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Cruz defies anti-Israel agitators who descend on his home ‘just about’ every weekend: ‘Wake the neighbors’

Cruz defies anti-Israel agitators who descend on his home ‘just about’ every weekend: ‘Wake the neighbors’

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz remains unbowed in his support for Israel despite nearly two dozen anti-Israel protests staged outside the Houston-area home he shares with his wife and their two children, Fox News Digital has learned. Protesters have gathered to shout slogans outside Cruz’s home since February as outcry surrounding Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel mounted. The demonstrations came in response to Cruz’s staunch support of Israel during the war and as the Texas senator railed against “cultural Marxism” promoted in the classrooms of the nation’s elite universities.  “It doesn’t matter how long this anti-Israel, pro-terrorist harassment continues. Sen. Ted Cruz will continue to fight antisemitism and stand for Texas values. He’s proud to stand with Israel as the country fights to utterly eradicate Hamas for as long as it takes,” a Cruz spokesperson told Fox News Digital.  The latest incident came Friday evening, when anti-Israel protesters gathered outside Cruz’s Texas home for the 23rd time since Feb. 10.  ‘SCREAMING AND CURSING’ ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS DESCEND ON SENATOR’S HOME MORE THAN A DOZEN TIMES Photos and video show about a dozen protesters outside Cruz’s home Friday chanting and clapping while holding signs such as “Cease Fire Now,” “No rest for the wicked, Ted” and “Israel bombs playgrounds.” The protesters were also seen ringing bells as they chanted and wore masks.   Cruz posted to X about the agitators Friday evening, saying they have shown up to his home most weekends this year and “scream, disturb the peace & wake the neighbors.” “For the past 6 months, anti-Israel protestors have come to my home just about every Sat morning at 7 am and most Fri nights until 10 or 11 pm. They scream, disturb the peace & wake the neighbors,” he posted. “No matter how much these antisemites cheer Hamas, I will stand with Israel.” During the college school year, agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they don’t feel safe on some campuses.  TED CRUZ UNLEASHES ON BIDEN, DEMS OVER ‘REPULSIVE’ PROTESTS, SAYS US LACKING ‘REAL PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP’ Radicals on Columbia University’s campus, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel.  Terrorist organization Hamas launched a war in Israel Oct. 7, which initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests then heightened to the point Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia, were warned to leave campus for their own safety.  ROWDY ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP GATHERS OUTSIDE TED CRUZ’S HOME FOR EARLY MORNING PROTEST: ‘HARASSING MY FAMILY’ The college protests were tied to far-left organizations backed by dark money and liberal mega-donor George Soros, Fox News Digital previously reported. The National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) had a large presence amid the protests on Columbia University’s campus and on the campuses of UCLA, Tufts and the University of Texas at Austin in Cruz’s home state.  The national chapter celebrated Hamas’ initial attack on Israel in October, describing it as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance,” The New York Times reported in October.  NYPD RELEASES VIDEO SHOWING PROFESSIONAL ‘PROTEST CONSULTANT’ AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY The protesters outside Cruz’s home in recent months are tied to Students for Justice in Palestine, law enforcement told the senator earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported last month.  Cruz has previously been the target of liberal protesters working to stage demonstrations outside his house in the Houston area, including in 2021, when 60 to 70 climate activists gathered.  Amid the protests at his home and on college campuses, Cruz has reiterated his support for Israel, slamming the agitators as people “whose minds have been poisoned” to “hate America.”  COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROTESTS: REP. ELISE STEFANIK URGES TRUSTEES TO REMOVE SHAFIK AFTER MOB SEIZES BUILDING “The protests, the antisemitic protests, the anti-Israel protests we’re seeing have been disgusting,” Cruz told Fox News host Brian Killmeade on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” last month. “They have been repulsive. These are radicals whose minds have been poisoned. They have been taught to hate Israel, and they’ve been taught to hate America.  “And they are chanting in support of Hamas and in support of vicious terrorists. You look at a university, the Orthodox rabbi at Columbia advising them to stay home because they said Columbia cannot and will not protect your safety. That is utterly unacceptable. And the university administrators side with the radicals. “Joe Biden and the entire Democrat Party leadership has been AWOL as we are seeing this horrific antisemitism erupting on college campuses across the country.”

