Former Soros Prosecutor Admits She Used Public Funds To Pay Personal Expenses
'Funds were deposited in her personal bank account'
Cori Bush brutally defeated in Dem primary — responds with unhinged tirade: ‘I’m coming to tear your kingdom down’
On Tuesday evening, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) was brutally defeated in the Democratic primary, losing to Wesley Bell. Bush is now the second member of "the Squad" to lose her House seat, following Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
Bell, who was backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, secured a more than five-point victory over Bush, according to Wednesday afternoon election results from NBC News. At the time, approximately 97% of the votes had been tallied.
'All they did was radicalize me.'
During Bush's concession speech, she tore into Bell, making a remark about an upcoming discrimination lawsuit and noting that she hopes he does his "homework" by talking to St. Louis' Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities.
She stated that taking away her House seat took "some of the strings off."
"See, now I don't have to worry about some strings that I have attached," Bush shouted into the microphone. "All they did was radicalize me, so now [they] need to be afraid."
"AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down," she added, referring to the pro-Israel group. Bush, who has been a vocal supporter of Palestine, blamed AIPAC for her loss. She previously accused Bell of “trying to buy his seat.”
"And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I'm coming after you too. But I'm not coming by myself. I'm coming with all the people that's in here," her defiant rant continued.
In a statement released following his declared victory over Bush, Bell said, "I am deeply honored and humbled by the trust the people of the district have placed in me."
"Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive," he added. "To all St. Louisans, in the City and County — whether you voted for me or not — I look forward to earning your support and your trust and making you proud in the weeks, months, and years ahead."
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Shameless former firefighter stole wallet from victim of car crash that killed 4 people
A Missouri man once entrusted with protecting and serving his community as a firefighter has now effectively admitted that public trust was misplaced after he pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing a wallet from the victim of a deadly car crash.
The circumstances surrounding the crash are both heartbreaking and infuriating.
Around 1:30 in the morning on Feb. 26, 2023, Cedric Dixon, then 34, blew a red light and struck a Chevy Tahoe carrying eight passengers — all of whom were under the age of 21 — in St. Louis. The force of the impact sent the Tahoe over a guardrail before it crashed upside down on the street below.
He had just celebrated his 18th birthday, and his wallet contained $200 worth of gift cards and nearly $700 in cash as well as credit and debit cards.
Four young people — 20-year-old Corntrail McKinley, 19-year-old Anthony Robinson, 19-year-old Richard Boyd, and 18-year-old Bryanna Johnson — died as a result of the crash, and four others were injured.
One of the injured was Seven Robinson-Laney. He suffered broken bones, a concussion, and a back injury. While he awaited transport to a hospital, a first responder who he assumed was a police officer approached him.
The first responder asked for Robinson-Laney's wallet on the pretense of checking for identification. The young man produced his wallet and handed it over. The official returned Robinson-Laney's ID almost immediately but slipped the wallet into his jacket, bodycam video later showed.
About two weeks later, when Robinson-Laney recovered enough to begin thinking clearly, he recalled that he never got his wallet back. He had just celebrated his 18th birthday, and his wallet contained $200 in gift cards and nearly $700 in cash as well as credit and debit cards.
Robinson-Laney reported the incident to police, who later identified the individual who interacted with Robinson-Laney: Arnold Britt, a former wide receiver for the University of Missouri who had spent the last nine years working as a firefighter in St. Louis.
Britt initially claimed he mistook the debit card as his wife's since it had been issued by the same bank. He then used the debit card to make about $120 in purchases. Whether he ever offered an explanation for the missing cash and gift cards is unclear.
The fire department placed Britt on administrative leave, but then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner — one of several district attorneys affiliated with George Soros — declined to prosecute him, so Britt was allowed to return to his duties.
However, since Britt made the debit card purchases in St. Louis County rather than the city, County Prosecutor Christopher King eventually charged him in connection with those transactions.
On Monday, Britt, now 41, pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit/debit device. Britt's sentencing hearing is scheduled for early September.
Though Britt has no prior criminal record, prosecutors reportedly want to deter other public servants from committing similar violations and are pushing for concurrent sentences of five years in prison for the stolen property and one year for the debit card fraud.
The fire department has since issued a statement claiming that Britt is "no longer a member."
Robinson-Laney didn't appear convinced the incident was just an honest mistake: "Everything he did was, like, this is not his first time doing this. It was just, like, this is what he does."
"It's hurtful," he continued. "It wasn't just an accident; it was the deaths of youth. You took from people that could have been dead."
Cedric Dixon, the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash that killed four of Robinson-Laney's friends, also was prosecuted. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter, four counts of second-degree assault, and one count of leaving the scene of a crash. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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Groom shot in head by masked gunman during attempted armed robbery at wedding reception in St. Louis
A new husband is in the hospital fighting for his life after two masked gunmen stormed his wedding reception and shot him in the head.
