Free Republic

An ex-CIA analyst was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday for leaking top secret documents about Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran last year. Asif William Rahman, 34, had pleaded guilty in January to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information after he was arrested for absconding with records from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency last October that indicated Israel was planning to launch airstrikes in response to a massive Iranian missile attack. Rahman, who had been a CIA employee since 2016 and had access to top secret documents, leaked the stolen information on social...

U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Officer Benjamin France is accused of threatening January 6 and ICE agents in a post to his X account on Saturday. “And we will hunt down every J6 and ICE agent again,” France allegedly wrote in the X post. Sam Shoemate, an intelligence officer and retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2, posted a screenshot of the post, purportedly from France’s account, on Tuesday. “Meet Benjamin France, aka ‘Benny.’ Benny made a comment threatening to ‘hunt down every J6 and ICE agent’ three days ago on X,” Shoemate said in a post on X....

Member of the U.S. military joined an anti-ICE protest in Dallas and said, "We won’t be pawns in stripping away constitutional rights." https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1932648094975299925

A convicted cop killer who became the second death row inmate in South Carolina to die by firing squad chomped on a ribeye steak, mushroom risotto, broccoli, collard greens and cheesecake before he was executed on Friday night. Mikal Mahdi, 42, had three slugs fired into his heart by trained correctional volunteers at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia and was pronounced dead at 6:05 p.m. for the ambush killing of Orangeburg Public Safety Captain James Myers in 2004. Mahdi, who washed down his hearty last meal with a sweet tea, did not make a final statement before his execution,...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — I've now watched through glass and bars as 11 men were put to death at a South Carolina prison. None of the previous 10 prepared me for watching the firing squad death of Brad Sigmon on Friday night. I might now be unique among U.S. reporters: I've witnessed three different methods — nine lethal injections and an electric chair execution. I can still hear the thunk of the breaker falling 21 years later...... I also pored over the transcript of his trial, including how prosecutors said it took less than two minutes for Sigmon to strike...

Columbia, South Carolina CNN — A convicted double murderer has been executed by firing squad – the first such execution in the United States since 2010, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The execution of Brad Sigmon, 67, by the South Carolina Department of Corrections on Friday is only the fourth firing squad execution in the US since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Sigmon chose firing squad over the two other state-approved methods of execution, lethal injection or the electric chair. He was pronounced dead by a physician at 6:08...

Five former secretaries of Defense have signed a letter protesting the firing by President Trump of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C. Q. Brown, demanding the Senate refuse to confirm Trump’s nominee to replace Brown and for Congress to investigate the firing of Brown and other senior officers by Trump. Trump nominated retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to replace Brown. Caine will need a waiver from Trump on meeting the legal requirements for the chairman. The five who signed are Trump’s first SecDef, James Mattis, Biden’s AWOL SecDef Lloyd Austin, Obama SecDefs Leon Panetta...

Hawaiian Supreme Court rules that individuals have no Second Amendment rights under its history, state law, and “spirit” “As the world turns, it makes no sense for contemporary society to pledge allegiance to the founding era’s culture, realities, laws, and understanding of the Constitution. ‘The thing about the old days, they the old days.’” –Justice Todd Eddins Justices with the Hawaii Supreme Court argue that Hawaii must follow the “spirit of Aloha,” not the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, when it comes to the Second Amendment rights of individuals. The Supreme Court of Hawaii has handed down a decision...

Condemned South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon has chosen to die next month by a firing squad, a method of execution that has not been used in the US in 15 years. Sigmon is scheduled to die on March 7. On Friday, he became the first South Carolina inmate to choose the state’s new firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair. Only three inmates in the country have been executed by firing squad since 1976. All were in Utah, with the last one taking place in 2010. Sigmon, 67, will be strapped to a chair and have a hood...

In a recent undercover revelation, Jamie Mannina, a Pentagon advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former FBI Special Agent, revealed strategies and covert meetings aimed at influencing public perception and undermining the presidency of Donald Trump. Mannina acknowledged collaborating with retired military leaders, including generals and admirals, to devise methods to counteract Trump’s administration. “I’ve been in conversation with a couple of retired generals to explore what we can do,” he admitted during the undercover conversation. These discussions reportedly occurred in high-security environments, including “The Tank,” a secure room within the Pentagon reserved for critical defense deliberations. Mannina...

Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11 NEW—Arizona's Governor Katie Hobbs declares she will not allow the Trump administration to deport illegal immigrants in Arizona. Reminder: Arizona just delivered President Trump a resounding victory because Democrats like Katie Hobbs refuse to secure the border. In the words Tom Homan: "Bring it on." 6:33 PM · Nov 18, 2024 · 950.7K Views

Today's Morning Joe served up a festering stew, a farrago of lies and misrepresentations aimed at boosting Kamala Harris and trashing Donald Trump. [snip] Scarborough twice recycled the lie to which he had devoted endless airtime last week. As he put it today, Trump "called to have Liz Cheney shot by a firing squad." That lie has been so thoroughly debunked by people across the political spectrum, that it took a special kind of Scarborough shamelessness to mouth it again today. Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

SEOUL, South Korea — Travis King, the U.S. Army private who intentionally ran across the border into North Korea this summer, is back in U.S. custody, an American official said Wednesday, shortly after the isolated East Asian country said it would expel the soldier. “U.S. officials have secured the return of Private Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea," Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement. He went on to thank the U.S. military personnel who worked to "bring Private King home," as well as the governments of Sweden and China. King, 23, bolted across...

After botching a series of executions by lethal injection, the State of Alabama is planning to use nitrogen gas to put condemned prisoners to death. The first execution will amount to a human experiment, because neither Alabama nor any other state has ever tried to kill people this way. Late last month, prison guards distributed the state’s new execution protocol to prisoners in solitary confinement on Alabama’s death row. One hundred and sixty men and five women await execution in Alabama. They would be secured to a gurney, their nose and mouth would be covered by a mask, and nitrogen...

A Florida double-murderer appeared with the word “killer” written on his own teeth in court Monday, where he proceeded to assault his own lawyer. Joseph Zieler, 61, beckoned his lawyer, Kevin Shirley, over to speak to him after entering court in handcuffs for a pre-sentencing hearing over the murders of an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter. After leaning in to speak to him, Zieler — who was eventually given the death penalty — suddenly caught Shirley in the face with a violent elbow shot, sending him spinning, courtroom video shows. As onlookers gasped, three bailiffs immediately subdued tattooed Zieler, who...

South Carolina’s highest court will hear arguments Thursday on whether a newly organized firing squad or the old electric chair are legal ways to execute inmates in the state, which has been unable to obtain drugs for lethal injections. A lower court judge ruled in September that South Carolina lawmakers “ignored advances in scientific research and evolving standards of humanity and decency” when they passed a law effectively forcing condemned prisoners to choose between electrocution or the firing squad. The state appealed and the South Carolina Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday over whether the 2,000-volt electric chair or the...

Throughout his 20-plus year rule, Vladimir Putin has consolidated power through graft, intimidation, manipulation of the Russian legal system, and forcefully silencing critics. Putin’s ability to sustain subservience and loyalty to his authority is no small feat, especially in a political culture of ruthless power politics. His reputation as a master tactician abroad has also been carefully cultivated, if not exaggerated.

John Kerry is being called out for his display of “cowardice” for ducking questions about his blatant lack of transparency — while U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had “no comment” on the matter.The climate czar and featured guest at an MIT symposium on global warming rushed into an elevator surrounded by bodyguards to avoid the Herald’s questions Thursday. He didn’t address why he still refuses to list details of his office staff.On Earth Day Friday, one energy advocacy group snapped back.“Alaska’s families are hurting under Joe Biden’s and John Kerry’s energy failures so … Kerry may be able to duck...

A South Carolina inmate who has spent 21 years on death row has chosen a firing squad for his April 29 execution. If the execution happens it will be South Carolina's first since 2011. Richard Moore, 57, chose a firing squad over the electric chair. "I believe this election is forcing me to choose between two unconstitutional methods of execution, and I do not intend to waive any challenges to electrocution or firing squad by making an election," Moore said. Moore's lawyers continue to challenge the constitutionality of both types of execution. They are challenging the execution in both state...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — ​​South Carolina has given the greenlight to firing-squad executions, a method codified into state law last year after a decade-long pause in carrying out death sentences because of the state’s inability to procure lethal injection drugs... ...Lawmakers set about tweaking state law to get around the lethal injection drug situation. Legislation that went into effect in May made the electric chair the state’s primary means of execution while giving inmates the option of choosing death by firing squad or lethal injection, if those methods are available....