Free Republic

In August, The Gateway Pundit shared a bombshell report that was taken completely by an up-to-then-buried Michigan State Police report. The report, which outlined a statewide investigation that turned into a nationwide investigation of a potentially massive voter registration scheme, was shared with us by the MIGOP Director of Election Integrity, Phil O’Halloran. After publishing the report that exposed a massive cover-up by Michigan’s Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel and Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of an explosive, statewide investigation by the MI State Police, Muskegon, MI Police Department, we began to receive tips from individuals who read our...

Russia has detained a US citizen on suspicion of spying, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). American Paul Whelan was arrested December 28 in Moscow "while carrying out an act of espionage," the FSB said in a statement. "The investigation department of the Federal Security Service of Russia initiated a criminal case against a US citizen under article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigation is underway," the statement continued. Article 276 is espionage. If found guilty, Whelan faces 10 to 20 years imprisonment, Russia's state-run news agency TASS reported. The Russia Ministry of...

….The details of the charges against Whelan from a special court-martial that resulted in his discharge for bad conduct two years later add to an increasingly complex picture of the 48-year-old former Marine, whom Russian officials have accused of spying. His case grew more perplexing on Friday after Ireland became the fourth nation to acknowledge him as a citizen and seek consular access.

The brother of a U.S. citizen arrested in Russia on espionage charges said Tuesday that he's innocent and was in Moscow to attend a wedding. Paul Whelan, a retired Marine, was arrested in Moscow on Friday. The Russian Federal Security Service, in announcing the arrest three days later, said Whelan was caught "during an espionage operation," but gave no details. "We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being," his brother, David Whelan, said in a statement posted on Twitter. "His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected." The Russian spying charges carry a prison...

Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez thought she was doing the right thing when she pulled out her pistol and fired at a pair of shoplifters as they fled from a Home Depot near Detroit. She wasn't, at least in the eyes of the law. On Wednesday, a Michigan judge sentenced Duva-Rodriguez to 18 months of probation and stripped the 46-year-old of her concealed gun permit. Duva-Rodriguez didn't manage to stop the shoplifters when she rattled off several rounds outside an Auburn Hills Home Depot on Oct. 6, although she did flatten one of their tires. ~snip~ Duva-Rodriguez did not contest the charge in...

A government money grab that's been operating under the guise of public safety might soon be ended. Legislation to scrap Michigan's "driver responsibility fees" has overwhelming support in the Legislature. In 2003, state lawmakers passed a bill that assessed "driver responsibility fees" in an effort to bring in additional revenue. The move was thinly veiled as a measure to ensure drivers were operating vehicles safely. However, the fees often go beyond simply assigning stiffer penalties for unsafe driving practices. In many instances they pile on costs that individuals don't have the ability to pay. What's more, under certain circumstances they...

A German shepherd suspected in a series of vicious and unprovoked attacks on people in Pontiac this week died in a face-off with Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies in Auburn Hills early Friday, Eric D. Lawrence reports in the Free Press. The dog was one of two now-dead German shepherds that authorities said had terrorized residents and emergency workers Wednesday and Thursday. In one attack Thursday morning, the dogs bit and dragged a 56-year-old Pontiac woman down a city street. She was rescued by a passing motorist. The Oakland Press reports a sheriff’s deputy shot one of the dogs when both...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - A city officials says more than 800 of the 1455 absentee ballots mailed out earlier this month were unaccounted for nearly two weeks before Election Day. Auburn Hills City Clerk Terri Kowal says the issue came to light after less than half of the mailed ballots, which were sent out on Oct. 3, were returned as of Monday. "We do know that at least 650 did receive them because they have been returned," said Kowal. "Most voters immediately return their ballots so we have reason to be concerned about the 800 not returned, especially considering...

President Bush to visit The Palace on Wednesday 10/22/2004, 12:19 p.m. ET The Associated Press AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — President Bush will hold a rally at The Palace on Wednesday evening, campaign spokesman John Truscott said Friday. The campaign hopes to begin handing out 15,000 tickets on Saturday for the event at the Auburn Hills home of the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. The visit will be the first of several the Republican president plans to make in the final week of the campaign. "There will be other stops in Michigan before election day, but we don't have those...