Pete Hegseth confirmed to lead Pentagon after VP Vance casts tie-breaking vote
The Senate voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth, as defense secretary on Friday night after a high-tempered battle to sway lawmakers in his favor that was almost derailed by accusations about his behavior. The final vote came down to the wire: three Republicans opposed, making for a 50 to 50 vote. Vice President JD Vance was needed to break the tie in the upper chamber, putting the final tally at 51-50. “Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after Hegseth’s confirmation. The Senate’s two moderate Republican women: Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted no. As did Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former GOP leader. MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON’T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis’ support was not a given, and he did not reveal his stance until the vote was already underway. He ultimately said he would back Trump’s pick, giving him enough support to be confirmed with Vance’s tie-breaking vote. In her reasoning, Murkowski cited infidelity, “allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking” and Hegseth’s previous comments on women serving in the military. The behaviors he has admitted to alone, she said, show “a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.” Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), the nonprofit advocacy group at the center of many of the accusations brought up during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, praised his confirmation in a statement. “The confirmation of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense presents a real opportunity to prioritize the security and prosperity of our citizens, champion prudence and effectiveness in our defense strategy, and focus our Department of Defense on America’s most vital interests,” the statement read. The New Yorker reported in December that Hegseth was forced out of CVA, the group he once ran, over allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct. All Democrats opposed the confirmation, a far cry from an earlier vote this week, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously, 99-0. Hegseth will now lead the government’s largest agency, having long promised to root out Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures across each branch. HEGSETH CLEARS SENATE HURDLE AND ADVANCES TO A FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE The Pentagon under Trump, however, has not waited for a confirmed secretary. This week, the commander of the Air Force‘s 613th Air Operations Center in Hawaii, who had advocated for more women in roles like her own, was removed from her position. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, relieved Col. Julie Sposito-Salceies from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, “due to loss of confidence in her ability to command the organization.” Shortly after Trump took office, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first uniformed woman to lead any military branch, was removed from her position. Trump this week also nominated former Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier and former Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller to top Defense Department posts – both men who were deeply critical of the Biden administration’s policies at the Pentagon. Lohmeier, who had been nominated to serve as undersecretary of the Air Force, was fired as commander of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force base, after he wrote a book and appeared on podcasts claiming Marxism had infiltrated the armed forces and criticizing diversity policies. Scheller made headlines for posting videos in uniform criticizing senior military leaders over the Afghanistan withdrawal. Scheller, the new senior advisor to the Department of Defense Under Secretary for personnel and readiness, was sent to the brig and court-martialed over the clips. Hegseth’s nomination was dealt a last-minute hurdle earlier this week when reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged he had abused his second wife. On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleged he had an alcohol abuse problem and at times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was previously married to Pete Hegseth’s brother and has no relation to Samantha. KEY SENATE CHAIRMAN CRITICIZES ‘ANONYMOUS SOURCES WITH ULTERIOR MOTIVES,’ STANDS BY HEGSETH NOMINATION But Danielle Hegseth added that she never witnessed any abuse herself, physical or sexual, by Pete against Samantha. Samantha Hegseth has also denied any physical abuse in a statement to NBC News. Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said in a statement Wednesday night that reports “regarding a confidential briefing on the FBI background investigation of Pete Hegseth that I received last week are starkly and factually inaccurate,” and that he stands by Hegseth’s nomination. Earlier Thursday, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Republicans to join him in opposing the former Fox News host and Army national guardsman. HEGSETH LAWYER SLAMS ‘FLAWED AND QUESTIONABLE AFFIDAVIT’ FROM EX-SISTER-IN-LAW “Hegseth is so utterly unqualified, he ranks up there [as] … one of the very worst nominees that could be put forward,” Schumer said. Hegseth, who has been married three times, has admitted he was a “serial cheater” before he became a Christian and married his current wife, Jenny. The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is relatively young and inexperienced, compared to defense secretaries in the past, retiring as a major. But Republicans say they don’t want someone who made it to the top brass who’s become entrenched in the Pentagon establishment.
Mexico denies access to land for US deportation flight after miscommunication, State Dept. official says
Miscommunication and confusion about a Defense Department manifest resulted in Mexico rejecting a U.S. deportation flight transporting illegal immigrants to that country this week. Mexico was ready to accept the deportees and would have if not for the paperwork, a senior State Department official told Fox News. Citing two U.S. defense officials and a third person familiar with the situation, NBC News reported that two Air Force C-17s bound for Guatemala carrying about 80 people each flew deportees Thursday night out of the U.S. A third flight bound for Mexico never took off after Mexico declined to consent to the landing, the report said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS Flying deportees into a foreign country requires the cooperation of that nation’s government. Cooperation was not an issue, Fox News was told. Around 2,000 illegal immigrants were deported to Mexico on Thursday, both on the ground and in the air. In addition Mexico detained roughly 5,000 migrants within its borders. The incident occurred as tensions over the Trump administration’s tough illegal immigration policies have strained relations between the countries. TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said she opposes Trump’s executive orders to combat illegal immigration, including reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims play out in the U.S. Before taking office this week, Trump promised mass deportations, initially targeting criminal illegal immigrants and tougher immigration standards and vetting procedures. The State Department official told Fox News that Mexican cooperation has been successful all week, and that Mexico has agreed to re-implement the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Trump also ordered 1,500 active duty troops to the southern border to boost the military presence there. In recent days, federal immigration authorities have made hundreds of arrests, including gang members and others with criminal histories, as part of Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Plea to President Trump: Tell Cuba to hand over terrorist killers it is harboring
They gathered for a moment of silence at 1:19 pm, the moment the bomb exploded. The attack 50 years ago today was aimed at the heart of American liberty. It targeted a place where our nation was forged during the revolution and where George Washington took his leave knowing the future of his new nation was secured. On December 4, 1783, nine days after the British evacuated New York City, Washington held a banquet at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan to bid farewell to his troops. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, DECEMBER 4, 1783, WASHINGTON BIDS FAREWELL TO HIS TROOPS AT FRAUNCES TAVERN IN NYC On January 24, 1975, the Puerto Rican separatist group, the FALN, planted a bomb that ripped through the historic site at lunchtime, killing four and wounding more than 50 others in lower Manhattan. Sixty-six-year-old banker Harold Sherburne, 28-year-old businessmen Alex Berger and 32-year-old James Gezork were killed. “They were really attacking the American people,” says Joe Connor, whose father, Frank, was a 33-year-old banker who was killed in the terrorist attack. “They attacked Fraunces Tavern because that’s where George Washington bade farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War, where the Sons of Liberty met and was a symbol of American liberty and justice and freedom, and they couldn’t abide by that.” Joe was 9 years old the day his father was killed, and in the decades since, he has dedicated his life to bringing justice for his father and the other victims. He is the author of “Shattered Lives: Overcoming the Fraunces Tavern Terror,” which is also now a documentary. Connor has, with other families, elected officials and law enforcement, waged a mission to hold the terrorists to account. No one has ever been charged in the attack, but the man believed to be the terrorist group’s chief bomb maker, Willie Morales, escaped to Cuba, where he has lived along with an estimated 50 other U.S. fugitives. A bill in Congress named for Joe’s father and New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, who was killed by Black Liberation Army militant Joanne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur, who also is on the lam in Cuba, demands Havana return the fugitives. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, OCTOBER 25, 1944, FIRST KAMIKAZE SUICIDE PILOTS ATTACK US NAVY IN WORLD WAR II “It’s a very concise, clear bill demanding the return,” says Connor. “There has been a mystique about the Castro regime and Che Guevara, of some fanciful romantic view of these people. But they were nothing but Marxist thugs and were waging their own war on the United States for many, many years.” In his final days in office, former President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the State Department list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. President Donald Trump immediately put Havana back on the list, and in his first term also vowed to put pressure on Cuba to return Morales and the other fugitives. During his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Cuba to cough up the criminals who remain on the lam. “There are fugitives of American justice, including cop killers and others who are actively hosted in Cuba and protected from the long arm of American justice by the Cuban regime. So, there is no doubt in my mind that they meet all the qualifications for being a state sponsor of terrorism,” Rubio said. Over the last two decades, FALN members have been granted clemency, as if the years that passed lessened their crimes. President Barack Obama commuted the 70-year sentence of Oscar Lopez Rivera, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and charged with other crimes. President Bill Clinton offered clemency to the terrorist group’s imprisoned members, which eleven accepted in 1999. NYPD SAYS ‘NOT A TERRORIST ATTACK’ AFTER 10 SHOT OUTSIDE NYC EVENT SPACE ON NEW YEAR’S DAY At a ceremony marking the bombing, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the bombing “was terrorism in its purest form, meant to frighten, intimidate, to injure, maim and kill in order to achieve their political purpose. “For 50 years, no one has been held accountable for this attack, which remains an open investigation by the NYPD and the Joint Terrorism Taskforce,” Tisch said. “Our department never forgets.” Before the ceremony marking the bombing, there was an emotional luncheon attended by family members, dozens of former FBI agents, survivors of the bombing and others. Joe Connor’s son, Frank, named for his grandfather and who is studying to be a priest, gave the benediction. “We remember the four men who were killed 50 years ago today in this very place, and all of those whose lives were cut short by terrorism.” Joe noted how the gathering was being held by the door where the bomb, which consisted of ten pounds of dynamite, was placed inside an unassuming briefcase. “Cuba has to eventually turn these people over, and the only way that will happen is by keeping them on the State Sponsor of Terrorism list and by keeping the pressure on Cuba,” he says. “This is the moment to do it.”
Trump meets with California residents, fire and law enforcement officials to see LA wildfire damage first hand
President Donald Trump declared a national emergency after touring the devastation of the Los Angeles fires with residents who were personally impacted by the disastrous event. Trump traveled to Southern California on Friday to survey the damage from the recent wildfires that destroyed over 10,000 structures in the Los Angeles area and tragically took the lives of nearly 30 people. Trump took an aerial tour of the area before his landing, with images showing the once ritzy neighborhood in ashes. The president and first lady Melania Trump then experienced the damage up close, meeting with local law enforcement and members of the community for a tour of the destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoods. ‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA “Not even believable,” Trump told reporters on site. Trump sat down for a roundtable with LA Mayor Karen Bass and other state officials. When the president entered the room, individuals were heard chanting “USA, USA, USA!” Bass greeted the president and said that his presence was welcomed. “This is an honor to be with you,” during the meeting, saying that homeowners told him that they want to rebuild their homes in the area. Trump said he would sign an executive order to open up the water valves in the area. “I don’t think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it,” Trump said of the wildfire damage. “The federal government is standing behind you, 100%.” Trump said that he is going to waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area. “I’m gonna be the president to help you fix it,” he said. “We’re going to waive all federal permits… Because a federal permit can take 10 years… we don’t want to take 10 days.” LOS ANGELES AGENCY REVEALS ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEADLY WILDFIRES AS INFERNOS STILL RAGE After the fires broke out, Trump blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic city policies for the damage, citing their forest and water management policies. Newsom was waiting for Trump on the tarmac when he exited Air Force One and was seen shaking hands with the president in their first face-to-face encounter since the inauguration. “Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom told Trump after they met on the tarmac of LAX in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. local time. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help.” Speaking about his meeting with Newsom, Trump said that “we had a good talk, a very positive talk.” Trump traveled to North Carolina to tour the hurricane damage, before heading to California for his first visit to the state since becoming president.