Texas Democratic candidate charged with faking racist comments to himself

Texas Democratic candidate charged with faking racist comments to himself

A Texas political candidate has been arrested on charges of sending fake hate messages to himself on social media. Taral Patel, the Democratic candidate for Fort Bend Precinct 3 Commissioner, was arrested by Texas Rangers and is being charged with Online Impersonation and Misrepresentation of Identity. Authorities allege that Patel spent months sending a stream of racist and derogatory comments to himself, impersonating a supporter of incumbent Republican Commissioner Andy Meyers. DISGRUNTLED ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ACCUSED OF FRAMING PRINCIPAL  WITH AI-GENERATED RACIST, ANTISEMITIC RECORDING According to the arrest record for Patel, the investigation was launched in October 2023 after Meyers requested authorities to look into who was responsible for the vitriolic comment made at Patel. Patel previously posted a collage of hateful comments ostensibly sent by Meyers supporters, claiming the messages represented a “deep and misguided fear” among the Republican Party. “As your Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, I am always open to criticism of my policy positions and stances on issues,” Patel said in the September 2023 post on Facebook. “However, when my Republican opponents supporters’ decide to hurl racist, anti-immigrant, Hinduphobic, or otherwise disgusting insults at my family, faith community, colleagues, and me – that crosses a line.” SCAMMERS ARE USING FAKE NEWS, MALICIOUS LINKS TO TARGET YOU IN AN EMOTIONAL FACEBOOK PHISHING TRAP Law enforcement reported that Patel used an image of a real Fort Bend resident as his profile picture without the individual’s consent. Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman Bobby Eberle released a statement reacting to Patel’s arrest, calling the situation “deeply concerning.”  “Whether Republican or Democrat, such tactics should be unequivocally condemned by all who value integrity and accountability in politics,” Eberle said. “This is not a partisan issue, and the good people of Fort Bend County should be able to trust that when allegations are made, they are sincere.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He concluded, “Fort Bend County residents deserve better leadership than someone who will create a fake account and post manufactured racist attacks — attempting to turn neighbor against neighbor — for political gain.”

RNC co-chair Lara Trump promises to prosecute anyone who cheats in an election: ‘We will track you down’

RNC co-chair Lara Trump promises to prosecute anyone who cheats in an election: ‘We will track you down’

Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Trump’s daughter-in-law, vowed Friday to prosecute anyone who cheats in an election. “This year is the year we do it,” Lara Trump said at Turning Point USA’s convention in Detroit, Michigan. “We are also sending a loud and clear message out there to anyone who thinks about cheating in an election, we will find you, we will track you down and we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law.” The RNC on Friday launched a swing state initiative to mobilize thousands of polling place monitors, poll workers and attorneys to serve as “election integrity” watchdogs in November.  Lara Trump said the goal is to recruit more than 100,000 poll watchers and 500 lawyers to deploy at election sites across the country.  TRUMP HAS ‘SORT OF A PRETTY GOOD IDEA’ OF VP PICK, WILL PROBABLY ANNOUNCE DURING RNC CONVENTION For decades, the RNC was limited in its ability to coordinate poll watching and other election integrity activities by a federal court consent decree established to stop Republican-backed voter intimidation efforts. The decree was lifted in 2018.  “We have a unique opportunity right now that we have not had in 40 years as a party. For 40 years, there was a consent decree placed on the RNC that did not allow us to train people to work as poll workers,” Lara Trump said at the Turning Point USA event. “Who was training all the people for the last 40 years? Not the RNC. Think about how many people the DNC got to train.” “So now we have this amazing opportunity so we can train you to work in a polling location. We can train you to work in a tabulation center when the mail-in ballots come in. We also want attorneys to work in every major polling location so we are not reactive, we are proactive,” she said.  The RNC has said its new effort will focus on stopping potential “Democrat attempts to circumvent the rules.” The party will deploy monitors to observe every step of the election process, create hotlines for poll watchers to report perceived problems and escalate those issues by taking legal action.  The RNC’s kickoff event took place at the headquarters of the Oakland County GOP, one of Michigan’s most influential local parties. Oakland County is an affluent Detroit suburb that for decades was one of Michigan’s premier bellwether counties. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said Friday that the committee will place election integrity directors in 15 states, including the most hotly contested battlegrounds, and work with state parties to set up similar programs in the other states. “What we need to ensure is integrity in our electoral process,” Lara Trump said during the kickoff event in Bloomfield Hills, in a suburban county that is crucial for winning Michigan. “We can never go back and repeat 2020, but we can learn the lessons from 2020.” She said most of the RNC is currently focused on the committee’s election integrity program. Both parties have a long history of organizing supporters to serve as poll monitors, and the Democratic National Committee said it plans its own volunteer recruitment effort.  RNC OPENS LATINOS FOR TRUMP FIELD OFFICE IN BATTLEGROUND PENNSYLVANIA The launch of the RNC initiative comes as the GOP faces a significant disadvantage compared to Democrats in traditional political infrastructure on the ground in key states, such as campaign offices, community centers and canvassers, according to the Associated Press. President Biden’s campaign and his allies on the Democratic National Committee have opened hundreds of campaign offices nationwide, while Republican officials in many cases are still waiting for the Trump campaign and the RNC to engage. DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd said the DNC, “alongside our partners at the state and local level, won’t let MAGA Republicans get away with these baseless attacks on our democracy, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that all Americans can make their voice heard at the ballot box.”  RNC leadership, which former President Trump handpicked in a major overhaul of the committee earlier this year,  has followed his lead in forecasting the potential for foul play in this year’s election. Lara Trump qualified her answer on CNN earlier this month when asked if she would accept the election’s results. “I can tell you, yes, we will accept the results of this election if we feel that it is free, fair and transparent,” she said. “And we are working overtime to ensure that indeed that happens.” Asked Friday whether the committee planned to challenge the election certification process in any swing states Trump might narrowly lose, Whatley said, “We’re not going to cross any of those bridges right now.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former GOP senator who broke with Trump in 2016 reveals why she is backing him this time