Last Friday, Manuel and Dulce Gonzalez became husband and wife. They had been together for a decade and have two children together.
'They were saying my brother-in-law was going for his wallet, and maybe they thought he was going for a weapon.'
So that evening, 50 of their closest family and friends gathered in the couple's backyard in Dutchtown, a neighborhood located near the Mississippi River just a few miles south of downtown St. Louis. The group was having such a good time that the party extended well into the night.
Unbeknownst to the hosts and guests, a pair of masked suspects had seemingly been casing the area. Ring camera footage indicates that the males rode by the home on their bikes shortly after midnight on Saturday morning as 32-year-old Manuel Gonzalez walked some of the guests to their cars.
About an hour later, the suspects burst into the couple's backyard. They were armed and demanded everyone there to freeze. One suspect then began rifling through people's pockets and belongings while the other held a gun to Manuel's head.
Suddenly, the suspect holding the gun shot Manuel in the head, and the two fled the scene, having stolen nothing. "They took nothing, yet they took everything from us," said Yaribeth Peña, the bride's sister and the couple's next-door neighbor.
Manuel was raced to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition. His new father-in-law reported that he has made some slight movements with his hands, which have given the family hope.
"He’s fighting for his life. We are hoping he pulls through," Peña said.
Peña characterized her brother-in-law as a hardworking man who loves Dulce and their children. "He’s just an all-around good person that, I don’t know, he didn’t deserve this," she said.
She also offered a possible explanation for the horrific shooting: "They were saying my brother-in-law was going for his wallet, and maybe they thought he was going for a weapon."
A GoFundMe account has been established to help cover "medical bills" and the family's loss of income. For now, Dulce Gonzalez remains "distraught," "depressed," and "heartbroken," Peña said.
So far, police have no suspects, though Peña believes they are both teenagers. She described one as shorter than the other.
An investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. Anyone with information or perhaps further surveillance footage of the suspects is asked to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.
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'It's time for the city to cough up my guns': Mark McCloskey throws down after judge expunges convictions against him, wife
A St. Louis judge this week expunged misdemeanor convictions against Mark McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, after the couple in June 2020 famously stood outside their home with guns while facing a mob of Black Lives Matter protesters.
Now McCloskey wants his firearms back, saying in an interview that "it's time for the city to cough up my guns," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. He added that he'll sue if the city doesn't cooperate, according to the paper.
'We were all alone facing an angry mob.'
McCloskey surrendered the two guns he and his wife possessed that day — a Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol — as part of an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and she pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment, both misdemeanors, the Post-Dispatch said. They originally were charged with felonies.
Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson later pardoned the couple, and McCloskey sued in 2021 to get his guns back, the paper said, adding that judges denied that request and a subsequent appeal.
The McCloskeys in January petitioned to expunge their misdemeanor convictions, the Post-Dispatch said, testifying during a March hearing and arguing that they have been upstanding citizens since their guilty pleas. McCloskey said he has continued to work as a lawyer, fighting for his clients, the paper added.
More from the Post-Dispatch:
Attorneys for the city's public safety department, however, asked protesters to testify about how the McCloskeys' actions affected them. They also quizzed the couple on advertisements for Mark McCloskey's subsequent political campaign that featured footage from the incident.
The city and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore's Office argued that the couple represents a continued threat to public safety and has shown no remorse for the impact of their actions.
But Judge Joseph P. Whyte wrote in an order that the testimony of the protesters showed a threat to public safety on June 28, 2020 — not in the time since.
The purpose of an expungement, he wrote, is to give people who have rehabilitated themselves a second chance. McCloskey's campaign rhetoric is protected by the First Amendment and not evidence of a continued threat, Whyte said.
What's the background?
On Sunday evening, June 28, 2020, the McCloskeys confronted a mob that reportedly had broken through gates in their private community. Mark McCloskey soon afterward said the mob rushed toward their home "and put us in fear of our lives," adding that mob members told the couple that they "would be killed, our home burned, and our dog killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob."
Days later police said they were investigating whether the mob of protesters, which numbered approximately 500, committed fourth-degree assault by intimidation, as well as trespassing. By September, law enforcement officials said they wouldn't prosecute nine Black Lives Matter protesters who were arrested and charged with trespassing.
That was not the case with then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who filed charges against the McCloskeys a month after the incident, stating that the couple waved their guns in a "threatening manner" at "peaceful, unarmed protesters." But Gardner at the time was accused of having a history of politically motivated decisions, and then-state Attorney General Eric Schmitt also called out her "political prosecution" of the McCloskeys and filed for dismissal of the charges. By December a judge dismissed Gardner from the case because the George Soros-backed attorney used it in fundraising emails.
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