By Eric Felten for RealClearWire
In January 2022, on his first day in office, Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, showed race antagonists the schoolhouse door. During the campaign, Youngkin had promised voters he would end what he called the “Inherently Divisive Policies, Programs, Training, and Curricula” centered on race. Conservative parents had been protesting ideologically charged “antiracism” training in schools across the state. A year later, the conflicts born of “Critical Race Theory” are still playing out in Virginia schools.
But it isn’t just students and their parents who have complained about race-based curricula in the Commonwealth. Teachers, school staff, and administrators have been among those made anxious and uncomfortable by programs they perceive as racially divisive.
Emily Mais was an assistant principal at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School in Charlottesville. She is suing the Albemarle County school board in federal court for tolerating, if not creating, racial hostility in the workplace. The litigation is complicated by accusations that Mais herself contributed to the racially fraught atmosphere.
The Albemarle County school board voted in 2019 to establish an antiracism curriculum. In November 2020, local schools began to implement the policy by requiring all staff to undergo antiracist training. When the sessions began, a number of teachers at Agnor-Hurt Elementary complained to Mais that the program, rather than bringing about racial understanding, was creating racial antagonisms. They told her the course encouraged “hurtful and pejorative comments” and they felt they were being demonized for being white. Mais told the court that she passed those concerns on to Ashby Kindler, the administrator in charge of the training. Mais says Kindler refused to address the teachers’ complaints. Kindler referred interview requests from RCP to school board spokesman Phil Giaramita, who said, “We simply are not at liberty to talk.”
Many parents were also unhappy. Several spoke out against the antiracism curriculum at a May 27, 2021, school board meeting. One parent complained that the program was “incubating a culture rooted in grievance, discord and victimhood.” Several other parents spoke up in favor of the program.
Mais almost made it through the obligatory training without incident. But on the last day of the program, June 11, 2001, she participated, as instructed, in a conversation about how to address “racial disparities in school board staff,” including those involving people of color.
Except that Mais did not say “people of color.” She said “colored people.”
Mais recognized she had made a potentially problematic error – what her attorneys call a “slip of the tongue.” She apologized immediately and profusely to everyone who might have heard her. She repeated her apology to others. But according to claims in court documents, the apology wasn’t good enough for a teacher’s aide named Sheila Avery. In front of the participants in the training seminar, Avery accused Mais of “speaking like old racists who told people of color to go to the back of the bus.”
In the days that followed, Mais says that she heard from other teachers that Avery, who is black, was denouncing her as a racist. Mais went to the school’s principal for help, claiming she was being mistreated. Mais said the abuse was causing her “severe mental and emotional distress” that was keeping her from doing her job. Mais says the principal did nothing about it.
Mais was, however, contacted by a more senior administrator, one of the school board’s assistant superintendents, Dr. Bernard Hairston. As he put it in a video for school employees, Hairston had been “entrusted” with developing the Albemarle County School District’s antiracism policy. In his video, Hairston declared, “The school board must be serious about confronting this institutional system built on advancing whiteness!”
Related: Radical Left-Wing Fairfax County School Board Member Abrar Omeish Calls Battle of Iwo Jima ‘Evil’
Early in August 2021, Hairston called Mais to meet with him and Avery. In her 2022 court filing, Mais says that though she “continuously apologized throughout the meeting,” Avery refused to accept her apology. Instead, Hairston called on Mais to apologize to the entire school staff.
At the end of August, Mais gave notice that she would be resigning as of September 10, 2021. According to her filing with the District Court, the school board pressured her to deliver an apology “in front of all the 2021-2022 Agnor-Hurt teachers.” Mais claims the school’s guidance counselor, Emily Holmstrom, rejected a draft apology in which Mais planned to express how distressing the incident had been for her. According to Mais, Holmstrom told her she was acting “like a typical defensive white person.” (Holmstrom did not respond to an email from RealClearPolitics.)
In a school-wide meeting of Agnor-Hurt teachers on September 9, 2021, Mais made a public apology. Avery used the meeting to denounce Mais as a racist, telling the assembled school employees that “they could either be on her side or Mais’ side and that there was no in-between. (Avery did not respond to RCP’s request for an interview.) Mais later decided to sue, alleging she had been subjected to a hostile work environment.
At the Virginia Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights, Mais charged Albemarle schools with discrimination. She also took her complaint to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Neither was to any avail.
With the help of the legal nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom, Mais would eventually bring a raft of complaints against the school district. She accused the school board of violating her right to free speech under the Virginia constitution; claimed she had been wrongfully forced from her job; charged the schools with violating the Virginia Human Rights Act; and asserted that Albemarle County had run afoul of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act. That provision “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.”
At a hearing in December, the lawyer for the school district, Jeremy Capps, scoffed at the notion Mais faced a hostile work environment, notwithstanding Avery twice calling Mais a “two-faced, white racist bitch.” Mais, Capps said, just “didn’t like the fact that she was asked to apologize” in front of the school’s teachers and staff. But that, he said, “doesn’t make a hostile work environment.”
U.S. District Court Judge Norman K. Moon disagreed, noting that even after she had apologized repeatedly to those who had heard her comment, the administration demanded Mais apologize again. Even after Mais had given notice she was resigning, school officials insisted that, on her last day, she go before a special assembly of teachers and staff to offer yet another apology: “It’s like putting someone in the pillory in a way,” the judge said. He asked the school board’s attorney: “I mean, when are you going to let up? At what point will it be enough?”
