FLASHBACK: Gov Walz amplified comment comparing ICE raids to ‘terrorism’ in America
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed the narrative in 2017 that ICE raids represent “terrorism” in America while reassuring a crowd that he supports sanctuary cities. “This is still one of the most moving things for me a week after I was elected in 2006, that giant ICE raid happened in Worthington,” Then-Rep. Walz told the crowd of about 300 people at a town hall event in 2017 in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District which neighbors his district, MN-01. “I drove out to Worthington as the congressman-elect, went into the basement of the Catholic Church where Father Brixius was, who asked me to look around at all the children crying, and he said, ‘This is what terrorism looks like in America today.’” Walz, who was standing alongside Dem. Rep. Angie Craig, continued as the audience applauded. TIM WALZ’S $250M STATE PROGRAM TO FEED HUNGRY KIDS FRAUDULENTLY SPENT ON LUXURY GOODS, OVERSEAS REAL ESTATE‘ “What I told them at that time is that I hold the voting card in my pocket, and the votes I will take will be to make sure we protect these folks,” Walz continued. Walz was referring to a 2006 ICE raid as part of Operation Wagon Train that, according to ICE chief Julie L. Myers, saw ICE agents uncover a scheme in which illegal immigrants and others had stolen or bought the identities and Social Security numbers of possibly hundreds of U.S. citizens and lawful residents to get jobs at Swift Co. meat packing plants. Later in the speech, Walz defended sanctuary cities through a story about an illegal immigrant who had been victimized in his district. MINNESOTA BUSINESS OWNER TEARS INTO WALZ FOR COVID, BLM RIOT LEADERSHIP: A ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE FAILURE’ “I have a gentleman in the first district who was here and was on an exchange,” Walz said. “His visa expired. He stayed. He created a life here. He had no criminal record. He had 22 years, adding to our community, had a job. He did not have permanent legal status to be here. His two young daughters were assaulted. He went to the police to tell them, and he was arrested and deported. That’s not who we are. “And so, when people try and tell you sanctuary cities are ways for people to violate laws, our police are serving us and protecting our communities — our citizens need to know that if they go to the police to report a crime either against themselves or someone else, that they’re going to be protected, to be able to do that, and our police don’t ask immigration status because it’s not their job to do that.” Craig, currently running for re-election, did not push back against Walz’s comments and went on to discuss the need for comprehensive immigration reform. “I can not give up on comprehensive immigration reform yet,” Craig said. “Just four years ago, there was a bill that the Senate was proposing, and then the world went to hell. So we will take the world back, and we will be able to stand up for our neighbors and invite them into this country. “And I will tell you, I stood on the stage at Inver Hills Community College last night, and I watched the best of America. I watched America walk across that stage and that particular college is about a 35% immigrant community, 35% people of color. It’s just the most amazing thing in the world, so I had to give it up.” Craig continued, “We have to help our Muslim voters. We have to invite them into our homes… We have to be the kind of people that we want to see in the world. And just like that 2012 marriage equality fight, you know what won that? We stood up and said, ‘I’m your neighbor.’ We stood up and said, ‘My kids play baseball with your kids.’ That’s how we win.” Walz’s comments at the town hall were first reported by Alpha News in 2017. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign and Craig’s office but did not receive a response.
9/11 conspirators’ future plea deals in jeopardy as NY House Republicans move to block them
A group of New York House Republicans is moving to ensure that the alleged plotters of the 9/11 terror attacks cannot score a deal to avoid the death penalty. “The Justice for 9/11 Act will ensure that no future plea deal will be offered to these terrorists by requiring a trial and ensuring the death penalty remains on the table,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said late last week. “Anything less is a disservice to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice on that day and in the months and years since.” Lawler’s district sits just north of New York City, where nearly 23 years ago, two hijacked passenger planes flew into the World Trade Center’s twin towers. It killed more than 2,600 people, and its effects have continued to impact the lives of first responders who developed cancer as a result of their life-saving rescue efforts. LAWMAKERS, FAMILIES OF 9/11 VICTIMS REACT TO PLEA DEAL WITH TERRORISTS: ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ Several hundred more people were killed when passenger jets crashed into the Pentagon and an empty field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The bill’s introduction comes after the Defense Department announced that three alleged plotters of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, who were awaiting trial in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, entered into pretrial agreements with the U.S. government. The details of the plea deals for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi were not immediately made public, but reports indicated they would avoid the death penalty. BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION BACKTRACKS, REVOKES PLEA DEAL FOR 9/11 TERRORISTS The White House said it had no role in the plea deals, which were revoked just two days after they were announced amid a mountain of blowback. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was not consulted before the deals were struck, the Pentagon said. In addition to keeping the death penalty on the table, Lawler’s bill would also prevent the alleged plotters from being moved from Guantánamo Bay. The measure is being co-sponsored by House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y. Preventing a plea deal would also ensure the defendants stood trial, something several Sept. 11 family advocates said they were being denied by the deal. 9/11 MASTERMIND, 2 OTHERS STRIKE PLEA DEALS WHILE AWAITING TRIAL; FAMILIES OF VICTIMS ‘VERY DISAPPOINTED’ Brett Eagleson, the president of a grassroots group made up of victims’ families called 9/11 Justice, said he was “deeply troubled” by the plea deals in a statement earlier this month. “While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information. These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth,” Eagleson said at the time.
Crews begin demolishing Sutherland Springs church where gunman killed more than two dozen in 2017
Some families wanted to preserve the sanctuary, which became the scene of the deadliest church shooting in American history.
Shop owner reveals heart-wrenching experience after BLM riots ‘destroyed’ his store on Gov Walz’s watch
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minnesota business owner who watched helplessly as his St. Paul establishment was destroyed during the 2020 George Floyd riots spoke to Fox News Digital about how the state, led by Gov. Tim Walz, failed to protect business owners like him. “When the rioters first came here they went and destroyed the strip mall on the left-hand side here, I was in my shop,” Long Her, owner of New Fashion Tailoring and Alteration in St. Paul, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital. “I witnessed everything and videotaped. My friend and I stayed in our shop until nightfall, and I was going to go to sleep and watch over my shop, but my friends said, ‘it’s too dangerous, let’s go home’ so we ended up going home that night.” Her, a Hmong immigrant, recalled that he was “afraid” for his livelihood when he went home that night but hoped that the destruction would be contained to the other side of the street. When Her came back the next morning to check on the store that he had owned for decades, he discovered his worst fears had come true, and the location was ransacked. MINNESOTA RIOTS CONTINUED AFTER WALZ TOOK ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE’ THERE WOULDN’T BE CHAOS “The next day when I came here to find that my shop was destroyed, as a man, I couldn’t do anything but cry,” Her told Fox News Digital through translator May Lor Xiong, a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota’s 4th Congressional District. Her said rioters broke down his reinforced door and stole all the inventory in his store, which represented a dollar amount of $200,000. “They took down the front door with the metal bars, they had some pliers they used to destroy the metal bars. And they came in there and took everything, took all the clothing, all the merchandise and my store,” Her said. Her told Fox News Digital he tried to contact the police multiple times and received no response. When asked about Gov. Tim Walz’s role in the response taking several days to call in the National Guard, Her said that if Walz is to become vice president, he hopes he has learned from his mistakes in responding to the riot. MINNESOTA BUSINESS OWNER TEARS INTO WALZ FOR COVID, BLM RIOT LEADERSHIP: A ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE FAILURE’ “If he gets to become the vice president, he needs to learn how to love the people here and especially Minnesota because of the destruction that happened during his watch,” Her said. “He could be a good person, but he also needs to understand the people, the sufferings that they’re going through.” Several people who spoke to Fox News Digital said that the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul still have not fully recovered from the devastating riots that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, and Her said it took about two years for his business to financially recover. “It took me about a year and a half to two years to recover. During that time, a lot of people were scared to go out, and so I lost a lot of customers,” Her said. “People are not coming out to shop, and so I lost a lot of money and customers from that.” He went on to say that safety was “not a big concern” for business owners in the twin cities before 2020, but after the pandemic, “there’s a lot more people that would shoplift or steal stuff from the store.” “There’s a lot of homeless people sleeping in this area. It’s making it very unsafe for business owners and even shoppers, and so we need to have more police force to help us in this area, to protect the businesses and the people here.” Minneapolis is widely considered the epicenter of the defund the police movement, and CBS News reported earlier this year that the city’s police department is understaffed by 200 officers and the police force has shrunk by 40% over the last four years. “I don’t care what party they’re from,” Her said. “It should be nonpartisan when it comes to the police force and putting more police on the street to help citizens.” Fox News Digital asked Her if he fears that a situation like the 2020 riots could happen again. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Her said. “I hope it won’t with the lawlessness right here. The freedom that we have here, we love that. But also, a lot of things might happen, dangerous things that might happen to us and we have already witnessed devastation in 2020.” “We want to make sure that we’re prepared, that whoever is in office needs to make sure when something like that happens, they send the National Guard to protect the people, the citizens and the businesses. So that way we do not have to go through such destruction.”
Centre withdraws draft of Broadcasting Services Bill 2024, to prepare…
A fresh draft will be published after detailed consultations, it said.
Dems hitting Vance with debunked vulgar claim ‘undermine’ their anti-Trump credibility, strategist says
Democrats have continued to push a vulgar falsehood about former President Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, despite the claim being debunked weeks ago. “It undermines their moralizing about Trump’s falsehoods and gives Trump an opportunity to say it’s ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’” Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital. Epstein’s comment comes as Democrats show no signs of ditching the Vance “couch meme,” a vulgar rumor that originated on social media last month that Trump’s running mate described a sex act he performed on a couch in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Despite the claim being quickly debunked, its viral spread was picked up by Democrats and spawned jokes and memes across social media. WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS The falsehood even made its way to the top of the Democratic ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, cracking a joke about the rumor during a speech in Philadelphia the same day Harris announced he was joining the ticket. “I got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate [Vance]. That is if — if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up,” Walz said during the remarks as Harris smirked behind him, according to a recounting of the event on NBC News. “You see what I did there?” The moment went viral on the Harris campaign’s TikTok account, named Kamala HQ, garnering 5.3 million views, NBC reported, noting that Democrats have continued to use the joke despite the release of fact-checks debunking the rumor by several media outlets. In one such example, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a news release on July 26 targeting Trump’s decision to pick Vance, joking that Republicans are “couching their public praise of Trump’s vice presidential nominee with private criticism.” VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ On July 27, the Kamala HQ X account shared a screenshot of Vance’s moments on “cat ladies” with the caption that the Ohio senator “does not couch his hatred for women.” A day later, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, long believed to be a potential candidate to join Harris on the ticket, joked on ABC News that while Trump “talks about all kinds of crazy stuff,” Vance is “getting known for his obsession with couches.” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., has also leaned into the joke, responding to Vance’s post asking why Harris had not been taking questions from the media. “I’ve been on Air Force 2 JD, there is a great couch on it,” Moskowitz said in an August 7 post on X. The continued veiled jabs at Vance over a debunked rumor seemingly fly in the face of one of the main Democratic criticisms of Trump, who the party has long claimed peddled misinformation and false claims for political benefit. JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ That criticism of Trump took center stage during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when then-first lady Michelle Obama famously declare “when they go low, we go high,” in reference to the attacks on her and her family. Obama doubled down on the theme during the 2020 convention in support of President Biden, declaring that “going high is the only thing that works.” Moskowitz has nevertheless defended his party’s apparent double standard, arguing on social media that continuing the spread of the rumor is just jokes and does not compare to the lies spread by Trump. “For 2 years we had to hear that Joe Biden was an international super criminal mastermind from Despicable Me 3. You will listen to couch story,” he said last month. Moskowitz’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. However, Epstein believes Democrats are making a “mistake” by continuing to lean into the falsehood, though she argued getting into a “tit for tat campaign of insult comedy” would also be a “trap for the Republicans.” “More than anything else, Democrats want to memory-hole the Biden/Harris record of the last four years,” Epstein said. “They want to memory-hole Harris’ fringe left views from just five years ago.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Henry Cuellar Is Fighting for His Political Life. His GOP Opponent Is Fighting for a New One.
GOP congressional candidate Jay Furman has admitted to “picking” the district he’s running in, calling it the home of “the worst of the worst” for illegal border crossings.
