Free Republic

Unlike in Colorado, a case brought in federal court to keep former Republican president Donald Trump off of the primary and general election ballots in West Virginia was dismissed. In a memorandum opinion and order released Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Irene C. Berger granted motions made by attorneys for Trump, Secretary of State Mac Warner and the West Virginia Republican Party to dismiss a lawsuit brought in September by Texas resident and write-in presidential candidate John Anthony Castro. Berger also ordered that Castro’s case be dismissed without prejudice, which would allow Castro to possibly file the case again during...

Texas law barring state contractors from boycotting Israel violates firm’s free speech, federal judge rules Texas is one of more than two dozen states with laws that seek to limit boycotts, divestments and sanctions of Israel over its treatment of Palestine.Texas can’t forbid an engineering firm from boycotting Israel as part of its contract with Houston City Hall, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Friday stopped short of fully blocking a state law that prohibits government agencies from doing business with certain companies that boycott Israel. But his ruling said the free speech rights...

A federal judge rejected a plea deal Monday afternoon that would have allowed one of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery to avoid a federal hate crime trial. U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood heard arguments Monday from Arbery’s family and prosecutors after the Department of Justice struck a plea deal with Arbery’s killers Gregory and Travis McMichael over the weekend. Travis McMichael, the man who fatally shot Arbery, had his plea deal tossed out by Wood. A decision was not yet made on Gregory McMichael’s plea deal. Arbery’s family was outraged that the plea would allow the McMichaels to...

Washington – A South Carolina man who traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021 and later assaulted officers outside the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to 44 months in jail on Wednesday. Nicholas Languerand, an avowed follower of the QAnon conspiracy, pleaded guilty in November to assaulting officers and faced a maximum of 20-years prison sentence. However, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Languerand to 51 months. While Languerand admitted he had participated in the assault on the Capitol, investigators say he showed little remorse and even indicated that he wanted to see more violence, alleging he had sent a...

For many rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, self-incriminating messages, photos and videos that they broadcast on social media before, during and after the insurrection are influencing even their criminal sentences. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson read aloud some of Russell Peterson’s posts about the riot before she sentenced the Pennsylvania man to 30 days imprisonment. “Overall I had fun lol,” Peterson posted on Facebook. The judge told Peterson that his posts made it “extraordinarily difficult” for her to show him leniency. “The ’lol’ particularly stuck in my craw because, as I hope you’ve...

A federal judge tore into a low-level defendant in the Capitol Riot Friday, moments after the man entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge stemming from the Jan. 6 unrest. “You’ve disgraced this country in the eyes of the world and my inclination would be to lock you up, but since the government isn’t asking me to do that ... I won’t,” U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton shouted at Fort Pierce, Fla., resident Anthony Mariotto during a video hearing. “I find it outrageous that American citizens would do what you did, so you better walk the straight and...

A federal appeals court ruled against Tennessee’s abortion restrictions on Friday, nine days after another pro-life “heartbeat” law went into effect in Texas. In July 2020, Tennessee enacted a law restricting abortions at several stages in pregnancy, including abortions conducted after detection of a fetal heartbeat which can occur as early as six weeks post gestation. The law also prohibited abortions conducted because of the race or sex of the baby, or because of a Down syndrome diagnosis. On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit ruled against both provisions, upholding a lower court’s ruling that halted them from...

A federal judge rejected the argument that US Capitol rioters held in jail are being prosecuted for their political views and disavowed attempts to downplay the magnitude of the deadly insurrection during a sentencing on Wednesday. "You called yourself and everyone else patriots, but that's not patriotism," Judge Amy Berman Jackson said of defendant Karl Dresch. "Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July 4." Jackson, known for her sharp criticism of the Trump administration's moves, called Dresch an "enthusiastic participant" in the effort...

The Biden administration’s plan to distribute post-pandemic farm loan relief to non-white farmers was hit with another legal defeat on Thursday.District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson of the Western District of Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction to halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture from moving forward with the loan payment plan that excluded white farmers and ranchers.“The Court finds that Plaintiff has shown a substantial likelihood that he will prevail on his claim that Section 1005 violates his right to equal protection under the law,” the decision states. “Absent action by the Court, socially disadvantaged farmers will obtain debt relief,...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A federal judge has halted a loan forgiveness program for farmers of color in response to a lawsuit alleging the program discriminates against white farmers. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach in Milwaukee issued a temporary restraining order Thursday suspending the program for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The program pays up to 120% of direct or guaranteed farm loan balances for Black, American Indian, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander farmers. President Joe Biden’s administration created the loan forgiveness program as part of its COVID-19 pandemic relief plan.

Today Americans will witness an extraordinarily rare event. The president will sign a bill that originated in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, the Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act. Sadly, it is almost unheard of for Obama, who ran in 2008 on post-partisanship, to actually engage in such bipartisanship for the good of the economy. House Republicans have passed 27 other jobs bills (with some Democratic support) that Senate Democrats and the president have ignored. When it comes to creating jobs and helping the economy, Democrats talk a good game. But that’s about it. The JOBS Act is a start, but...

Editor's note: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, is a member of the Senate Budget Committee. (CNN) -- The U.S. government is the largest financial entity in the world. Nothing else comes close. On Sunday, April 29, it will be exactly three years since the U.S. Senate passed a budget. If you own or work for a small business that has a loan from a bank, I'm quite sure your business has a budget -- and a rather detailed budget at that. Every year around tax time, many American families sit down to fill out tax forms, estimate their income, and...