Free Republic

Major US banks are continuing to close branches across the US, leaving an increasing number of Americans without access to basic financial services. Bank of America axed 21 branches in the first week of October, according to a bulletin published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Friday. Wells Fargo shuttered 15, while US Bank and Chase reported closing nine and three respectively. In total, some 54 locations had either closed or were scheduled to close between October 1 and October 7. Of the overall closures, three were in Louisville in Kentucky. Eight of the 21...

How one cop with a handgun stopped a heavily armed terrorist’s massacre. Mohamad Barakat packed three long guns, four handguns and a vest with magazines in every pocket, as he drove through Fargo, North Dakota. The Downtown Street fair, which claims over 150,000 visitors, was on its second day and 5 minutes away. The Red River Fair, which recorded nearly as many people, was two days away from ending and 15 minutes away. It’s unknown which of those locations Mohamad might have been headed to use up his 1,800 rounds of ammo and hand grenade, but he never got there....

ND investigators found several guns, ammunition, explosives in the shooter's vehicle ... Mohamad Barakat fatally shot Fargo police Officer Jake Wallin and wounded two other officers as they responded to a routine traffic crash. Fargo Police Officer Zach Robinson was able to shoot and kill Barakat before what authorities believe could've been a much bigger attack. Investigators found multiple guns, 1,800 rounds of ammo, a homemade grenade, and explosives in Barakat's vehicle. ... an attack authorities say could have been much bigger. ... Mohamad Barakat, shot and killed Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin and wounded officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler...

The FBI received a tip about the cop-killing, Syrian gunman plotting a mass casualty attack in Fargo in 2021, DailyMail.com can reveal. The gunman, Mohamad Barakat, 37, was shot dead by Fargo police officer Zach Robinson on July 14. Before finally being brought down, Barakat shot and killed rookie cop and Afghanistan veteran Jake Wallin, 23.

We fought endless wars overseas for two decades, only to bring in record numbers of refugees from the very places from which we sought to protect ourselves. Thanks to mass Middle East migration as the only remaining legacy of the trillions of dollars pumped into the “Global War on Terror,” America’s heartland is just as vulnerable to Islamic terror as New York and Los Angeles. Believe it or not, there was an Islamic terror attack in Fargo, North Dakota, earlier this month, one that local law enforcement believes could have resulted in countless casualties instead of the one police officer...

When Jake Wallin returned from duty in Afghanistan, he wanted to continue a life of service that made a difference. He was just beginning that life as a Fargo, North Dakota, police officer, when he was gunned down Friday in what a witness said appeared to be an ambush.

The man who allegedly shot and killed a Fargo, North Dakota, police officer and wounded two others has been identified as 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat. NBC News reported that the shooting occurred Friday just before 3:00 p.m. A witness said the shots were fired during a “traffic stop.” ABC News reported that 23-year-old Jake Wallin was the officer killed in the shooting. Wallin joined the Fargo Police Department in April of this year. Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were shot and wounded in the incident and are both in “critical stable condition.” [snip] Barakat, the alleged shooter, was killed by...

A transgender pastor from North Dakota has compared the treatment of Nashville shooter Audrey Hale to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ less than a week after the twisted killer murdered six people, including three nine-year-old children. Micah Louwagie, who goes by they/them pronouns, was recently installed as the pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Fargo, and delivered their first Easter-themed sermon to a small congregation on April 2. Officials are yet to release a motive for the slaying of victims Hallie Scruggs, William Kinney, Evelyn Dieckhaus, all 9, and headmistress Dr. Katherine Koonce, 60, substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61,...

Apparently embracing “diversity” and “inclusion” doesn’t apply to religious Americans – in North Dakota, of all places. The school board in Fargo, North Dakota, voted 7-2 recently to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of its meetings, according to the website Inforum.com.

The wrestling match over the Pledge of Allegiance at Fargo School Board meetings has reached a resolution. In a 7-2 vote on Tuesday, the school board moved to not recite the pledge before their meetings. The debate goes back to February when a motion to have the Pledge recited at meetings, brought forward by board member David Paulson, died for a lack of a motion for a second. The matter worked its way back to a March board meeting, where it passed. The Pledge has been recited at the start of each board meeting since April 12. Board Vice President...

The Fargo, North Dakota, school board has voted to cancel saying the Pledge of Allegiance, ruling it does not align with their diversity code. The 7-2 vote came in recission to a previous motion to begin their meetings with the Pledge.

We have been discussing the continued incarceration of many individuals for their participation in the Jan. 6th riot. Despite claims that the riot was an insurrection, the vast majority of defendants have been given relatively minor charges. Nevertheless, the Justice Department has insisted on holding many without bail and some have received longer sentences, like Jacob Chansley (aka “QAnon Shaman”) who was given a 41-month sentence for “obstructing a federal proceeding.” Thomas “Tas” Alexander Starks, 31, of Lisbon, N.D., faced a strikingly different approach by the Justice Department. The self-avowed Antifa member took an axe to the office of Sen....

Wells Fargo announced at the beginning of the month it would soon close all personal lines of credit within 60 days The company informed customers that the account closures could hurt their credit scores The announcement—and the admission that the move could hurt consumers’ credit scores—drew some attention, but nothing more.

The father of a 14-year-old middle school girl in Fargo who was the victim of a stabbing says his daughter has been declared dead and her organs are being preserved "to try and save some lives." Robert Paulsen said Tuesday morning, June 8, that his daughter, Jupiter Paulsen, had been declared brain dead by a doctor and tests were being completed to determine her official time of death. Jupiter Paulsen lived in Fargo and was a student at Cheney Middle School. Robert Paulsen told WDAY News that there will be a Walk of Honor for his daughter on Wednesday and...

The FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office is conducting an investigation into the death that took place Monday in a courtroom at the Federal Courthouse in Fargo. Following a guilty verdict and after the jury left the courtroom, 55-year-old Jeffrey Ferris of Belcourt, North Dakota used an easily concealable instrument to take his own life. Ferris died in the courtroom. Ferris had been found guilty of reckless endangerment, terrorizing, and use of a firearm in relation to a felony crime of violence. The mandatory minimum sentence was seven years in federal prison. Ferris was found not guilty of eight counts of assault...

A lawmaker's popcorn machine was removed from the North Dakota Capitol after it set off fire alarms twice in one day, officials said. The Capitol's legislative wing was evacuated twice Monday, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, after fire alarms were triggered by a popcorn machine brought in by Rep. Mary Johnson, R-Fargo. Facility Management Director John Boyle said the Bismark Fire Department responded to both calls. Johnson said she had been unaware of a 32-year-old policy from the Office of Management and Policy that bans popcorn machines and other cooking devices from being used outside of...

FARGO - Federal prosecutors have charged a 30-year-old man after video allegedly shows him smashing the windshield of an occupied police car during the May 30 riot in downtown Fargo. Errick Steven Toa of Fargo appeared Wednesday, July 8, in federal court for a civil disorder charge that carries up to five years in prison. It’s possibly the first case in North Dakota history in which a protester has faced such a federal charge as a result of civil unrest or rioting, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said Wednesday as he unveiled the criminal complaint against Toa during a press conference....

FARGO — A Fargo man is on a mission to expose local massage parlors for what he believes they are — fronts for commercial sex and human trafficking. Keith Coates, 26, said he visited four such parlors in the metro area, all with the same result — an unmistakable offer from the masseuse for a sexual service in exchange for money, which he declined each time. “I couldn’t believe it. It just seemed so surreal,” said Coates, who has worked as a massage therapist in Fargo for more than two years. In addition, he said he has what he believes...

A Little Caesars restaurant in Fargo, North Dakota is capturing hearts and feeding the hungry with a new policy they posted with a sign in their window. A new idea came to General Manager, Michelle Lussier, after she noticed an ongoing problem: people were eating leftovers from the store dumpster. Lussier decided to approach the situation with a surprising solution, offering free slices of pizza inside the store. She recognized that the homeless are human beings the same as everybody else, and deserve dignity, respect, and compassion. The sign hung on the drive-through window reads: “To the person going through...

Film producer Jack Morrissey apologized on Monday for a social media post envisioning the bloody outcome of Covington Catholic High School students being put into a woodchipper. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin captured and shared Morrissey’s since-deleted tweet, which draws on a scene from the 1996 film Fargo in which a character’s corpse is fed through a woodchipper: ....Morrissey told the Wrap via statement: It was something that I did not give any thought to. It was just a fast, profoundly stupid tweet. … I would throw my phone into the ocean before doing that again. Yesterday I tweeted an...