Dem Rep Keeps Up Post Calling Alleged Charlie Kirk Assassin ‘MAGA’ After Authorities Said He Was Leftist
'...shift their focus to stopping the toxic violence of the RADICAL RIGHT.'
Suspect reportedly in custody after apparent Charlie Kirk assassination attempt
A suspect is in custody after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot Wednesday at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Deseret News reported.
The outlet said bystanders reported seeing Kirk shot near his neck during a Q&A with students.
Deseret News cited a UVU alert to students that indicated a suspect is in custody. The outlet added that the campus has been evacuated.
"A single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker. Police are investigating now, suspect in custody," the alert reads, according to Deseret.
The following video allegedly shows the suspect:
— (@)
The male who is kneeling on the ground is heard saying that he has "the right to remain silent."
The suspect's name wasn't immediately released, the outlet added.
Blaze News has reached out to campus communications and police in Orem for additional information.
This is a breaking news story; updates will be added.
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Mother of Cincinnati mob attack suspect defends 'honor roll' son, 34, charged with felonious assault, aggravated riot
The mother of a Cincinnati mob attack suspect told WLWT-TV that her 34-year-old son is an "honor roll" student and is "not the thug that they put out in there to be."
The station interviewed Clarissa Merriweather outside of court Wednesday, and she defended her son, Montianez Merriweather, who's charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot in connection with last weekend's street beatdown caught on video.
Montianez Merriweather was 'identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head.'
"It wasn't like they thugs," Clarissa Merriweather told WLWT. "My child is in school, he has five kids, he's on the B honor roll in school."
You can check out her interview with the station in the video below:
RELATED: US senator shares grisly photos of woman's bruised, battered face after Cincinnati mob attack
As it happens, Montianez Merriweather was "identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head," WXIX-TV reported, citing criminal complaints. He was arrested Tuesday.
But Merriweather has been in trouble with the law before.
In fact, Merriweather was indicted July 10 on four felony charges after investigators said he was found in possession of a stolen firearm, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Court records indicate he was charged with carrying concealed weapons, receiving stolen property, improper handling of firearms in a vehicle, and weapons under disability, the paper noted. The weapons under disability charge stems from a 2009 felony conviction for aggravated robbery, the Enquirer added, citing documents.
But after his July 10 indictment, Merriweather was released upon posting 10% of a $4,000 bond, the paper said.
"He never should have been out," Ken Kober, Cincinnati police union president, told the Enquirer.
Merriweather's bond in connection with his mob attack charges was set at $500,000, the Enquirer reported. He remained behind bars Friday afternoon, according to jail records.
What's more, a Cincinnati police detective alleged that Merriweather prior to the mob attack whispered to a "co-defendant" and then started "arguing with the victim," WLWT said in a separate story.
The detective called Merriweather the "catalyst" for what was described as a "coordinated attack," the station said, adding that the detective alleged Merriweather came up behind the victim and hit the victim in the side of the face — "kind of like an ambush."
Police also noted in court that they have video from a camera mounted on a building in the area that allegedly shows Merriweather and co-defendant Jermaine Matthews, 39, chasing the victim before hitting the victim, WLWT reported.
Defense attorneys for Merriweather and Matthews insist they were struck first by the man they are accused of beating, WXIX reported in a separate story.
You can view cellphone videos of the mob attack here, here, here, here, and here.
Dekyra Vernon, 24, also was charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot in connection with the mob attack. She is alleged to have "struck [the] victim in the face with a closed fist prior to the victim becoming unconscious from the attack," WXIX reported, citing criminal complaints. Vernon's bond was set at $200,000, and she remained behind bars Friday afternoon, according to jail records.
All their cases go before a grand jury for indictment on Aug. 8, WXIX said.
Matthews bonded out of jail after more charges were filed against him Thursday, WXIX-TV reported. Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Michael Peck set Matthews' bond at $100,000 during his arraignment Wednesday, the station said, adding that he returned to court Thursday on two new counts of felonious assault and one for misdemeanor assault, and the new bonds increased the total to $270,000. WXIX noted that Matthews must wear an ankle monitor and will be on house arrest.
Matthews apparently is no stranger to law enforcement, either. More from WXIX:
Matthews is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2009 to two counts of cocaine possession and a single count of cocaine trafficking, court records show.
He was sentenced to three years in prison.
During each of his two separate arrests in those cases — in December 2008 and February 2009 — police said Matthews tried to swallow a bag of crack cocaine but spit it out after being shocked with a Taser stun gun.
The FBI on Monday opened an investigation into the mob attack, WXIX reported. Fox News said the incident is under investigation as a potential hate crime.
While three suspects have been arrested, a total of five have been charged — which leaves two other suspects charged in connection with the mob attack still on the loose.
BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock this week blasted Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge for how she's handling the violence:
RELATED: Cincinnati Music Festival brawl exposes the ‘DEMONIC spirit’ of anti-white racism
Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio late Wednesday shared grisly images of a woman's face in an X post after she was beaten up and apparently knocked out cold during the mob attack.
Cincinnati council member Victoria Parks said in a Facebook comment that "they begged for that beat down!"
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Suspect arrested almost 2 months after suburban couple obediently handed over valuables to armed males in front of their home
In April, Blaze News reported about a helpless suburban Chicago couple recorded by Ring camera in front of their own home obediently handing over their valuables — and even their clothing — to three armed robbers who rushed them.
Well, almost two months later, one suspect connected to the incident has been arrested and charged with armed robbery with a firearm, WFLD-TV reported.
'You just kind of become numb to the situation.'
Angelo Hatter — a 26-year-old from Chicago — was being held in custody by the Cook County Sheriff's Department, the station said, adding that police haven't identified the other two individuals involved in the headline-grabbing heist or how they linked Hatter to the case. Jail records show no bail for Hatter; his next court date is July 2.
Greg Poulos and Angie Beltsos were walking to their front porch in Glenview around 10 p.m. April 21 after dinner in Chicago when a car pulled up, WBBM-TV reported.
Police said three males approached them, pulled out guns, and demanded their belongings, WBBM said, adding that Beltsos said she saw one male "running at us pointing a gun, screaming at us to give him everything."
The couple did just that.
Video shows one of the robbers telling them to "give me all that s**t," and Poulos and Beltsos immediately tossed their cell phones and keys to the ground; Beltsos also gave up her purse, the station said.
"You got it. You got it. Here, take it. Take it. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Take everything. Here, you can have it. Honest to God, guys," Poulos was heard on the clip telling the robbers, WBBM reported.
"I started throwing shoes and coats," Beltsos noted to the station in the aftermath. Video shows them both removing their jackets for the crooks.
Poulos told WBBM, "I was always taught by my father just give whatever they want, give what they want, and your life is far more valuable."
The nightmare didn't end there, however.
Video doesn't show that the crooks soon "had us lie down on our stomachs, and pointing guns at us, and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, is this how it's going to end today?'" Beltsos recounted to WBBM, adding that "for a moment, they were standing there, and they ran off."
Police told WBBM the robbers sped out of the neighborhood in a Jaguar SUV, which was later found abandoned and empty in Chicago.
The village of Glenview is about 40 minutes northwest of Chicago and is "one of the best places to live in Illinois," according to Niche. It's also a haven for retirees and boasts "a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and parks" as well as "highly rated" public schools, Niche adds.
Poulos added to WBBM that people nowadays have "to be vigilant and keep their head on a swivel."
Blaze News on Friday spoke to employees of two businesses located less than a mile from where the robbery took place, and strangely, both workers used the same word in the aftermath of the harrowing encounter: "numb."
One employee confessed to Blaze News, "I'm numb to it."
The worker from the second business — even upon hearing that a suspect had been arrested — told Blaze News that "you just kind of become numb to the situation."
"It's unfortunate," she added to Blaze News about the robbery itself. "It's just the way of the world."
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Convicted child molester with disturbing, lengthy rap sheet found dead in prison; cellmate eyed as killer
A convicted child molester with a disturbing and lengthy rap was found dead in a California prison. Authorities have named his cellmate as a suspect in his death.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced in a statement that an inmate was found unresponsive in his cell around 6:30 a.m. April 4 at the Mule Creek State Prison in Ione.
Cole was a volleyball coach with his twin brother, Jason Cole, when they were accused of molesting several victims, according to KCRA-TV.
Officers initiated lifesaving measures and then rushed the inmate to the prison's medical facility. A paramedic pronounced 48-year-old Robert E. Cole dead at 6:43 a.m. April 4.
Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said they are investigating the death as a homicide.
Cole’s cellmate — 36-year-old Justin P. Welsh — was named as a suspect in the inmate's death and placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the Mule Creek State Prison Investigative Services Unit and the Amador County District Attorney’s Office.
The Amador County Coroner will determine Cole's cause of death, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Cole had been at the prison since August 2019.
Cole was a volleyball coach with his twin brother, Jason Cole, when they were accused of molesting several victims, according to KCRA-TV.
Cole was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for adult engaging in sex/sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger, adult engaging in oral copulation/penetration with a child 10 years of younger, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old, oral copulation with force/violence/fear with a child under 14 years old, oral copulation with an unconscious victim, attempted sodomy with a victim under 18 years old, and attempted oral copulation with a victim under 16 years old and the subject over 21 years old.
Welsh was admitted to the prison in May 2023 and had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for corporal injury on a person within seven years of a prior conviction and assault with a firearm, both second-strike offenses, with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence and prior felony conviction of a serious offense.
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18-year-old arrested in connection with brutal murder of NYC social justice activist, stabbed repeatedly in front of his girlfriend
A social justice advocate was slaughtered in front of his anti-cop girlfriend in New York City earlier this week. Police have made an arrest in the case.
Brian Dowling, an 18-year-old who has reportedly had previous run-ins with the law, is believed to be the individual seen in surveillance footage stabbing 32-year-old Ryan Carson and then fleeing. Police circulated the suspect's image Wednesday afternoon and identified him shortly thereafter. He is now in custody at the New York Police Department's 81st Precinct.
WANTED FOR MURDER: On 10/2/23 @ 3:50 AM, at Malcolm X Blvd & Lafayette Ave in the confines of the 81st Precinct, the above individual stabbed the victim multiple times, causing his demise. Any info, please call the @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS.— NYPD 81st Precinct (@NYPD 81st Precinct) 1696350026
The stabbing
TheBlaze previously reported that surveillance footage shows Carson and his girlfriend — alleged BLM activist Claudia Morales — seated Monday morning at a bus stop bench near Malcolm X Blvd. The two were on their way home from a wedding on Long Island.
The suspect walks past the couple without exchanging any words around 3:50 a.m. Down the block, he starts kicking over parked scooters. Moments later, Carson and Morales get up and begin walking in the same direction.
The suspect turns his attention, screaming at Carson, "The f*** are you looking at? ... Imma kill you right now!"
Carson backs up, repeatedly telling the incensed thug, "Chill, chill."
Despite Carson's attempts to de-escalate the situation and push away his attacker, the thug manages to punch the 6'4" social justice advocate in the face. Carson recoils and retreats, tripping over the bus bench in the process.
Morales pleads with the thug to stop, but her efforts are in vain.
Brandishing a knife, the thug chases Carson and stabs him three times in the chest. After kicking his victim's body on the ground, the thug threatens to stab Morales, electing instead to spit in her face and flee.
Toward the end of the footage, a woman appears, calling out what sounds like "Brian" and telling the aggrieved woman, "I'm so sorry!"
Carson was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny indicated at a press conference Wednesday that Carson's heart had been pierced by the knife in the attack.
Kenny also indicated police had identified the alleged killer but were waiting for "probable cause to make this arrest."
The suspect
Sources told the New York Post that Dowling was arrested Thursday after NYPD officers executed a search warrant at a home on Lafayette Avenue — near Malcom X Boulevard, where Ryan Carson was slain.
A neighbor told the New York Daily News, "[I'm] very surprised, I can't believe it. ... He was the sweetest boy."
A family friend suggested that he couldn't understand what set Dowling off.
The Post reported that Dowling had been issued three summonses last year, including two for disorderly conduct. He was also named in an incident report concerning a July incident where he allegedly smashed up his girlfriend's apartment following a dispute. According to his aunt, he is "mentally disturbed."
Police are considering the possibility that the suspect may have once again been fighting with his girlfriend, this time turning his rage onto an unsuspecting passerby.
"The person that did the stabbing was seen on the corner with a female acting very agitated prior to the stabbing," said Kenny.
Dowling, being questioned at the 81st Precinct and whose charges are pending, reportedly works at a high school in Clinton Hill.
The victim
Carson appears to have been well liked, both at work and in his community.
He moved to New York City from Massachusetts in 2010 to attend the Pratt Institute. He ended up becoming a senior solid waste campaign manager at the New York Public Interest Research Group.
The NYPIRG noted in a statement, "Ryan was a beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment."
Blair Horner, Carson's former boss at the NYPIRG, said, "It's incomprehensible. ... He was so young," reported WABC-TV.
"A life full of promise is snuffed out. And the world is a worse place for it, and we'll miss him dearly," added Horner.
Tammy Marie David, a radical leftist who has lent her voice to "Be Heard!" on WHCR-FM, started a Gofundme for Carson's girlfriend, Claudia Morales, which has already raised over $65,500.
"Immediate needs are to offset the costs of working class people taking time off of work to properly mourn," wrote David. "We hope you may find his thoughts on mutual aid, his works of advocacy, and understand that his radical principles of community care, justice, and dismantling an individualized profit-centered way of life are worth carrying forward in our own communities."
Andy Ngo of the Post Millennial reported that Morales is a BLM activist who has previously denounced the police, noting in a June 1, 2020, social media post, "The police do not protect you. ACAB. BLM. hope you're on the right side of history."
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