who have committed violent crimes here; focus on the systems that have pushed them to feel like, "We are so oppressed by you that we need to do something violent to get your attention."
TikTok user posts jarring short video about the killing of deputy Henderson: 'RIP to that officer. But to everyone saying that he's innocent? He fit the description.'
A TikTok user posted a short, stop-you-in-your-tracks video that's garnered nearly 240,000 views in which he opines about the violent death of deputy Henderson: "And I'mma say this in the most respectful — but I'mma be honest — way that I can. RIP to that officer. But to everyone saying that he's innocent? He fit the description."
The TikTok user offered a written caption for his video, saying that "I mean this with all respect: rest in peace to that officer, prayers to his family, but I’m giving them every line they give us." Presumably, the video creator means that police say the same thing about black people they arrest — that they "fit the description."
The clip attracted more than 1,300 comments — and while some questioned the TikTok user's take, others couldn't have agreed more with him. "Guilty by association. That's what they say about us," one commenter wrote back. Another responded by saying, "I honestly think this is genius. If cops get treated how they treat people, there is gonna be a lot of change!!!"
'Black folks are getting on alert, like, ''Hey man ... I got to defend myself by all means ... defend my family by all means [and] crash out for my family by all means,"' activist warns
Readers of Blaze News might recognize activist Tariq Nasheed, as he authored several viral X posts last month supporting murder suspect Karmelo Anthony. In one of them, Nasheed said, "If Kyle Rittenhouse was justified in using lethal self-defense... And Daniel Penny was justified in using lethal self-defense.... Then Karmelo Anthony was justified in using self-defense against alleged bullies who instigated an altercation, correct?"
More recently, Nasheed weighed in on the Hinton Jr. controversy for the 256,000 subscribers to his Tariq Radio program on YouTube. He explained during a recent episode — "Did This Father Take Justice in His Own Hands?" — what he believes is the reason behind Hinton Jr.'s alleged actions:
People are tired of racial injustice, and people are just ... crashing out, like, "We're just going to fight back," which is inevitable. There's only so far you can push people. There's only so far you can just ... keep creating a system of non-justice. That's why we keep seeing these cases where black folks are fighting back — Karmelo Anthony — just so many other cases. Black folks are fighting back, and these white supremacists are getting more degenerate, just like the white woman who was ... cursing out that special-needs black kid and all of these other white supremacists supporting her. So black folks are getting on alert, like, "Hey, man ... I got to defend myself by all means and defend my family by all means, or I have to crash out for my family by all means." So that's ... the paradigm shift that white supremacy has pushed people into, unfortunately. So what the ... white supremacists are trying to do with this case in Cincinnati, where this brother immediately got his lick back after his son got offed by a suspected race soldier. [Police] don't want that to become contagious, so they got to start getting into psychological warfare through optics. That's why [police were] surrounding this guy [in court] and being intimidating. That's for black people nationwide watching to say, ... "Hey, don't try to play with us. We're going to come down on you hard." But ... people ain't really afraid of that, you know? So the thing is, it's a symbolic message of collective punishment, them doing all of that surrounding the suspect and being intimidating. That reinforces that if one black person retaliates, the full weight of white-dominant law enforcement institutions will respond collectively and aggressively — not on the individual, not just on him, but ... on the whole group.
'What Rodney Hinton did? That's gonna make the next cop think,' angry TikTok user says in viral video
An angry TikTok user noted in a viral video with over 440,000 views that "what Rodney Hinton did? That's gonna make the next cop think." He also appears to argue that rules imposed upon police officers aren't going to stop them from killing black people — but violence against police in the "streets" may get the attention of law enforcement.
The user's video attracted more than 4,400 comments — and the majority of them agree with the video creator's sentiments. One commenter wrote, "It ends right now. No more turning the cheek." Another wrote that "what [Hinton Jr.] did was right, so now [police] all should fear and hold their partners accountable."
Viral video creator backs Hinton Jr. — and tells law enforcement: 'You took his son. He took one of yours.'