Marco Rubio to Chinese foreign minister: Trump will put ‘American people first’ in US-China relations
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Chinese Foreign Minister and Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi that the Trump administration will put the “American people first” and advance U.S. interests in its relationship with China, according to a readout of the call from spokesperson Tammy Bruce. The meeting was the first between Rubio and Wang since the former Florida senator was unanimously approved by the Senate this week to become President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet official following Monday’s inauguration. “The Secretary also stressed the United States’ commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea,” Bruce said. “The Secretary also discussed other issues of bilateral, regional, and global importance with his Chinese counterpart.” MARCO RUBIO HEADING TO PANAMA ON FIRST TRIP AS SECRETARY OF STATE: ‘WE WON’T CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE REGION’ Wang told Rubio during the call that he hoped he would “conduct” himself well and “play a constructive role in the future of the Chinese and American people and in world peace and stability.” He added that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had already set the tone for U.S.-Chinese relations. TRUMP, CHINA’S XI SPEAK ON PHONE AHEAD OF INAUGURATION “The teams of both sides should implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation, promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and find the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era,” Wang said. MARCO RUBIO CLASHES WITH NBC ‘TODAY’ HOST WHEN PRESSED ON TRUMP’S JAN. 6 PARDONS Trump has threatened China with 10% tariffs on imports over its role in fentanyl trafficking, starting as early as Feb. 1, and Rubio called the country the gravest threat to the U.S. during his confirmation hearing. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump n Thursday told the World Economic Forum virtually that he and Xi have “always had a great relationship,” and all his administration wants is “fairness. We just want a level playing field.”
Trump Department of Education dismisses ‘meritless’ book ban complaints
The Department of Education has dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans” and eliminated a Biden-era position tasked with investigating school districts and parents, the agency announced Friday. The department said it was ending Biden’s “Book Ban Hoax” regarding complaints that alleged that the removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit or obscene materials from school libraries created a hostile environment for students. It also eliminated the “book ban coordinator,” which investigated school districts and parents “working to protect students from obscene content.” GOP SENATOR DEBUTS BILL TO ABOLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOLLOWING TRUMP CAMPAIGN PROMISE “By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. “Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility,” Trainor added. “These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.” Six pending allegations were also dismissed. TRUMP WANTS TO DISSOLVE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. EXPERTS SAY IT COULD CHANGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS The DOE called the book removals “meritless” and based “upon a dubious legal theory.” The agency began investigating the complaints Jan. 20, finding that school districts and parents have “established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.” The first complaint was filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Feb. 23, 2022, against the Forsyth County School District in Georgia. The complainant alleged the district violated Title IX and Title VI by removing eight books from the school library because they contained sexually explicit content, the DOE said. The OCR’s office in Atlanta sought to have the complaint dismissed, but the Biden administration overruled a determination that the complaint had no merit, the agency said. The school district agreed to a resolution under threat of further federal intervention, officials said. “This included requiring the district to post a statement in all of its middle and high schools that embraced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” the OCR said. “The department will terminate the agreement and any obligations under it.”
March for Life attendees react to JD Vance speech: ‘It was amazing’
Vice President JD Vance received a massive welcome from pro-lifer activists at the March for Life this Friday in his first public address since the inauguration. Vance touted President Donald Trump’s recent pardons of several pro-life activists prosecuted by the Biden Department of Justice. He also spoke strongly about the need for pro-family governmental policies, saying, “I want to see more babies in the United States of America.” Trump also delivered remarks to the March for Life crowd via a video message. Marchers told Fox News Digital that Vance’s presence showed that the new Trump administration stands in solidarity with the pro-life movement and gives them optimism for the future. “It was amazing,” said Amy Lewis, a pro-lifer who came with a group from Dry Fork Christian School in Virginia. “It was amazing that he was here. We were able to see him and to see that our new administration supports life as much as we do. It just really kind of drives it home that we have an administration that’s here to support us and to support our beliefs.” PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST PROSECUTED BY BIDEN DOJ REACTS TO TRUMP PARDON: ‘I WANT TO GIVE HIM A HUG’ Sarah Morales Wade, an activist who came with a pro-life youth group from Houston called the Catholic Organization of Life, told Fox News Digital: “It’s so inspiring to see someone so high up in office fighting with us, with the kids and, and that we have people who are supporting us and who will fight for life with us.” Elizabeth O’Brien, another member of the Houston group, told Fox News Digital that she thought Vance’s speech was “amazing.” “When the vice president comes out, and he’s telling us how precious life is, that’s an eye-opener,” she said. “It gives us reassurance that the Trump administration is with us.” GOP IS UNIFIED BEHIND TRUMP’S ‘WINNING’ AGENDA, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SAYS Isaac Desrosiers, a student at Franciscan University, a Catholic college in Steubenville, Ohio, Vance’s home state, told Fox News Digital that for him, the vice president’s speech showed that “he’s not just a politician telling tales, trying to get votes.” “He’s truly Catholic, he holds Catholic values, and he brings that compassion and that sincere Catholic belief and faith to the table,” he said. “He’s genuinely concerned about what is going on in the world, what’s going on in our country. And he generally wants freedom and equality for babies so that they may have the chance to come into this world and to live an amazing life.” Desrosiers said that though he’s “not sure what to expect” from the Trump administration regarding the abortion issue, he is “optimistic.” “I’m hoping it means that this country’s going to be more pro-life and he’s going to pass more pro-life laws,” he said.
