Gabbard fires ‘deep state’ heads of National Intelligence Council to root out ‘politicization of intel’
EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top officials leading the National Intelligence Council – whom whistleblowers describe as “radically opposed to Trump” — and has moved the agency to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, to ensure she can block any “politicization of intelligence,” Fox News Digital has learned. Gabbard fired Mike Collins, who was serving as the acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, and his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof, Tuesday, senior intelligence officials told Fox News Digital. DNI GABBARD REFERS INTEL OFFICIALS TO DOJ FOR PROSECUTION OVER ALLEGED LEAKS OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION Fox News Digital reached out Langan-Riekhof for comment and did not immediately hear back, and couldn’t immediately find contact information for Collins. Collins also has whistleblower complaints against him for political bias and “deliberately undermining the incoming Trump administration,” officials said. They added that Collins was closely associated with Michael Morrell, the former deputy director of the CIA who worked to write a public letter in 2020 claiming that Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” and to get signatures from top ex-intelligence officials. As for Langan-Reikhof, officials said she has been a “key advocate” for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and is someone who whistleblowers allege is “radically opposed to Trump.” Meanwhile, Gabbard is moving the National Intelligence Council from the CIA to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to “directly hold accountable any improper action and politicization of intelligence,” Fox News Digital has learned. Many intel community leakers are “career bureaucrats that are entrenched in Washington politics,” officials said. “It takes time to weed them out and fire them,” one official told Fox News Digital, adding that “plans to eliminate non-essential offices within ODNI that we know are housing deep state leakers are underway.” A CIA official told Fox News Digital Tuesday that the National Intelligence Council “has always been a DNI component. It makes sense for them to be physically located at DNI.” GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY The moves come as Gabbard has taken steps to root out leakers and alleged “deep state holdovers” who officials say are politicizing intelligence analysis and “trying to sabotage President Trump’s agenda.” FLASHBACK: BIDEN CAMPAIGN, BLINKEN ORCHESTRATED INTEL LETTER TO DISCREDIT HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY, EX-CIA OFFICIAL SAYS So far, Gabbard has referred three intelligence community professionals to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution over alleged leaks of classified information. Fox News Digital first reported on those criminal referrals in April. An ODNI official at that time told Fox News Digital that the intelligence community professionals allegedly leaked classified information to the Washington Post and The New York Times. “Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end,” Gabbard told Fox News Digital in April. “Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” A senior intelligence official told Fox News Digital Tuesday that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is investigating 12 other intelligence officials over alleged leaks of classified information. For example, officials told Fox News Digital that ODNI fired two bureaucrats in early May who they say leaked information from an assessment about the violent Tren de Aragua gang to the Times. Officials said those bureaucrats were “CIA detailees” who were fired for “not following proper procedures.” In April, Gabbard established a task force to restore transparency and accountability in the intelligence community. Fox News Digital first reported on the Director’s Initiative Group (DIG), which started by investigating weaponization within the intelligence community. Officials said the group will also work to root out politicization and expose unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence. In addition, it will work to declassify information “that serves a public interest.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Gabbard also has held to account employees who participated in sexually explicit National Security Agency chatrooms, and is pursuing action against those who have made unauthorized leaks of classified information within the intelligence community. All the while, officials have complained about the hold up in confirming intelligence nominees, which they say are “essential” to enacting the Trump agenda. Currently, ODNI is without its nominees for principal deputy director of national intelligence; National Counterterrorism Center; National Counterintelligence and Security Center; intelligence inspector general; and general counsel; among others.