A TikTok user created a video that's gone viral (360,000 views) in which he backs Hinton Jr. and tells law enforcement, "You took his son. He took one of yours."
The video creator adds that there is such a thing as a "justifiable crash out. This is one of those things. And an unfortunate reality is, in a case like this, look, they're not gonna tell you the name of the person who actually did it, right? You're not gonna be able to get your hands on that person. So you know what's gonna happen now? In order for you to even live with yourself, you gotta get somebody."
His video attracted over 2,500 comments: One replied, "Let them quake in their boots, wondering who’s next like we have to do." Another answered, "Revenge is one of my favorite things. I stand with Rodney Hinton."
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Exclusive: Unreleased DOJ report indicates top Biden FBI official retaliated against underlings who testified against her
The Oversight Project recently obtained an unreleased report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General that appears to indicate that a top official in the Biden FBI retaliated against her underlings in response to their cooperation with an earlier OIG investigation that found misconduct revolving around her workplace affair.
Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News, "The report we obtained is yet another example of the disaster that was the senior leadership at Christopher Wray's FBI."
"The current FBI owes us significant documents about some pretty well sourced misconduct by [Deputy Director Paul] Abbate," continued Howell. "New leadership at the FBI doesn't absolve the bureau from needing to come to terms with some of its worst excesses."
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz issued a report in July 2021 indicating that a former senior FBI official — who current and former law enforcement officials confirmed to the Washington Post was then-Assistant Director of the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs Jill Tyson — "engaged in a romantic relationship with a subordinate and failed to timely report the relationship, in violation of FBI policy."
The report, which did not name Tyson outright, noted that the FBI official not only participated in a hiring decision involving the romantically involved subordinate but "allowed the relationship to negatively affect an appropriate and professional superior-subordinate relationship and to disrupt the workplace by interfering with the ability of other FBI employees to complete their work."
The OIG's partially redacted October 2023 report, which the Oversight Project shared with Blaze News, claims that a senior female FBI employee — whom context and framing indicates was Tyson — tried to figure out which bureau staffers were being interviewed during the first investigation, then tried to "dig into [their testimony] a little bit."
The senior official was upset with those who "betrayed" her, keen on "playing the long game," and ready to get "back" at least one employee "eventually," said the report.
The report also claimed that the top FBI official told one employee who cooperated with the OIG during its previous investigation that she would "never get another job" at the bureau.
Six of seven witnesses interviewed by the OIG reportedly testified that the top female FBI official spoke about the previous OIG investigation "in ways that made them feel uncomfortable or that they felt were inappropriate."
During the first investigation, the senior female FBI official told an underling that she was "going to sue everyone who had provided negative information about her to the OIG," according to the report.
She made statements about 'getting back at one individual for their OIG testimony.'
The OIG also received an anonymous complaint indicating that the top FBI official, who apparently refused to sit for an interview with the OIG's office, "'regularly' boasted that the FBI Deputy Director [Paul Abbate] had told [redacted] 'to keep her head down and the FBI would take care of her.'"
The OIG report concluded that the top FBI official violated bureau policy on non-retaliation for reporting compliance risks when she made statements about "getting back at one individual for their OIG testimony and about suing [redacted] employees who she believed has provided negative information about her in the earlier OIG investigation."
The OIG also concluded that Tyson engaged in unprofessional conduct by "making those statements and by speaking to [redacted] employees about their testimony in the earlier OIG investigation in ways that made them feel uncomfortable, making [redacted] employees aware of her access to documents related to the earlier investigation, and asking a [redacted] member to print and deliver to [redacted] a copy of a document describing [redacted] in connection with the OIG's finding of misconduct in the earlier investigation."
Blaze News reached out to Tyson and the DOJ for comment but did not receive responses by deadline.
The FBI declined to comment.
Around the time the OIG released its 2021 report concerning Tyson's apparent violation of FBI policies in her handling of a romantic relationship with a subordinate, the Washington Post reported that she had a "close working relationship with [then-]FBI Director Christopher A. Wray."
