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Trump’s DC crime crackdown busts another alleged Tren de Aragua gang member: ‘Make DC Safe Again’

Trump’s DC crime crackdown busts another alleged Tren de Aragua gang member: ‘Make DC Safe Again’

Another alleged Tren de Aragua gang member was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Monday night, as Attorney General Pam Bondi continues to announce arrest statistics following the federal law enforcement takeover of the capital city. In total, the Department of Justice says there have been over 1,094 arrests and 115 illegal guns seized. “87 more arrests and 4 illegal firearms seized last night in Washington, DC — where not a single carjacking has occurred over the past week. We also arrested another Tren de Aragua gang member and a man caught burning our American flag in Lafayette Park. Make DC Safe Again!” Bondi posted to X on Tuesday morning. FEDS NAB SUSPECTED MS-13 GANGSTER, TOP 700 ARRESTS IN DC CRACKDOWN Bondi announced the day prior that another alleged member of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan-based gang, was taken into custody. In past days, there have been hundreds of immigration-related arrests and arrests of those with alleged MS-13 ties. President Donald Trump announced the federal takeover earlier this month, and the streets of D.C. now have National Guard from numerous states, as well as numerous other federal agencies like ICE and the FBI conducting operations. The new law enforcement presence is in addition to the Metropolitan Police Department, which now has federal designee Terry Cole, who’s the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, monitoring. Last week, the president said he could take the crackdown a step further. TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OFFERS CASH AWARDS FOR TIPS LEADING TO DC ARRESTS AMID TRUMP’S CRIME CRACKDOWN “Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN! The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!! As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory,” the president posted to Truth Social on Friday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!” he continued. Trump issued an executive order scrapping cashless bail for those arrested in D.C. on Monday, which triggered swift backlash from some local Democrats. MS-13 GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN DC AS BONDI TOUTS ADMIN’S ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ CRIME CRACKDOWN “Pre-trial detention should depend on whether someone is a flight risk or a threat to the public — not whether they can afford bail. Cash bail creates a two-tiered justice system where poor people stay locked up simply because they cannot afford bail,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb posted to X on Monday night. “This Executive Order disregards effective, data-driven policies purely for political purposes — something every American should be alarmed by. Public safety and justice are enhanced when local governments can exercise local control. This blatant federal overreach violates the fundamental principle of self-governance this country was founded on and will not make us safer,” Schwalb added.

Fighter pilots take directions from AI in Pentagon’s groundbreaking test

Fighter pilots take directions from AI in Pentagon’s groundbreaking test

FIRST ON FOX: For the first time, U.S. fighter pilots took direction from an AI “air battle manager” in a Pentagon test that could change how wars are fought in the skies. The Air Force and Navy ran the August test using Raft AI’s Starsage tactical control system on F-16s, F/A-18s and F-35s during a joint military exercise designed to evaluate new weapons systems, advanced communications and battle management platforms, Fox News Digital has learned.  In a typical combat mission, fighter pilots communicate with human air battle managers on the ground. These managers monitor radar, sensor feeds and intelligence to direct pilots on where to fly and how to position their aircraft. “We haven’t seen our enemies test any similar technology, so I think this is groundbreaking,” Raft AI CEO Shubhi Mishra told Fox News Digital in an interview. AI ARMS RACE: US AND CHINA WEAPONIZE DRONES, CODE AND BIOTECH FOR THE NEXT GREAT WAR She said Starsage both speeds up response time and improves accuracy, allowing pilots to make decisions that once took minutes in just seconds. “In the air battle manager’s case, it’s not a one-to-one ratio: one air battle manager is helping several pilots,” Mishra explained. “The autonomous agent we built is one-to-one, at the beck and call of each pilot.” Air battle managers operate somewhat like air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), ensuring aircraft don’t collide and remain within safe air corridors. Mishra argued that Starsage could also have prevented the collision between a regional airliner and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport earlier this year. “If the FAA had this technology, that never would have happened,” she said. “It’s just data, and then execution on the data.” An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Black Hawk’s pilots never heard the command to “pass behind the [commercial regional jet]” because the transmission was stepped on. The airliner’s pilots were not warned there was a helicopter nearby. THE FUTURE OF AIR COMBAT: HOW LONG WILL THE US MILITARY STILL NEED PILOTS? During the test, fighter pilots checked in with Starsage, confirming they were on track with the mission plan. Starsage cross-referenced their reports with its simulated sensor feed and the day’s Air Tasking Order, then announced that the minimum force package had been met, signaling that the required number of aircraft were airborne and ready. Behind the scenes, the AI prepared to digitally update the mission commander and other command-and-control agencies. A battle manager monitored each scenario, and pilots were able to direct Starsage to call them as needed for human direction.  Later in the scenario, when pilots requested a threat assessment, Starsage analyzed its feed and issued what’s known as a “picture call” — a snapshot of enemy aircraft formations. In this case, Starsage identified a single heavy group of five adversary aircraft, marking the first time an AI system has provided real-time tactical awareness in the air battle space. The development comes as defense aviation leaders debate how much longer humans will remain in the cockpit of combat aircraft, and how many future generations of fighter jets the Pentagon will ultimately need. To an AI expert like Mishra, “if it’s a life-or-death decision, humans should always be in the loop.” “But in terms of the technology being capable of doing this, I think it’s already here,” she said. “The question is, do we let it?”

