Free Republic

He’s definitely not off Target. A Connecticut Democrat has been busted twice for shoplifting at the same Target store. State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan turned himself in to cops on July 28 after a warrant was issued on new shoplifting charges involving the same store where he was previously arrested in June. Allie-Brennan, 33, was caught allegedly failing to scan $26.69 worth of merchandise at Target’s Bethel location. At the time, he told authorities he was rushing to bring the items to his grandma in the hospital. “I’ve been upfront about taking responsibility for my actions,” Aliie-Brennan said in a statement....

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont signed a new gun control bill into law that places the marketers of firearms clearly in the crosshairs."This law is just one more step as we try and make sure that it's not just Connecticut law enforcement doing all the enforcing; we hold the manufacturers and sales people accountable as well," Lamont told reporters on shortly after the bill's signing Thursday.And it's the manufacturers and resellers who are the target. Effective Oct. 1, both groups will be vulnerable to lawsuits if they fail to implement "reasonable controls."

The Democratic Governor of the deep blue state of Connecticut got himself caught up in a major scandal after it was revealed that he had approved a $440,000 annual salary for a “good friend” that was fully funded by taxpayer dollars, going on to defend that friend despite accusations against him of using taxpayer money to cover “lavish meals,” which drew the ire of a Republican senator. For background, during a press conference in May 2025, State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-CT) called out his state’s Democratic Governor, Ned Lamont, for providing Terrence Cheng, chancellor of Connecticut State Colleges & Universities,...

The U.S. attorney from Connecticut assigned by Attorney General William Barr to look into the origins of the Obama-era “Spygate” probe is reportedly examining documents generated by a “fusion cell” of officials established by former CIA Director John Brennan. John Durham, who specializes in official corruption cases, has been looking into the origins of the Spygate probe for several weeks now. In a tweet Wednesday, investigative reporter Paul Sperry noted, “According to Main DOJ sources, Durham’s portfolio for looking into the provenance of CH includes examining docs generated by an interagency ‘fusion cell’ Brennan set up in mid-2016 on Russian...

nearly all of Rite Aid's Connecticut stores will be closed by Labor Day ... The only store that doesn't have a definitive closing is the Stratford store, which is located at 3680 Main St. A female employee there on Friday said workers haven't been told yet when that location will shutdown. When questioned about the closing date, she agreed to answer the question if she could remain anonymous, because of concerns of potential retribution by Rite Aid officials. Company officials did not respond to a request for comment about the remainder of its Connecticut closings on Friday. Rite Aid announced...

The Connecticut chapter of the Yankee National Party has submitted designation petitions for a wide range of local and state offices ahead of the 2025 and 2026 election cycles. The organization is seeking to eventually qualify as a recognized political party under state election law. Independent Political Report first covered the Yankee National Party’s candidate recruitment efforts in November 2024, when the group was finalizing its updated platform and preparing for the future following the general election. At the time, the party said it planned to field candidates under its own label across the region, while also considering endorsements of...

ENFIELD — The 18-year old Waterbury resident arrested in connection with an Enfield crash that seriously injured two Connecticut State Police troopers July 10 is in the United States illegally and will be detained and arrested, according to federal officials. “Joel Alexander Caica Nishve is an illegal alien from Ecuador," a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security said in an email Wednesday… Caiza-Nishue … "was charged with reckless driving after he was involved in a car accident that seriously injured two Connecticut State Troopers. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has lodged a detainer for his arrest.” …...

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that America was stuck with a “madman” in the Oval Office because Democrats did not force then-President Joe Biden to step down. Murphy said, “The president should have gotten out of the race earlier, there’s no doubt the Democratic Party would have been better served by having the ability to have a primary, Kamala Harris probably would have done very well in the process but in retrospect, we lost so we can’t defend the way in which our politics played out.”

President Trump’s public debacle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky halted hopes for a signed minerals agreement while dividing the world — and Washington — over their support for them both. Long-simmering tensions between Trump and Zelensky exploded into the open during a heated Oval Office exchange that will have ramifications for the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and all of Europe. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called his vote to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in that meeting with Trump and Zelensky, “a mistake” in a Sunday interview with CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It was a mistake. I think...