The Post noted further that "Tyson plays a key role inside the FBI, managing its interactions and information-sharing with lawmakers. As part of that job, she prepares Wray for congressional testimony; current and former law enforcement officials said Wray likes and trusts her."
Tyson — who also served as an at-large member of the FBI's Diversity Executive Council — now works as practice lead of crisis communications at Google's Mandiant Consulting, as well as CEO of Tyson Global Advisors.
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7 gang members arrested in connection with fatal shooting of 2 13-year-old boys — one of whom was celebrating his birthday
Atlanta police on Wednesday said they arrested seven gang members in connection with last summer's fatal shooting of two 13-year-old boys — one of whom was celebrating his birthday at the time.
The arrestees are members of the violent Goodfellas gang, WAGA-TV reported.
'The overall theme in this case is grown men playing gangster.'
The suspects were identified as Ali Caldwell, Dekeitheon Mobley, Markus Crawford, Tradon Crawford, Quiyontay Sanders, Reginald Thomas, and Richard Hollis, the station said, adding that Markus Crawford and Tradon Crawford are brothers.
The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. July 2, 2024, in the 1000 block of Sparks Street SW, police said. Officers found three juvenile males with gunshot wounds, police said, adding that emergency medical services pronounced one dead at the scene while another later died at a hospital, and a third was listed in stable condition at a hospital.
Ja'Kody Davis and Lamon Freeman were identified as the youths who were fatally shot; 11-year-old Dontavious Davis was wounded, WAGA said.
The three boys were gathered to celebrate Freeman's birthday at the time of the shooting, the station said.
"The overall theme in this case is grown men playing gangster," Atlanta Police Homicide Commander Ralph Woolfolk said, according to WAGA. "Lamon Freeman was allowed to be a 13-year-old for 27 minutes before gang violence ultimately took his life."
Police said the attack was in retaliation over an Atlanta-based rapper entering a rival gang’s territory to film a music video, the station reported, adding that authorities said a high-ranking member of the Goodfellas gang actually orchestrated the attacks while behind bars at Hays State Prison.
Following instructions, the suspects opened fire on an apartment complex where the boys were shot, WAGA said. The young victims had no connection to the gangs involved in the turf dispute, police added to the station.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Wednesday that the arrested males are "dangerous individuals," who "if allowed to remain free on the streets of Atlanta ... were going to use guns again to harm," the station said.
Police said they know the identity of the rapper in question but didn't reveal the rapper's name during the press conference or the name of the other gang involved in the dispute, the station said. Police did call the rapper's actions "cowardly," WAGA said.
You can view a video report here about the arrests and fatal shootings.
There is still a $50,000 reward for additional information about the case, the station said, adding that those with information can submit tips anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477), online at www.StopCrimeAtl.org, or by texting CSA and the tip to CRIMES (274637). WAGA added that tips also can be submitted directly to the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 404-546-4235.
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4 children alone at home when thugs shoot up house; Mom says it's payback after son, 14, fought at school when he got jumped
Gunmen opened fire at a home in DeKalb County, Georgia, on Tuesday morning — and four children who were alone inside the home were forced to run for cover, WSB-TV reported.
Their mother told the station that the shooting was retaliation after her 14-year-old son got into a fight when he was jumped at school.
'One came close to my sister, but she ducked.'
WSB said the home on Overlook Avenue was hit by bullets dozens of times just before 10 a.m.
The mother told the station it all happened right after she departed her residence with her son: “We left at 9:45. My daughter was calling me at 9:52 screaming in the phone."
WSB said the mother allowed her 11-year-old girl to tell the station how the terrifying incident went down, with bullets piercing windows and walls and all the children running for their lives.
“One came close to my sister, but she ducked,” the 11-year-old girl told WSB, adding that "gunshots" were "going all through all over the house."
The station said bullet holes were seen all over the home, most of which were located in the upper level.