Pritzker rails against ‘un-American’ possible National Guard deployment by Trump

Pritzker rails against ‘un-American’ possible National Guard deployment by Trump

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker blasted President Donald Trump as a “wannabe dictator” Monday, accusing him of trying to “occupy” Chicago with National Guard troops after reports the White House is preparing a possible deployment as soon as September. The Democrat railed against a Washington Post report detailing the potential move, warning that Trump was escalating rhetoric against Chicago and its leaders over crime.  “This is exactly the type of overreach that our country’s founders warned against,” Pritzker said at a press conference in front of Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’: MAJOR BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL OPENING FINANCIAL AID TO ILLEGALS “What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. It is un-American.” Pritzker vowed to fight the move in court, accusing Trump of trying to occupy a U.S. city for political gain. “Go talk to the people of Chicago who are enjoying a gorgeous afternoon in this city… ask if they want their neighborhoods turned into a war zone by a wannabe dictator,” Pritzker said, flanked by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other local officials.  “Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish his dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is – a dangerous power grab.” The Democrat said Trump was trying to militarize a blue state while simultaneously slashing $800 million in federal crime prevention grants. Most of the grants were headed to nonprofits and local community groups, not to police departments or federal law enforcement.  Pritzker said that crime rates are down in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, and that Trump’s narrative of the city being engulfed in crime is manufactured.  For instance, he said that murders are down 32% compared to last year and nearly cut in half since 2021. “You are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Pritzker added. “We will see the Trump administration in court. We will use every lever at our disposal to protect the people of Illinois and their rights.” Hours earlier Trump suggested he would prefer to be “asked” before sending troops. He has been floating the idea of deploying the National Guard in Chicago, replicating operations in Washington, D.C., which has also seen the federal government take control of the local police. More than 1,000 arrests have been made and the capital has gone 11 days straight without a homicide, according to the latest figures. ILLINOIS GOV CALLS FOR MASS PROTESTS AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN: GOP ‘CANNOT KNOW A MOMENT OF PEACE’ National Guard units sent without state approval are generally restricted to defending federal property and personnel. When Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles in June over anti-ICE protests, they were confined to federal buildings and escort duties for immigration agents. In Washington, D.C., which is under federal jurisdiction, Guard units have conducted armed patrols alongside local police. “In a certain way, you really want to be asked to go,” Trump told reporters, before taking a jab at Pritzker: “He has to spend more time in the gym.” Trump continued his attacks on Pritzker and ripped the Windy City’s crime record. “I’m thinking about you know, when I have some slob like Pritzker criticizing us before we even go there. I made the statement that next year be Chicago because, as you all know, Chicago’s a killing field right now and they don’t acknowledge it. And they say, we don’t need him.” Chicago recorded 573 homicides in 2024, marking the 13th straight year Chicago has led the nation in total murders, according to Chicago Police Department data compiled by Wirepoints. According to the Council on Criminal Justice’s year-end 2024 update, aggravated assaults declined by 4% compared to 2023 but remained 4% higher than in 2019, gun assaults fell 15% though they were still 5% above 2019 levels, and carjackings dropped 32% year-over-year yet were 25% higher than in 2019. Meanwhile, Johnson echoed Pritzker’s defiance, insisting Chicagoans don’t want a “military occupation.”  “We believe that you don’t solve crime by sending in the military,” Johnson said. “The last thing that Chicagoans want is someone from the outside of our city who doesn’t know our city, trying to dictate and tell us what our city needs.” Johnson called the plan “a stunt,” saying Trump’s targeting of Chicago is rooted in racism. “We cannot incarcerate our way out of violence. We’ve already tried that, and we’ve ended up with the largest prison population in the world without solving the problems of crime and violence,” Johnson said. “The addiction on jails and incarceration in this country. We have moved past that. It is racist. It is immoral. It is unholy. And it is not the way to drive violence down.”

House Republicans give California medical schools two-week deadline in antisemitism probe

House Republicans give California medical schools two-week deadline in antisemitism probe

House Republicans are demanding that California’s top medical schools hand over years’ worth of internal documents as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitism at the institutions. House Education and Workforce Committee chairman Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., set a two-week deadline in letters to the University of California Los Angeles and UC San Francisco medical schools. The House is investigating how the universities responded to reports of Jewish people “experiencing hostility and fear” on their campuses. Walberg’s letter demands the universities turn over “all documents and communications” since Sept. 1, 2021, relating to reports or complaints of antisemitic incidents. It demands that they include “any communications among administrators or staff regarding the complaint.” “The Committee has become aware that Jewish students, faculty, and patients have been experiencing hostility and fear at the university, and it has not been demonstrated that the university has meaningfully responded to address and mitigate this problem,” Walberg asserted in the letter. TRUMP CONGRATULATES IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL AFTER $50M DEAL TO RESTORE FEDERAL FUNDING: ‘WOKE IS OFFICIALLY DEAD’ The letter to UCSF cites incidents such as Jewish students testifying to the committee that they have “concealed aspects of their Jewish identity” while attending the university. In another instance, a student allegedly told a Jewish student that “Jews control the banks.” A lab technician allegedly told the same Jewish student that Israel deserved what happened on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the letter. Walberg also sent a similar letter to the University of Illinois College of Medicine. UICOM told Fox News Digital in a statement that it “condemns antisemitism, hate and discrimination in all its forms.” “We take seriously any allegations of harassment or bias within our campus community,” the statement continued. “The university is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment and will respond to the committee’s questions as requested.” The House investigation is separate from the Trump administration’s scrutiny of antisemitism allegations at UCLA. President Donald Trump’s administration has already suspended $584 million in federal grants from UCLA after the Justice Department announced it found the school violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The administration said earlier this month that it is seeking $1 billion from UCLA to settle discrimination and antisemitism allegations in exchange for restoring the federal funds. The proposed agreement, sent to the school on Aug. 8, requires UCLA to pay the federal government $1 billion over multiple installments, along with establishing a $172 million claims fund for alleged victims of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine argued that antisemitism “has no place” on its campus. “Protecting the civil rights of our Jewish community members remains a top priority. We are committed to fair processes in all our educational programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws and continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and harassment,” the statement said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In July, UCLA agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Jewish students and faculty members over the school’s handling of anti-Israel protests, including allowing protesters to ban Jews from a part of the campus known as a “Jew Exclusion Zone.” Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report

