Christmastime ICE Operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ nets child rapist, torturer
A Christmastime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation named Operation “Angel’s Honor” in tribute to murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley netted over 1,000 criminal illegal aliens, according to the agency. In a Monday statement, ICE announced the “successful conclusion” of a 14-day enforcement operation that it said resulted in over 1,030 criminal illegal aliens arrested under the Laken Riley Act. The agency said the operation was codenamed “Angel’s Honor” in memory of Riley, who was murdered by Venezuelan illegal alien Jose Ibarra in 2024. Congress passed the Laken Riley Act with bipartisan support in January, and the measure was signed into law by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office. The law stipulates mandatory detention of non-citizens charged with specific crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime causing serious bodily injury or death. DHS ARRESTS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ILLEGAL MIGRANTS, INCLUDING MURDERERS AND PEDOPHILES, IN WEEKEND OPERATION In the Monday statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Trump “empowered us to arrest and remove the millions of violent criminal illegal aliens unleashed on the United States by the previous administration.” “Now, these criminals will face justice and be removed from our country,” said Noem. “We can never bring Laken back, but we can do everything in our power to bring these heinous criminals to justice,” she went on, adding, “I am so proud of what our brave men and women of ICE have done to remove these criminals from America’s streets.” ICE highlighted some of the criminal illegals arrested during the operation, which included individuals who raped and tortured children. DHS PACKAGES LATEST ICE ARRESTS AS ‘CHRISTMAS GIFT TO AMERICANS’ Among those arrested was Jamie Escobar-Mirales, a 37-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, who ICE said was arrested on Dec. 18. According to the agency, his criminal history includes an arrest for two counts of rape of a child. He is now facing removal proceedings. A different illegal immigrant from Mexico named Javier Diaz-Cabrera, 40, was arrested on Dec. 18. He has a criminal history that includes an arrest for illegal sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13 and sexual assault with a victim under 18 by a guardian. Evelyn Martinez-Rodriguez, a 36-year-old from Honduras, was arrested on Dec. 9. ICE said her criminal history includes arrests for assault-torture/willful abuse of a child, domestic violence assault, assault and public order crimes. Another illegal, Fredy Garcia-Canan, a 34-year-old from Guatemala, was arrested on Dec. 19. He has an outstanding removal order from 2024 and has a criminal history including an arrest for intentional bodily harm with a deadly weapon, criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated endangering to a child. Guatemalan illegal Brandon Barrientos-Garcia, 28, was also arrested on Dec. 19. His criminal history includes an arrest for assault by strangulation, breaking/entering to terrorize/injure and domestic violence assault, per ICE. DHS TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER ARRESTING OVER 10K ILLEGAL ALIENS IN DEEP BLUE CITY DESPITE VIOLENT RIOTS Fernando Manzanares-Cruz, a 40-year-old from El Salvador, was arrested on Dec. 16 and had a removal order from 2016. His criminal history includes arrests for assault and battery of a pregnant victim, assault and battery of a family/household member and witness intimidation. Even further back, ICE arrested Mexican illegal Braulio Rosas-Ayala, 44, who was ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1999. Rosas-Ayala’s criminal history includes an arrest for rape and sodomy. Commenting on the roundup, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said, “We named this operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ in honor of the memory of Laken Riley, whose life was tragically cut short by illegal alien crime.” GOP GOVERNOR LAYS OUT PLAN TO ‘PURGE’ TERRORISTS AND TERROR SUPPORTERS FROM STATE “This operation, while a massive success, also serves as a solemn reminder of the profound impact that immigrant violence and crime can have on victims and their loved ones,” said Lyons. “ICE’s mission,” said Lyons, “is to ensure that no more Americans will fall victim to illegal alien crime.”
Venezuela passes law enacting harsh penalties for supporters of US blockade
Government of President Nicolas Maduro denounces US seizure of oil tankers as illegal acts of piracy. By News Agencies Published On 23 Dec 202523 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Venezuela’s National Assembly has passed a law enacting harsh penalties for those who support or help finance blockades and acts of piracy, including up to 20 years in prison. The legislation was passed on Tuesday after the United States seized oil tankers linked to Venezuela, acts that the government of President Nicolas Maduro has denounced as lawless acts of piracy. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “This law seeks to protect the national economy and avoid the erosion of living standards for the population,” Giuseppe Alessandrello said while presenting the law before the National Assembly, which is controlled by Maduro’s ruling party. The US has carried out a series of increasingly aggressive measures over the past several months, deploying sizeable military forces to Latin America, seizing oil tankers, killing dozens of people in military strikes on what it says are drug-trafficking boats and threatening land strikes on Venezuela itself. The legality of some of those acts, such as the seizures of oil tankers in international waters, is contested. Others, such as the strikes against alleged drug traffickers, are widely considered illegal. “We are in the presence of a power that acts outside of international law, demanding that Venezuelans vacate our country and hand it over,” Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s representative at the United Nations, told the UN Security Council during a meeting on Tuesday. “The threat is not Venezuela,” he added. “The threat is the US government.” China and Russia also criticised US actions, with Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying that the Trump administration was creating a “template” for the use of force that could be used against other Latin American countries in the future. Advertisement The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the US military had moved special operations aircraft and cargo planes with troops into the Caribbean this week. “We have a massive armada formed, the biggest we’ve ever had and by far the biggest we’ve ever had in South America,” Trump told reporters on Monday. Maduro has said the US is seeking to topple his government and seize control of Venezuela’s large oil reserves, which members of the Trump administration have falsely claimed rightfully belong to the US. Trump said on Monday that the US would retain the oil seized from the tankers as well as the tankers themselves. Addressing the UN Security Council, US ambassador Mike Waltz said that oil sales were a “primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime”, repeating the largely unfounded claim that Maduro oversees a vast criminal enterprise that traffics drugs to the US. “The single most serious threat to this hemisphere, our very own neighbourhood and the United States, is from transnational terrorist and criminal groups,” Waltz said. The US pressure campaign has become a useful pretext for the Venezuelan government’s efforts to crack down on internal dissent. Rights groups said the Maduro government has become more repressive since a presidential election in July 2024, in which Maduro claimed victory despite widespread doubts about the credibility of the results. The opposition has maintained it was the true winner, and few countries have recognised Maduro’s victory. Adblock test (Why?)
How will Syria deal with its growing security challenges?
Renewed fighting between army and SDF highlights volatility. As the year comes to an end, a deal between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces was expected to come into force. Instead, fighting has erupted between the two sides in the northern city of Aleppo. They later agreed to stop the fighting, while blaming each other for the violence. That deal was supposed to lead to the SDF integrating with the army, but it is stalling on how that should be implemented. This renewed tension comes as Damascus faces other threats, ranging from ISIL (ISIS) to recurrent conflicts with the Druze community and continuing attacks by Israel. So what does this complex security situation mean for Syria, a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad? Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests Haid Haid – Researcher at Chatham House Steven Heydemann – Professor and Middle East Studies programme director at Smith College Omer Ozkizilcik – Nonresident fellow for the Syria project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programme Published On 23 Dec 202523 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Belgium joins South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ
Other countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Turkiye, have already joined the case in The Hague. Published On 23 Dec 202523 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Belgium has formally joined the case launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. In a statement on Tuesday, the ICJ – The Hague-based highest court of the United Nations – said Belgium had filed a declaration of intervention in the case. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Other countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Turkiye, have already joined the proceedings. South Africa brought the case in December 2023, arguing that Israel’s war in Gaza violates the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel has rejected the allegations and criticised the case. While a final ruling could take years, the ICJ issued provisional measures in January 2024 ordering Israel to take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid. The court’s orders are legally binding although it has no direct mechanism to enforce them. The ICJ also said Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and its policies amount to annexation. Israel has continued its assaults in Gaza and the occupied West Bank despite the rulings and growing international criticism while advancing plans to seize large parts of Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, the United States and several of its European allies continue to provide military and financial support to Israel. Washington has rejected the merits of South Africa’s case, and US lawmakers have criticised the country and issued threats against it. Advertisement The US has also imposed sanctions on members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Belgium was also among a group of countries that recognised the State of Palestine in September. Nearly 80 percent of UN member states now recognise Palestine. Since a ceasefire began on October 10, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said, Israel has killed at least 406 Palestinians and injured 1,118 in the enclave. Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, the ministry said, at least 70,942 Palestinians have been killed and 171,195 wounded. Adblock test (Why?)
Delhi’s air quality dips to ‘severe’ category, large parts record AQI above…
Delhi’s air quality continued to deteriorate on Tuesday as a thick layer of toxic smog blanketed large parts of the national capital, including areas around India Gate. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) near India Gate stood at 421, placing it in the ‘severe’ category.
ISRO set to launch Bluebird Block-2 satellite today; here’s all about key space mission
This mission marks the sixth operational flight of LVM3. In the mission, LVM3-M6 will place the BlueBird Block-2 satellite into Low Earth Orbit — making it the largest commercial communications satellite to be deployed in Low Earth Orbit.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Boasberg says Trump must provide due process to CECOT migrants
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –Trump official freezes millions in SBA aid to Minnesota, slams Walz’s policies as breeding ‘endemic’ fraud –Epstein file drop includes ‘untrue and sensationalist claims’ about Trump, DOJ says -House GOP tensions erupt after moderate Republicans’ Obamacare ‘betrayal’ A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to a class of Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March, and gave it two weeks to detail how it will do so – setting up another high-stakes clash between the White House and the federal courts. In March, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to halt its plans to immediately use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act wartime immigration law to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to CECOT, a Salvadoran maximum-security prison. That did not happen, and the planes landed in El Salvador hours later. Boasberg concluded that the Trump administration’s actions were illegal, conducted in defiance of the court, and deprived the migrants in the CECOT class of their due process protections – including prior notice of removal, a “meaningful opportunity” to contest their removal from the U.S., and the ability to dispute their designation as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang…READ MORE. THE FINE PRINT: Trump promises cheaper drugs under TrumpRx, but economists say the long-term costs may be hidden PAY UP: Trump admin to revive student loan wage garnishments in January 2026 following COVID pause HOLIDAY ELEGANCE: Trump and first lady go all black for official White House Christmas portrait photo LEGAL LIMITS: WATCH: Ex-federal prosecutor says DOJ had power to release all Epstein files FAIR COMPETITION: Trump trade crackdown hits cheap food containers from China, Vietnam with massive new duties WASTE WATCH: Rand Paul’s ‘Festivus’ report calls out cocaine dogs, COVID influencers and a mountain of debt CAPITOL PRESSURE: Senate quietly works on bipartisan Obamacare fix as healthcare cliff nears FISH VS FLIPPER: Apex predator threatening Northwest salmon sparks rare bipartisan push to ‘kill more’ DOMINOS FALLING: Lawmakers probe SBA loans linked to Minnesota’s $9B fraud scandal: ‘Reckless decision making’ SUNSHINE STATE RACE: Boca Raton mayor launches run for Congress touting GOP as ‘party of the middle class’ TERMINAL PROGNOSIS: Former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse reveals stage-4 cancer diagnosis: ‘It’s a death sentence’ BALLOT BATTLE: Republicans have chance to secure governorships in key battleground states next year PARTY FRACTURE: Cornyn torches Democratic field, says party now ‘ruled by socialists’ Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
New US military GenAI tool ‘critical first step’ in future of warfare, says expert
The recently launched “GenAI” tool for U.S. service members and Department of War workers is a “critical first step” in the future of warfare, according to a military expert. This month, the Pentagon announced the launch of GenAI.mil, a military-focused AI platform powered by Google Gemini. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the platform is designed to give U.S. military personnel direct access to AI tools to help “revolutioniz[e] the way we win.” On Monday, the Department of War also announced that the Pentagon is further integrating Elon Musk’s xAI Grok family of models into the GenAI platform, allowing employees to use xAI safely on secure government systems for routine work, including tasks involving sensitive but unclassified information. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Emelia Probasco, a Navy veteran, former Pentagon official and senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, explained that the tool will help train Department of War service members and civilians on the use of artificial intelligence in their everyday workflow, preparing them for further integration of AI in military matters. WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL Probasco said the tool will have a “big impact” on the everyday functioning of the Department of War. “Prior to the rollout of this new website and having Gemini 3 available to the force, folks were either using sort of a tool that wasn’t as capable … or even worse, they were sort of going to their home computers and trying to do various things on their home computers, which they’re not supposed to do, but it was probably happening,” Probasco explained. “Now they’ve got a more secure environment where they can experiment with these tools and really start to learn what they’re good for and what they’re not good for.” While Probasco said she does not believe the tools, such as the GenAI platform, “fully changes war,” she thinks “it’s the critical first step in training so that we know how to use it well.” She said that the Department of War has “made it very clear in the past year that they want to forge ahead and be innovative and try new things and adopt AI.” The GenAI tool, Probasco said, gives the department a type of sandbox to experiment with for still bigger innovations to come. FOX NEWS AI NEWSLETTER: HEGSETH MOVES TO REVOLUTIONIZE AMERICAN WARFIGHTING “There are responsible people in the department who are trying to figure out what is the best use of this tool. Let’s try lots of experiments in sort of sandboxes or in safe places so that when a conflict comes, we are ready and ahead, frankly, of any adversary who has started to play with the tools,” she explained. Probasco said the Department of War understands that adversaries such as China are also developing and experimenting with artificial intelligence. Indeed, this month, President Donald Trump announced he would be partially reversing a Biden-era restriction on high-end chip exports, permitting Nvidia to export its artificial-intelligence chips to China and other countries. The H200 chips are high-performance processors made by Nvidia that help run artificial intelligence programs, like chatbots, machine learning and data-center tasks. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill voiced that they are split over the decision, with some seeing the move as a dangerous concession and others as strategic. HEGSETH TO HIGHLIGHT REBUILDING THE ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ IN SPEECH AT REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE FORUM Either way, Probasco said “we have lots of evidence” that China “is doing rapid experimentation [with AI] across all domains of warfare.” “And it’s not, can I use a chatbot, but rather, ‘Can I gather up lots of information to start to target individuals for espionage?’ For example, [and], ‘Can I use data to create more sophisticated cyber-attacks?’” she explained. “There is this sort of dynamic of a race between the two sides trying to figure out how to adopt it,” she explained. Though important, Probasco said the GenAI tool is “not going to necessarily be the weapon system that gains [the U.S.] an advantage.” KYRSTEN SINEMA WARNS US ADVERSARY WILL PROGRAM AI WITH ‘CHINESE VALUES’ IF AMERICA FALLS BEHIND IN TECH RACE She assured the AI tool that will truly give the U.S. a military advantage “is underway,” but said “that’s not the sort of thing you just roll out for every service member to use.” “It’s important to remember that using a chatbot to help you think through certain problems or do talking points is not what’s going to win the war. There are much more sophisticated military systems that use generative AI; they use other kinds of what’s called ‘good old-fashioned AI.’ There are lots of other techniques that militaries need to use,” she said. “Those are already in the works, and they’ve been in the works for years,” Probasco explained, adding, “That’s not going to be rolled out in a big public announcement where everybody can play with it.”
DOJ walks back Biden-era abortion policy, bars VA from funding procedures
A Department of Justice opinion published Monday reversed a Biden administration directive that allowed Veterans Affairs to provide taxpayer-funded abortions, concluding that federal law bans the VA from offering abortion services in most circumstances. The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel said in the opinion that a rule the Biden administration issued in 2022, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision, flouted the law. OLC Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock wrote that while the secretary of Veterans Affairs has wide latitude over what types of medical services it offers to the millions of veterans under its purview, “that discretion is not limitless.” The Veterans Health Care Act “makes clear” that the VA is restricted to providing abortion services only when a pregnancy carries certain types of risks, Craddock wrote. WHITE HOUSE WARNS VETERANS’ SERVICES AT RISK IF DEMS BLOCK GOP FUNDING BILL “That language is unambiguous,” Craddock said. A footnote noted that the only exceptions consistent with the law were abortions for “life-threatening circumstances, including treatment for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages.” Asked about whether the VA was providing abortions, press secretary Peter Kasperowicz told Fox News Digital it was not, attributing the halt to the DOJ’s new interpretation of the law. “The DOJ’s opinion states that VA is not legally authorized to provide abortions, and VA is complying with it immediately,” Kasperowicz said, noting that the DOJ’s opinion was consistent with a new Trump administration rule proposal that was still going through the regulatory process. That Trump administration’s rule also suggested that the Biden administration had oversold the need for an abortion policy change. The prior administration had predicted the agency would need to provide some 1,000 abortions per year in the wake of post-Dobbs restrictions on abortions in various states. However, the VA has since 2022 been providing roughly 140 per year, the administration said. The VA, led by Secretary Doug Collins, operates dozens of medical centers throughout the country and offers lifelong health services to about 9 million veterans and other eligible beneficiaries. The DOJ OLC advises the executive branch on the legality of its policies, and the administration views the OLC’s opinions as binding interpretations of the law. NEARLY 37,000 VA EMPLOYEES FURLOUGHED OR WORKING WITHOUT PAY AMID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN The progressive group Democracy Forward blasted the VA for shifting its policy, noting it was “fueled by” OLC’s opinion and did not include an exception for rape. “Denying veterans essential health care and abortion access – even in cases of rape or serious health risk – after they have sacrificed so much for our country is callous and inhumane,” Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said, adding that veterans should have the “freedom to make their own health care decisions.”
Supreme Court rules on legality of Trump National Guard deployment to Illinois
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to allow the president to proceed with immediately deploying National Guard troops to Chicago — delivering a blow, if temporary, to President Donald Trump as he seeks to expand his federalization push across the U.S. The justices declined the Trump administration’s emergency request to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge April Perry that had blocked the deployment of troops. An appeals court also had refused to step in. The Supreme Court took more than two months to act. “At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the high court majority wrote. Three justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, publicly dissented. The outcome is a rare Supreme Court setback for Trump, who had won repeated victories in emergency appeals since he took office again in January. ‘UNTETHERED FROM REALITY’: LAWYERS FOR TRUMP, OREGON, SPAR OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN COURT CLASH The White House told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration plans to keep working “day in and day out to safeguard the American public.” “The President promised the American people he would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters. He activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda.” In a statement, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul praised the court’s decision. “Nearly 250 years ago, the framers of our nation’s Constitution carefully divided responsibility over the country’s militia, today’s U.S. National Guard, between the federal government and the states – believing it impossible that a president would use one state’s militia against another state,” he said. “The extremely limited circumstances under which the federal government can call up the militia over a state’s objection do not exist in Illinois, and I am pleased that the streets of Illinois will remain free of armed National Guard members as our litigation continues in the courts.” The update comes after the Trump administration asked the high court last week to stay a lower court order blocking Trump from immediately deploying federalized National Guard troops to Chicago. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court that a federal judge’s earlier order, as well as the partial stay granted by a unanimous 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, “improperly impinges on the president’s authority and needlessly endangers federal personnel and property.” Blocking the deployment of National Guard troops, Sauer argued, risks “jeopardizing the lives and safety of DHS officers,” and prevents officials from taking what he argued are “reasonable and lawful measures” to protect federal agents from the “violent resistance” that they argue has persisted in Chicago. Lawyers for Illinois and Chicago disputed that contention, however. ‘UNTETHERED FROM REALITY’: LAWYERS FOR TRUMP, OREGON, SPAR OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT IN COURT CLASH They argued in their Supreme Court filing that the Trump administration’s arguments “rest on mischaracterizations of the factual record or the lower courts’ views of the legal principles.” They also cited the lower court judge’s order, which found the administration’s declarations about the nature of the protests in Chicago and nearby Broadview were “unreliable” and overstated the violence and difficulties officers faced enforcing the law. “As the district court found, state and local law enforcement officers have handled isolated protest activities in Illinois, and there is no credible evidence to the contrary,” lawyers for the state of Illinois said Monday. The update comes as Trump has sought to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to a growing list of Democratic-led cities, despite stated opposition from local and state leaders. He has faced opposition from a handful of federal courts, including U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, who described Trump’s actions in a restraining order this month as “untethered to reality,” and failing to reflect the situation on the ground. A three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit later stayed her order, allowing Trump to proceed with his deployment to Portland. TRUMP IS THREATENING TO ‘FEDERALIZE’ DC WITH NATIONAL GUARD AND MORE. HERE’S HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT In D.C., a federal judge on Friday will hear updates on the status of Trump’s National Guard deployments in the nation’s capital, after the city’s attorney general said in a new court filing that it appears the National Guard troops will remain deployed through at least summer 2026. It is unclear whether that is the Trump administration’s plan — and if so, how many of the 2,500 National Guard troops originally sent to D.C. in August would remain through that date. The fight comes as Trump officials argue that the deployments are a necessary step to crack down on what they have said is an uptick in violent crime and protect against threats from protesters, including anti-ICE demonstrations. Democrats, meanwhile, argue that Trump has failed to satisfy the criteria needed to federalize National Guard troops under USC § 12406, which allows a president to do so in cases of a foreign invasion, if there is “danger of a rebellion” or in cases when regular officers are unable to enforce the law. They have also argued that Trump’s characterizations are hyperbolic and merely a pretext to “federalize” Democratic-led cities and states. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. The Associated Press contributed to this report.