The judge also seemed to be troubled by the unusual nature of what Mais’ lawyer, Hal Frampton, calls her “shaming.” “Normally,” the judge asked, “is the punishment of someone for wrongdoing a public punishment?”
Related: Why This Teenage Ukrainian Refugee Prefers a War Zone to American Public Schools
The school board’s lawyer didn’t answer the judge’s question directly. Instead, Capps said that what counted as “appropriate discipline” was at the “employer’s discretion.” RealClearPolitics asked Capps in writing whether the Albemarle school board could point to any other instances in which it meted out a public punishment. Capps did not reply.
Albemarle schools urged the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia to toss out all the complaints made by Mais. Last month, the Court dismissed a majority of her claims, primarily on questions of jurisdiction and states’ sovereign immunity.
But not those made under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: In a Memorandum Opinion, Judge Moon allowed Mais’ federal complaint to go forward, writing that the “Plaintiff has alleged a plausible racial hostile work environment claim under Title VII.”
“Plaintiff has alleged enough facts to allow a jury to determine if the alleged harassment was ‘severe or pervasive.’” Among the allegations made by Mais was that when she turned to her school’s principal for help, “no action was taken”; when she complained to an assistant superintendent and HR employees that she was the target of “racially charged mistreatment … the School Board took no action.”
The Mais litigation may go some distance in addressing what counts as justification for accusing someone of racism. Complicating those contentions in the Virginia case is the abrupt resignation last week of state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow. She had led Youngkin’s effort to revise how schools in the state teach socially divisive issues, including those dealing with race and history. Will the governor’s charge against Critical Race Theory be blunted? The answer to that question will affect the way schools such as those in Albemarle County teach questions of race, as will the lawsuit brought by Emily Mais.
Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.
The post Tensions Rise In Virginia Schools Over Racial Issues appeared first on The Political Insider.
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Tensions Rise In Virginia Schools Over Racial Issues
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Poll: Inflation Has Americans Worried About Covering Expenses After Job Loss
By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
A majority of Americans polled said they couldn’t afford to pay emergency expenses or cover their living expenses for just one month if they lost their primary source of income, according to Bankrate’s latest Annual Emergency Savings Report. The main reason cited is record-high inflation.
The majority surveyed, 68%, said they’re “worried they wouldn’t be able to cover their living expenses for just one month if they lost their primary source of income.”
Nearly half surveyed in the Feb. 23 report, 49%, said they have less savings (39%) or no savings (10%) compared to a year ago.
“It’s clear that the less-than-optimal economy, including historically high inflation coupled with rising interest rates, has taken a double-edged toll on Americans,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said. “Many have resorted to tapping their emergency savings if they have it, or have taken on credit card debt, or some combination.”
Related: A Record Number of Americans Say They’re Worse Off Financially Under Biden – Most in Nearly 4 Decades
A majority, 68%, said they couldn’t save or were saving less because of inflation, up from 49% last year, the report found. Another 44% said changes in income and employment were “holding them back.”
When broken down by age group, 85% of Generation Z (ages 18-26) and 79% of Millennials (ages 27-42) said they were more worried about being unable to cover emergency expenses than other age groups.
Younger generations have the least amount of savings, the report found. Millennials were most likely to have more credit card debt than emergency savings, with 45% saying they have more debt. Generation X (ages 42 to 57) saw the largest jump, with the report finding 44% say they have more credit card debt than savings, up from 24% last year.
By contrast, only 25% of baby boomers (ages 59 to 77) say they have more credit card debt than savings.
Overall, roughly 43% of adults surveyed said they’d pay for an emergency expense from their savings, with lower-income households, women and younger generations being less likely to do so.
In 2022, the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates seven times, it said, to combat rising inflation. Since then, prices have only gone up, not down.
Related: Inflation May Be Slowing Down, But the Long Lasting Damage Is Already Done
In addition to not being able to save, Americans are going into debt to make ends meet, the report found. One-quarter said they would go into credit card debt to pay a $1,000 emergency expense and pay it off over time—the highest percentage claiming to do so since polling started in 2014, Bankrate says.
“With one in four Americans telling us they’d react to a large emergency expense by using a credit card, their timing couldn’t be worse,” Hamrick said. “On average, credit card interest rates are the highest we’ve seen and are slated to go higher as the Federal Reserve continues to hike. Under the best of circumstances, this debt should be paid before costly interest charges hit the account.”
Another 36% said they have more credit card debt than emergency savings — the highest on record since 2011, Bankrate said. Among them, 40% are in their prime working years, between the ages of 27 and 58.
The good news, Bankrate notes, is that 51% surveyed said they have more emergency savings than credit card debt.
Worse news is that 13% said they have no credit card debt and no savings, which Hamrick says is a high percentage.
The report, released late last month, includes findings from two surveys conducted between Dec. 16-19, 2022, among 1,028 respondents, and between January 20-23, 2023, among 1,032 respondents. They were conducted in English and Spanish and over the Internet and by phone. The margin of error is 3.5 +/- for the December survey and 3.7 +/- for the January survey. Data was also weighted to represent the target population, the report states.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
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Taxpayers Foot $44,117 For Whitmer’s Davos Trip
By Scott McClallen (The Center Square)
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent at least $44,117 of taxpayer money on her European trip to Davos to speak at the World Economic Forum, according to documents obtained by The Center Square in response to its Freedom of Information Act request.
That includes $26,222 for hotels, $13,779 for travel, $4,000 in miscellaneous expenses, and $116.15 in meals, says a document from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. A separate FOIA request for the governor’s security costs is still pending.
Whitmer embarked on the trip to Norway and Switzerland to speak at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting on a panel about “The Return of Manufacturing.”
“The World Economic Forum is a unique opportunity for Michigan to connect with leaders to discuss bringing jobs to Michigan and promote the state’s efforts to elevate our mobility and sustainability initiatives,” Whitmer said in a statement. “We’re showing the world what we have to offer, demonstrating our leadership in cars, chips, and clean energy, and proving that the best manufacturing in the world happens right here in Michigan.”
Related: Gov. Whitmer Proposes $79 Billion Budget For Fiscal Year 2024
Whitmer justified the spending by saying she was recruiting and seeking future investments for Michigan.
However, recent electric vehicle battery investments in Michigan have cost taxpayers more than $3.3 billion and counting, despite there only being 25,181 registered electric vehicles statewide.
Whitmer has championed trying to bring the electric vehicle supply chain to Michigan from China.
John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, a nonprofit organization for transparent economic development policy, told The Center Square that “These sorts of international boondoggles are perfect evidence for the way that the real point of economic development programs isn’t creating jobs,” Mozena wrote in an email. “Rather, it’s to make voters believe that politicians are responsible for creating jobs.”
Mozena said Michigan taxpayers have subsidized the auto industry with billions of dollars since the mid-1990s. Since then, Michigan has lost 183,000 manufacturing jobs statewide.
“Michigan’s economic future isn’t in Davos,” Mozena said. “It’s in the garages and basements and kitchens and barns of the next generation of entrepreneurs, the people who have the potential to have their name be as familiar as Ford, Dodge, Kellogg, DuPont or Meijer to future generations of Michiganders.”
“That’s where economic growth comes from,” he added. “Governor Whitmer and her administration should be focusing on making Michigan a simpler, cheaper and easier place to start and grow a company rather than jet-setting around the world trying to find big companies willing to take billion-dollar bribes to come here.”
Related: Whitmer Kidnap Case Collapses Following Acquittals, Mistrials As FBI’s Tactics Called Into Question
Whitmer’s five-day trip marks the first economic development visit to Europe under her administration. Whitmer was joined in Norway by Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin L. Messer Jr. and other MEDC officials.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
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U.S. Treasury Sanctions Cartel-Run Timeshare Fraud Network Targeting Americans
By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned eight Mexican companies and three members of the violent Mexican cartel, Cartel de Jaslisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), for targeting Americans and others in a timeshare fraud scam in and near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico.
Scam proceeds were used to finance trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.
Three violent senior CJNG members were designated: Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (“La Firma”), Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (“La Gallina”) and Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (“El Tarjetas”). They were CJNG enforcers based in Puerto Vallarta responsible for orchestrating “assassinations of rivals and politicians using high-powered weaponry,” OFAC said.
“As CJNG has consolidated territory over the past decade, it has added other crimes to its core activity of drug trafficking,” OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said. “In tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, CJNG has become heavily engaged in timeshare fraud, which often targets U.S. citizens. This crime, which can defraud victims of their life savings, results in another significant revenue stream for the cartel and strengthens its overall criminal enterprise. Today’s action exposes this CJNG scheme and also serves as a warning to potential victims, many of whom are elderly.”
Related: Allegations Made to AZ Senate Committee Claiming Gov. Katie Hobbs and Other Officials Took Bribes From Sinaloa Drug Cartel
In 2015, OFAC first sanctioned CJNG under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act “for playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.” Since then, it’s “designated numerous CJNG-linked companies engaging in various commercial activities and multiple individuals who played critical roles in CJNG’s drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption,” it says.
The Treasury Department made the announcement after it sanctioned several Mexican nationals, Sinaloa Cartel members and six Mexico-based entities last month for their involvement in the illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trade.
Mexican timeshare fraud schemes often involve third-party scammers, OFAC said, where companies claim to have ready buyers and make unsolicited purchase offers to timeshare owners. If their offers are accepted, potential timeshare owners are asked to pay fees and taxes in advance to “facilitate or expedite the sale with assurances of reimbursement upon closing.” Once multiple payments are made it’s too late; timeshare owners realize the offers were fake, there were no buyers, and their money was stolen.
Eight companies OFAC designated are directly or indirectly linked to CJNG’s timeshare fraud activities, which claimed to be financial services or real estate companies. Five were in Puerto Vallerta: Servicios Administrativos Fordtwoo, S.A. de C.V., Integracion Badeva, S.A. de C.V., JM Providers Office, S.A. de C.V., Promotora Vallarta One, S.A. de C.V., and Recservi, S.A. de C.V. Servicios Administrativos Fordtwoo, S.A. de C.V. also made direct payments to CJNG members, OFAC said.
Three were in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: Corporativo Title I, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo TS Business Inc, S.A. de C.V., and TS Business Corporativo, S.A. de C.V.
Once sanctioned, all designated entities and individuals’ properties and interests in properties are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. All transactions by U.S. citizens and residents with designated entities and individuals are also prohibited.