President Trump names Australian professional basketball team owner as New Zealand, Samoa ambassador
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Australian basketball Illawarra Hawks majority owner Jared Novelly will serve as the next U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa. Trump described Novelly as a “highly respected philanthropist” in an announcement on Truth Social. TRUMP NOMINATES PENNY SCHWINN FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY OF US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Novelly serves as chairman of Crest Sports and Entertainment and Crest Management. WHO IS SEAN CURRAN? HEAD OF TRUMP’S PERSONAL DETAIL TO BE NOMINATED FOR SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR He is also an East Asia Superleague Basketball shareholder, according to his LinkedIn profile. “He will fight hard to protect our Nation’s interests in the Indo-Pacific, and always put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump wrote. “Congratulations Jared!”
Newsom thanks Trump for coming to California to tour fire damage in tarmac face-off
Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked President Donald Trump Friday for visiting Southern California to tour the devastation left by the fires this month, marking their first face-off since starting an ongoing online feud over the wildfire damage. Trump traveled to Southern California Friday to see damage from the recent wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and more than 10,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area and claimed the lives of nearly 30 people. Newsom was waiting on the tarmac for Trump before the president exited Air Force One. The two shook hands, and Trump appeared to tug on Newsom’s arm, a power move he has been known to pull on world leaders. “Thank you first for being here. It means a great deal to all of us,” Newsom told Trump after they met on the tarmac of LAX in Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. “We’re going to need your support. We’re going to need your help.” TRUMP TO VISIT CALIFORNIA AFTER RIPPING ‘IDIOT’ NEWSOM ON WILDIFRE; CRITICS BASH CRIME, HOMELESSNESS, SPENDING He added that Trump was with California “during COVID. I don’t forget that.” The encounter marked the first face-to-face interaction Newsom and Trump have had since Trump was sworn in as president Monday. ‘FEMA IS NOT GOOD’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES AGENCY OVERHAUL DURING VISIT TO NORTH CAROLINA Trump said he appreciated Newsom greeting him after he arrived, adding, “I think you’re going to see some very good progress” on fire recovery. “We want to get the problem fixed,” Trump said. “It’s like you got hit by a bomb.” Making reference to some of the blame he had placed on Newsom and other California Democrats for not being properly prepared to handle the fires, he added, “We’ll get it permanently fixed so it can’t happen again.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump has spent the last several weeks blaming Newsom and Democratic leadership for the extent of the wildfire damage, citing fire management and water policies. “Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post Jan. 8.
Ohio mom bombarded with death threats after Black neighbor’s video goes viral: ‘Massive misunderstanding’
An Ohio mother of two is speaking out after receiving vicious death threats both directly and on social media over a viral video that has caused some to smear her as “racist,” which she says is completely false and the result of a “massive misunderstanding.” Michelle Bishop spoke to Fox News Digital about the situation involving her neighbor, DaMichael Jenkins, who posted Ring camera footage of her in a panic at his front doorstep, believing she was being inappropriately followed by Jenkins and not believing his claim that he lived at the house he had pulled into. The exchange has gone viral on social media, with news reports labeling her as a “Karen” who assumed Jenkins was a threat simply because of his race, which Bishop vehemently disputes. Bishop told Fox News Digital that the incident in question began on a cold November night in Delaware County, Ohio, when she took her young daughter and son with her on a jog to go look at Christmas lights and a car with its headlights on was slowly driving behind them as they walked down a poorly lit street in the dark. ‘THE VIEW’ FUMES TRUMP IS HELPING RACISTS WITH DEI POLICIES Bishop then explained that she moved her kids onto the sidewalk but that the car did not pass her “in a timely manner” and that the driver began asking her questions. “I didn’t answer, I walked into— I told my daughter, ‘walk up this driveway, turn here, don’t look back at the truck,’ and so we went into the driveway, ended up on the porch, was ringing the doorbell,” Bishop said. “Nobody was answering at that point. The truck was backing into the driveway. He stayed in his truck. I could not see him and I look out at the driveway at that point and I said, ‘Is this your home?’ And he said, ‘Yes. And I said, ’I don’t believe that’ and in that moment I was in, just, complete defense mode. I was challenging it. There was no way of changing my mind at that point. I was completely in panic and just trying to protect my kids.” Bishop had, in fact, attempted to seek shelter in the home that belonged to Jenkins, and the Ring doorbell footage captures her telling Jenkins that she doesn’t believe he lives there before running to another nearby house and yelling for help. Footage from later shows Bishop telling Jenkins that he had “scared the crap” out of her and that she was “caught off guard.” Jenkins told Bishop he was not following her and was just admiring Christmas lights. BLACK AMERICANS, COMMON SENSE AND OUR FUTURE Bishop tells Fox News Digital she has apologized many times, which the Jenkins family would not accept, and thought the issue was resolved until the video was posted on a local neighborhood Facebook group and ultimately picked up by the media, causing a firestorm of hateful messages to come her way attacking her as a racist. “It is causing massive devastation to our family in every way that you can possibly think,” she said. “Our family, our businesses. We are receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of threats at this point in our direct messages, to our phones, voicemails calling into stores. But some of the threats that we have received have become death threats.” “You and your children deserve to die slow and you should kill yourself or it will be done for you,” Bishop was told in one message. “We know who you are and where you live. Your husband is going to come home to being a single Dad. You should be hung in public,” another message said. “There are multiple that are very graphic and violent in regards to our children that I do not want to share here,” she added. “Our businesses have seen massive devastation, one of them having to close temporarily due to death threats, calling into our shop, saying that they are going to kill every last one of the employees. So it is affecting us in massive ways.” ATF ACCUSED OF ‘CIRCUMVENTING’ TRUMP ORDER TO PLACE DEI STAFF ON PAID LEAVE Social media is littered with posts calling Bishop “racist,” including one post that said, “Michelle Bishop… count your f—ing days.” Jenkins, a real estate developer, went on the “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson earlier this week, a show with over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and accused Bishop of racial profiling despite her claims that she did not know Jenkins’ race during the interaction. Bishop told Fox News Digital that she “absolutely” did not know Jenkins was Black, and that she even told the neighbor at the house she ran to when she panicked that the person might have been White. “The headlights were behind me and then the first time I looked out in the driveway at his truck, the headlights were there and I was not specifically trying to look at him,” Bishop said. “I was addressing the situation. I absolutely did not know what he looked like. Like I said, I thought he was a young White man. It was all a massive misunderstanding. That’s all that it was.” Bishop has received some support on social media from prominent conservative accounts, including that of commentator and author Matt Walsh. “I’m late to this but of course the internet outrage mob got this situation completely wrong,” Walsh posted on X. “The woman saw a truck following behind her slowly. She panicked about the truck before she ever saw who was inside it. Later that night she came back and apologized for the mistake.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Walsh continued, “That should have been the end of it. No harm, no foul, nobody was hurt. An innocent mistake. Instead this guy decides to put the footage online and shame her in front of the world. And unsurprisingly a bunch of slobbering idiots on social media