Venezuela sends troops to Colombia border as US ships join cartel operation

Venezuela sends troops to Colombia border as US ships join cartel operation

Two more US ships said to join amphibious squadron due to arrive off coast of Venezuela in anti-drug cartel operation. Venezuela has announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking, as the United States was reported to have sent two additional navy ships to the southern Caribbean as part of an operation against Latin American drug cartels. Venezuelan Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday that Caracas would deploy 15,000 troops to bolster security in Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia. “Here, we do fight drug trafficking; here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” the minister said, while also announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year. Cabello said the increased security on the border with Colombia, to “combat criminal groups”, would also involve aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to local media outlet Noticias Venevision, as he called on Colombian authorities to do the same to “ensure peace along the entire axis”. The reinforcement of Venezuelan troops on the Colombian border comes after the Trump administration accused Venezuela’s left-wing president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels. Officials in Washington, DC, have accused both Maduro and Cabello of working with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”) drug trafficking organisation, which Washington has designated a terrorist group. The accusations were made as the US announced last week that it had doubled a reward to $50m for the capture of Maduro on drug charges. The US earlier this year increased a reward for Cabello’s arrest or prosecution from $10m to $25m. Advertisement Maduro has accused the US of attempting to foment regime change in Venezuela, and launched a nationwide drive to sign up thousands of militia members to strengthen national security in the country amid the threats from Washington. “I am confident that we will overcome this test that life has imposed on us, this imperialist threat to the peace of the continent and to our country,” Maduro was quoted as saying in local media on Monday. The Reuters news agency also reported on Monday that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, will arrive in the southern Caribbean by early next week. Citing two sources briefed on the deployment, Reuters said the missile cruiser and attack submarine would join the US amphibious squadron that was due to arrive off the coast of Venezuela on Sunday. The squadron includes the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale, and is said to be carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, according to reports. Trump has made the targeting of Latin American drug cartels a central focus of his administration, and has designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, including Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organisations. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,279

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,279

Here are the key events on day 1,279 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is how things stand on Tuesday, August 26: Fighting An 82-year-old woman was killed and three people were injured in a Russian attack on Kupiansk city, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Russian attacks killed one person and injured three others in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Russian drones and artillery fire injured a rescue worker and damaged a fire truck in the Nikopol region of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Governor Serhiy Lysak. A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured two others in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported. TASS also reported that Russian forces shot down 151 Ukrainian drones and four aerial bombs, and destroyed two missile launchers, in one day. One person was killed and two others injured in Ukrainian attacks on the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Kherson region, the Russian-appointed governor, Vladimir Saldo, wrote in a post on Telegram. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces captured the settlement of Zaporizke in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region. Peace talks Germany will take part in providing security guarantees for Ukraine alongside European partners, but the talks are at an early stage and must be shaped by Kyiv, German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said on Monday, while visiting the Ukrainian capital. Asked why Russia President Vladimir Putin appears reluctant to sit down for peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump told reporters it is “because he doesn’t like him”. “The one I thought would be the easiest, frankly, was Russia and Ukraine. But it turns out there are some big personality conflicts,” Trump said. Putin spoke on the phone with Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian and discussed his meeting with Trump in Alaska, the Kremlin press service said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. “Masoud Pezeshkian expressed support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,” the Kremlin said. Advertisement Ukraine aid Speaking at a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine aims to raise “no less than $1bn every month”, towards buying weapons from the United States to be used in the war. Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a bill that would have extended financial support to Ukrainian refugees, potentially also jeopardising Ukraine’s use of Starlink, according to Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski. “This is the end of the Starlink Internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine, which is waging war. This is also the end of support for storing Ukrainian administration data in a safe place,” Gawkowski, who is from a different political party than Nawrocki, wrote on X. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Adblock test (Why?)

Australia accuses Iran of directing anti-Semitic attacks, expels envoy

Australia accuses Iran of directing anti-Semitic attacks, expels envoy

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia will also designate the IRGC as a ‘terrorist entity’. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused Iran of directing at least two anti-Jewish attacks in his country and announced plans to expel Iran’s ambassador to Canberra. Speaking to reporters in the Australian capital on Tuesday, Albanese described the attacks as attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in Australia. “It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action,” he said. “A short time ago, we informed the Iranian ambassador to Australia that he will be expelled.” The prime minister said Australia has also suspended operations at its embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and moved all of its diplomats to a third country. “I can also announce the government will legislate to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, as a terrorist organisation,” he added. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said the Iranian ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, and three of his colleagues have been declared persona non grata and given seven days to leave the country. She said the move marked the first time that Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II and that the country has also withdrawn its envoy to Tehran. Still, the Albanese government will maintain some diplomatic lines with Iran to advance Canberra’s interests, Wong said, advising Australians in the Middle Eastern country to return home. She also warned Australians considering travelling to Iran to refrain from doing so. More soon. Adblock test (Why?)

Trump bans burning of US flag in defiance of constitutional protections

Trump bans burning of US flag in defiance of constitutional protections

The US Supreme Court ruling says flag burning is an expression protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order punishing those who burn the country’s flag with one year in jail, despite a longstanding court ruling that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The order, signed on Monday, acknowledges the 1989 Supreme Court decision, which found that flag burning is protected as free speech, but argued that it is “likely to incite imminent lawless action”. “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail; no early exits, no nothing,” Trump said as he signed the order. “You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately,” he added. The move has been condemned by free speech groups who say that the order violates key civil liberties, as Trump pursues a vision of executive power with few constraints. “President Trump may believe he has the power to revise the First Amendment with the stroke of a pen, but he doesn’t,” the free speech advocacy group FIRE said in a statement. “The government can’t prosecute protected expressive activity — even if many Americans, including the president, find it ‘uniquely offensive and provocative’,” it added. Monday’s executive order calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute those involved in flag burning to the “fullest extent possible”. The order claims without evidence that flag burning is being used by foreign nationals to intimidate and threaten Americans. The order also threatens visa revocation, deportation and more for foreign nationals who do so. Advertisement The order says that flag burning is tantamount to “incitement” or “fighting words”, with Trump saying that flag burning “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before”. There is no evidence for this claim, which has been dismissed by legal experts. “I don’t think this is something that has been a big problem,” GS Hans, a law professor at Cornell University who focuses on the First Amendment, told the Associated Press news agency. “It’s a solution in search of a problem.” Adblock test (Why?)

Trump to South Korea’s Lee: ‘Look forward’ to meeting N Korea’s Kim Jong Un

Trump to South Korea’s Lee: ‘Look forward’ to meeting N Korea’s Kim Jong Un

In White House meeting with Lee, Trump also says US should have ownership of land housing US military base in South Korea. United States President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have expressed their willingness to engage with North Korea’s hereditary leader, Kim Jong Un, during a meeting at the White House. Lee, who has promised to “heal the wounds of division and war” as South Korea’s new president, told the US leader on Monday that his North Korean counterpart “will be waiting” to meet him. “I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong Un”, and “build a Trump Tower in North Korea so that I can play golf there”, Lee said, speaking in Korean. Trump, who has met with Kim on three past occasions, told reporters in the Oval Office that he hopes to meet the North Korean leader again this year. “Someday, I’ll see him. I look forward to seeing him. He was very good with me,” Trump said, adding that he knew Kim “better than anybody, almost, other than his sister”. During his meeting with the South Korean president, Trump also said the US should have ownership of South Korean land where some 28,500 American troops are stationed in US military bases. “We spent a lot of money building a fort, and there was a contribution made by South Korea, but I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease and get ownership of the land where we have a massive military base,” Trump said. This was Lee’s first visit to the White House after he was elected in June following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who briefly imposed martial law late last year in a move swiftly overturned by lawmakers and which has led to his arrest on alleged insurrection charges. Advertisement Since taking office, Lee has publicly made efforts to improve South Korea’s relationship with its northern neighbour. But Pyongyang has so far rebuffed the diplomatic overtures. Last week, Lee said he would seek to restore the so-called September 19 Military Agreement, signed at an inter-Korean summit in 2018, suspending military activity along South Korea’s border with North Korea as part of an effort to rebuild trust. Lee’s announcement was met with criticism from North Korea, which noted that it came as South Korea embarked on joint military drills with the United States. North Korean state media said that the drills proved Washington’s intention to “occupy” the entire Korean Peninsula . “If they continuously persist in the military rehearsal, they will certainly face up the unpleasant situation and pay a dear price,” Kim Yong Bok, first vice-chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, was cited by North Korean state media KCNA as saying. ‘A raid on churches’ Hours before Lee arrived at the White House, Trump took to social media to denounce what he described as “a Purge or Revolution” in South Korea. “WHAT IS GOING ON IN SOUTH KOREA? Seems like a Purge or Revolution. We can’t have that and do business there,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Asked about his post during his meeting with Lee, Trump said, “I am sure it’s a misunderstanding, but there’s a rumour going around about raiding churches … I did hear that from intel.” Last month, South Korean Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team raided Unification Church facilities and officials linked with the religious sect, while “investigating various allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee”, South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency said. Seoul police also raided Sarang Jeil Church, headed by evangelical preacher Jun Kwang-hoon, who led protests in support of the removed President Yoon. The police have also investigated pro-Yoon activists who stormed a court in late January after it extended Yoon’s detention, and in July, special prosecutors investigating the declaration of martial law served a search warrant on the Korean part of a military base jointly operated with the US. Adblock test (Why?)