Two Houston Democrats face off in back-to-back elections for John Whitmire’s open state Senate seat
State Rep. Jarvis Johnson and emergency room nurse Molly Cook are duking it out in a sleepy special election to briefly occupy the seat vacated when Whitmire was elected mayor.
Adams, NYPD cite ‘global’ effort to ‘radicalize young people’ after 300 arrested at Columbia, CUNY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Police Department (NYPD) leadership cited a “global” movement to “radicalize young people” in announcing approximately 300 arrests at Columbia University and City College that took place overnight. “I know that there are those who are attempting to say, well, the majority of people may have been students. You don’t have to be the majority to influence and co-opt an operation. That is what this is about. And so, if we want to play the word police, you could do so. I’m going to play the New York City police,” Adams said at a press conference. “There is a movement to radicalize young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it. This is a global problem that young people are being influenced by those who are professionals at radicalizing our children. And I’m not going to allow that to happen as the mayor of the city of New York.” Adams made clear that making arrests at schools and removing those who did not belong on campus is far from the end of the problem. “We know that this is only a comma in the full sentence of public protection in this city. This is not a celebratory, a moment,” Adams said. “We can’t create environments while children could be in danger, and we must push back on all attempts to radicalize our young people in this city like we’re seeing across the entire globe.” TWO COLUMBIA STUDENTS WHO FACED OFF WITH MOB SPEAK OUT, CLAIM A CAR FULL OF ‘MASKED PEOPLE’ SURVEILLED THEM The day after Columbia University President Minouche Shafik was hauled before the House Education and the Workforce Committee in Washington, D.C., about growing antisemitism at the Ivy League school, Columbia leadership allowed police onto their private campus on April 18 to arrest over 100 people. However, as protesters reorganized and an anti-Israel encampment – involving even some professors who Shafik testified before Congress had been fired or reprimanded over antisemitic remarks praising Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of about 1,200 Jews – persisted for about two weeks, the university president opted to keep police out. Shafik instead had administrators attempting negotiations with protest organizers demanding the university “divest” from Israel. That was until demonstrators took over Hamilton Hall. Approximately 300 people were arrested at Columbia and nearby City College overnight. Preliminary charges range from trespass to criminal mischief to burglary, police said. In an apparent reference to Columbia University locking its gates to keep police out on the sidewalk, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban held up chains at Wednesday’s press conference. “They tried to lock us out. But the NYPD and the people of the city of New York will never be locked out. And we will always work together to keep our city safe,” he said, slamming down the chains afterward. Over the past week, Columbia leadership acknowledged in discussions with NYPD officials that “outside agitators were on their grounds training and really co-opting this movement,” Adams said, and, “at the request of Columbia University,” police conducted an operation to “to remove those who have turned the peaceful protest into a place where antisemitism and anti-Israel attitudes were pervasive.” The mayor told reporters that those who broke into Hamilton Hall were “led by individuals who are not affiliated with the university,” and Columbia needed the assistance of the NYPD to clear the building and the encampment outside through a “dual operation.” Recognizing “similar indicators” from the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of 2020, the mayor said campus protests involved “external actors with a history of escalating situations and trying to create chaos.” “Students have a right to protest, and free speech is the cornerstone of our society,” Adams said. “But as our major concern, we knew, and we saw that there were those who were never concerned about free speech. They were concerned about chaos. It was about external actors hijacking a peaceful protest and influence students to escalate. There’s nothing peaceful about barricading, building, destroying property or dismantling security cameras.” Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, the NYPD has responded to more than 2,400 protests, about 1,000 of which focused on the situation with Israel and Palestinians, Caban added. ANTI-ISRAEL MOB AT COLUMBIA REVEALS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WILL TARGET NEXT AFTER TAKING OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING NYPD Assistant Commissioner Rebecca Weiner cited how a number of individuals who law enforcement know from over the years as being associated with protests in New York City and elsewhere in other cities have been “doing training around the change in tactics.” Pointing to the campus organization effort, she referenced how demonstrators wore “Black bloc attire,” broke windows, engaged in vandalism and property destruction, barricaded themselves and how “makeshift weapons” were recovered from the encampment. Tactics used by anti-Israel agitators also included “fomenting chaos” and “squatting.” “That change in tactics combined with the presence of known individuals on campus in the lead up to what happened in Hamilton Hall is why we had a real elevated concern around public safety,” she said, turning to why officers needed protective gear. “When you’re going into a situation that you don’t fully understand what might greet you on the other side of the door. So this is important, and it is not just a New York City issue. It’s obviously not just a Columbia issue. We saw it spread to CCNY last night, but this is unfolding across the country and in Europe as well. So this is a challenge we’re all going to be dealing with for some time.” Adams said the NYPD “cannot get caught up on what’s the political correct terminology” and instead must focus on public safety and removing “individuals on campus who should not have been there.” “We saw evidence of training. We saw a shift in tactics that were being used,” Adams said. “And when you start using the intelligence that intel was able to supply, we knew it
Delhi government issues advisory after schools get hoax bomb threats
At least 100 schools in Delhi-NCR received an identical bomb threat by e-mail on Wednesday, triggering mass evacuations and massive searches as panick-stricken parents rushed to pick up their children.
‘Screaming and cursing’ anti-Israel agitators descend on senator’s home more than a dozen times
FIRST ON FOX: Anti-Israel radicals have protested outside of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s Texas home more than a dozen times in recent weeks, with the agitators reportedly tied to the Students for Justice in Palestine group occupying college campuses nationwide, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. Cruz’s home in Houston has been the target of 14 protests since February, including a protest on Friday when one suspect was arrested. Cruz’s office said that the senator remains resolute in his support of Israel, while brushing off the protesters’ tactics of “harassment or intimidation.” “Senator Cruz will continue to stand with Israel and support Israel’s right to defend itself and utterly eradicate Hamas. No amount of harassment or intimidation by terrorist supporters will change that,” a spokesman for the senator said. Student agitators have infiltrated college campuses nationwide in recent weeks, including radicals on Columbia University’s campus taking over the campus’ Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale are working to clear student encampments where protesters demand their elite schools completely divest from Israel. ROWDY ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP GATHERS OUTSIDE TED CRUZ’S HOME FOR EARLY MORNING PROTEST: ‘HARASSING MY FAMILY’ The protests follow terrorist organization Hamas launching war in Israel on 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 have now heightened to the point where Jewish students have been warned to leave campus for their own safety. NYPD RELEASE VIDEO SHOWING PROFESSIONAL ‘PROTEST CONSULTANT’ AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY The protests are associated with groups tied to far-left organizations backed by dark money and liberal mega-donor George Soros, Fox News Digital previously reported. Namely, the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) has had a large presence amid the protests on Columbia University’s campus, as well as on the campuses of UCLA, Tufts and the University of Texas at Austin in Cruz’s home state. ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS NATIONWIDE FUELED BY LEFT-WING GROUPS BACKED BY SOROS, DARK MONEY The NSJP is a national group with at least 200 chapters across the U.S and regularly compares Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow era in the United States and accuses Israel of genocide, Influence Watch reported. NSJP’s origins stretch back to 1993 on UC Berkeley’s campus, according to NGO Monitor. The national chapter celebrated Hamas’ initial attack on Israel in October, describing it as an “historic win for the Palestinian resistance,” the New York Times reported in October. “This is what it means to Free Palestine: not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors,” the group continued at the time. The NSJP operates under a fiscal sponsor called Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation, which previously received a six-figure donation from a nonprofit bankrolled by the Soros network, Fox News Digital previously reported. The group and its affiliates have been banned or censured by universities for their support of Hamas, including Brandeis banning the group following calls “for violence against Jews,” while Rutgers University suspended the group in December, as did Case Western in March. The protesters outside of Cruz’s home in recent months are tied to Students for Justice in Palestine, law enforcement told the senator, Fox News Digital has learned. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROTESTS: REP. ELISE STEFANIK URGES TRUSTEES TO REMOVE SHAFIK AFTER MOB SEIZES BUILDING The Houston Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that law enforcement have repeatedly responded to Cruz’s home over the protests this year but outlined that the police department can only publicly confirm there have been assemblies outside the residence, not identify specific groups the protesters are affiliated with. One protester was arrested on Friday evening, according to law enforcement. Cruz posted on X that evening that protesters were clanging cowbells and yelling for two hours on his street. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris County Constable’s office for additional details on the arrest but did not immediately receive a reply. “So, this is going on right now. It’s nearly 11 pm. Pro-Hamas protestors have been screaming and cursing for 2 hours. Banging cowbells & blowing whistles,” Cruz posted on Friday. NYC MAYOR PRAISES POLICE AFTER COLUMBIA RAID, WARNS OF MOVEMENT ‘RADICALIZING OUR CHILDREN’ “When a neighbor who has small kids asked an officer to do something, the protesters screamed that she was a “f—ing b—-!” Cruz has previously been the ire of liberal protesters working to stage demonstrations outside his house in Houston’s Royal Oaks neighborhood, including in 2021 when 60 to 70 climate activists gathered. This year, the protesters have assembled on a near-weekly basis, condemning Cruz for supporting Israel, Axios reported. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDING FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINTY: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’ “The point is to show that he does have constituents that don’t align with his very bigoted views. … We don’t support him being AIPAC-funded and his allegiance to a foreign government,” one regular protester told Axios Houston in March. Cruz has meanwhile slammed the protests raging on college campuses as the result of “cultural Marxism” that has spread within universities. “This is America in 2024, and this is a result of the sickness that has taken over our universities,” Cruz said Monday to Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “This is a result of cultural Marxism that has infiltrated and seized control of the faculty and the administration. These are violent protesters that are threatening the lives and the safety of Jewish students. Let me ask you something, Sean. Where is Joe Biden tonight? Where is the attorney general tonight? Where is the FBI tonight? Where is the governor of New York tonight?” Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Sen Tim Scott slams ‘disgusting’ court gag order restricting Trump’s ‘First Amendment rights’
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., eviscerated a New York judge’s decision to impose thousands of dollars of fines on former President Trump for violating a gag order, calling the move “disgusting.” According to the top Trump-endorser and potential vice presidential pick, the judge is “getting rid of his First Amendment rights.” “It is actually limiting our freedom of expression as Americans,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview. NY DEM SENS. SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND AVOID COLUMBIA CAMPUS AS ‘SQUAD’ DESCENDS TO BACK AGITATORS Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding in the New York v. Trump trial in Manhattan, levied nine fines, $1,000 per post, that violated his gag order, against Trump on Tuesday. The fines amounted to $9,000 for the former president. The gag order bars Trump from discussing witnesses and family members of court officials publicly. Trump’s defense argued that the order violated his First Amendment rights, which Scott echoed on Tuesday. “This court system in New York, like the DOJ, [is] actually targeting Republicans [and] defending Democrats,” the senator claimed. SEN VANCE QUESTIONS DOJ ON COMPANIES FAVORING MIGRANT WORKERS OVER AMERICANS He added that, fortunately, Trump was “hardwired for the stress and pressure” that comes with the cases he faces as a result of “a two-tiered justice system.” Scott warned that if it weren’t Trump being unfairly stripped of free speech rights, it could be average Americans. “President Trump rises to the occasion,” because he knows this, he said. According to the South Carolina Republican, people, including Trump, should “of course” have the ability and right “to talk about the challenges that he faces in a place where 96% of the people