Former GOP senator who broke with Trump in 2016 reveals why she is backing him this time

EXCLUSIVE: CONCORD, N.H. — As she runs this year in one of the top gubernatorial elections in the country, former Sen. Kelly Ayotte is making clear she supports former President Trump’s bid to win back the White House. “Under Joe Biden things cost more, we’re less safe. There’s no question that we are worse off than we were than when President Trump was in office,” Ayotte charged in a national interview with Fox News Digital. “I’m supporting President Trump because I believe we need to change courses for the nation.” While support for the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee — thanks to his immense grip over the party — seems like a no-brainier for nearly all Republicans running in 2024 for elective office, for Ayotte, it takes on heightened importance. Ayotte was a rising star in the Republican Party in 2016 as the former state attorney general and first-term senator with a burgeoning profile on national security was running for re-election. REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS TAKE AIM AT BIDEN OVER ENERGY But just ahead of the 2016 election, she withdrew her support for Trump over the “Access Hollywood” controversy, in which Trump in a years-old video made extremely crude comments about grabbing women without their consent. “I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women,” Ayotte said at the time.  Ayotte lost re-election by a razor-thin margin of just over 1,000 votes at the hands of then-Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. But Ayotte slightly outperformed Trump in New Hampshire, as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton edged the White House winner by less than 3,000 votes. TRUMP SUPPORTS THIS BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN CRITIC OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT Before retiring full time to New Hampshire, Ayotte stuck around Washington briefly after the end of her term, shepherding then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch (Trump’s first high court nominee) through his successful Senate confirmation process. In her post-Senate career, Ayotte enjoyed a lucrative period as she served on corporate boards and in advisory roles at both public and private companies. Among them was News Corp., which at one time was the parent company of Fox News. Ayotte during the intervening years also kept a close eye on New Hampshire politics, and would occasionally appear at Republican Party events in the state. She also continued to write opinion pieces on major state, national and international issues. The former senator announced her gubernatorial bid nearly a year ago, after popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024 to what would have been an unprecedented fifth two-year term. Ayotte stayed neutral in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, but she endorsed Trump in early March, right after he clinched the GOP nomination. “He’ll fix the disaster over the southern border and we’re also seeing it on the northern border, to keep the country safe,” Ayotte told Fox News on Thursday.  She added that Trump “also has a different vision in terms of freedom and taxes” and argued that President Biden “has really, unfortunately, been a disaster for the country, and we need a change.” Ayotte was interviewed minutes after she was greeted by a large crowd of supporters as she arrived at the Secretary of State’s office at the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire, to officially file her candidacy for governor. While she’s the polling and fundraising front-runner for the GOP nomination in New Hampshire’s early September primary, she’s come under repeated attack by her rival, former longtime state Senate president Chuck Morse, who came in second in a crowded field of contenders in the 2022 U.S. Senate Republican primary. “I think there’s a big difference between myself and Kelly Ayotte,” Morse said last week as he filed at the Statehouse. “I started as a conservative, and I finished as a conservative as Senate president, and I promise you, I will be a governor that’s a conservative. “That’s not what Kelly did when she went to Washington.” And hours before she arrived to file, a Morse campaign memo asked which Ayotte would show up, “the so-called conservative candidate Kelly or the moderate establishment she has always been in office.” THIS FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR NOW LAUNCHES BID FOR GOVERNOR IN KEY SWING STATE Ayotte pushed back on Thursday, emphasizing, “I am a commonsense, strong conservative, and I’m going to continue this state down the path that Gov. Sununu has. And we’re going to have even brighter days ahead.” And pointing to Morse, she argued, “I’ve known Chuck a long time, and this is a sad way for him to end his political career.” Morse, in a statement to Fox News, fired back, charging that “Governor Chris Sununu followed a path blazed by conservative leaders like me, while Kelly’s record is littered with bad policy choices and voting with [Barack] Obama over 260 times. This state deserves leaders who face tough questions, not those who hide from accountability. I’m here, ready to answer to the people and continue moving New Hampshire forward. If Kelly can’t face her own record, how can she lead?” Morse, who wasn’t particularly close to Trump when the former president first ran for the White House, endorsed Trump in December. He’s showcased his backing of Trump and for months questioned Ayotte’s support for the former president. While he’s made dozens of endorsements in competitive Republican primaries across the country, Trump remains neutral in the New Hampshire gubernatorial race. Asked if she’d embrace a Trump endorsement and if she’d campaign with him in the Granite State, Ayotte told Fox News she would “certainly appreciate” the former president’s backing. “Anyone who is offering their support, I’d love to have their support,” she said. “But on the other hand, you think about what’s the most important issue in this race and it’s the people of New Hampshire,” she emphasized. “So I’m campaigning every day to get the support and earn the support of the voters in this race, and that’s what I’m doing on the campaign trail and will continue to