Biden made Harris campaign a ‘nightmare,’ destroyed her chances by staying in 2024 race too long, aides charge
Former President Joe Biden‘s second campaign ruined former Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances of defeating President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, according to a top Democratic consultant. David Plouffe, former President Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008 and a senior advisor on Harris’ 2024 campaign, detailed how dire Biden’s run was for the Democrats in a new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” “And it’s all Biden,” Plouffe said in the book, authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, about Biden’s choice to stay in the race so long and how the White House assured him Biden was capable of winning another election. “He totally f—ed us.” As a result, Plouffe said that Harris’ brief campaign against Trump turned into “a f—ing nightmare,” pointing the blame on Biden. CRITICS PILE ON BIDEN FOLLOWING ABC INTERVIEW, BLAST HIS REFUSAL TO COMMIT TO COGNITIVE TEST: ‘DISQUALIFYING’ Plouffe is far from the only one who believes that Biden undercut his own party running again in 2024 as his faculties began to decline. A senior White House aide described in the book that “we attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didn’t realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.” The aide, who ultimately departed the White House because they did not believe Biden should run in 2024, described Biden’s decision to run for a second term as a “disservice” to the country and Democrats. “I love Joe Biden. When it comes to decency, there are few in politics like him,” the aide said in the book, which is slated for release Tuesday. “Still, it was a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again.” Spokespeople for Biden and Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “Original Sin” details the 2024 election cycle and how Biden’s team orchestrated a cover-up to hide just how severely his mental faculties had suffered. The book is one of several that detail Biden’s decision to run in 2024 and assert the dramatic decline of his cognitive function. BIDEN AIDES ‘SCRIPTED’ EVERYTHING, ALLOWED HIS FACULTIES TO ‘ATROPHY,’ NEW BOOK CLAIMS For example, the book, “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History,” also detailed how the White House kept Biden from socializing even with those he regarded as friends and allies. However, that book, authored by Chris Whipple, a former producer for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” said that one White House aide suggested “walling Biden off from the world was a grave mistake.” “‘They were afraid he might say the wrong thing or might feed the mental acuity narrative,’ he told me. ‘And so he started seeing fewer and fewer people. They allowed his faculties to atrophy. But I think, like knives, they have to be sharpened. They get sharpened by rubbing them up against steel. And they don’t get sharpened by sitting in a drawer,’” Whipple wrote.
SCOOP: Democrats who ‘stormed’ Newark ICE facility could be stripped of committees in new House bill
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican lawmaker is moving to have three of his Democratic colleagues removed from their House committees after they were accused of “storming” a federal detention facility in defense of illegal immigrants in New Jersey. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., introduced a resolution on Tuesday to strip Reps. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., and LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., of their committee assignments. The New Jersey Democrats were part of a group of protesters who rushed into Delaney Hall Detention Center after the gates opened for a bus carrying a group of detainees into the facility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused them of breaking in and risking the safety of both law enforcement and detainees for what it called a political stunt. BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY The lawmakers and their supporters, however, maintained they were exercising their constitutional duty and accused ICE agents of assaulting McIver and Watson Coleman. “The radical left has lost their minds – they would rather raid an ICE facility to defend criminal illegal immigrants than represent their own constituents,” Carter told Fox News Digital of his legislation. “This behavior constitutes an assault on our brave ICE agents and undermines the rule of law. The three members involved in this stunt do not deserve to sit on committees alongside serious lawmakers.” His legislation would remove Watson Coleman from the House Appropriations Committee, remove Menendez from the House Energy & Commerce Committee and remove McIver from the House committees on Small Business and Homeland Security. Carter’s office is reaching out to other House Republicans to gauge support for the resolution. Fox News Digital reached out to the three Democrats for comment but did not immediately hear back. DHS said in a statement after the incident Friday, “These members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk.” “Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility,” DHS said. The Democrats, meanwhile, have pushed back on the Republican categorization of the event. “The idea we ‘stormed’ a heavily guarded federal detention center is absurd – just more lies from the most dishonest administration in history,” Watson Coleman wrote on X. ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION McIver wrote on the social platform Friday, “This is laid out clearly on ICE’s own website. What happened today, from the manhandling of me and my colleagues to the arrest of [Newark Mayor Ras Baraka], should never have occurred.” Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also defended the trio. “The concerns of elected officials about this unsanctioned facility will not be silenced by the Trump administration’s attempt to intimidate the public. We will never bend the knee,’ Jeffries said. “The masked agents who physically accosted two Congresswomen must be identified immediately and any trumped-up charges against Mayor Baraka dropped.”