don’t agree with his politics or who he is.” SENATE GRIDLOCK COULD WORSEN WITH ROMNEY, SINEMA, MANCHIN RETIREMENTS: EXPERTS Scott also claimed the gag order enforcement and fines are not related to “the actual case.” “This is about making a decision of who the next president of the United States will be,” he said, reiterating Trump’s claim that the various indictments and court proceedings against him ahead of the 2024 election are a form of electoral interference. Trump’s campaign referred Fox News Digital to the former president’s Truth Social post about the gag order and fines. “This Judge has taken away my Constitutional Right to FREE SPEECH. I am the only Presidential Candidate in History to be GAGGED. This whole ‘Trial’ is RIGGED, and by taking away my FREEDOM OF SPEECH, THIS HIGHLY CONFLICTED JUDGE IS RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” he wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to the New York state court system for comment. GOP SENATORS AIR ‘DEEP CONCERNS’ OVER NPR BIAS, URGE CEO TO ‘START A COURSE CORRECTION’ Scott has been named by Trump as a contender for his running mate going into the November election against Biden, even remarking that the South Carolina senator is “a much better” advocate for him than Scott was for himself during his own presidential bid. Fox News recently confirmed that Trump is hosting a major donor retreat later this week in Palm Beach, Florida. The retreat will feature several well-known Republicans who are widely regarded as potential running mates, including Scott. Some of the other 16 special guests listed for the event include Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, and JD Vance of Ohio, Govs. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Byron Donalds of Florida. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Mexico’s migrant bussing spree a lifeline for Biden on border crisis: expert
A springtime lull in illegal border crossings could be the result of increased enforcement efforts by the Mexican government in a bid to help President Biden. “The Biden administration responds to bad optics,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. “The numbers reached a new high in December, and it’s no coincidence that’s when the secretaries met with Mexican officials and then, all of the sudden, the numbers dropped.” The comments come as the number of illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border with Mexico have continued to decline from an all-time high in December, dipping from nearly 302,000 that month to just over 193,000 in March. That number has declined further in April, according to a report in the Washington Post, with border agents encountering roughly 130,000 migrants attempting to illegally enter from Mexico. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE BORDER CRISIS While the Biden administration has touted the decline, a USA Today report this week noted that the unusual lull in crossings could have more to do with increased Mexican efforts. Most notably, the report notes, is the country’s recent efforts to round up migrants heading for the border and instead bus them south. The Mexican government’s effort has hurt migrants’ chance of making it to the U.S. border successfully, according to the report, which notes that Mexican police have been intercepting migrants on highways, train routes and at airports and bussing them to the southernmost part of Mexico. Once there, migrants are faced with the choice of attempting to make the long journey north again or abandoning the effort altogether, a tactic that has at the very least caused a delay for some migrants. Mexico has made a noticeable push in recent months to beef up its immigration enforcement and crack down on attempts to cross its border with the U.S., including a move in February to station troops near the infamous San Judas Break, a hole in the border barrier that thousands of illegal migrants had been using to sneak their way from Mexico into the United States. Another February military operation saw Mexican troops shut down a popular smuggling point on the San Diego-Tijuana border. The sudden crackdown came shortly after a call by Biden to Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador in late December, when Biden asked for help at the border, according to a report from the New York Times, resulting in a delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveling to Mexico to meet with the Mexican president. BIDEN’S REVERSAL OF TRUMP POLICIES CREATED BORDER CRISIS, EXPERT SAYS: ‘INTENTIONALLY UNSECURED IT’ A Mexican decision to start enforcing its own immigration laws more strictly soon followed, the report notes, which has made it more difficult for migrants to use the country to reach the United States. The Biden administration once again touted its continued cooperation with Mexico on the border, releasing a joint statement along with López Obrador detailing a Sunday phone call between the two leaders. “The two leaders discussed how to effectively manage hemispheric migration, strengthen operational efficiency on our shared border, and thereby improve the security and prosperity of citizens of both countries,” read the statement. “In the short term, the two leaders ordered their national security teams to work together to immediately implement concrete measures to significantly reduce irregular border crossings while protecting human rights. President Biden and President López Obrador also pledged to advance initiatives to address the root causes of migration throughout the Western Hemisphere.