Republican rep indicates he will be ‘a no’ on Trump-backed rescissions measure if AIDS relief cut
As the Trump administration and congressional Republicans eye passage of a rescission proposal, Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who doesn’t shy away from bucking President Donald Trump, has indicated that he won’t support it if it guts an AIDS relief program. The president’s proposed clawbacks include millions of dollars pertaining to global health programs. “I told them I’m a no,” the congressman said of the measure, according to the New York Times. “I just want to make sure we’re funding the medicine. We want to prevent AIDS, it’s a noble program, it’s George Bush’s legacy. I put the marker out there; we’ll see.” In a post on X last week, Bacon described “The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)” as “a noble program that America can be proud of funding.” But in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, Bacon said, “If PEPFAR is gutted, I am a no. But I’m told that only parts of the program will be cut. I’ll need more details,” The rescission package “proposes to rescind $400 million from the PEPFAR program, which is appropriated $4.4 billion annually to provide bilateral assistance to countries, many of which do not support American interests, such as South Africa,” a White House official told Fox News on Monday. HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR SPENDING CANCELLATIONS AS ELON MUSK AND CONSERVATIVES DEMAND DEEPER BUDGET CUTS “The $400 million rescission eliminates wasteful programming that does not serve the American taxpayer,” the official said, while maintaining that the “package does NOT rescind any life-saving assistance and in fact, continues to make available billions of resources to implement life-saving medicine, medical services, as well costs necessary to deliver these services to maintain all current individuals on treatment.” Bacon was the only House Republican to vote against a measure to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. “I thought it was dumb. That’s what people told me — they said, ‘It’s so dumb; just vote for it.’ That argument didn’t work on me,” he said, according to the Times. GOP LAWMAKER BLASTS ‘DUMB’ TRUMP COMMENT ON ZELENSKYY DESPITE ‘PERFECT’ CRITICISM OF PUTIN House leaders have pressed Bacon to keep more of his views to himself, telling him to, as the congressman put it, “quit kicking President Trump in the nuts,” the outlet reported. But the lawmaker indicated that he would only press back when he believes it is needed. “You can’t be anti-everything,” Bacon noted, according to the outlet. “I like what the president has done on the border, so I have no problem with that.” “I’d like to fight for the soul of our party,” he said, according to the Times. “I don’t want to be the guy who follows the flute player off the cliff. I think that’s what’s going on right now.” PRO-UKRAINE GOP REP. BACON DECLARES ‘REAL REPUBLICANS KNOW THAT PUTIN’S RUSSIA HATES THE WEST AND FREEDOM’ Bacon has served in the House of Representatives since 2017.
GOP leadership unleashes fury on Dem governor ahead of blockbuster congressional hearing
FIRST ON FOX: House Republican leadership slammed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ahead of a blockbuster congressional hearing addressing sanctuary city policy this week. GOP Whip and Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer wished Walz “good luck” before the former vice presidential candidate is set to testify alongside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday. “From hurling outrageous insults against ICE agents to offering a multitude of taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens in Minnesota, Tim Walz’s immigration agenda can be summed up easily: pro-illegal alien, anti-Minnesotan,” GOP Whip Emmer told Fox News Digital. “If Tim Walz thinks he will be able to defend his abysmal record before Congress, then he’s even more of a buffoon than I thought. I only have one thing to say to Timmy as he heads to Washington this week: GOOD LUCK.” HANDFUL OF HOUSE DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS IN SANCTUARY CITY CRACKDOWN Emmer paired his comments to Fox News Digital with a new video slamming Walz’s various immigration policies titled “Protecting Illegals, Not Minnesotans: That’s the Walz Way.” The three “sanctuary governors” will face a barrage of questions from members of the committee this week, as anti-ICE riots raged in Los Angeles over the weekend and the Trump administration continues to ramp up deportations across the country. Though the term “sanctuary city” is not legally defined, illegal immigrants will flock to the mainly Democrat-led regions to reduce the likelihood of deportation. Sanctuary cities often refuse Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests for information, like arrests or releases, and typically deny ICE detainer requests to hold jailed illegal migrants beyond their release date. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, said in a media advisory for the upcoming hearing that “The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens.” “Sanctuary policies only provide sanctuaries for criminal illegal aliens.” Comer explained. “Former President Biden created the worst border crisis in U.S. history and allowed criminal illegal aliens to flood our communities.” “The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.” ‘SICK PUPPY’ TIM WALZ SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ON DEMS’ 2024 TICKET, TRUMP SAYS The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, June 12 at 10 a.m. ET. Fox News Digital reached out to Walz but did not receive a response.
‘Homeland would’ve been stolen’: AK Natives sound off on Biden energy bans as Trump officials tour tundra
FIRST ON FOX: Alaska Natives and residents of the vast North Slope Borough communities along the Arctic Ocean got a rare chance this week to directly discuss their concerns with White House officials, typically 3,500 miles away in Washington. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joined Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and local residents in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) as part of a multi-day visit to the oil and gas fields, workers and neighbors in the frigid but crucial region. Charles Lamp, a Native resident of Kaktovik – the main remote community within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) a few hundred miles eastward – said until President Donald Trump and the officials assembled in Utqiagvik took office, North Slope residents and their energy development hopes felt besieged by that same far-flung federal government. Lamp voiced similar concerns to those Fox News Digital had been told in the past by Alaska officials, in that environmental activists in the Lower 48 and federal officials who ideologically align with them have tried speaking for them in opposition to developing ANWR and other sites where none of those same activists live. ALASKA SENATOR LITERALLY TEARS UP BIDEN’S ENERGY ORDERS, BOOSTS WH EFFORTS TO LEVERAGE ARCTIC LNG IN ASIA TRADE “There’s one thing that I want to bring up – we were under attack in Kaktovik by environmental groups,” Lamp said. “On Day 1, President Trump told the Fish and Wildlife Department to deny their requests. And that was such an amazing thing for us to be able to see. And we were so proud of our president then because he made sure that our ancestral homelands weren’t going to be stolen – and [instead] protected,” Lamp said, as many in the North Slope actually support the development of their Native homelands versus cordoning them off through regulation – as they bring jobs and resources. AK CAN BE ‘CURE TO THE NATION’S ILLS’ WITH HELP FROM TRUMP ADMIN: GOV DUNLEAVY “So I really need to bring back this immense gratitude to President Trump for that action and being able to write something that, if the other guy (Joe Biden and Kamala Harris) would have won, there’s no doubt in my mind that our homeland would have been stolen and there’s nothing we could have done about it,” he said. “Trump had the heart and the wherewithal to be able to right this wrong.” He told Burgum to invite Trump to Kaktovik to see ANWR and its “Section 1002” – the oil and gas development sector – for himself. Burgum said he believes Trump would be open to the opportunity – and that the president has already pleasantly surprised regional corporate stakeholders with his openness to questions that the oil companies felt loath to even consider asking a president. AK LAWMAKERS CLAIM VICTOR AS FEDS BEGIN REVERSAL OF ‘ILLEGAL’ BIDEN RULE RESTRICTING ANWR OIL, GAS “President Trump does care super deeply about this and at a deep level,” Burgum said, adding the president shocked ConocoPhillips representatives in a recent meeting when he asked what they needed to improve their North Slope operations. When the company noted improved roads would be helpful, Trump asked rhetorically why a road couldn’t be built, according to Burgum. “[They] were kind of like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know we could ask that.’” Wright also addressed the Utqiagvik meeting, and added in separate comments that he visited the Prudhoe Bay Discovery Well – a 1960s operation that first opened Alaska to energy development and at one point represented one-quarter of U.S. oil output. “Unfortunately, the last few decades have seen a long, slow decline of North Slope oil production – not because they’re running out of oil. In fact, there’s an amazing amount of untapped, unproduced oil up here. It’s because of federal regulation, bureaucracy. It’s made it so expensive and difficult to operate,” Wright said. He added that with the “Big, Beautiful, Twin Natural Gas Pipeline” ultimately constructed, Alaska could be the key to global energy security by drawing buyers in Korea and Japan away from China. “It’s great to be part of history again here in the great North Slope oil fields of Alaska,” Wright said. Dunleavy last week headlined a global sustainable energy conference in Anchorage, which also drew the attention of those same potential stakeholders from Asia.
Trump travel ban blocking citizens from 12 countries takes effect
President Donald Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 African, Middle Eastern and South American countries went into effect on Monday. The ban, signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa. The order does not cancel visas that have already been issued to citizens of the countries, and those who possess them will remain free to travel to the U.S. SUSPECT IN BOULDER TERROR ATTACK DETERMINED TO BE EGYPTIAN MAN IN US ILLEGALLY: FBI The president said on X the travel ban was being introduced after a terror attack against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend, allegedly by an Egyptian man who had overstayed his visa. In a White House fact sheet, Trump said, “We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country.” This point was backed by the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott. In a briefing last week, Pigott said, “This is a national security imperative.” “We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said before signing the ban. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya and numerous others,” he concluded. “We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm, and nothing will stop us from keeping America safe.” Fox News’ Paul Tilsley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump’s 21st week back in office set to include China trade talks, LA riot control, sweeping travel ban
President Donald Trump and his administration are expected to have a whirlwind 21st week back in the White House, including holding high-stakes trade talks with China in London on Monday and continuing efforts to quell wild riots in California targeting federal immigration officials. Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer will head to London on Monday to continue trade talks with China after both nations installed tit-for-tat duty taxes on one another. DONALD TRUMP DETAILS ‘MOST EXCITING PART’ OF CHINA TRADE AGREEMENT “I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with Representatives of China, with reference to the Trade Deal. The meeting should go very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted. The planned meeting comes after Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday to discuss trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing. “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said Thursday in a Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES CHINA WILL RESTART RARE EARTH MINERAL SHIPMENTS TO US AFTER PRODUCTIVE CALL Trump said the conversation focused “almost entirely” on trade and that Xi invited the U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Likewise, Trump reciprocated and invited Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the U.S. The Trump administration leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement last month, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post at the end of May. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning people from 12 foreign nations from traveling to the U.S., and imposing travel restrictions on seven other nations, as part of a crackdown on “dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” according to the White House. The travel ban takes effect on Monday. The ban will completely bar travelers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. CRITICS HAVE MELTDOWN AND ACCUSE TRUMP OF IMPOSING RENEWED ‘MUSLIM BAN’ THROUGH ‘DISGUSTING’ TRAVEL ORDER Seven other countries face partial travel restrictions, including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,” Trump said in a video posted Wednesday on social media. “We don’t want them.” “In the 21st century, we’ve seen one terror attack after another carried out by foreign visa overstayers from dangerous places all over the world,” he added. “Thanks to Biden’s open-door policies, today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.” TRUMP TRAVEL BAN 2.0 IS BUILT TO SURVIVE COURT CHALLENGES, EXPERTS SAY Officials charged Mohamed Sabry Soliman last Monday with a hate crime, attempted first-degree murder, crimes against at-risk adults/elderly and other charges after he allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel group, Run for Their Lives, in a Boulder park last Sunday. The Egyptian national was living in the U.S. illegally after entering on a work visa two years ago that has since expired, according to federal officials. Trump’s travel restriction announcement sparked widespread backlash among Democrat lawmakers and critics on social media, who slammed Trump for allegedly promoting Islamophobia. Riots broke out in Los Angeles over the weekend as federal immigration officials converged on the left-wing city to carry out immigration raids as part of Trump’s campaign promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants who flooded into the nation under the Biden administration. Violent protesters took to the streets and were seen throwing rocks and other materials at federal law enforcement officials, as well as setting cars on fire and looting local stores, in protest of the raids. NEWSOM’S OFFICE COMPARES LA RIOTS AGAINST FEDERAL AGENTS TO SPORTS CELEBRATIONS Trump sent 2,000 National Guard soldiers to L.A. early Sunday to help restore order as immigration protests turned into riots, queuing up a week that will likely include fireworks from Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has repeatedly defended illegal immigrants amid the raids. “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” Trump posted to Truth Social early Sunday morning. “We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to to handle the task. These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why??? Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!” Newsom on Friday described the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles as “chaotic and reckless.” “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy,” Newsom’s statement read. The press office doubled down in support of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation in a response X post to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday. “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked
Posse Comitatus Act at center of Trump-Newsom National Guard dispute in LA
President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are clashing over the deployment of the National Guard amid ongoing Los Angeles riots with different interpretations of the 1878 law that governs the use of the military to enforce the law domestically. The Posse Comitatus Act was signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes amid concerns that the military had too much sway over civilian affairs during Reconstruction. It generally bars the use of the U.S. military for civilian law enforcement inside the country, but there are key exceptions. Trump deployed the National Guard early Sunday, but so far, those troops have not participated in any direct law enforcement. JOHNSON SAYS HEGSETH POSSIBLY SENDING MARINES TO ANTI-ICE RIOTS NOT HEAVY-HANDED: ‘DETERRING EFFECT’ Trump sent in the National Guard after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were reportedly attacked on the streets of L.A. as they conducted raids to catch and deport illegal immigrants. Seeing that neither Newsom nor L.A. Mayor Karen Bass were moving aggressively enough to stop the attacks, Trump signed a presidential memorandum to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” the White House said in a statement. Newsom objected immediately even as the riots spiraled. “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom wrote on X on Sunday alongside his letter to President Trump. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.” In addition to the Guard, the Pentagon said Sunday night it stands ready to send in 500 active-duty Marines. If the military is to take an active role in suppressing the riots, the 147-year-old law will take center stage. Exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act that allow the military to enforce the law against U.S. citizens include congressional decree, if an insurrection has been declared under the Insurrection Act, or when state governments prove unable or unwilling to impose law and order.
UFC fans share what they think about Trump ahead of O’Malley-Dvalishvili showdown
UFC fans gathered in Newark, N.J., for the highly anticipated matchup between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. But the two fighters weren’t the only special guests in the arena — President Donald Trump was also in attendance. Though there was no official announcement, fans were clearly anticipating Trump’s arrival. Fox News Digital spoke to fans before the event about Trump’s performance during the first six months of his second term. Some were eager to praise the president, while others were skeptical or outright disappointed. TRUMP CONFIRMS UFC 314 ATTENDANCE, REVEALS HIS PICK FOR THE BIGGEST WINNER “He’s doing an amazing job. He’s shocking us all, but he’s doing what everybody knows he’s going to do. Wow,” Erin Kerr said. “I believe that Trump is somebody to respect. He’s always honest about things and at the end of the day, you know, it might be politics, but you know we should kind of respect what’s going on, you know what I’m saying,” Eric Ventura told Fox News Digital. “I’d much rather see the UFC than see two bloated billionaires fight each other,” Paul Gordon said. “Probably Elon would be kind of funny, but I gotta go with what’s happening tonight, it’s gonna be better,” Chris Wright said. DONALD TRUMP ARRIVES AT UFC 309 IN MSG; CROWD ROARS FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT WEEKS AFTER HISTORIC RALLY “Trump — he’s got that big a– chin,” Wright told Fox News Digital. “He took a bullet, right? I think if you just take a bullet, maybe you can take a punch,” Gustavo Granados said. “If Elon, if Trump were to fight, I think Trump would get it done,” Jimmy Malloy said. Several fans also chose Musk, noting the billionaire was several years younger than the president, which they thought would give him an advantage. In the end, Trump received a warm welcome from the roaring crowd as he entered the Prudential Center with UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime ally of the president who spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Flashback: Biden repeatedly equated Islamophobia and antisemitism amid surge in attacks on Jews
As violent instances of antisemitism break out around the country this year, Fox News Digital took a look back at former President Joe Biden‘s penchant for equating antisemitism and Islamophobia. While the former president rightly condemned hate directed at Jews in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis and the subsequent war in Gaza, Biden was almost always sure to draw an equivalency with anti-Muslim sentiment. “In recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling racism, the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia right here in America,” Biden said, days after the war broke out, in a prime-time address from the White House. He added: “We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.” Biden added during a Human Rights Campaign event in October 2023: “We have to reject hate in everything, because history has taught us again and again, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected. Hate toward one group left unanswered opens the door for more hate toward more groups, more often, regularly.” Instances of antisemitism spiked to new highs last year, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) finding in a new report that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a 5% increase from 2023 and a staggering 926% increase since it began tracking such data in 1979. TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF RADICAL PROTESTERS The war in Israel initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests heightened to the point that Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia University, were warned to leave campus for their own safety. Agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide last school year to protest the war, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they did not feel safe on some campuses. Protesters on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel. ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN AMERICA AS SOME INVOKE INTIFADA AND TARGET JEWS As the protests hit a fever pitch last year, Biden again equated antisemitism with Islamophobia, even though it was clear that Jews were the group being targeted with harassment and violence. “There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans,” Biden said from the White House in May 2024 as the protests on college campuses continued. “It’s simply wrong. There is no place for racism in America.” Biden faced condemnation from conservatives and other critics for not simply denouncing antisemitism as Jews in the U.S. faced protests and instances of antisemitism. JEWISH STUDENTS WELCOME TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON ANTISEMITISM, HAMAS SYMPATHIZERS ON CAMPUSES “At a time when no college campus is on lockdown over Islamophobia, Joe Biden felt the need to spend as much time in his speech denouncing Islamophobia and ‘discrimination against Arab Americans’ as he did antisemitism. He is never able to just call out antisemitism,” radio host Erick Erickson commented on X in May 2024 as campus protests against Israel raged. “Biden repeats his both-sideisms,” veteran James Hutton wrote last year of Biden’s previous comments. “Only the Jewish students are being violated. Biden knows that, but he really wants those votes in Michigan.” “Biden is incapable of simply condemning antisemitism. Yet another equivocation. This administration is an embarrassment,” Kerry Rom, deputy communications director for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on X last year. ISRAELI COLUMBIA PROFESSOR WANTS TRUMP TO BLOCK CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING This year, the Trump administration is cracking down on antisemitism and attacks on American Jews, which were underscored by a shooting that left a Jewish couple dead on the streets of Washington, D.C., last month outside of a Jewish museum, as well as a terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, last Sunday when an Egyptian national identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at people participating in a solidarity event for Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity. Soliman’s charging documents stated that he “traveled to Boulder, Colorado, in his vehicle with the Molotov cocktails and threw two of the cocktails at individuals participating in a pro-Israel gathering. He also stated that he picked up gas at a gas station on the way to Boulder. He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COMBAT ISLAMOPHOBIA, ANTI-ARAB HATE Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – the Keystone State’s third Jewish governor – faced his own instance of antisemitism when a suspect set fire to the governor’s residence while he and his family were asleep on the first night of Passover. President Donald Trump meanwhile, signed an executive order on “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism” in January as his administration launched its crackdown on antisemitism. While federal law enforcement officials have arrested individuals allegedly tied to the widespread anti-Israel protests last year, the White House has threatened to end federal funding to universities that allow violent anti-Israel protests and is investigating immigration status of those accused of leading campus protests or carrying out antisemitic attacks.
‘Lunatic’ Democrat ripped for ‘demonic’ video message demanding ICE agents ‘get the f— out’ amid CA chaos
A California Democratic lawmaker was widely criticized by conservatives on social media after posting a message online telling federal agents arresting illegal immigrants in Los Angeles to “get the f— out.” “ICE get the f— out of LA so that order can be restored,” Rep. Norma Torres posted on TikTok Friday as protests and riots were breaking out over the raids. Conservatives on social media quickly reacted to the video, accusing Torres, who was born in Guatemala and became a U.S. citizen in the 1990s, of fomenting the violence and vitriol against ICE officers that unfolded over the next few days. “This is a sitting member of Congress,” conservative influencer account Libs of TikTok posted on X. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ ‘Torres is a sitting member of Congress and a complete lunatic,” conservative influencer Paul Szypula posted on X. “Demonic possession,” White House director of communications Steven Cheung posted on X. Conservative influencer Benny Johnson called Torres “deranged” in a post on X and several users, including Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, called for Torres to be expelled from Congress. “Arrest her now,” the conservative influencer account Catturd posted on X. “Found a Communist in Congress,” author James Lindsay posted on X. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “Make it an ad,” conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Torres’ office for comment. President Trump sent 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to help “keep peace” as immigration protests descended into riots, and to prevent a repeat of the 2020 unrest that saw the Democratic governor of Minnesota “let his city burn,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on Sunday. During the riots, ICE officers were targeted with violence that included throwing rocks and other projectiles along with vandalism in the form of graffiti calling for violence against ICE officers. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks shared a photo of one Border Patrol agent’s bloody hand, which was injured by a rock flying through the windshield. Federal sources said agents could have been killed by the flying debris. Several arrests have already been made for assault on a federal agent, Banks confirmed. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report
Johnson says Hegseth possibly sending Marines to anti-ICE riots not heavy-handed: ‘Deterring effect’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that he could send U.S. Marines to quell anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles would not be a heavy-handed approach. In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson was asked to respond to President Donald Trump sending in National Guard troops to Los Angeles. Trump said he would pursue the federal government taking control of the California National Guard if Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “can’t do their jobs” to protect Los Angeles against rioting and looting. “I have no concern about that at all,” Johnson told ABC host Jonathan Karl. “I think the president did exactly what he needed to do. These are federal laws and we have to maintain the rule of law, and that is not what is happening. Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it.” PRESIDENT TRUMP SENDS NATIONAL GUARD AS VIOLENT ANTI-ICE RIOTS ERUPT IN LOS ANGELES Karl also asked about a message posted by Hegseth, who wrote on X Saturday that the Department of Defense was mobilizing the National Guard “IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angles,” and “if the violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert.” “One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength,” Johnson said in response Sunday. “We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don’t think that’s heavy-handed. I think that’s an important signal….” “You don’t think sending the Marines into the streets of an American city is heavy-handed?” Karl interjected. “We have to be prepared to do what is necessary, and I think the notice that that might happen might have the deterring effect,” Johnson said. Newsom responded to Hegseth’s threat on X, writing: “The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior.” “Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,” Hegseth hit back Sunday morning. “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job.” “The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,” the defense secretary added. In his initial message Saturday, Hegseth said, “The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE.” Generally, the U.S. military is not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against U.S. citizens except in times of emergency. SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ An 18th-century wartime law called the Insurrection Act is the main legal mechanism that a president can use to activate the military or National Guard during times of rebellion or unrest. But Trump didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act on Saturday. Instead, the president’s memorandum called “into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.” The federal law cited in the memo allows the president to federalize National Guard troops under three circumstances: When the U.S. is invaded or in danger of invasion; when there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or when the president is unable to “execute the laws of the United States,” with regular forces. But the law also says that orders for those purposes “shall be issued through the governors of the States.” The National Guard is a hybrid entity that serves both state and federal interests. It’s not immediately clear if the president can activate National Guard troops without the order of that state’s governor. It’s also not clear if military personnel can be deployed. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement, but units under state control can. Enacted in the late 1800s during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, the federal law limits the powers of the federal government to deploy the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement reasons “except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act during the height of 2020 rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death, but ultimately did not do so. He did deploy federal agents to several U.S. cities, including Portland, where rioters attempted to breach a federal courthouse, clashing with law enforcement officers and targeting the building with Molotov cocktails and other projectiles for over 100 consecutive nights. The Associated Press contributed to this report.