Trump claims ‘nobody’ cheered Harris outside Air Force Two despite video, images of crowds
Former President Trump is claiming that “nobody” was on the tarmac last week in Detroit to greet Vice President Harris for a campaign event in the Motor City despite unedited video and images from multiple news agencies showing otherwise. Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social on Sunday as he shared two images – one showing thousands of Harris supporters reacting to Air Force Two’s arrival at Detroit Metro Airport, and another showing a zoomed-in reflection of the plane’s engine in which it appears difficult to make out an audience. “Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump declared. “She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane.” “She’s a CHEATER. She had NOBODY waiting, and the ‘crowd’ looked like 10,000 people!” Trump added. However, a review of media of the event by Fox News Digital clearly shows that there were plenty of supporters there on-scene to greet Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. WASHINGTON POST PUSHES HARRIS TO ANSWER ‘LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS’ ABOUT HER FLIP-FLOPS, AGENDA The Harris campaign had told Fox News an estimated 15,000 people showed up at the rally last Wednesday. TRUMP SHOOTING TASK FORCE DEMANDS DOCUMENTS FROM TOP BIDEN OFFICIALS IN PROBE KICKOFF The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. But an X account run by the Harris campaign shared one of Trump’s Truth Social posts regarding the crowd, saying that “This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan.” “Trump has still not campaigned in a swing state in over a week… Low energy?” it added. Fox News’ Kate Sprague contributed to this report.
In new complaint, Texas women say delayed care due to abortion laws endangered their fertility
Texas law allows doctors to terminate ectopic pregnancies, but both women say they were denied care until it was too late.
Former leader of Walz’s battalion publishes scathing message aimed at governor’s military career: Report
The battalion commander of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s former Minnesota Army National Guard unit issued a scathing message to Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate amid mounting “stolen valor” accusations, according to media reports. “I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership,” John Kolb wrote on Facebook, the Daily Mail reported. Kolb served as a lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007, the Minnesota National Guard shows on its website. Walz served in the same battalion until 2005, when he retired ahead of the battalion deploying to Iraq that same year. Kolb now works as an attorney in Minnesota. Fox News Digital contacted Kolb for confirmation on the Facebook post and additional comment on Walz’s military service but did not receive a reply prior to publication. WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS Walz has come under mounting criticism for “stolen valor,” including veterans slamming him for saying he is a “retired Command Sergeant Major.” Walz had earned the rank of command sergeant major before his retirement, but his rank was reduced months after retiring to master sergeant, as he did not complete the required coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. The “retired Command Sergeant Major” rank was promoted by the Harris campaign until last week, when it changed Walz’s biography to read that he “served as a command sergeant major.” Walz retired from the Minnestoa Army National Guard in 2005 after 24 years of service. He then launched a successful congressional campaign and was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House representing Minnesota in 2007. Kolb continued in his social media post that he does not have a comment on Walz retiring early, as it was “his right to retire early,” but that he is fraudulently using the retired command sergeant major rank. JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ “By all accounts and on the record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same of his service sitting, frocked, in the CSM [command sergeant major] chair. He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” he said. “He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” Kolb wrote in the reported social media post. “It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.” “’It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title,” Kolb continued. “I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.” VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ Kolb tagged retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends in the post, according to the Daily Mail, who replaced Walz in the battalion when he retired, and lauded the veteran as a “great leader.” “Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major,” he wrote. “Like a great leader he ran toward and not away from the guns.” DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS GROUP BOASTS IT HELPED MAKE WALZ HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE: ‘FORCE THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED’ Behrends has been sounding the alarm about Walz’s military career since last week, when Harris first announced the Minnesota governor as her 2024 running mate. “He’s used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career,” Behrends told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. “I mean, he still says he’s a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he’s not. He uses the rank of others to make it look like he’s a better person than he is.” Reports of Kolb’s Facebook post have since spread across social media, including Donald Trump Jr, former President Trump’s son, writing, “Tim Walz’s Battalion Commander absolutely destroys him over his Stolen Valor. How long is the leftwing media going to keep ignoring all of this?” HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY AFTER HIS ‘WEIRD’ SOCIALISM COMPARISON RESURFACES The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Kolb’s post. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.