No one was hurt in the shooting, WSB said, adding that a neighbor showed a station reporter doorbell video in which gunmen are heard firing multiple shots into a home.
The reporter asked the mother whether she thought the gunmen wanted to kill her family, the station said, adding that the mom replied, “Of course, they shot 25 times in the house."
WSB said police were on the scene, and evidence markers were visible in the street — and the mother indicated that police told her they have a good idea who fired the shots.
“They got Ring cameras so they gonna get to the bottom of it,” the mother told the station reporter.
The neighbor who showed the WSB reporter doorbell video of the shooting asked him not to air it.
You can view a video report here about the incident.
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Politics or punishment? As her Moms for Liberty mother makes waves on school boardTrump's 'banana republic' conviction won't be Democrats' last — unless there is 'retaliation in kind': UC Berkeley law prof
UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo made clear this week that President Donald Trump's conviction before a Democratic judge in a Democratic enclave on charges brought by a Democratic prosecutor effectively obliterates any remaining pretense that the justice system is a means for resolution and restitution. The courtroom is now instead apparently a vehicle for seeking retribution and political advantage.
With this transformation, Yoo says its high time for "retaliation in kind" by Republican district attorneys.
Ahead of President Donald Trump's conviction, Yoo noted in National Review that it was abundantly clear the hush-money case was built around "farcical charges" and aimed not at delivering justice but at protecting a decrepit Democratic president from facing his top competitor in November.
"The superficiality of the facts and the vagueness of the crimes magnify the harm that Democrats have inflicted on our political norms," wrote the former deputy assistant attorney general. "Make no mistake, Democrats have crossed a constitutional Rubicon."
Yoo issued a note of caution: The "weakness of the case against Trump lowers the bar for prosecuting future presidents below that for prosecuting garden-variety criminals in New York City."
'Republicans will have to bring charges against Democratic officers, even presidents.'
"Regardless of the trial's outcome, its consequences will have a profound effect on the presidency. The weaker the Trump cases are, the more open the invitation is to future prosecutors of presidents of the opposite party," wrote Yoo. "After this Trump trial, any city, county, or state prosecutor might be encouraged to prosecute any federal officer for conjured violations of a state's criminal law or other patently partisan reasons."
To remedy "this breach of constitutional norms," Yoo indicated that Republicans' only recourse is to observe the Golden rule: "Do unto others as they have done unto you. In order to prevent the case against Trump from assuming a permanent place in the American political system, Republicans will have to bring charges against Democratic officers, even presidents."
For instance, a Republican district attorney will have to do the work the Biden Department of Justice appears unwilling or at the very least incapable of doing: Hold Hunter Biden to account for one of his various alleged crimes.
"Another Republican DA will have to investigate Joe Biden for influence-peddling at the behest of a son who received payoffs from abroad," continued Yoo. "Only retaliation in kind can produce the deterrence necessary to enforce a political version of mutual assured destruction; without the threat of prosecution of their own leaders, Democrats will continue to charge future Republican presidents without restraint."
"We must rely on Republicans to threaten an escalation of banana-republic politics in order to prevent actually becoming a banana republic," concluded Yoo.
Early in its critique of Yoo's argument, New York magazine admitted that "the Alvin Bragg prosecution is weak. That's not to say Trump is innocent, but that it's a borderline case that did not need to be charged."
Time will tell whether Republican district attorneys will rise to the challenge. In the meantime, several Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate have indicated that bipartisanship under the current regime is over.
Republican Sens. Michael S. Lee (Utah), J.D. Vance (Ohio), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) issued a statement Friday, noting, "The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways. As a Senate Republican conference, we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart."
"To this end, we will not 1) allow any increase to non-security related funding for this administration, or any appropriations bill which funds partisan lawfare; 2) vote to confirm this administration's political and judicial appointees; and 3) allow expedited consideration and passage of Democrat legislation or authorities that are not directly relevant to the safety of the American people," said the statement.
The original eight invited other senators to join them in taking a stand in the wake of the unprecedented conviction of Biden's political opponent.
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