What do you call a nation where a high school student can graduate with honors—yet cannot read or write?You call it America in 2025.This week, we learned about Aleysha Ortiz, a 19-year-old who graduated from Hartford Public High School in Connecticut with academic distinction—despite being illiterate. She is now suing the school district, alleging negligence, emotional distress, and a complete abdication of duty by the educators and administrators who were supposed to serve her. Her story, reported by CNN, is both infuriating and emblematic of a national crisis that’s been engineered from top down.Aleysha’s early assessments showed severe learning challenges....

Immigration agents nabbed a violent illegal migrant who was hiding in the sanctuary state of Connecticut after he allegedly beat a Mexican police officer to death. Orlando Diaz-Cebada, who is a member of the “Los Pochos” gang which traffics drugs for the Sinaloa cartel, had been deported from the US twice after crossing the border illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday. “Thanks to our brave ICE law enforcement and federal partners, this criminal illegal alien fugitive wanted for murdering a law enforcement official in Mexico is off America’s streets. This heinous murderer attempted to evade justice by hiding...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The fight over whether union workers should receive unemployment while they are out on strike continued on Monday.Senate Bill 8, which allows union members to collect unemployment while on strike, passed the state legislature. But Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is against it.

"No Kings" rallies will be held in cities across the country to protest President Donald Trump and his policies on his birthday, June 14. Why It Matters The 50501 Movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement) and other groups are protesting a military parade scheduled to take place in the nation's capital on June 14, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday, the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, and Flag Day. 'No Kings' Anti-Trump Protest Locations on June 14 Multiple protests are being held in various cities in each state, but no events are being planned for Washington, D.C. Organizers say that a...

Democrat Senator Chris Murphy called for nationwide street protests following the massive destruction and violence by leftist, pro-Palestinian, and illegal alien riots in Los Angeles over the weekend. Senator Murphy was on with Morning Joe this AM when he called for street protests in every US city. These people are lawless. Choose your side wisely. There are two visions for America. Choose wisely. pic.twitter.com/vtxG0Xr89T — Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) June 8, 2025 Senator Chris Murphy: my first message is to keep it peaceful. I mean, obviously, this is a moment where we have to be on the streets all over the...

Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” while insisting to “keep it peaceful,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called for more protests around the country as rioting is underway in Los Angeles tied to the Trump administration’s deportation effort. The Connecticut Democrat lawmaker argued President Donald Trump was inciting behavior so he could invoke the Insurrection Act. “I mean, my first message is to keep it peaceful,” Murphy declared. “I mean, obviously, this is a moment where we have to be on the streets all over the country to protest what’s happening to our immigrant community, but more broadly, to protest what’s happening...

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Cedric Lodge, age 57, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, pled guilty yesterday before Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to interstate transport of stolen human remains. According to Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus, Lodge admitted that, from 2018 through at least March 2020, he participated in the sale and interstate transport of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School morgue, located in Boston, Massachusetts. Lodge, who was then employed as the manager of the Harvard Medical School Morgue, removed human remains, including organs,...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Tweed New Haven Airport was the site of another protest against Avelo airlines on Saturday. Protesters gathered to speak out against the airline’s decision to provide deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” that if Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s spending bill as is, they would “get smoked” in the 2026 midterm elections. Host Chris Hayes said, “Josh Hawley, Republican, Missouri, wrote a big op-ed in The New York Times saying Medicaid cuts are a bad idea. Does that end up mattering in the Senate?” Murphy said, “I think it’s a great question, Chris because the Republican Party still does essentially operate like a cult. And that’s not fundamentally different in the Senate than it is in the House. I mean, yes, you’ve...

Five people were shot at a mall in Waterbury, Connecticut Tuesday, when an argument escalated into a violent outburst from a gunman, according to authorities. Gunshots rang out at the Brass Mill Center just before 4:40 p.m., hitting five people who were taken to area hospitals, WTNH reported, citing Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski, Jr. Cops said the bullets began to fly when an argument turned into a violent confrontation at the 1.1-million square-foot shopping complex with officials emphasizing at a press conference this was not a “random act of violence.” The suspect is described as a man in his 20s...

DHS has officially revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, meaning that they can no longer enroll international students at the university and any of Harvard's existing foreign students must transfer out or lose their legal status. ... This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost...