White House condemns antisemitism, violent anti-Israel anarchy at Columbia University: ‘No place in America’
The White House condemned the mob of anti-Israel protesters who violently seized a building at Columbia University late Monday, saying “hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.” On Monday night, a massive mob of anti-Israel students broke into an academic building — the iconic Hamilton Hall on the Manhattan campus — and barricaded its doors. A Columbia University facilities worker said the protesters “held me hostage.” Outside of Hamilton Hall, the anti-Israel rebels form a human barricade by linking their arms and vowing to remain until the university meets their three demands. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDINGS FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINY: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’ The students are demanding the university divest their financial support of Israel, become more transparent with its investments, and provide blanket amnesty to the protesting students for any consequences. President Biden did not speak publicly on the violent antisemitic protests Tuesday morning, but the White House released a statement on his behalf. ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS “President Biden has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days. “President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful,” Bates continued. “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong.” He added: “And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.” ANTI-ISRAEL MOB REBRANDS ICONIC HAMILTON HALL FOLLOWING INSURRECTION AT COLUMBIA Columbia University announced its indefinite closure Tuesday morning “until circumstances allow otherwise.” “Effective immediately, access to the Morningside campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus (Carman, Furnald, John Jay, Hartley, Wallach, East Campus and Wien) and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs and residential student life (for example, Dining, Public Safety, and building maintenance staff). There is no additional access to the Morningside campus,” a statement from the university said. It added: “This access restriction will remain in place until circumstances allow otherwise.” In the post, the university said that the safety of students remained “paramount” and thanked the community for “understanding” the current crisis. “The safety of every single member of this community is paramount. We thank you for your patience, cooperation and understanding,” the statement read.
House Dems say they’ll block Marjorie Taylor Greene from ousting Speaker Johnson
House Democratic leaders are vowing to shield House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., forces a vote on her motion to oust him from power. “From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have put people over politics and found bipartisan common ground with traditional Republicans in order to deliver real results. At the same time, House Democrats have aggressively pushed back against MAGA extremism. We will continue to do just that,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction. We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.” MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CALLS JOHNSON’S FOREIGN AID PACKAGE HIS ‘3RD BETRAYAL’ OF AMERICAN PEOPLE Their decision was announced right at the beginning of Johnson’s weekly House GOP leadership press conference, prompting a flurry of questions from reporters. “I have to do my job, we have to do what we believe to be the right thing. What the country needs right now is a functioning Congress,” Johnson said when asked his reaction. “We need people who are serious about the job here.” Johnson appeared unaware of Democratic leaders’ decision beforehand and said he did not discuss a motion to vacate with Jeffries earlier this month when Democratic voters were critical to passing Johnson’s $95 billion foreign aid plan. 3RD REPUBLICAN CALLS FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON’S OUSTER OVER $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN Greene filed a measure calling for a vote to oust Johnson, known as a motion to vacate the chair, nearly 40 days ago in protest of his handling of government funding and foreign aid. Her resolution earned two co-sponsors in Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., after the House passed a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine earlier this month, but for the most part, it has fallen flat within the GOP. Even Johnson’s critics in the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus have distanced themselves from the push to oust Johnson, signaling little appetite for the three weeks of chaos that followed the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last fall. TENSIONS ERUPT ON HOUSE FLOOR AS CONSERVATIVES CONFRONT JOHNSON ON $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN However, with the razor-thin majority Johnson oversees, it quickly became clear that Democratic support would likely be needed to keep him in power. That does not necessarily mean Democrats have to vote against ousting Johnson – if Greene noticed her resolution as “privileged,” meaning the House would need to take it up within two days, it would first trigger a vote to table her measure, effectively killing it. Democratic leaders signaled in their Tuesday statement that they would block it in the initial vote. Fox News Digital reached out to Greene’s office for comment.
Trump decries Columbia agitators, calls Charlottesville ‘peanuts’ compared to campus anti-Israel unrest
Former President Trump blasted the antisemitic unrest taking place at Columbia University on Tuesday, while describing the violent 2017 Charlottesville rally as “peanuts” compared to the unrest on the college campus. Trump spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on Tuesday before the third week of his unprecedented criminal trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation begins. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDINGS FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINY: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’ The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee decried agitators at Columbia University, who have created massive pro-Palestinian encampments on the campus in recent weeks. But on Monday night, a massive mob of anti-Israel students broke into an academic building — the iconic Hamilton Hall on the Manhattan campus — and barricaded its doors. A university facilities worker said the protesters “held me hostage.” Outside of Hamilton Hall, the anti-Israel agitators formed a human barricade by linking their arms and vowing to remain until the university meets their three demands. The students are demanding the university divest from financial support of Israel, become more transparent with its investments, and provide blanket amnesty to the protesting students for any consequences. The university has since been forced to close its campus indefinitely “until circumstances allow otherwise.” “The Biden protests that are going on are horrible — it is all caused by him because he doesn’t speak — he can’t put two sentences together,” Trump said. “He’s got to get out and make a statement because the colleges are being overrun in this country.” Trump said “the antisemitism, all of the problems going on, they’re being overrun.” “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FACILITIES WORKER SPEAKS OUT AFTER TERROR TAKEOVER: ‘THEY HELD ME HOSTAGE’ “[Biden] said he ran because of Charlottesville,” Trump said, referring to the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Violence broke out between White nationalists and counterprotesters. A counter-protester was killed in a car attack during the chaotic scene. Trump has been criticized for his comments surrounding the incident, particularly his statement that there were good people on “both sides.” Trump, at the time, also blamed “many sides” for the violence. “Well, if the people that know Charlottesville, when you extend that statement, it’s a big hoax,” Trump said Tuesday. “Charlottesville is peanuts compared to what you’re looking at now.” Trump said the entire country “is up in arms.” “Breaking into colleges, knocking the hell out of Columbia University, I mean — they took over the building. I know the building very well,” Trump said. “They took over a building and that is a big deal.” Trump also questioned whether the students would be held accountable. “I wonder what’s going to happen to them, or anything comparable to what happened to J6, because they’re doing a lot of destruction, a lot of damage, a lot of people are getting hurt very badly,” Trump said, comparing the Columbia University protest to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. ANTISEMITIC RIOT AT COLUMBIA REACHES BOILING POINT AS AGITATORS TAKE OVER ACADEMIC BUILDING, BARRICADE DOORS Many who stormed the Capitol that day have been prosecuted. “I wonder if it’s going to be the same kind of treatment they gave J6—let’s see how that all works out,” he said. “I think I can give you the answer right now and that’s why people have lost faith in our court system.” Trump went on to blast Biden, saying “the violent protests are a disaster and he hasn’t even made a statement.” “Because he’s not capable of making a statement,” Trump said. “I’m still waiting for him to debate…We would love to debate any time.” ANTI-ISRAEL MOB REBRANDS ICONIC HAMILTON HALL FOLLOWING INSURRECTION AT COLUMBIA Biden has not yet spoken publicly on the anarchy at Columbia University, but the White House released a statement on his behalf Tuesday morning. “President Biden has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada,’ as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days.” The White House said “President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful.” “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful – it is wrong,” Bates said. “And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.” Meanwhile, Columbia University Tuesday morning said it would remain closed. “Effective immediately, access to the Morningside campus has been limited to students residing in residential buildings on campus …. and employees who provide essential services to campus buildings, labs and residential student life (for example, Dining, Public Safety, and building maintenance staff). There is no additional access to the Morningside campus,” a statement from the university said. It added: “This access restriction will remain in place until circumstances allow otherwise.” In the post, the university said that the safety of students remained “paramount” and thanked the community for “understanding” the current crisis. “The safety of every single member of this community is paramount. We thank you for your patience, cooperation and understanding,” the statement read. The lockdown came as an unruly mob of anti-Israel protesters broke into Hamilton Hall shortly before 1 a.m. Last week, Trump blasted the university for its initial campus closure amid the encampment. “Columbia should gain a little strength, a little courage and keep their school open.” Trump’s comments came after students at Columbia University were instructed that classes had shifted to virtual or hybrid amid ongoing safety concerns stemming from the anti-Israel demonstrations on the campus. “It’s crazy because that means the other side wins,” Trump said Tuesday. “When you start closing down colleges and universities — that means the other side [wins.]”