Related: Texas Sheriff: We’re Experiencing ‘Silent Invasion’ Of Military Age Men
In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Securities and Exchange Commission issued a joint warning to Americans about Mexican timeshare scams. Anyone victimized by Mexican timeshare scams can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
OFAC also issued an alert about timeshare scams on Wednesday, warning that perpetrators were engaging in telephone, email, and letter scams falsely claiming to represent OFAC and requesting payments.
“These scammers often demand payments, occasionally described as ‘fees’ or ‘taxes,’ necessary for OFAC to release funds or pay some form of restitution,” it warned. “These communications are fraudulent and are not initiated by OFAC. OFAC does not collect, demand, or request this type of payment from members of the public.”
It warns Americans not to share any personal or confidential information with, or make any payments to, anyone purporting to represent OFAC. Scams can also be reported here.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
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Trump Demands January 6th Prisoners Let Go, House Select Committee Prosecuted After Tucker Carlson Releases Bombshell Videos
Former President Donald Trump called for the release of detainees and political prisoners from the January 6th, 2021 riot at the Capitol after bombshell new videos offer a counter-narrative to several aspects of the so-called ‘insurrection.’
Trump offered praise to Tucker Carlson after the Fox News host released a series of previously unseen videos which counter several claims made by the media and Democrats since that fateful day.
The videos show Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick appearing well and amply defended from physicality, despite claims he was murdered by the mob, as well as evidence that the ‘Qanon Shaman’ was readily escorted by police around the complex, seemingly contradicting assertions that his behavior warranted a multi-year prison sentence.
And there was much, much more.
Trump called the dramatic new evidence one of the ‘biggest scoops’ in American journalism.
“The New Surveillance Footage of the January 6th Events sheds an entirely different light on what actually happened,” he wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “LET THEM GO FREE, NOW!”RELATED: The Five Biggest Lies Exposed by Tucker Carlson’s Bombshell January 6th Surveillance Video Release
Trump Calls for Release of January 6th Prisoners
Trump also praised House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for showing “great courage” in releasing over 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the January 6th riot so that Tucker Carlson could properly review and report on the actual findings.
“A whole new, and completely opposite, picture has now been indelibly painted,” he contends. “The Unselect Committee LIED, and should be prosecuted for their actions.”
In another posting on Truth Social, the former President reiterated his call for those charged for their relatively mundane actions that day to be released.
“Let the January 6 prisoners go,” he wrote in an all-caps screed. “They were convicted, or are awaiting trial, based on a giant lie, a radical left con job.
Trump added, “Thank you to Tucker Carlson and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy for what you both have done. New video footage is irrefutable!”Trump responds to Tucker Carlson’s reporting on the January 6th footage: “Trump and most others are totally innocent, LET THEM GO FREE, NOW!” pic.twitter.com/pqfrxGXqal
— 3sidedstory (@3sidedstory) March 7, 2023RELATED: Trump Sends Special Message to January 6 Prisoners, Says America Skipped Socialism and Went Straight to Communism
Vows to Pardon J6 Prisoners
Donald Trump has long contended that, should he win re-election in 2024, he would issue pardons to many of the individuals charged and convicted for their actions during the January 6th riot.
Not for actual thugs who sought violence that day but rather, for those whose mere presence led to prison time.I asked President Trump if he would pardon the non-violent January 6th defendants if he is back in the White House in 2024.
His response: “We will be looking at that very strongly. I think you know the answer.” pic.twitter.com/oboIQKIwDE
— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) August 7, 2022Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spoke to the former President and First Lady Melania Trump, said the couple was “just sick” over some of the January 6 defendants and the way they’ve been pursued since the Capitol riot.
This past December, Trump recorded a video message aimed specifically at the J6 defendants.
“People have been treated unconstitutionally, in my opinion, and very, very unfairly, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” said Trump, speaking before the group known as Patriot Freedom Project.
“It’s the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and we can’t let this happen in this country.”President Trump delivers special message to January 6th defendants. pic.twitter.com/nNYNrxTupm
— I’m No Angel (@HappyCamper2626) December 2, 2022Squishy Republicans like Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have both strongly condemned Trump for siding with the January 6th protesters and promising pardons.
Will they still oppose such action now that we have definitive video proof that the prevailing narrative of that day was a lie?Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”The post Trump Demands January 6th Prisoners Let Go, House Select Committee Prosecuted After Tucker Carlson Releases Bombshell Videos appeared first on The Political Insider.
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The Five Biggest Lies Exposed by Tucker Carlson’s Bombshell January 6th Surveillance Video Release
Tucker Carlson released portions of the January 6th surveillance footage at the Capitol which provided dramatic revelations previously concealed by the select committee investigating the riot.
The Political Insider reported last week that Carlson was poised to release portions of the over 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the riot very soon.
“They are lying,” he said. “And we know that because we’ve been looking at the tape.”
On Monday, the Fox News host released select segments of the video which seems to prove that yes, they were lying, as he and many other conservatives had predicted on a variety of matters.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Carlson’s bombshell report.BREAKING: @TuckerCarlson Tonight begins releasing Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 protests showing that most of protesters were very peaceful, were even helped by the police. WATCH pic.twitter.com/nliIcVgOO7
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) March 7, 2023Lied About Brian Sicknick’s Death
Democrats and the media have tried desperately to make Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick the face of the ‘violent insurrection,’ repeatedly portraying his death as a result of a blood-thirsty mob.
