Latest

    News

    Home News Page 21

    Trump Assassination Attempt: Pennsylvania Police Release Bodycam Footage

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    *Warning: graphic content*

    On Thursday, Pennsylvania police body cam footage obtained by Fox News shows two officers attempting to intercept Thomas Matthew Crooks on a roof seconds before he allegedly tried to assassinate former President Trump at a campaign rally last month.

    The footage is taken from two officers from the Butler Township Police Department who attempted to stop Crooks moments before he fired his AR-15 rifle striking former President Trump in the ear, killing Corey Comparatore and injuring two others.  

    “F—— this close, bro. Dude he turned around on me,” the officer who was hoisted can be heard saying in another bodycam video released Thursday.

    One officer can be seen hosting another officer onto the roof where Crooks was stationed, which is about 12 feet above the ground.

    Crooks pointed his weapon at the officer who scaled the building, before he ultimately ducks his head and loses his grip on the roof’s edge and falls about eight feet to the ground, spraining his ankle, Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights previously told Fox News Digital.

    Watch:

    The video does not capture Crooks.

    “I’m f—— p—ed. We couldn’t find him,” another officer can be heard saying in the other bodycam footage.

    “Before you motherf—–s came up here, I popped my head up there like an idiot by myself dude,” the officer who was boosted onto the roof says. “Then he turned around and I f—— dropped and I started f—— I was calling out bro, f—— on top of the roof. F—— we’re not on the same frequency?”

    Butler Township PD Lt. Matthew Pearson told a local outlet that the officer was unable to draw his weapon since he was hanging from the building.

    Seconds later, Crooks opened fire.

    This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.

    Report: J6 Defendant Arrested After Threatening Trump Judge, Prosecutor

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    This week, authorities took a Jan. 6 defendant into custody over his repeated online threats against people involved in former President Trump’s legal battles, FBI agents who investigated the defendant’s case, and Supreme Court justices. 

    Charles Austin, a federal magistrate judge in Maryland, on Monday ordered Bradley Nelson be detained

    “While there is no history of prior release violations, these statements evidence an actionable threat to the community – at the least, law enforcement involved in the investigation,” Austin wrote in his order. 

    According to The Hill, prosecutors said Nelson over the past year has posted images of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and a Georgia state judge with apparent crosshairs drawn on their heads.  

    Court documents indicate the post about James, who brought a major civil fraud prosecution against Trump that led to a $464 million judgment, also included a threatening comment: “give every [expletive] thing I have to watch that [expletive]’s head explode, or at least the back of her head blowout.” 

    And in June, prosecutors say Nelson made a threatening post about Barrett, Trump’s final appointee to the Supreme Court. 

    The post was allegedly made roughly one hour after the Supreme Court narrowed the use of an obstruction charge levied against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, including Nelson. Barrett wrote the dissent, siding with prosecutors alongside two of the court’s liberals. 

    “I pray to God with all my [expletive] heart that somebody cuts your [expletive] throat from ear to ear you worthless piece of [expletive],” Nelson’s comment read, according to court documents. 

    “The Court does not, in any way, disregard or minimize statements concerning state and federal judges and attorneys general,” the judge wrote. “Those comments and rhetoric are even more offensive and violent than the agent-focused statements. Moreover, they support concerns that Nelson might resort to violence in the future.” 

    The judge added, “Yet, the Court is mindful of its directive to consider not only the nature of any alleged threats but also Mr. Nelson’s resources and capabilities.” 

    In connection with the Jan. 6 riot, Nelson faces charges like obstruction, entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct. He pleaded not guilty. 

    Vance Accuses Harris Running Mate of Stolen Valor

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    President Donald J. Trump is presented with a 10th Combat Aviation Brigade challenge coin following an air assault and gun rain demonstration at Fort Drum, New York, on August 13. The demonstration was part of President Trump's visit to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) to sign the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, which increases the Army's authorized active-duty end strength by 4,000 enabling us to field critical capabilities in support of the National Defense Strategy. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Scaggs) 180813-A-TZ475-010

    Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) of dodging his military service and misleading the country about his veteran status.

    Vance made the statement after a reporter asked him about Walz’s attempt to frame him as a member of the elite who attended an Ivy League school.

    “I came from a family where nobody in my family had ever gone to law school. I grew up in a poor family. The fact that Tim Walz wants to turn it into a bad thing, that I actually worked myself through college, through law school and made something myself –  to me, that’s the American dream. And if Tim Walz wants to insult it, I think that’s frankly pretty bizarre,” Vance said before launching into an attack on Walz.

    “As a marine who served his country in uniform when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do it, and I did it honorably,” he said. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with.” 

    Vance continued, “I think it’s shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you’re going to follow through, and then to drop out right before you actually have to go.”

    Then Vance honed in on recent comments from Walz on gun control.

    “He said, ‘We shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets.’ Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone? What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen Valor garbage,” Vance said.

    Vance also urged reporters to hold Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris accountable. Harris has not taken questions from the press in the 17 days since President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her.

    I, DONALD J. TRUMP, have officially accepted your nomination for President of the United States! Will you stand with me and donate to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN? The future of our beloved country depends on YOU!

    Report: Arizona Convicts First Individual In Fake Electors Scheme

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    An Arizona woman has become the first to be convicted in the state’s 2020 fake electors scheme…

    A Republican activist who signed a document falsely claiming that former President Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Arizona has pleaded guilty earlier this week.

    Court records show Pellegrino’s plea change was entered Tuesday, and she was sentenced to unsupervised probation. The details of her agreement have not yet been posted by the court. She previously faced nine felony counts. The Hill requested comment from her lawyer.

    The alternate electors scheme relied on former Vice President Mike Pence to certify slates of Trump-supporting electors in battleground states instead of the true Electoral College votes cast for Biden. Pence declined to do so on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the election certification, after which a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol.

    On Monday, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis’s charges were dismissed after she agreed to cooperate with state prosecutors. She faced nine felony counts including fraud, forgery and conspiracy.

    As part of the deal, Ellis agreed to testify “completely and truthfully at any time and any place,” including at a criminal trial. She also promised not to “protect any person or entity” through false information or omissions. 

    The case against the remaining defendants is set to go to trial in October.

    Report: Man With Ties To Iran Charged In Assassination Plot

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Police image via Pixabay free images

    A Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government sought to carry out a political assassination in the United States targeting high-ranking officials including former President Donald Trump.

    Asif Merchant, 46, traveled to New York City and worked with a hit man to carry out the assassinations in late August or early September, federal prosecutors said in a court complaint.

    Fox News has more:

    “Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were undercover FBI Agents,” said Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis of the FBI New York Field Office. “This case underscores the dedication and formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York, Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats.”

    “Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of U.S. government officials on American soil,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution demonstrates that this Office and the entire U.S. Department of Justice will take swift and decisive action to protect our nation’s security, our government officials and our citizens from foreign threats.”

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Reverses Course To Help Arizona Prosecutors

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    In a surprising turnaround, former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis has agreed to cooperate with Arizona prosecutors in their 2020 election interference case.

    Ellis previously faced nine felony counts including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy. However, in exchange for her cooperation, the charges were dismissed.

    In a statement, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) called the agreement a “significant step forward” in the case.

    “I am grateful to Ms. Ellis for her cooperation with our investigation and prosecution,” Mayes said. “Her insights are invaluable and will greatly aid the State in proving its case in court. As I stated when the initial charges were announced, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined — it is far too important. Today’s announcement is a win for the rule of law.”

    As part of the deal, Ellis agreed to testify “completely and truthfully at any time and any place,” including at a criminal trial. She also vowed not to “protect any person or entity” through false information or omissions. 

    Ellis’s charges stemmed from her false claims of election fraud and efforts to pressure the Arizona Legislature into overturning the state’s election results in Trump’s favor. 

    She was also accused of encouraging then-Vice President Mike Pence to accept slates of fake electors instead of the true electoral votes cast for President Biden. Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes.

    Ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani are among the 17 total defendants with remaining charges; they were indicted in April and have pleaded not guilty. 

    Trump himself is not charged in the case but is described as “unindicted co-conspirator 1.”

    SCOTUS Rejects Bid To Stop Trump’s Criminal Sentencing

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s bid to block former President Trump’s criminal sentencing and gag order in his hush-money case.

    In a brief order, the justices turned away Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s (R) attempt to go straight to the Supreme Court by invoking its exclusive, original jurisdiction over disputes between two states.

    Bailey’s state of Missouri directly sued New York, accusing the Empire State of violating Missourians’ First Amendment rights and interfering with the presidential election in the state. 

    Read:

    080524zr_5hekDownload

    Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the court’s leading conservatives, said they would’ve allowed Missouri to file the suit but “would not grant other relief.” No other justice publicly dissented. 

    Missouri’s lawsuit sought to block Trump’s Sept. 18 sentencing and gag order in his hush-money case until after the presidential election. 

    Trump was convicted in May on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money deal during his 2016 campaign, marking the first-ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. president.  

    AG Bailey has vowed to appeal, but Trump is scheduled to be sentenced weeks before the election.

    The Hill noted, that by suing the state directly, Bailey forced New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) to defend Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) prosecution of the former president. 

    James’s office called on the justices to turn away the suit, criticizing it for containing “bare assertions of bad faith” and arguing it wasn’t an actual controversy between two states. 

    “It’s disappointing that the Supreme Court refused to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve state v. state disputes,” Bailey wrote on the social platform X, vowing to continue to “prosecute our lawsuit.”

    Campaign Launches ‘Republicans For Harris’ Initiative

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    14
    Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Sunday, the Kamala Harris campaign announced the launch of a controversial new initiative “Republicans For Harris” boasting a number of high-profile conservatives.

    The campaign announced Sunday that Trump-era White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye, ex-national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, also endorsed Harris.

    “I encourage other Trump administration officials who saw the tyrant we worked for in office to speak out and stand with Kamala Harris this November to keep integrity in the White House and ensure democracy for our country,” Grisham said in a statement.

    Troye added, “The stakes are too high to let partisanship jeopardize our freedoms and the Constitution.”

    Other endorsements came from former GOP Govs. Bill Weld (Mass.), Christine Todd Whitman (N.J.) and Jim Edgar (Ill.), the campaign announced Sunday. It also highlighted that former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) endorsed Harris after backing Biden.

    “Donald Trump’s MAGA extremism is toxic to the millions of Republicans who no longer believe the party of Donald Trump represents their values and will vote against him again in November,” Austin Weatherford, Harris’s national director for Republican outreach, said in a statement.

    He added, “Donald Trump said he doesn’t want these voters, but Vice President Harris and our campaign are working overtime to earn the support of my fellow Republicans who care about defending democracy and restoring decency — all of which would be torn away in a second Trump presidency.”

    On Sunday, former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) also endorsed Vice President Harris’s bid for president and warned sending former President Trump back to the White House “would endanger U.S. citizens.”

    “I’m on here. Yep,” Riggleman said on the social platform X in a post that included the “Republicans for Harris” press release.

    Riggleman pointed to the events of Jan. 6, 2021 — when a violent mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol — to explain his reasoning behind the endorsement. Riggleman was endorsed by Trump in two separate campaigns, but he broke with the former president on Jan. 6.

    “I’ve seen the data from J6. Trump & his minions are dangerous. The same folks who pushed J6 push Project 2025,” Riggleman said. “A 2nd Trump term would endanger US citizens — and create global chaos.”

    “Sanity should be the baseline. Criminals should be discounted,” he added, before tagging the Republicans for Harris X account.

    Harris To Reveal VP Pick Tuesday

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Kamala Harris via Wikimedia Commons

    Kamala Harris has narrowed down her choices…

    She plans to announce her choice no later than Tuesday. Harris’ team announced that she and her running mate will then embark on a five-day trip through the seven battleground states expected to decide November’s election.

    Harris and her vice presidential pick will start Tuesday night in Philadelphia before traveling to Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, North Carolina and Georgia on Thursday, Arizona on Friday, and Nevada on Saturday.

    Harris and her running mate will meet with voters in smaller settings like restaurants and union halls, the campaign said. They will be joined at each stop by local officials.

    “This swing will allow the Vice President and her running mate to speak directly with voters in their communities and cement the contrast between our ticket and Trump’s,” the campaign said. 

    Harris last week earned enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee, setting up a likely matchup in November against former President Trump.

    Harris spent the weekend interviewing prospective running mates, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

    Speculation is building around Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro after the mayor of Philadelphia published a video referring to Gov. Shapiro as “vice president.”

    On Friday, Mayor Cherelle Parker posted a video on her personal social media accounts encouraging Pennsylvanians to stand behind “Kamala Harris for president” and “Josh Shapiro for vice president”, days before the presumptive Democratic nominee is expected to make her official announcement.

    “I can’t think of a better partner than our governor, Josh Shapiro,” Parker said, in the video.

    The video was “accidentally posted” on Friday but had been “scheduled for Monday” after Harris made her announcement, Ernest Owens, editor-at-large for Philadelphia Magazine, wrote in a tweet. “It’s Josh Shapiro, y’all.”

    Trump Agrees To Kamala Debate On Fox News

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    It’s on…

    Donald Trump has agreed to a presidential debate against Kamala Harris hosted by Fox News.

    The former president also noted that an ABC News debate previously scheduled against President Biden before he suspended his re-election campaign had been canceled, citing his lawsuit against that network and one of its hosts, George Stephanopoulos.

    “I have agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest.”

    The moderators of the debate will be Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

    The debate rules will be similar to the rules of the June 27 CNN debate against Biden, who Trump wrote “has been treated horribly by his Party.” But unlike the CNN debate, which did not have an audience, the Fox News debate will have spectators.

    Fox News had invited Trump and Harris to participate in a debate in Pennsylvania on Sept. 17.

    Trump previously said he would not debate Harris because she was not the party’s official candidate after Biden dropped out of the race. But on Friday, the vice president officially secured enough delegates to become the party’s nominee.

    “As everyone knows, the Democrats have Unconstitutionally taken a Candidate, who was acknowledged to be defeated, and unceremoniously replaced him with a new Candidate,” Trump wrote. “This has never been done before, and is a Threat to Democracy, but I am totally prepared to accept the results of this ‘coup,’ and replace Joe on the Debate stage with Crazy Kamala Harris.”

    “I spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, Time, and Effort fighting Joe, and when I won the Debate, they threw a new Candidate into the ring. Not fair, but it is what it is!” he continued. “Nevertheless, different Candidate or not, their bad Policies are the same, and this will be strongly revealed at the September 4th Debate. I look forward to meeting and debating Kamala Harris on September 4th. This date is convenient and appropriate in that it is just prior to the September 6th start of Early Voting in the 2024 Presidential Election. I look forward to seeing everyone on September 4th, in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!”

    1...202122...98Page 21 of 98
    © Great America News Desk 2022