Judge fines Trump thousands over violating gag order, warns ‘incarceratory punishment’ could be next
Former President Trump was found guilty of violating a gag order at least nine times in the NY v. Trump case in Manhattan, the presiding judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for violating a gag order that bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials. The judge found he violated the order on nine separate occasions, with each violation resulting in a $1,000 fine. The judge detailed in the order that if Trump carries out “continued willful violations” of the gag order, he could face “incarceratory punishment” if “necessary and appropriate.” Trump attorneys argue the gag order is a violation of the former president’s First Amendment rights. District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his office alleged Trump violated the order at least 14 times, as of last week. The gag order was imposed on Trump in the lead up to the trial last month. LIVE UPDATES: NEW YORK V. TRUMP TRIAL ENTERS THIRD WEEK AS JUDGE FINES TRUMP FOR GAG ORDER VIOLATIONS During a hearing on the gag order last week, Merchan argued the Trump team was “losing all credibility” while defending the 45th president’s comments on social media that violated the order. “I’ve asked you eight or nine times, ‘Show me the exact post that he was responding to,’ and you haven’t been able to do that once,” Merchan told the Trump team last week. The defense team argued in the hearing that Trump was responding to attacks when he made comments that allegedly violated the order. Merchan pressed Trump attorney Todd Blanche to provide instances that showed Trump was responding to a specific incident. “I have to tell you right now, you’re losing all credibility in the court,” Merchan told Blanche last Tuesday. NY V TRUMP CRIMINAL TRIAL BEGINS ITS 3RD WEEK AS FORMER PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF GAG ORDER VIOLATIONS Trump has meanwhile slammed the case overall as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration, and has argued the gag order has stripped him of the ability to defend himself against accusations in the case. NY PROSECUTORS REVEAL ‘ANOTHER CRIME’ TRUMP ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO CONCEAL WITH FALSIFIED BUSINESS RECORDS TRUMP TRIAL: FORMER PRESIDENT ‘INNOCENT,’ DEFENSE SAYS AS DA ALLEGES ‘CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY’ “We have a gag order, which to me is totally unconstitutional. I’m not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me. So, they can talk about me,” Trump said outside the New York City courtroom. “They can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything. I just have to sit back and look at why a conflicted judge has ordered me to have [a] gag order,” Trump said in comments outside the courtroom last week. “I don’t think anybody’s ever seen anything like this. I’d love to talk to you people. I’d love to say everything that’s on my mind, but I’m restricted because I have a gag order,” he continued.
Majestic EA Debuts Revolutionary Forex Trading Automation on MetaTrader 5
New Expert Advisor Utilizes Advanced Grid Trading Strategy to Enhance Trading Efficiency and Profitability
Add Me to Search: Create a people card on Google Search
How to Add Yourself on Google? Add Me to Search or Add Me to Google
SC questions ED on timing of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, seeks its reply
Arvind Kejriwal is currently lodged in the Tihar jail under judicial custody after his arrest on March 21 in the case.
Indian Army and Punit Balan Group collaborate to develop India’s first constitution park
The inauguration of the nation’s inaugural Constitution Park took place recently in Pune.
Stefanik hits special counsel Jack Smith with ethics complaint, accuses him of election meddling
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is filing an ethics complaint against special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday, accusing him of violating Department of Justice (DOJ) standards and trying to tip the election against former President Trump. In a letter sent to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility, Stefanik urged the government watchdog to investigate Smith over accusations of “abusing the resources of the federal government to unlawfully interfere with the 2024 presidential election.” “Jack Smith’s multiple attempts to rush to trial the federal January 6th case against President Trump violated long-standing, explicit Justice Department policy,” Stefanik wrote. “Further, Jack Smith’s repeated violations of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s stay of proceedings are a lawless breach of trial ethics and lawyerly conduct. Jack Smith’s actions brought disrepute to the Justice Department and the federal government as a whole, and he should face discipline appropriately.” CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION Smith’s case against Trump, stemming from accusations he tried to overturn the 2020 election, was supposed to go to trial in March but has been stuck in limbo as the Supreme Court weighs the ex-president’s claim he is immune to criminal prosecution for actions taken while in the White House. The former U.S. attorney and human rights prosecutor petitioned the high court multiple times to reject Trump’s immunity claims and bid to delay his trial, including most recently on April 8. Stefanik’s complaint accused him of first trying to influence the election in August 2023, when Smith petitioned for a Jan. 2, 2024 trial. ERIC TRUMP WARNS BRAGG, WILLIS ‘WANT TO TORTURE MY FATHER’ BUT NO ONE ‘IS BELIEVING IT’ “There exist approximately thirteen million pages of discovery for President Trump to review, plus thousands of hours of camera footage. Prosecutors bringing a case of this complexity — with so many