We knew this was fake news from the onset, as Sicknick’s death was ruled by a Washington medical examiner to be from “natural” causes and not “hastened by an injury.”
What we didn’t know was just how deep the false narrative ran.
Surveillance footage released Monday by Tucker Carlson shows that previous claims that Sicknick’s death was hastened by a blow to the head with a fire extinguisher were false.
In fact, the videos show Sicknick walking about the premises normally while guiding Trump supporters out of the building as he wore a helmet. It shows him walking through the building, healthy, alert, and unharmed, “after he was supposedly murdered by the mob outside.”
Which is quite a feat.
“This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie that Democrats told us about January 6th,” Carlson told his audience.BREAKING: Never before seen January 6 footage shows Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick walking around the building after the time media outlets claimed he was killed by protesters.
The J6 Committee had access to this tape but refused to release it. pic.twitter.com/817TIQvV0Z
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023Lied About the ‘Violent’ Mob – Particularly the ‘QAnon Shaman’
Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman” was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the January 6th riot.
But Tucker Carlson’s video release shows Chansley, who had become the face of the so-called insurrection, doing little more than walking around the Capitol with a police escort in tow throughout his visit.
The officers never attempt to arrest the man – who is now serving years behind bars because his actions were allegedly so reprehensible that he deserves a prison sentence longer than many felons in Democrat-run states.
“The footage does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress,” Carlson tells viewers. “Instead, it shows police escorting protesters through the building, including the now infamous ‘QAnon Shaman.’”
The Fox News host showed video clips that reveal Capitol police officers were so ‘distraught’ over Chansley’s actions that they were trying to open locked doors for him to continue his tour.
At one point, nine such officers can be seen close to the ‘Shaman’, and not one attempted to stop him from walking about the premises.I was told the QAnon shaman was leading an insurrection not the one who is being led by police throughout the capital building. No wonder all the footage was kept from us for 2 years.
As always they lied to us all! pic.twitter.com/nzWWIgryiz
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 7, 2023Tucker Carlson’s January 6th Bombshell Shows the Barry Loudermilk ‘Reconnaissance Tour’ Was a Flat-Out Lie
Remember when the January 6th House select committee accused a GOP lawmaker of conducting a ‘reconnaissance tour’ prior to the riot at the Capitol?
Yea, well that didn’t happen either.
The Political Insider wrote last year that Representative Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican, had been accused of leading one of the tours.
Despite the fact that the Capitol police flatly contradicted their claims, the highly partisan committee continued to push the debunked conspiracy theory simply to plant the seeds of doubt.
Carlson showed footage of Loudermilk giving a tour in a congressional building down the street – not the Capitol – to constituents, none of whom were linked to the so-called “insurrection.”Never-before-seen January 6 footage completely exonerates Congressman Barry Loudermilk of allowing J6 rioters to do a “reconnaissance mission” the day before.
The January 6 Committee also knew this but lied anyway. pic.twitter.com/B1biPpROSo
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023Senator Josh Hawley Running From the Mob
The January 6th select committee released footage showing Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) running out of the complex, allegedly fleeing from the mob that he supposedly helped instigate.
The video release was meant to embarrass Hawley. In fact, airing it during one of their meetings led to laughter and derision from those in attendance.
The problem being, Carlson showed that the video released by the committee only showed Hawley who was actually one of the last people to leave the room. In fact, numerous lawmakers in the full clip are shown scampering across the hall as they are being ushered away by Capitol police.
“The clip was propaganda, not evidence,” Carlson said.The Josh Hawley Coward Tape Proves to Be a Lie After Further Review from the @TuckerCarlson Team
“The surveillance footage we reviewed shows that famous clip was a sham, edited deceptively by the January 6th Committee. The clip was propaganda, not evidence. The actual videotape… https://t.co/vbrGyz9hi3 pic.twitter.com/DDf4j1rEwx
— The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) March 7, 2023Ray Epps, to Nobody’s Surprise, Lied to the Committee
Video footage shows Ray Epps, whom the committee reluctantly interviewed, then reluctantly released transcripts of the interview, lied during his testimony before the panel.
The tapes show Epps was on the grounds of the Capitol for at least 30 minutes after the time he told House Select Committee that he was already heading back to his hotel.
Epps was a leader of the “Oath Keepers” group who was seen on video the day before the January 6 riot telling a crowd to go into the Capitol.
He was at the center of unproven accusations that the FBI had informants or plants in the crowd at the Capitol which helped incite pro-Trump protesters to riot and breach the building.
“Tomorrow, we need to get into the Capitol! Into the Capitol!” he is seen telling rallygoers in one video from the scene, while some around him respond, “No,” and begin chanting, “Fed! Fed! Fed!”
Oddly enough, the committee and prosecutors had little interest in charging Epps. He was one of three people who have been removed from the FBI’s Capitol Violence most wanted list without an explanation from authorities.
Now compare that to the nearly four-year prison sentence for the ‘Qanon Shaman’ for walking around the building peacefully.BREAKING: January 6 footage shows that Ray Epps lied to the J6 Committee about when he left the Capitol on that day.