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson credited both its continued work with regional partners and “enhanced enforcement efforts by the U.S. government.” “Even without significant action from Congress, DHS is maximizing its enforcement operations,” the spokesperson said. “Since May 12, DHS has removed or returned more than 690,000 individuals – the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border. 690,000 removals and returns is more than every full fiscal year since 2011.” According to Ries, that sudden cooperation on the border could be the result of a political deal. “I’m sure the Biden administration and Biden perhaps himself has said to him, ‘look, do you want me to win reelection? You don’t want Trump back in office,’” Ries said. 7.2M ILLEGALS ENTERED THE US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES Ries noted that such a move was not a “free favor,” noting that the Mexican president demanded $20 billion in aid from the U.S. That aid was demanded by the Mexican president at a news conference shortly after the first meeting between himself and Biden administration officials, with López Obrador issuing a series of demands, including that the U.S. give $20 billion to Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Mexican president also called for the U.S. to grant work visas to 10 million Hispanics who have worked in the U.S. for over 10 years, end sanctions against Venezuela and end its embargo with Cuba. MIGRANTS CAUGHT ON NEW VIDEO STREAMING DOWN REMOTE CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINSIDE TO ILLEGALLY CROSS THE BORDER Curt Mills, the executive director of the American Conservative, also believes the sudden lull in activity at the border can be traced to Mexican enforcement, telling Fox News Digital that there has been “more effective pressure” on Mexico in recent months. “This is an administration that essentially ignored the issue, for the first part of [Biden’s] tenure, didn’t think it was an issue, didn’t give it high priority,” Mills said, adding it was only after widespread outrage had spread about the administration’s failures at the border that it began to act. Ries argued that the administration relying on Mexico to beef up enforcement allows it to avoid angering progressive allies who oppose stricter border measures, while at the same time limiting the political fallout of a continued crisis. “He is certainly trying to play both sides in an election year. He has to appease his radical left base that wants an open
Hundreds of asylum seekers in encampment at Seattle park after funding for hotel stay runs out
Hundreds of asylum seekers have set up an encampment at a public park in Seattle after funding that provided them with hotel accommodations in a nearby city ran out, according to local reports. Dozens of tents popped up at Powell Barnett Park in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood as asylum seekers from Venezuela, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo wait for permanent housing. The group of men, women and children had previously camped outside Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila in early 2023 before funding allowed them to secure a stay at a hotel in Kent, FOX13 Seattle reported. Now that the funding for their hotel stay has dried up, the asylum seekers are telling local news outlets that they are staying at the park until more funding comes through. IMMIGRATION RANKS AS TOP ISSUE FOR AMERICANS FOR LONGEST CONSECUTIVE MONTHLY STRETCH IN PAST 24 YEARS: POLL “We’re waiting for help. We don’t want to keep moving every month. It’s hard,” Jonathan, a 22-year-old Angolan refugee, told FOX13. Another Angolan man told KOMO News, with the help of a translator, that they are “asking for the government to help us with housing.” SANCTUARY CITY POLICE ARREST OVER 1K MIGRANTS FROM THIS COUNTRY AS RESIDENTS RAGE AGAINST DEM LEADERS Adriana Medina told KING5-TV in Spanish that the situation in her home country of Venezuela is “very, very difficult for everyone,” which is why she crossed into the U.S. “Even now, we don’t know how much time we’re going to have to camp,” Medina said. “We don’t have these answers. We can’t tell anyone what we’re doing because we don’t know ourselves.” The city of Seattle told FOX13 that it has “exhausted its allocated funding for migrant shelter and services” and has asked the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to provide additional support. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Seattle mayor’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