Trump’s ‘wrong-headed’ effort to lower drug costs amounts to price control: expert
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday instructing drug companies to reduce prices of prescription drugs or face consequences from the federal government. But the effort amounts to price control since it’s not limited to just government programs — and similar policy initiatives in other sectors have prompted shortages, according to Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Washington-based libertarian-leaning Cato Institute think tank. “We have seen government price controls in housing,” Cannon told Fox News Digital Monday. “We call it rent control, and it creates shortages. We have seen it when it comes to food. We call them price caps there too, and it produces shortages.” “We see price caps after natural disasters,” he continued. “We call them anti-gouging laws, and they produce shortages. And so that’s what we can expect price controls to produce when it comes to pharmaceuticals as well — that’s if you have a binding price ceiling, you’re going to get a shortage, and I think it’s totally a wrong-headed thing.” Price control occurs when the government steps in to impose limits on how much one can charge for various goods or services in the free market. While price controls may lower costs for some consumers, they have largely been ineffective in American history. For example, former President Richard Nixon implemented price controls in the 1970s in an attempt to fix wages and other prices — which backfired and resulted in the gas crisis and other shortages across the country. PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES ON ‘BIG PHARMA’ BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LOWER DRUG PRICES For example, there was a series of initiatives that states unveiled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to address price-gouging, although they were difficult to enforce. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order in March 2020 that barred individuals or businesses from selling any products in the state “at a price that is more than 20 percent higher than what the business or individual offered or charged,” according to a 2020 news release. Trump announced Monday that the executive order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish price targets for pharmaceutical manufacturers. But Cannon noted that the order isn’t just for prices for the government — it also applies to the free market and private sector. Failure to comply will prompt the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to “undertake enforcement action against any anti-competitive practices,” along with other consequences. Additionally, Trump introduced plans to launch “most favored nations drug pricing.” “The principle is simple — whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,” Trump said at the White House Monday. “Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%.” “We’re going to equalize,” Trump said. “We’re all going to pay the same. We’re going to pay what Europe pays.” The White House pushed back against comments that the move equated price control. “If Americans had a truly free and fair market, they would not be paying several times more for the same exact prescription drugs as Europeans do,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News Digital. “President Trump’s historic executive order is fixing the anti-competitive behavior that’s forcing everyday Americans to subsidize the health care of other developed nations.” Drug prices have dramatically climbed in recent years. From January 2022 and January 2023, prescription drug prices increased more than 15%, reaching an average of $590 per drug product, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Of the 4,200 prescription drugs included on that list, 46% of the price increases exceeded the rate of inflation. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group argued the executive order would harm American patients. “Importing foreign prices from socialist countries would be a bad deal for American patients and workers,” Stephen J. Ubl, the president and CEO of PhRMA, said in a Monday statement. “It would mean less treatments and cures and would jeopardize the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America.” MAHA CAUCUS MEMBER PLEDGES HEARINGS INTO ‘CORRUPTION’ OF A PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR ‘CAPTURED BY BIG PHARMA’ In April, Trump signed another executive order that aimed to tackle Medicare drug prices. Specifically, that order required HHS to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs, including those used for cancer patients, regardless of where a patient receives treatment. Patients could face a drop in prices by as much as 60%, according to a White House fact sheet. The order also called to match the Medicare payment for certain prescription drugs to the price that hospitals pay for those drugs, up to 35% lower than what the government pays to acquire those medications, per the White House. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US and Saudi Arabia agree to $142bn weapons sale during Trump visit