J6 Committee members likely knew this but defended him anyway. pic.twitter.com/tX4WUc28uX
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023“Committee members lied about what they saw and then hid the evidence from the public, as well as from January 6, criminal defendants and their lawyers,” Carlson explained. “That is unforgivable.”
It’s not only unforgivable, but it’s also criminal. It’s the actual ‘insurrection.’
The actual ‘Big Lie.’
House Republicans need to haul every member of that committee before Congress to testify about why they lied to the American people. And they need to face the same scrutiny and punishment many of the political prisoners from the J6 riot have faced, rotting in a D.C. jail cell.Everybody knows that Democrats are LIARS.
But damn, they are getting EXPOSED tonight with all this January 6 footage.
Every single member of the partisan January 6 committee should be held in contempt of Congress.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) March 7, 2023The farce is over. The hoax was exposed. Action must now be taken, and the GOP must never rest until the truth is fully revealed and some of those who were charged in the ‘insurrection’ are exonerated.
Not all of them. There were certainly a handful of thugs in the crowd that day. But Democrats and the media used those thugs as a springboard to prosecute and harass many innocent people.
And for that, they are scum and must be held accountable.Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”The post The Five Biggest Lies Exposed by Tucker Carlson’s Bombshell January 6th Surveillance Video Release appeared first on The Political Insider.
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NYC Mayor Eric Adams Says Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot’s Loss a Warning Sign for the Country
Last week ushered in the news that the great city of Chicago might have hope left for its salvation after all. Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost, coming in third in the city’s election, which will now see a run-off between the top two candidates.
The fact that the city of Chicago has finally had enough of Lori Lightfoot’s disastrous policies that have created one of the most lawless cities in the nation is a sign that even liberals might be tired of the same old do nothing and blame everyone else playbook. Her loss should make many other liberal Mayors and politicians worry about their political futures.
However, if you ask the Mayor of New York City, he thinks her loss isn’t a warning sign for him but for the country as a whole. So let’s look at what Mayor Eric Adams had to tell CNN about Lori Lightfoot’s historic loss.New York City Mayor Eric Adams is sounding an alarm to every Democratic Party leader who hasn’t been prioritizing crime. https://t.co/bMx6GosA7H pic.twitter.com/8lgucsT0Bs
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 6, 2023RELATED: A ‘Peaceful Protest’ Somehow Morphed Into a Violent One as 23 People Are Charged With ‘Domestic Terrorism’ After Attack on Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’
Nothing to Worry About
While on CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash asked Mayor Adams if he believed Lori Lightfoot’s loss was a “warning sign” for his future prospects in New York. Mayor Adams replied confidently, “To the contrary, I think it’s a warning sign for the country.”
The former police officer often uses his relationship with the New York City Police Department and his ability to empathize with those who keep us safe and the victims of crime as a personal selling point. Mayor Adams explained that unlike Ms. Lightfoot and her ilk, he is on the ground and has been opining about safety from the get-go.
“Eric Adams has been talking about public safety, not only on the campaign trail, but for the first year.” It is a bit off-putting when anybody speaks of themselves in the third person.
He continued, “I showed up at crime scenes. I knew what New Yorkers were saying. And I saw it all over the country.” Then, throwing his fellow Democrat under the bus, he circled back to his original point, which is that he is right and everyone else is wrong, “I think, if anything, it is really stating that this is what I have been talking about. America, we have to be safe.”
So how well has Mayor Adams done keeping New Yorkers safe? Let’s take a peek.I said it was a mistake for Democrats to lean on Eric Adams when they were praising his “tough on crime” messaging + Pelosi trotted him out as a communications expert at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last year and ppl argued me down that Dems weren’t doing that https://t.co/qDLUz6XsDa pic.twitter.com/tFbhMS1H9T
— Olayemi Olurin (@msolurin) March 7, 2023RELATED: House Ethics Committee Finds ‘Substantial Reason to Believe’ AOC Improperly Accepted Gifts, May Have Violated Federal Law
Some Good, Some Bad
Last month had some interesting numbers for New York City regarding crime. There’s quite a bit for Mayor Adams to brag about in many ways.
February saw an overall 6% drop in the major crime rate in New York City with the below detailed numbers:Murders decreased by 28%
Rape decreased by 22%
Burglaries decreased by 15%
Robberies decreased by 11%
Shootings declined by 15%
Subway crime fell by 9%However, last month saw an increase in misdemeanor assaults, with an 8% increase on the streets of New York City and a 13% increase on the subway system. In addition, the preponderance of homelessness and the mentally ill in the city has business owners and residents still very uncomfortable being out freely and comfortably in the Big Apple.
To give Mayor Adams some credit, he spoke on this issue in the past, often explaining a large part of the issue the city faces, once stating “We have a recidivism problem in New York, and far too many people, about 2000 people who are repeatedly… catch, release, repeat in crimes.”
Stating the obvious, he has also pointed out, “If we don’t take them off our streets, they’re going to continue to prey on innocent people.”
Unfortunately, you can be a Democratic Mayor of a major city, speak the truth regarding the lived reality of your citizens, and get trashed by your own party for it.Eric Adams went on an insane rant essentially arguing against the separation of church and state today.
It was full of gems like: “When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools.”
pic.twitter.com/nXBUj7V6Xj
— Read Jackson Rising by @CooperationJXN (@JoshuaPHilll) February 28, 2023RELATED: Biden Takes Fire After Vowing To ‘Ban Assault Weapons’
A Republican Tool?