Fetterman blasts UN rights chief for ‘concern’ over anti-Israel agitators while never condemning Hamas
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., blasted the United Nations on social media platform X for failing to condemn Hamas for months after Oct. 7 while voicing concerns about how the U.S. has treated anti-Israel agitators. “UN: Unwilling to condemn Hamas who killed, raped, mutilated and tortured more than 1,000 Israeli babies, children, women, and elderly,” Fetterman wrote, adding “Also UN:” followed by a headline from Reuters that declared U.N. rights chief Volker Turk was “troubled by treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters at U.S. universities.” Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, on Tuesday condemned American police for “disproportionate” action against anti-Israel protesters on U.S. college campuses in recent weeks. The University of California, Los Angeles campus devolved into anarchy overnight Tuesday as anti-Israel protests escalated into a clash between opposition groups, prompting police intervention. In New York City’s Columbia University, police stormed Hamilton Hall, which agitators had occupied and barricaded, and forcibly removed the students from the building. COLLEGE DEMOCRAT GROUP BACKS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS, DENOUNCE ‘MAGA REPUBLICANS’ FOR SMEARING DEMONSTRATORS “I am concerned that some of law enforcement actions across a series of universities appear disproportionate in their impacts,” Turk wrote in a statement. “Incitement to violence or hatred on grounds of identity or viewpoints – whether real or assumed – must be strongly repudiated,” he continued. “We have already seen such dangerous rhetoric can quickly lead to real violence.” Turk insisted that any violence should be addressed on a case-by-case basis rather than through broad measures that “impute to all members of a protest the unacceptable viewpoints of a few” and that “responses by universities and law enforcement need to be guided by human rights law, allowing vibrant debate and protecting safe spaces for all.” COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO CALL NYPD, BUILDING OCCUPATION BELIEVED TO BE LED BY OUTSIDE AGITATORS “U.S. universities have a strong, historic tradition of student activism, strident debate and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Türk said. “It must be clear that legitimate exercises of the freedom of expression cannot be conflated with incitement to violence and hatred.” Turk in the days after the Oct. 7 attack condemned the taking of hostages and “horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups,” though has not outright condemned Hamas itself. In February, he claimed that “all parties” in the Israel-Hamas conflict have committed “clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the sentiment, declaring, “It is essential in all circumstances to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration, but at the same time it is obvious that hate speech is unacceptable.” Guterres further argued that university authorities themselves should “properly manage” the situation. The United Nations has failed to adopt measures that would condemn Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, often due to vetoes by the Security Council from members such as Russia. Guterres has individually condemned the terrorist attacks against Israel, “for which there can be no justification,” he has said. American universities have started to take stronger measures to try and clamp down on protests that have spread across campuses as the war in the Gaza Strip drag out past the six-month mark. VIDEO SHOWS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS BLOCK JEWISH STUDENT FROM GETTING TO CLASS; UCLA RESPONDS Ivy League universities, most notably Columbia, have served as a significant flashpoint for protests, which have also popped up on campuses in California and Texas. The University of Texas, Austin suspended the Palestinian Solidary Committee after several students were arrested. Prior to clearing out Hamilton Hall, Columbia had limited access to its campus and locked some of the buildings after protesters had stormed the hall and barricaded the doors using metal gates, wooden tables and chairs, and zip ties. Footage showed the protesters in New York smashing windows, unfurling a Palestinian flag over a window, and chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.” Students have demanded the university divest their financial support of Israel and adopt a policy of transparency with its investments. Administrators insisted that the safety of students remained their “paramount” concern, adding their thanks for “patience, cooperation and understanding.” Neither Guterres or Volker’s offices responded to a Fox News Digital request for comment by time of publication.
