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Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits

Montana governor launches sanctuary crackdown, probes capital city over ICE limits

A western state’s governor and attorney general are launching an investigation into potential violations of a statewide ban on sanctuary cities and sanctuary-jurisdictional policies, pledging zero tolerance for failure to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte told Fox News Digital that he and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, both Republicans, will investigate the capital city of Helena under SB 200, which permits civil legal action and enforcement of fines against jurisdictions found in violation. “In Montana, we don’t tolerate defiance and we support our law enforcement officers,” Gianforte told Fox News Digital. DEM GOVERNOR IN DEEP-RED STATE CALLS FOR ICE PULLOUT, TRIGGERING CLASH OVER ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY “While the attorney general’s initial investigation will focus on the city of Helena, we’re really sending a message to all local governments across the state: If you are found to be in violation of state law, there will be penalties.” In response to Helena City Commissioners’ vote to prevent local coordination with federal immigration enforcement, Gianforte and Knudsen announced the decision will be investigated as a potential violation of the sanctuary city ban originally authored by state Rep. Kenneth Holmlund, R-Miles City. Gianforte said he has “serious concerns” about the resolution’s compliance with state law and said that under the sanctuary city ban, no state or local agency may refuse to cooperate with DHS. THIS IS HOW TRUMP CAN BREAK DEFIANT SANCTUARY CITIES In a letter to Knudsen formally requesting his office’s cooperation, Gianforte laid out how “securing the border has been a top priority of President Donald J. Trump after the previous administration let nearly 11 million illegal immigrants enter freely into the United States under their watch.” He referenced Trump’s mass deportation efforts and said that it is unfortunate to see “recent events” elsewhere in the U.S. that have put immigration agents in danger. In that regard, he described a recent Helena City Council vote as ordering local officers not to get involved in actions to assist other agencies nor to detain or stop a person based on suspicion of immigration law or status infractions. JD VANCE, ICE FLIP SCRIPT ON SANCTUARY CITY LEADERS AS ‘CHAOS’ ERUPTS ACROSS MN: ‘THIS IS DANGEROUS’ “This resolution is clearly designed to obstruct federal law enforcement operations,” Gianforte said. Knudsen told the Flathead Beacon that Helena appears to be “thumbing its nose to the Montana Legislature” and must understand it does not make state law. “I encourage [the city] to retain counsel [and] get a lobbyist…” he said in part. A spokeswoman for the city of Helena told Fox News Digital it had not received any formal communication on the matter from Gianforte, and added that “as a general practice, the City does not provide comment on pending or potential litigation matters.” “[Helena’s] resolution was drafted with careful consideration of applicable local, state, and federal law, and the City believes the resolution is consistent with those legal requirements,” she said. “The City remains committed to upholding all applicable federal and state laws. Knudsen’s office signaled it is only officially looking at Helena, but local reports also pointed to concerns about Missoula — the state’s second-largest behind Billings. A spokesperson for Missoula told the Montana Free Press it has never been and is not currently a sanctuary city, while adding that its police officers do not inquire about immigration status in public interactions.

‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates

‘At some point, you age out’: Obama urges Democrats to pass torch to younger candidates

Former President Barack Obama says the Democratic Party needs to elevate a younger generation of candidates if it wants to win at the ballot box in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. Obama, who was 47-years-old when first elected president in 2008, is warning that older politicians can “age out” and lose a crucial connection to a younger electorate. “I’m not making a hard and fast rule here, but I do think that Democrats do well when we have candidates who are plugged into the moment, to the zeitgeist, to the times and the particular struggles that folks are thinking about as they look towards the future, rather than look backward toward the past,” Obama said in an interview with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen that was published this weekend. 87-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER FACES PRIMARY CHALLENGE FROM YOUNGER RIVAL There’s been plenty of discontent this decade among younger Democrats with some of their party’s aging politicians who have resisted bowing out and passing the torch. NEW DEMOCRATIC GROUP PUSHES FRESH FACES AS PARTY’S BRAND SINKS TO HISTORIC LOWS That sentiment was amplified by former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for re-election in 2024 before dropping out of the race amid serious questions about the then-81-year-old president’s physical and mental acuity after a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump. “I’m a pretty healthy 64, feel great, but the truth is, half of the references that my daughters make about social media, TikTok and such, I don’t know who they’re talking about,” Obama said in the interview. “There is an element of, at some point, you age out. You’re not connected directly to the immediate struggles that folks are going through.” Younger Democrats primary challenging older incumbents is grabbing attention in this year’s midterm elections. AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE Myla Rahman is aiming to use Rep. Maxine Waters‘ 35 years in Congress as political ammunition as she challenges the longtime Democratic congresswoman. The nonprofit executive, Los Angeles native and cancer survivor, who is 34 years younger than the 87-year-old lawmaker, highlighted generational change as she launched a primary challenge last week against Waters. “People are sick and tired of the same old thing,” Rahman told the California Post in an interview. Waters, who has been in Congress since 1991, hasn’t faced a serious primary challenge in over a decade in California’s solidly-blue 43rd District, which is anchored in South Los Angeles. Waters isn’t the only long-serving House Democrat from California facing challenges from younger rivals. So are Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Mike Thompson. In Massachusetts, 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton is spotlighting the generational argument as he tries to oust 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary. Former South Carolina governor and former ambassador Nikki Haley made plenty of headlines during her 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination when she proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over age 75, which would have included the now 79-year-old Trump. Trump ended up winning the 2024 election, defeating then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who was 18-years younger than her rival for the White House. And Trump’s victory was fueled in part by a better-than-expected performance among younger voters. Obama said he’s hoping to energize younger voters through his presidential center, which is scheduled to open later this year in Chicago. “That spirit, that energy, it’s out there, and you can feel it, but it’s bottled up,” he said. “We haven’t given enough outlets for young people to figure out, ‘How do I become a part of that?’ That’s this enormous, untapped power that we have to get back to.”

Schumer pushes bill to give Pride flag same status as US, military flags

Schumer pushes bill to give Pride flag same status as US, military flags

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is making a push to have the Pride flag considered on the same level as the U.S. flag in the eyes of the federal government. Schumer announced plans to introduce legislation that would make the flag, a symbol of the LGBTQ movement, a congressionally authorized flag. The distinction would enshrine the flag with similar protections as the U.S. flag, military flags, POW/MIA flags and others recognized by Congress. His move comes after the Trump administration removed a Pride flag from a national monument outside the Stonewall Inn earlier this month. A clash between police and patrons at a gay bar in the 1960s is widely considered the birth of the gay rights movement. TRUMP ADMIN RIPS MAMDANI, LOCAL DEMS AS ACTIVISTS OVERRIDE GOV’T MOVE AT NYC MONUMENT: ‘FOCUSED ON THEATRICS’ “Stonewall is sacred ground and Congress must act now to permanently protect the Pride flag and what it stands for,” Schumer said. “Trump’s hateful crusade must end.” The flag has since been reinstalled atop the pole outside the Stonewall Inn, and Schumer’s legislative push would prevent it from being taken down in the future. President Donald Trump has not explicitly targeted the Pride flag but previously signed an executive order restricting what types of flags may be displayed on federal property to ensure only the U.S. flag is prominently flown. SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS The Pride flag was taken down from the monument following an internal memo from the Department of the Interior ordering “non-agency” flags at national parks be removed. The directive, signed by National Park Service Acting Director Jessica Bowron in late January, included certain exceptions to the rule, including historical flags, military flags and federally recognized flags from tribal nations. COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER The Stonewall National Monument, first designated by former President Barack Obama in 2016, falls under the agency’s supervision. The Pride flag atop a large flagpole outside the famous gay bar did not fall under the list of protected flags and pennants. “The very core of American identity is liberty and justice for all — and that is what this legislation would protect: each national park’s ability to make its own decision about what flag can be flown,” Schumer said. “Attempts to hurt New York and the LGBTQ community simply won’t fly, but the Stonewall Pride flag always will.”

ICE assaults spike 1,500% as Dems draw ‘hard red line’ to unmask agents in DHS battle

ICE assaults spike 1,500% as Dems draw ‘hard red line’ to unmask agents in DHS battle

Senior Trump administration officials defended the use of masks and other facial coverings by federal immigration enforcement officers, citing a sharp increase in assaults and violent threats against agents amid the administration’s hard-line immigration crackdown.   White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday defended the use of masks and other facial coverings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers as necessary to protect agents from a rise in assaults and violent threats reported by the Department of Homeland Security. “I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said in an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Still, he said, “these men and women have to protect themselves.” His remarks come as Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized ICE agents’ actions in recent months, including the deployment of officers to major U.S. cities — Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis — as part of Trump’s broader immigration enforcement effort.  MINNESOTA DRAGS TRUMP’S ICE TO COURT IN EFFORT TO PAUSE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged Republicans earlier this month to order the unmasking of ICE agents, describing the step as one of many “guardrails” needed to protect the public and earn their support in resolving the DHS shutdown.  Jeffries last week told reporters in the Capitol that unmasking federal agents is a “hard red line” for Democrats as Congress debated funding for DHS and ultimately failed to come to an agreement, the Associated Press reported.  The Trump administration has cited concerns about the number and severity of threats against ICE officers and has vowed to aggressively prosecute individuals who target agents or solicit violence. Homan pointed to DHS reports from January citing a 1,500% increase in assaults against ICE personnel. Violent threats against ICE officers have also soared by a staggering 8,000%, according to data shared by the Department of Homeland Security in October. The release from DHS ticked through a number of violent threats that have been made against ICE personnel and their family members, including a voicemail left for the spouse of a Texas-based immigration officer. “I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE, and you sleep at night … I hope your kids get deported by accident,” the voicemail said. “How do you sleep? …. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family.” MINNESOTA AG KEITH ELLISON DENIES DON LEMON, ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS VIOLATED FACE ACT AS DOJ MULLS CHARGES “From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement at the time. DHS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the time frames it used to measure the 1,500% and 8,000% increases in assaults and threats, respectively.  The Justice Department has vowed to aggressively prosecute individuals found to be targeting immigration officers or soliciting violent behavior. Federal prosecutors in October announced the arrest of Eduardo Aguilar, an illegal immigrant living in Dallas, for allegedly posting TikTok videos soliciting individuals to “murder ICE agents,” according to a copy of the federal criminal complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital.  Aguilar also allegedly offered a reward of $10,000 “for each ICE agent,” according to information shared by the Justice Department. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.  GOP SEN. CASSIDY BREAKS WITH TRUMP OVER DEADLY SHOOTING BY BORDER PATROL AGENT IN MINNEAPOLIS Months earlier, Alan W. Filion, a California teenager, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for allegedly placing 375 “swatting,” hoaxing, or doxxing calls that involved ICE and other federal officers. Fillon’s “serial doxxing” campaign involved falsely reported bomb threats or imminent mass shootings at public schools and religious institutions across the country, according to the Justice Department — prompting an emergency response from myriad federal agencies and first responders, and diverting their ability to respond to real crises.  The Justice Department has cited Fillon’s case as a benchmark of sorts for how it will prosecute other individuals found to be weaponizing law enforcement response systems.  The remarks come as Democrats continued to assail ICE as the DHS funding shutdown drags on. Schumer blasted ICE on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday as “rogue” forces that appear almost “trained to be nasty and mean and cruel, and go way beyond what ordinary police departments do.” “They need to be reined in, and they need to stop the violence,” Schumer added.