The administration of United States President Donald Trump says that Saudi Arabia will invest $600bn in the United States, including through technology partnerships and a weapons sales agreement worth $142bn. A fact sheet shared by the White House on Tuesday explains that the agreement, which also includes collaboration in areas such as energy and mineral development, is the largest-ever weapons sale between the two countries. “The deals celebrated today are historic and transformative for both countries and represent a new golden era of partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the fact sheet reads. The pact represents a deepening of economic and military ties between the two countries, a trend that has continued for decades under both Republican and Democratic US presidents. Trump was in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Tuesday as part of a Middle East tour, marking the first major international trip of his second term as president. Later in the week, he is expected to make stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Advertisement But already, the trip has renewed criticisms that Trump may use the diplomatic outing to advance personal interests. The proposed transfer of a $400m luxury aeroplane, for instance, from Qatar to the US Department of Defence has raised questions in the US about the ethics and constitutionality of accepting gifts from foreign governments. During his first term as president, in 2017, Trump likewise included Saudi Arabia on his first major trip abroad, a voyage that similarly culminated in a multibillion-dollar arms deal. But the global outcry over the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a consulate in Istanbul briefly threatened to upend the relationship. The US government has alleged that forces linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman were responsible for the killing. Tuesday’s agreement is designed to help modernise the Saudi military with “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defense firms”, according to the White House fact sheet. “The first key component of this is upgrading the defence capabilities of Saudi Arabia,” Al Jazeera correspondent Hashem Ahelbarra reported from Riyadh. “This is a country that has been trying to invest vast amounts of money over the last few years” in its military, he added. But the newly minted deal is not limited to security cooperation. The agreement also lays out a plan in which Saudi Arabia will invest $20bn in energy infrastructure and data centres for artificial intelligence in the US, a significant infusion of cash into industries with close ties to the Trump administration. Advertisement In both areas, US companies stand to reap a potential windfall. “Saudi Arabia wants to become one of the top global investors in artificial intelligence, and that’s why you see many tech CEOs here in Riyadh, who are looking forward to getting some of those contracts,” said Ahelbarra. The deal also includes references to collaboration on energy infrastructure and mineral investments, without offering many details. Various US administrations, including during Trump’s first term in office, have used the inducement of greater collaboration on security and arms sales to push Saudi Arabia to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel. The two countries have never had formal diplomatic ties. But during Trump’s first term, the Republican leader initiated a series of agreements known as the Abraham Accords to boost ties between Israel and various Middle East states. Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan agreed to recognise Israel as part of the agreements. But Saudi Arabia has been a holdout — and normalising ties between it and Israel could be seen as a crowning achievement for the second Trump administration. Israel’s war in Gaza, however, has complicated those efforts. United Nations experts have warned that Israel’s actions in Gaza were consistent with genocide, and South Africa has accused Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice. The International Criminal Court, meanwhile, has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant over accusations of war crimes. Advertisement The spiralling death toll in Gaza and allegations of human rights abuses have caused outrage in the region and hardened Riyadh’s insistence that normalisation should come only as part of a wider agreement on a Palestinian state, a move Israel is not willing to consider. Adblock test (Why?)
France mosque killing should be investigated as terrorism, says lawyer
NewsFeed Are Islamophobic crimes less likely to be classed as terrorism offences? The murder of 22-year-old Aboubakar Cisse at a French mosque should be investigated by anti-terror police, according to the lawyer representing the victim’s family. He spoke to Al Jazeera’s Hind Touissate. Published On 13 May 202513 May 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Libya’s prime minister asserts control after deadly Tripoli violence
After clashes kill six in Tripoli, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah says a military operation restored calm in the capital. A day after deadly clashes shook Tripoli, Libya’s United Nations-recognised government in the west of the country has begun asserting control following the reported killing of powerful militia leader Abdelghani al-Kikli, also known as Gheniwa. The Emergency Medicine and Support Centre confirmed it retrieved six bodies from the Tripoli neighbourhood of Abu Salim on Tuesday, after heavy fighting erupted across the capital the previous night and into the early morning. Explosions and gunfire echoed through the southern part of the city as rival armed factions clashed for several hours. The fighting stemmed from the killing of al-Kikli, commander of the Stability Support Authority, SSA, on Monday by a rival militia, a senior government and health official told the Associated Press news agency. An official and local media say al-Kikli was killed during a meeting at the 444 Brigade’s base, a group loyal