Leading up to last year’s midterms, Mayor Adams took considerable heat from his party for pointing out the obvious facts regarding crime in our country. Many claimed he was spouting Republican talking points, and some even said if then candidate for Governor Lee Zeldin beat out Governor Kathy Hochul, it would be thanks largely due to Mayor Adams.
Ms. Bash asked the Mayor if his constant focus on crime hurts Democrats and helps Republicans. Mayor Adams replied, “The polls were clear. New Yorkers felt unsafe, and the numbers showed that they were unsafe.”
In a brilliant counterargument and obvious nod to the Lightfoot loss, Mayor Adams added, “Now, if we want to ignore what the everyday public is stating, then that’s up to them.” Careful, Mayor Adams; I might start to like you yet.
This isn’t the first time in recent history that Mayor Adams has caused waves in his party for innocuous statements that anyone from any political party should be able to get behind. For example, he recently said at an interfaith breakfast, “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body, church is the heart.”
Oh boy, you’ve done it now, Mayor Adams. Don’t you know your party’s stance is the Constitution protects us from religion, it doesn’t protect religion? He went on to say, “You take the heart out of the body, the body dies.”
My oh my, Mayor Adams, you better be careful; fairly certain blasting out the actual goal of the most left of your party might get you voted out of the clubhouse.Eric Adams has no hope for Biden help with NYC’s $4B migrant tab: official https://t.co/rTjlu0u0OS pic.twitter.com/UhyhjM6Jwo
— New York Post (@nypost) March 6, 2023
No Excuses
Poor Lori, how embarrassing to be the first incumbent Mayor to lose their reelection bid in 30 years. If you ask her, and trust me, the mainstream media did, the reason she lost had nothing to do with her policies.
Before the election day, like many other prolific losers in her party, she teed up her excuse by telling The New Yorker, “I am a black woman. Let’s not forget: certain folks, frankly, don’t support us in leadership roles.” Do you mean victims of crime and those who wish not to be victims of crime?
After she was forced to concede, a reporter asked her if she was mistreated, to which she echoed the usual tune, “I’m a black woman in America. Of course.” The truth is her fall from grace had nothing to do with her gender or race.
She was just bad at her job and lacked genuine care for Chicago’s citizens. Mayor Adams explains what clearly Lori didn’t understand, “Mayors, we are closer – we’re the closest to the problem.”
The Mayor speaks the truth. He followed up with, “…public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity, same in Chicago, like New York and many of our big cities across America.”
His party should pay close attention to what he’s saying, regardless of your political, religious, or socioeconomic position in this country — all Americans want to feel and be safe. If you can’t guarantee that or at least provide the illusion of safety as an elected leader, you’ve got a problem.LEO TERRELL praises GA AG for his decision to charge 23 Antifa activists with domestic terrorism over riots in Atlanta and slams ‘all talk, no action’ NY mayor Eric Adams. pic.twitter.com/9j3HqD63Wm
— Martin Golobic (@wpww14l88) March 6, 2023Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”The post NYC Mayor Eric Adams Says Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot’s Loss a Warning Sign for the Country appeared first on The Political Insider.
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A ‘Peaceful Protest’ Somehow Morphed Into a Violent One as 23 People Are Charged With ‘Domestic Terrorism’ After Attack on Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’
Police have charged at least 23 people with ‘domestic terrorism’ following violent protests at the site of a new public safety training center in Atlanta known as “Cop City.”
CNN reports that “violent agitators” attacked Atlanta police officers and construction equipment “with Molotov cocktails, commercial-grade fireworks, bricks and large rocks,” even setting a tractor on fire as evidenced by video at the scene.
The incident comes just two months after ABC News famously portrayed similar video evidence in the same location regarding protests of that same “Cop City” as “peaceful.”
Odd how something so ‘peaceful’ originally would eventually yield to domestic terrorism charges and more violence.Six people were arrested after a peaceful protest over a proposed police training ground turned violent in Atlanta, police said. https://t.co/7LDbaelFxK pic.twitter.com/gXpRjNq5im
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2023RELATED: ABC News Smoked After Claiming Atlanta Riots Were ‘Peaceful Protest’ While Showing Footage of Burning Police Car
Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Attacked
The Atlanta Police Department announced the arrests and described the actions taken by those attacking the “Cop City” as “a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers.”
“They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers,” a statement reads. “The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism.”
This all sounds very familiar. Where have we seen this before? Violence in D.C. during Trump’s inauguration? ‘Protestors’ outside a Portland courthouse? The race riots of 2020?
It’s almost as if there is some sort of consistent pattern here. And yet the media portrays these domestic terrorists as ‘mostly peaceful’ while the rioters on January 6th were the most violent people they have ever seen.Antifa attacked the Atlanta future Public Safety Training Facility.
This is domestic terrorism.
It was planned for weeks and announced on social media.
Antifa are self proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and pic.twitter.com/8YxXV6deRf… https://t.co/oy0ZwcdoCx
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023One of those charged with domestic terrorism in the incident is Thomas Webb Jurgens, an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The SPLC is a controversial group itself but is often cited by law enforcement and the media as a source for identifying extremists. In reality, they are a left-wing group trying to demonize political opponents as violent threats when they oftentimes are not.
Case in point, they once labeled Dr. Ben Carson an “extremist,” something they later had to apologize for.One of the Antifa members arrested on domestic terrorism charges in Atlanta last night is a staff attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The FBI has historically used the SPLC as a source for who should be considered domestic terrorists. pic.twitter.com/y5isk5AHaq
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 6, 2023RELATED: CNN Relentlessly Mocked After Calling Kenosha Riots ‘Fiery But Mostly Peaceful’
Greene Calls For Antifa to be Labeled a Terrorist Organization
Following the violent attack on Atlanta’s ‘Cop City,” Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she would introduce legislation labeling Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
“Antifa are domestic terrorists and I’m introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on Tuesday,” she tweeted.
“This is domestic terrorism. It was planned for weeks and announced on social media. Antifa are self-proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and over again,” added Greene. “They should be taken seriously and not tolerated anymore.”
Her resolution designating Antifa as a terrorist organization is slated to be introduced today.Antifa are domestic terrorists and I’m introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on
Tuesday. https://t.co/GTg7XqsmoL
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023Fox News is reporting that there has not been any confirmation as of yet by state officials whether members of Antifa have taken part in the violence in Atlanta.
Riots originally raged at the ‘Cop City’ location in January, resulting from protests over the shooting of 26-year-old eco-activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, whom authorities claim shot and wounded a state trooper tasked with clearing protesters from the site.
Six people were arrested for their respective roles in the January riots and charged with four felony counts, including domestic terrorism, arson in the first degree, criminal damage in the second degree, and interference with government property.
That’s a gunman wounding a police officer, Molotov cocktails, arson, and vandalism all at the same site. We’d hate to see if they weren’t mostly peaceful protesters.Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”The post A ‘Peaceful Protest’ Somehow Morphed Into a Violent One as 23 People Are Charged With ‘Domestic Terrorism’ After Attack on Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ appeared first on The Political Insider.
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BREAKING BIG: Proud Boys Attorneys to Release DAMNING EVIDENCE on DOJ Deceit, Corruption, Hiding Evidence, Spying on Client-Attorney Privilege
On Wednesday night, a source inside the Proud Boys Trial in Washington DC notified prominent reporters covering the trial.
At 09:00 AM ET on Thursday morning the attorneys for the Proud Boys are going to release damning evidence that exposes illegal activity by the federal government. The attorneys recently discovered this evidence and they are going to release it at 9 AM on Thursday morning.
The prosecution accidentally did not delete government files they thought they had erased. The defense attorneys were able to capture these files.
Alex Jones told The Gateway Pundit on Wednesday that the evidence includes government operatives spying on attorney-client privilege and erasing evidence. Over 350 files were captured. According to Alex Jones, “They are just over the top huge.”
The attorneys are releasing this information in the morning and they are hoping that friendly reporters will be there to document this hearing.
AGAIN: Tomorrow at the Proud Boys Trial – Absolutely huge! The attorneys hope those in the area can make it.
The post BREAKING BIG: Proud Boys Attorneys to Release DAMNING EVIDENCE on DOJ Deceit, Corruption, Hiding Evidence, Spying on Client-Attorney Privilege appeared first on The Gateway Pundit. -

“They Should Be Tried for Fraud and Treason” – President Trump on Jan 6 Committee Members Who Hid Video Exonerating Jan 6 Victims
President Trump and the American people are livid with the actions taken by the corrupt House Jan 6 Committee now that more information is coming out that exonerates those arrested for Jan 6 crimes.
On Monday night Tucker Carlson reported that his team’s impression after they looked at thousands of hours of videos from Jan 6 that they were allowed to see was that most of the people at the Capitol that day were peaceful and even showed reverence for the Capitol.
This was uncovered on Monday when Tucker Carlson shared that the “Qanon Shamon” was peacefully being escorted around the Capitol during the Capitol protests and nine Capitol police were near him and did nothing. He was not violent as the Democrats and the media shared. This was all a lie.
BREAKING: Tucker Carlson Releases Video Showing Capitol Police Escorting Jacob Chansley “QAnon Shaman” Peacefully Through the Capitol (VIDEO)Video footage used by the House Jan 6 Committee was doctored to make it look worse than it was. This was an attempt to distort the truth and make things look worse than they were. The Capitol protests were nothing compared to the BLM and Antifa riots of 2020 that killed numerous American and resulted in a billion in damages or more to US cities.
HUGE! Tucker Carlson’s Team Reveals Video Footage Shown By Jan 6 Witch Hunt Committee Was DOCTORED…Inserted SCREAMS and Other Crowd Mayhem Sounds [VIDEO]President Trump is calling for the Jan 6 Committee to be held accountable for their crimes.
In a message on Truth Social, President Trump shared the following:
GREAT JOB BY TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT. The Unselect Committee of political Hacks & Thugs has been totally discredited. They knowingly refused to show the Videos that mattered. They should be tried for Fraud and Treason, and those imprisoned and being persecuted should be exonerated and released, NOW!President Trump is absolutely right. The list of traitors in the US who worked together and with foreign entities to remove President Trump from office is large and growing. They all need to be dealt with before this country can move ahead in freedom.
The post “They Should Be Tried for Fraud and Treason” – President Trump on Jan 6 Committee Members Who Hid Video Exonerating Jan 6 Victims appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.