Trump asks if college riots are intentional to distract from ‘millions’ of migrants ‘pouring into our country’
Former President Donald Trump speculated Wednesday morning that the ongoing riots on college campuses are intentionally drawing attention away from the border. Trump made the assertion following a night of discord on Columbia University’s campus as New York Police Department officers clashed with students protesting in support of Palestinians. “Do you think that the Radical Left Lunatics that are causing all of the CHAOS at our Colleges and Universities are doing so in order to take the FOCUS away from our Southern Border, where millions of people, many from prisons and mental institutions, are pouring into our Country? Just askin’…???” TRUMP CONDEMNS ‘BRAINWASHED’ ANTI-ISRAEL MOB AS NYPD MOVES IN, DINGS DEMS: ‘WHERE IS SCHUMER?’ Trump repeatedly condemned the violent anti-Israel protests erupting across the country, telling Fox News Digital that “weak and ineffective leadership” at universities must be immediately “replaced” while declaring that antisemitism “must be stopped quickly and effectively.” Pro-Palestinian agitators clashed with pro-Israel students on UCLA’s campus overnight, with local officials warning students that the campus was “out of control” and “no longer safe.” Police with riot gear arrived at UCLA shortly after 1:00 a.m. at UCLA to gain control of campus amid hours of violence between anti-Israel and pro-Israel counter-protesters. UNIVERSITIES CRACK DOWN ON ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS AS PROTESTERS CALL FOR ‘AMNESTY’ “This violence has to stop immediately,” Trump told Fox News Digital early Wednesday morning. “Weak and ineffective leadership at colleges and universities must be replaced, and fast.” Students have been arrested at Columbia University, City College of New York, Tulane University, the University of Arizona and more. Police dispersed gas, fired rubber bullets and clashed with demonstrators at the Arizona encampment. State troopers were seen on campus with pepper ball guns and gas masks. The protests have dominated news cycles for days as the unrest continues, but surveys continue to show illegal immigration is the top concern of U.S. voters. Americans ranked immigration as the most important issue facing the United States for a third consecutive month, according to a new poll released on Tuesday. An April 1-22 Gallup survey found that 27% of Americans ranked immigration as the most important problem facing the U.S. Immigration topped Gallup’s open-ended trend for a third consecutive month. It marked the longest consecutive stretch for the immigration issue in the past 24 years. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
‘Election interference’: GOP senator launches push to shut down noncitizen voting in DC elections
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican senator is introducing legislation that would require Washington, D.C., residents who vote in local elections to be U.S. citizens — pushing back against controversial legislation passed in the city nearly two years ago. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is introducing the “Demanding Citizenship in DC Elections Act.” The bill would require any individual who votes in a municipal election to be a U.S. citizen and to also provide proof of citizenship, according to an advanced copy that was shared first with Fox News Digital. The Local Resident Voting Rights Act, passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022, states that if a noncitizen is otherwise qualified to vote, they can do so in local elections so long as they have resided in Washington, D.C., for at least 30 days. It also permits noncitizen residents to run for Washington, D.C., government offices and serve on the city’s Board of Elections, according to court documents. However, it would not allow illegal immigrants to vote. WASHINGTON DC ALLOWING NONCITIZENS TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS CHALLENGED BY LAWSUIT The law sparked outrage and an unsuccessful effort in Congress to overturn it. One legal group sued to overturn it, but that effort was struck down this year. While Washington, D.C., has home rule authority and can pass laws without federal consent, Congress has the authority to strike down Washington, D.C., laws it disapproves of. Marshall saw the push to allow noncitizens to vote in the context of the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border, which Republicans have blamed on the policies of the Biden administration. In a statement, Marshall accused the federal government of having threatened U.S. sovereignty with the crisis and accused Democrats of attempting a “takeover” of elections that “undermines our Democracy.” LEGAL IMMIGRANTS INFURIATED BY ‘NEFARIOUS’ DC PLAN TO LET ILLEGAL MIGRANTS VOTE “This is election interference by design, with the ultimate goal being the unraveling of our free and fair elections by engineering the largest-scale invasion of our country and turning them out at the ballot box to perpetually ‘cook the books’ for Democrats,” he said, before claiming illegal immigrants are already being seen as Democratic voters. “We the people must fight back; too much is at stake,” he said. Our Democracy as we know is under attack by this administration, and while this legislation is a great first step, much more needs to be done.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS New York City had passed a similar bill on noncitizen voting in December 2021. That bill quickly faced a legal challenge, and in June, a New York judge ruled that it was illegal, violating the state’s constitution. On a national level, meanwhile, there have been multiple attempts by Republicans to place a citizenship question on the census. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.