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US judge orders suspect detained for threatening to kill Richard Grenell

US judge orders suspect detained for threatening to kill Richard Grenell

A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tuesday ordered the detention of a 33-year-old man charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump ally and Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, in what Justice Department officials described as a win for the Trump administration – and for Lindsey Halligan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Grenell, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, was not in court for the arraignment Tuesday afternoon, and was identified in a press release only as a “federal employee.” The Justice Department identified Grenell to Fox News Digital as the individual in question. The suspect, Scott Allen Bolger, was charged with transmitting threats in interstate commerce, and with making false statements to federal officers, who later used phone evidence to trace the threats back to him. He was arraigned in federal court in Alexandria.  Justice Department officials told Fox News Digital that the decision to hold an individual in pretrial detention is somewhat rare, and described the win as a victory for the Justice Department.   According to court documents, Bolger used Google Voice to send threatening messages to Grenell, including allegedly threatening to kill him. Google Voice allows users to make calls and send messages to phone numbers that are not tied to their primary devices. Bolger is also accused of lying to members of a federal task force who went to his residence in McLean to question him, falsely identifying himself as “Brian Black.” COMEY SEEKS TO TOSS CRIMINAL CASE CALLING TRUMP PROSECUTOR ‘UNLAWFUL’ APPOINTEE If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.  They also noted that Halligan, who Trump installed as U.S. attorney for EDVA earlier this year, attended the arraignment. Halligan attended the proceedings, but did not play a formal role, Fox News Digital confirmed. The Justice Department also shared a victim statement from Grenell with Fox News Digital that was read aloud in court.  “In my current role as a presidential envoy, I have been attacked and harassed by people who don’t know me and who simply want to leave nasty, rude and angry messages because I don’t share their political viewpoint,” Grenell said in the statement. “But I strongly believe it is their right to be bitter and angry. I understand the passion. And I think the freedom to be rude and angry is a cherished right.” “But today is much different,” he said. “Today we are dealing with someone who went far beyond sharing his angry opinion. Today we see a man who wants to kill someone because of their political differences.” “And as we have sadly learned from my friend Charlie Kirk’s death, we must take talk of violence and calls for death seriously. “ “This individual crossed the line from sharing his viewpoint to wanting to shoot someone in the face because he disagrees with them politically. It is very troubling,” he said, adding, “The people doing what he is doing, and there are many, must be given clear instructions from community leaders that their calls for shooting people in the head will have swift and severe consequences. Unstable people are watching what we do today.” SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP Notably, the determination to hold Bolger in pretrial detention was made by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick.  Fitzpatrick most recently made headlines for issuing scathing broadsides against DOJ for its handling of grand jury materials in the Comey case, which he said, last month, presented “irregularities” that “may rise to the level of government misconduct.” The suspect’s arrest comes at a time when threats and intimidation aimed at high-profile figures across all three branches of government have appeared to escalate. Polls have shown that people believe political violence is on the rise in the wake of Kirk’s assassination, the murder of two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and violence toward immigration enforcement officials. Brooke Singman contributed to this report. This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Maine nonprofit with Somali ties reportedly sees state funding shut off after fraud claims

Maine nonprofit with Somali ties reportedly sees state funding shut off after fraud claims

A Maine health services company recently accused by a whistleblower of bilking taxpayers out of millions in Medicaid funds saw its spigot shut off this week as the state Department of Health moved to halt payments from MaineCare. Gateway Community Services is a Portland company run by a Somali-born man who ran for president – the U.S. equivalent of governor – of Jubaland, Somalia, for what would have been a four-year term beginning in 2024, according to his campaign website. Ali’s campaign manifesto includes a point saying he would create “robust security infrastructure” to counter Al-Shabab, while reports out of Minnesota claim their Somali-tied funds may have ended up in the hands of the terror group. FEDS LAUNCH ‘MASSIVE OPERATION’ IN MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD SCANDAL Incumbent Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe won that contest, which also inspired both the Mogadishu government and semi-autonomous Jubaland government in Bu’ale to issue arrest warrants for each other’s leaders over illegitimacy claims, according to Reuters. Ali originally came to the U.S. as a refugee in 2009, became a U.S. citizen, and started several ventures, according to the Maine Wire. MaineCare sent Gateway a notice of violation last week, according to the Bangor Daily News, which reported that payments would be suspended while the state investigated “credible allegations of fraud.” MINNESOTA GOP LAWMAKERS CITE CONSTITUTION IN CALL FOR WALZ TO RESIGN OVER FRAUD CRISIS The paper reported the state will seek more than $1 million in payments made in 2021 and 2022, with Maine Department of Health spokesperson Lindsay Hammes saying the agency will “continue to hold providers to the highest standards and ensure accountability in the use of public funds.” MaineCare paid Gateway $28.8 million between 2019 and 2024, according to records obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a public records request. The firm also received almost $700,000 in COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to purportedly save 127 jobs, according to the Maine Wire. Fox News Digital had attempted to reach Ali and Gateway earlier this month when a whistleblower came forward to NewsNation alleging he had witnessed fraud firsthand while working there. The whistleblower, Chris Bernardini, told NewsNation that while working at the firm, he “couldn’t fathom” the depths of alleged fraud he witnessed. “I thought we were helping people,” he said, adding that he received calls complaining that Gateway staff never showed up for clients, and claimed an electronic monitoring system tracking movements of field staff wrongly depicted them traveling to low-income clients, according to the outlet. HHS PROBES MINNESOTA’S USE OF BILLIONS IN FEDERAL SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDS AMID FRAUD CONCERNS: REPORT An attorney for Gateway, Pawel Bincyzk, told the Bangor paper that the firm did receive notices from the state but that the company “stands by its previous statements on this issue and will continue to cooperate with the state as it has in the past.” The notification from Augusta came shortly after Congress weighed in on the matter in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding concerns over Minnesota’s burgeoning Somali-linked fraud scandal. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., also listed Gateway in the letter, along with several people purportedly connected to the firm, including Ali and state Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-Portland. A message left at the phone number for Gateway’s main office was not returned, and another extension was disconnected. Fox News Digital reached out to Maine Democratic Attorney General Aaron Frey about the state’s actions. A spokesperson declined comment on the investigation. 