consequential and novel legal issues to sort out — would normally never seek to bring it to trial within five months,” she argued. “The only reason to push for such an early trial date was to work to get the case tried before the November election, and the Justice Department Manual clearly forbids Jack Smith from taking any action on that basis.” She also cited Smith’s petitions with the Supreme Court and used his own comments in court that no American is “above the law” as further argument that he should support an investigation into his conduct. FANI WILLIS SHOULD FACE GAG ORDER IN TRUMP ELECTION CASE, SAYS LEGAL ANALYST “If that is true, then he should be open to, and welcome, an ethics investigation into conduct that, on its face, implicates potential violations of DOJ policy and multiple rules of professional conduct,” Stefanik said. “Biden special counsel Jack Smith’s highly unusual and clearly improper attempts to expedite trial, and his blatant violation of District Court orders, evidence his partisan attempt to influence the results of the 2024 presidential election.” The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, heard arguments in Trump’s immunity case last week. A final decision is expected in June — with the likelihood of a trial before the presidential election being slim. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Conservative groups wary of bipartisan House push for college antisemitism monitors
Conservative and free speech advocacy groups are warily eyeing a new bipartisan push in Congress to hire antisemitism monitors for colleges and universities that receive federal dollars. “These antisemitism monitors are not novel. For the last 10 or so years, college bureaucrats have created bias reporting systems, which have been used to cancel students accused of ‘wrongthink.’ Not only are these systems unconstitutional, but they unnecessarily chill speech and punish innocent students. Combating antisemitism is important, but speech monitors are not the answer,” said Gabriel Nadales, national director of Our America. He said the proposal “will be used to silence honest voices and create more division among college students,” adding, “Americans should fight bigotry without sacrificing free expression.” The COLUMBIA Act was introduced Friday by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., amid a rash of anti-Israel protests on college campuses throughout the country. VIRGINIA TECH POLICE PHYSICALLY CARRY AWAY ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS AMID EFFORT TO RESTORE PEACE ON CAMPUS The wave of progressive activism was sparked after more than 100 students from Columbia University and its sister school, Barnard College, were arrested this month at a tent encampment set up on campus in protest of the Manhattan Ivy League’s investments in Israeli-linked companies. Demonstrations at Columbia and elsewhere have faced bipartisan criticism for instances of antisemitism being displayed on campuses, causing Jewish students to fear for their safety. Under Lawler and Torres’ bill, the Department of Education would be able to “impose a third-party antisemitism monitor on any college or university receiving federal funding,” according to a press release. The college or university would be responsible for footing the bill for the duration of the monitor’s duties there. HOCHUL SILENT AS PRESSURE GROWS FOR NATIONAL GUARD TO BREAK UP COLUMBIA’S ANTI-ISRAEL THRONG Both Lawler and Torres have been leaders in pushing for more guardrails against antisemitism in Congress, but conservative groups like former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom (AAF) and the Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) are concerned that it would not be sufficient as a lasting solution to antisemitism on campus. “Universities don’t need six-figure hall monitors to tell us what we already know: antisemitism is rampant on woke campuses across the country,” said AAF Executive Director Paul Teller, who also called on Columbia’s president to step down. “Rather than outsourcing oversight and responsibility to white-shoed firms, colleges need to buck up and enforce the law: campuses should prioritize both protection of free speech and the security of all students.” MSLF General Counsel William Trachman said the bill, if passed, would be a “band-aid” on a larger pain point. ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ RAPIDLY EMERGING AS KEY SLOGAN OF ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS IN US “This is what happens when formerly elite schools like Columbia and Yale compromise their values and instead cultivate a radical left-wing culture on campus. Having antisemitism ‘monitors’ on campuses might alleviate some of the incidents we’ve seen lately, but it certainly won’t solve the larger problem that, today, American universities are less about learning and more about breeding an ‘anti-oppressor’ ideology within their student body,” Trachman said. “And separately, unless the Department of Education is truly willing to pull all federal funds from schools like Columbia, adding more monitors to observe what we already know is happening is just a band-aid to paper over a gaping wound.” Asked for a response to the criticism, Torres told Fox News Digital, “If there are critics who find fault with the Torres-Lawler bipartisan proposal, I invite them to put forward proposals of their own. Nit-picking is far more convenient than problem-solving.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Lawler said, “Sitting back and critiquing genuine efforts to address the rampant antisemitism on college campuses is easy. Rolling up your sleeves and doing the work it will take to fix this problem is hard. Congressman Lawler is focused on the latter, while critics are focused on the former.” Fox News Digital reached out to Columbia University for comment.