to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Al-Kikli had been accused by Amnesty International of war crimes and other serious rights violations over the past decade. Advertisement Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui told the AFP news agency that al-Kikli had been ambushed, citing a relative. “Among Tripoli’s most successful armed group leaders,” he was known for outmanoeuvring the prime minister, the analyst added. On Tuesday, Dbeibah declared a military operation had dismantled “irregular” armed groups. The move is seen as a direct effort to reassert state authority and strengthen his position in the capital. “Gheniwa was de facto king of Tripoli,” Tarek Megerisi of the European Council on Foreign Relations told Reuters. “His henchmen controlled the internal security agency … cash transfers from the central bank… numerous public companies and ministries”. Al-Kikli’s forces reportedly operated prisons and held influence over ministries and financial institutions, underscoring a significant shift in the balance of power with his death. Clashes also spread beyond the capital, with fighting between Tripoli-based groups and rival militias from Misrata, a key coastal city to the east. Authorities imposed a temporary curfew before later announcing that calm had returned. Libya, a major oil producer and key route for immigrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean, remains deeply divided between Dbeibah’s UN-recognised administration in the west and a rival eastern government aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar. Foreign powers including Turkiye, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates continue to back opposing sides in the ongoing power struggle. Tense calm across the capital Dbeibah said a “military operation” had restored calm and asserted the government’s authority. “What was accomplished today shows that official institutions are capable of protecting the homeland and preserving the dignity of its citizens,” he wrote on X, praising the armed forces’ role. Advertisement Schools across parts of the capital have been closed until further notice. The UN mission in Libya expressed alarm over the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas, warning that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes” and calling on all sides to “immediately cease fighting”. Libya plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The oil-rich nation has been governed for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by an array of fighter groups and foreign governments. Adblock test (Why?)
India launches e-passports with unique features in 13 cities, know what will happen to paper ones
India on Tuesday officially launched in 13 cities the first phase of its next-generation e-passport initiative, combining advanced electronic technology with the traditional paper passport format to enhance identity verification and strengthen travel document security. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this project began under a pilot phase in conjunction with the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Version 2.0, which was initiated in April last year.
Schumer moves to block Trump DOJ nominees as he seeks answers on Qatari jet to Defense Department
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday a “hold on all DOJ political nominees,” as he is demanding answers from the Trump administration over a jumbo jet gift from Qatar’s royal family, which the Democrat is calling a “grave national security threat.” “News of the Qatari government gifting Donald Trump a $400 million private jet to use as Air Force One is so corrupt that even Putin would give a double take. This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “So, in light of the deeply troubling news of a possible Qatari-funded Air Force One, and the reports that the Attorney General personally signed off on this clearly unethical deal, I am announcing a hold on all DOJ political nominees, until we get more answers,” he added. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response that “Senator Schumer and his anti-law-and-order party are prioritizing politics over critical DOJ appointments, obstructing President Trump’s Make Safe Again agenda,” and that “Cryin’ Chuck must end the antics, stop Senate stonewalling, and prioritize the safety and civil rights of Americans.” ALLIES TURN ON PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR ACCEPTING LUXURY JET FROM QATAR Trump has defended the U.S. preparing to accept a jumbo jet gift from Qatar’s royal family to serve as a temporary Air Force One as Boeing failed to roll out a new Air Force One fleet in a timely manner. “We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump said Monday morning. “You know, we have an Air Force One that’s 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it’s not even the same ballgame.” Reports spread Sunday morning that the Trump administration was expected to accept a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family. ABC News reported that Trump would use the jet until the end of his term, when it would be given to his presidential library. TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET In his speech Tuesday, Schumer said he is calling on the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit to disclose all actions by those working as Qatari foreign agents in the U.S. “that could benefit President Trump or the Trump Organization.” “Since Attorney General Bondi took charge, the Department of Justice has not been doing its job when it comes to FARA. The FARA Unit needs to enforce the law, and inform the public about all activities not just on this luxury plane deal, but all deals involving foreign countries in the Middle East and President Trump, his family, and the Trump organization,” he said. “Second, with regards to this half-a-billion-dollar private jet deal, the American people deserve to know the facts. President Trump has told the American people that this is a ‘free jet.’ Does that mean the Qataris are delivering a ready-on-day-one plane with all the security measures already built in?” Schumer continued. “If so, who installed those security measures, and how do we know they were properly installed? Why would we take the risk of trusting any foreign country to do this sensitive work? If not, what security modifications would be needed to ensure a foreign-sourced Air Force One is safe to use? If this is, as President Trump promised, a ‘free jet’, will the Qataris pay for those highly sensitive installations or will American taxpayers have to cover those costs?” Schumer wondered aloud on the Senate floor. “The Attorney General must testify before both the House and Senate to explain why gifting Donald Trump a private jet does not violate the emoluments clause – which requires congressional approval – or any other ethics laws,” Schumer declared. “Until the Attorney General explains her blatantly inept decision and we get complete and comprehensive answers to these and other questions, I will place a hold on all political nominees to the Department Of Justice.” Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Blue state ICE facility ramps up security with new barricades amid clashes with protesters
NEWARK, N.J. – Large yellow barricades were at the front of Delaney Hall on Tuesday morning following protests at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Monday and last week. An ICE officer told Fox News Digital that the barricades were placed following Monday’s protests, as they went all the way up to the gate itself. In addition to the barricades, signs are up saying “private property, no trespassing, violators will be prosecuted.” The facility is operated by the GEO Group, a private contractor, but law enforcement is also heavily present outside the building. WHO IS THE DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT AN ICE DETENTION CENTER? Two people were arrested at the protest on Monday, as a demonstration of clergy members were in attendance and said they would have “volunteered” to be taken into custody. They linked arms outside the main gate of Delaney Hall as they chanted and sang songs. This protest came after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democratic candidate for governor, was arrested for trespassing last week. Baraka’s arrest occurred during a protest at the facility attended by three members of Congress, who said they were in attendance to perform their congressionally-mandated oversight duties related to federal detention facilities. The three lawmakers were outside the facility with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. The lawmakers then rushed through the gates and past security, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The lawmakers, including Rep. LaMonica McIver, said “ICE created chaos” that led to the incident, according to an X post. “We’re not asking for anything that’s incorrect. We ask them to obey our laws,” Baraka said after the incident. “To obey the policies and rules here in the city and the state of New Jersey, not to run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Fourteenth Amendment and everybody on this soil who deserves due process.” NEWARK MAYOR SPEAKS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM HSI FACILITY The arrest came as activists had been calling for access to the facility for days, which is a privately run facility that was revamped as an immigration detention facility this year. ICE also used the building in the heavily industrial area of the city from 2011 to 2017 for migrant detentions, according to the Washington Post. DHS said that many of the detainees currently at the facility are facing criminal charges or are already convicted of crimes. “Who do they want released from Delaney Hall? The child rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, MS-13 gang members or known terrorists?” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin asked after Monday’s demonstration. “This was a cheap political stunt by the Democrats and by these protesters,” she said. “We’re not having it. They put law enforcement officers at risk. They put our staff in the facility at risk and put the detainees at risk. You saw that they didn’t even let an ambulance through. This is not something that this administration is going to put up with. And that’s part of the reason that this mayor was arrested. You can’t just storm a detention facility and assault law enforcement officers with impunity.” ALINA HABBA SWEARS TO PROTECT ‘AMERICAN SAFETY’ FROM THOSE ‘VIOLATING FEDERAL LAW’ Meanwhile, United States Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said she is further looking into what happened on Friday involving the officials. “My office is undertaking a thorough investigation in coordination with our Federal Agency partners of what transpired on Friday at Delaney Hall. As is true of every investigation this office handles, all available evidence will be thoroughly reviewed prior to making a determination on how to proceed. I do not take these matters lightly,” Habba posted. Fox News’ Alec Schemmel, Anders Hagstrom, Alexis McAdams and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.