DOJ’s second-in-command could be central to ‘vindictive’ prosecution of Abrego Garcia, judge rules

DOJ’s second-in-command could be central to ‘vindictive’ prosecution of Abrego Garcia, judge rules

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to produce documents related to its decision to investigate and bring criminal charges against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia while he was detained at a maximum-security prison in El Salvador earlier this year – signaling what is sure to be an action-packed evidentiary hearing in Nashville next month.  The order, filed by U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw earlier this month and released to the public Tuesday afternoon, requires the Justice Department to produce all relevant documents to defense lawyers pertaining to its decision earlier this year to open an investigation and seek criminal charges against Abrego Garcia for conduct stemming from a 2022 traffic stop.  ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT The Justice Department opened the criminal investigation and presented the case to a grand jury earlier this year, when Abrego Garcia was detained at CECOT, and at the same time as lawyers for the Trump administration officials were telling a separate federal judge in Maryland that they were powerless to bring him back from Salvadoran custody.  The new order stops short of compelling any government witnesses to testify for next month’s hearing, including testimony from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose remarks – for months – have been at the center of the vindictive prosecution effort pursued by Abrego Garcia’s defense team in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have argued Blanche played “a leading role” in the decision to prosecute him, a notion Blanche’s office has vehemently dismissed. They had also honed in on the involvement of Blanche’s associate, Aakash Singh.  “The cornerstone of Abrego’s motion to dismiss is that the decision to prosecute him was in retaliation for his success in the Maryland District Court,” Crenshaw said in the newly unsealed ruling.  “Indeed, at the time of Abrego’s arrest, Blanche linked Abrego’s criminal charges to his successful civil lawsuit in Maryland. Specifically, some of the documents suggest not only that McGuire was not a solitary decision-maker, but he, in fact, reported to others in DOJ and the decision to prosecute Abrego may have been a joint decision, with others who may or may not have acted with improper motivation.”  U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw had ruled in October that Abrego Garcia had established a “reasonable likelihood” that the criminal case against him was the result of vindictive prosecution by the Justice Department, a determination that shifted the burden to the government to rebut ahead of the criminal trial, and ordered the Trump administration to produce for the court internal documents and government witnesses to testify about its decision to bring the case.  SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP Lawyers for the Justice Department fiercely resisted efforts to produce government witnesses or documents, arguing that the documents should be protected by attorney-client privilege and work-product privilege, among other things.  The evidentiary hearing is slated to take place on Jan. 28. Crenshaw separately canceled the criminal trial date for Abrego Garcia, though the update is likely more a procedural one than a reflection of the status of the case. Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom for nearly 11 months, after he was arrested and deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 withholding of removal order.  This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

DOJ challenges Virginia law granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants

DOJ challenges Virginia law granting in-state tuition to illegal immigrants

The Trump administration is suing Virginia over a law that allows some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates to attend universities and colleges. Federal law prohibits states from providing illegal immigrants postsecondary education benefits that are denied to U.S. citizens.  The Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit in Richmond, argues that Virginia state law discriminates against American citizens who can’t afford the same reduced tuition rates, scholarships or subsidies and that it incentivizes illegal immigration.  “This is not only wrong but illegal. The challenged act’s discriminatory treatment in favor of illegal aliens over citizens is squarely prohibited and preempted by federal law,” the 13-page complaint states. “There are no exceptions. Virginia violates it nonetheless.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BANS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM TAXPAYER-FUNDED SERVICES, INCLUDING HEAD START Under state law, students who establish residency in Virginia for one year could be eligible for in-state tuition, regardless of their immigration status.  The complaint urges Virginia to stop providing illegal immigrants with in-state tuition rates, financial aid or other state benefits. TRUMP ADMIN SUES COLORADO, DENVER OVER ‘SANCTUARY LAWS,’ ALLEGED INTERFERENCE IN IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT “This is a simple matter of federal law: in Virginia and nationwide, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares for comment.  The Trump administration has filed tuition lawsuits against several other states, including Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota and California.  Upon taking office, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders to ensure illegal immigrants can’t obtain taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment.