Free Republic

A Montgomery Capitol Heights Middle School teacher was placed on administrative leave recently after posting a TikTok video mocking the death of conservative political organizer and activist, Charlie Kirk. Lauren Ogen, a Capitol Heights Middle School teacher, reportedly posted on TikTok that she told her daughter, "down with the bigots," after learning of Kirk's assassination while speaking at a college campus in Utah on Wednesday. "We need this right now. We really need this right now. As a community, we need this. We need this win," Ogen reportedly said on the video. "When we get home and (my daughter) does...

On Thursday, a banner was hung in Cullman along the I-65 bridge and County Road 616, reading, "Charlie Kirk Never Forget" next to an American flag. On Friday, a second sign was hung with an ominous message that read, “One down, more deserving.” Two of the letter Os on the banner were replaced with images of a scope. The person who hung the sign has not been publicly identified; however, they did so while in a work vehicle belonging to Birmingham-based Mygrant Glass Company. The person responsible for putting up the sign has since been fired, according to the company....

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A federal grand jury has charged four people with immigration crimes, the U.S. DOJ said. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that four people were indicted for illegally reentering the United States after having previously been deported: Victor Alfonso Contreras-Gonzalez, 41, a citizen of Mexico; Arturo Ayala-Aviles, 33, a citizen of El Salvador; Jose Jacuinde-Gutierrez , 32, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with illegally reentering the United States after having previously been deported and distribution of cocaine. Marco Antonio Sanchez-Avila, 47, a citizen of Mexico, was charged with being a felon in possession of...

Larisa Thomason has been listening to Huntsville public radio station WLRH for almost 50 years. Now, she’s threatening to change the dial. “My daughter calls WLRH the soundtrack for her childhood,” Thomason said. “It was always on.” Thomason started listening to WLRH in the 1970s to learn more about politics and she became a dues-paying member in the 1980s. She said she may start supporting a different public radio station after she heard that WLRH is dropping its National Public Radio (NPR) programming due to federal funding cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WLRH is a branch of Alabama...

with two counts of capital murder in connection with Schnuelle's slaying. Warrants have not yet been released, but Dabney's charges likely include murder during a robbery and murder during a kidnapping, according to WRBL. Capital murder is defined as an intentional killing with 'aggravating factors' and is the most severe type of murder in Alabama. The crime is a Class A felony and can result in a sentence of death or life imprisonment without parole.

A beloved ex-veterinary professor was hacked to death while walking her dog in an Alabama park — where she took her pet to exercise almost every day. The killer stole her truck and fled — but was caught by cops a short distance away the next day. The body of Dr. Julie Gard Schnuelle, 59, a former professor of Large Animal Medicine at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was discovered in a wooded area of Kiesel Park in Auburn on Saturday afternoon. She had driven to the park with her dog in her red Ford F-150 pickup truck. The...

Mail-in ballots and Space Command: Why Colorado elections may have led to Trump’s decision by: Heather Willard Posted: Sep 2, 2025 DENVER (KDVR) — On Sept. 2, President Donald Trump announced that the headquarters of Space Command will move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama. The President said Colorado’s mail-in ballot system “played a big factor” in moving Space Command, shortly after his short-lived assertions to ban mail-in ballots last month. Trump noted Tuesday that he won Alabama by about 47 points and said voting records didn’t influence his decision. Trump lost Colorado to Harris by about 11 points. “I...

BREAKING: President Trump just announced the relocation of the US Space Command HQ to Huntsville, Alabama. (video)

COURTLAND, Ala. (WHNT) — A major American defense contractor is expanding its operations in North Alabama by bringing another large facility to a small town in Lawrence County. Lockheed Martin told News 19 that a new 88,000 square-foot Missile Assembly Building is currently under construction in Courtland. The new building is expected to open early 2026, the company said. Lockheed Martin said the spacious building will help advance defense systems in Courtland. The building is being built for the Next Generation Interceptor program. Lockheed Martin’s website says with the NGI program, the mission is to “develop, produce and deliver a...

Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, a 24-year-old immigration advocate and mental health counselor, is facing deportation after being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a traffic stop in Leeds, Alabama. She was transported to a facility in Louisiana for deportation hearings. Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin stated that detectives observed Hernandez-Martinez driving over 80 miles per hour on Interstate 20 and claimed her vehicle "came within feet of striking other vehicles and erratically changes lanes." She reportedly presented a Mexico-issued identification card during the stop. ... Chief Irwin commented on the situation, stating, "It is unfortunate that the driver...

The family and friends of a Birmingham woman are pleading with the community to help them keep her in Alabama after she was detained this week during a traffic stop. “On the morning of Tuesday August 5th, Giovanna [Martinez] was driving to work when a Leeds officer pulled her over for going 1 mile over the speed limit,” reads a GoFundMe set up by her brother Dilan Hernandez to cover Martinez’s legal expenses. “What should have been a regular traffic stop, turned into something much worse as an ICE agent arrived closely thereafter. In less than an hour she was...

The boy was left for hours while a contract worker for the state ran "personal errands," the family's attorney says =============================================================== A 3-year-old boy died in a hot car in Birmingham, Ala., this week while with the state's Department of Human Resources — something the child's parents have called their "worst nightmare." Ke'Torrius Starkes Jr., who went by "KJ," was found unresponsive in the vehicle outside a home on Pine Tree Drive on Tuesday, June 22, a Birmingham police spokesperson said in a statement. He was "accidentally left inside ... while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through...

New hire will assist with Office of Diversity Samford University in Alabama is advertising a job for a “diversity” staffer after removing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” references from its website following media inquiries. “The Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Success and Diversity will … work collaboratively to create an inclusive campus environment where all students feel welcomed, valued, and supported,” the job description states. The coordinator will plan and implement “diversity-focused programs and events that promote cultural awareness, engagement, and belonging among students, faculty, and staff,” it states. The description also states that the new hire will assist...

Three Alabama men have been arrested for allegedly operating what local authorities described as an “abhorrent” and “horrific” child sex abuse ring out of an underground bunker near their homes in Brent, Ala. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office announced this past weekend that William Chase McElroy, Dalton Terrell, and Andres Velazquez-Trejo have all been arrested and charged in connection with the child sex abuse case. Local authorities began investigating the case back in February, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post announcing the men’s arrest on Saturday.

We rarely get to see the effects of immigration raids on friends and family, but we did Tuesday in Robertsdale when federal agents raided the El Patron restaurant. Law enforcement swarms Foley restaurant during investigation “Paw, it’s going to be okay!” Francheska Campos screamed out to her father as he was led away in handcuffs during an immigration raid at El Patron restaurant in Robertsdale. “My dad has been at work all my life trying to provide for us, trying to make a better life, and people still think he is a criminal,” said Campos.

Col. Michael Dixon holds the flag of the Provisional Unmanned Aerial Systems Training Battalion, as Lt. Col. Ronald Myers, left, and Command Sgt. Maj. Raleigh Matthews unfurl the banner at Wednesday's activation ceremony on Fort Huachuca's Rugge-Hamilton Airfield. In the background, one of the company commanders and a first sergeant of the new battalion unfurl their units guidon. (By Bill Hess-Herald/Review) Herald/Review FORT HUACHUCA — As of Wednesday, the Army’s intelligence-gathering unmanned aerial systems are now part of the Aviation Warfighting Center at Fort Rucker, Ala. But the initial operation and maintenance of the pilotless planes will not be...

Those in the capital city with an observant eye may have noticed this past "Juneteenth" that the "temporary" Black Lives Matter mural around Montgomery's historic Court Square Fountain still remains for the fifth year in a row. In June 2020, then-newly-elected Mayor Steven Reed announced that a local artist would decorate the historic landmark with a painted mural encircling the fountain. The Court Square Fountain was once the location of a slave market in the antebellum period, and the mural was touted as a way to celebrate Juneteenth that year.

ational average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.20 on Friday.. Gas prices are sitting at a four-year low ... The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.20 on Friday .... Phil Flynn, energy market analyst and FOX Business contributor, credited the neutralization of Iran’s nuclear program for removing a significant amount of geopolitical risk from oil prices, noting that this "has shown up in the gas prices." Flynn also stated that the administration has created a more production-friendly environment, with Trump signaling to the market a shift toward more favorable regulations. He pointed...

Rabren General Contractors is overseeing the construction of the new Gulf Shores High School on the Foley Beach Express. On Tuesday, federal agents raided the site and arrested 37 workers suspected of being in the US illegally. According to RGC’s website, it’s one of the largest privately held general contractors in the state of Alabama. The website also shows RGC is building the new State House in Montgomery, student housing at Auburn University and the Margaritaville Resort in Orange Beach. RGC also built the Saraland Sportsplex.

Eleven Iranian nationals have been arrested in the last 48 hours by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across eight different states and nine cities, according to CBS News. This development comes in the wake of a nationwide security alert issued after the U.S. carried out a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities this past weekend. ... One of the individuals arrested is Mehran Makari Saheli, who is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). ICE arrested Saheli at his home in Minnesota where he "admitted connections to Hezbollah," an Iranian-funded terrorist organization. ... On Sunday, authorities also...