Free Republic

Why did a Montgomery County, Maryland SWAT team kill 21-year-old Duncan Lemp, in a no-knock predawn raid on March 12? The county released an official report yesterday stating that a violent no-knock raid was justified “due to Lemp being ‘anti-government,’ ‘anti-police,’ currently in possession of body armor, and an active member of the Three Percenters.” The report also noted that “police had viewed several videos showing Lemp handling and shooting firearms.” Distrusting the government and police and appearing in photos or videos with firearms is a catch-all that could apply to millions of Americans. But that was enough to justify...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he "definitely is going to be part of the discussion" in helping to shape the Republican Party after President Trump leaves the White House. The popular two-term governor with an expanding national profile told Fox News in an interview that he’d like to see the GOP "return to its roots" as a "more Reaganesque, bigger tent party" that can appeal to more voters. Hogan is one of more than a dozen Republican politicians who are considered potential contenders for the party’s next presidential nomination. But with the president flirting with a 2024 bid to try...

Tens of thousands of President Trump’s supporters are set to descend on Washington, D.C. this weekend to demand transparency and protect election integrity. One America News will have a crew on the ground Saturday, December 12 and will provide live coverage of the event.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) released a video Monday calling for the Republican Party to chart a new path forward in the years ahead, a move likely to stoke further speculation that he is moving toward a White House run in 2024. The video, released by Hogan’s advocacy group An America United, draws heavily on a speech the Maryland governor gave last month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, in which he warned of pending political trouble for the GOP and outlined and called on the party to expand its electoral coalition moving forward. “We are once again...

Maryland's Montgomery County plans to spend more than $450,000 on an "anti-racist audit" intended to create "equitable outcomes for every student's academic and social-emotional well-being." According to a Tuesday memo from the county's superintendent of schools, Montgomery County Public Schools will award a one-year "anti-racist" consulting contract to the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium for $454,680. The consulting firm will investigate the district's culture, hiring practices, and pre-K-12 curriculum, which Montgomery County says should be tailored so that it "strengthens students' sense of racial, ethnic, and tribal identities, helps students understand and resist systems of oppression, and empowers students to see themselves...

SUNDAY: @GovLarryHogan joins @jaketapper ONLY on #CNNSOTU. Hope you join us!

We are AMERICANS FOR TRUMP!!! #Trump2020DCBeltway Patriots from around the DMV are being called upon to join in a MASSIVE display of patriotism, pride and support for our President. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! Decorate your cars with flags and positive messages of support for Donald J Trump and our great country! On Sunday, November 1st, at 12pm, groups from all around the I-495 corridor will enter the Capital Beltway at their nearest access point. The expectation is they will drive roughly 65 miles to complete one loop, and exit from the same point from where they entered the beltway. Second...

Hogan, who is eyeing a 2024 WH bid, is now busy building ties with congressional Republican candidates outside of Maryland, such as Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Kean Jr., Don Bacon, and Susan Collins...

Trump Pence Make America Great Again 2020 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP HOSTS A MAKE AMERICA GREAT EVENT IN NEWPORT NEWS, VA Join President Donald J. Trump in Newport News, VA on Friday, September 25th at 9:00PM EDT! Get your tickets here. Details about the event below: Friday, September 25th at 9:00PM EDT Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport 1200 Bland Blvd. Newport News, VA, 23602 Doors Open: 6:00 PM (EDT) Event Begins: 9:00 PM (EDT) Get your tickets here. GET YOUR TICKETS Please limit personal items and arrive early to expedite entrance into the venue - please note, NO homemade signs, banners,...

Maryland has expanded its mask-wearing rules as the number of coronavirus cases in the state rise. On Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan issued orders that require anyone older than age 5 to wear a face-covering in all indoor public areas of businesses and buildings. That includes churches, offices and restaurants. Masks will also be required in outdoor spaces when it is not possible to maintain social distancing. The order takes effect on Friday at 5 p.m. At a news conference, Hogan said the new rules are “fact-based, apolitical and solidly grounded in science,” according to The Baltimore Sun. “While it can...

These docs refuse to scrub their sexy bikini pics from the internet. Doctors are sharing their finest swimsuit selfies online after a controversial new study claimed that surgeons who post these kinds of pictures are “unprofessional.” The study, published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, touched on the impact of “publicly available social media content” and how it could affect future patients’ physician choices. In order to conduct the study, the researchers, who were mostly men, created “neutral” — i.e., undercover — accounts to investigate content posted online. They deemed photos that display alcohol, that contain “inappropriate attire” such as...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Monday warned against the idea of the White House sidelining Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, saying Fauci had been more responsive to the state’s coronavirus needs than President Trump or Vice President Pence. Hogan wrote in a USA Today op-ed that in March, as the Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia area showed signs of being a hot spot, he was unable to get a call back from the president and vice president, but was able to get in contact with a number of top health officials to get advice. “But I spent the first...

With fewer cars on the road due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Howard County Police Department announced Friday its increased focus on speeding. Incidents of excessive speeding in Howard County have increased in the past few weeks, according to a county police news release. “With fewer cars on the road as a result of the state’s stay-at-home order, some drivers seem to have mistakenly assumed that traveling at high rates of speed would be an acceptable practice,” Police Chief Lisa Myers said in a statement. “We are receiving higher-than-usual complaints about speeding, and officers have observed vehicles traveling much...

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan lifted the state’s stay-at-home order and announced the easing some coronavirus-based restrictions on businesses and gatherings beginning 5 p.m. Friday. It comes as the state sees a slight drop in the number of patients hospitalized for the coronavirus, a metric that his administration will use to guide the gradual reopening of the state. Hogan said he is replacing the order with a “Safer at Home” advisory that will not be enforced by the rule of law. It allows manufacturing, retail, haircuts and worship services to resume with limitations. But some local officials have said they don’t...

WHITE OAK, Md. - Police have released body camera footage of a fatal officer-involved shooting this week in Montgomery County. Montgomery County Police say Sgt. David Cohen shot and killed 30-year-old Finan H. Berhe on Thursday after Berhe lunged at the officer with a knife. Police late Friday released video of the shooting, which happened Thursday evening in the 1500 block of Hadden Manor Court in White Oak:

RELIGIOUS LEADERS, state lawmakers and businesses filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Larry Hogan and other Maryland officials on Saturday for violating Americans' constitutional rights during the coronavirus pandemic. A number of governors are facing similar lawsuits, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was sued on May 4 by Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) for her stay-at-home order, which will remain in place until at least May 28. The lawsuit filed against Maryland's Republican governor, Health Secretary Robert Neall, Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Frances B. Phillips and Maryland State Police Superintendent Woodrow W. Jones had been under discussion for...

The hottest thing on Capitol Hill right now, that is, before Adam Schiff kicks off his next impeachment inquiry over the Administration’s response to Wuhan virus, is a proposal for the federal government to bail out state governments for lost revenue. This revenue, mind you, was lost because most governors were stampeded into shutting down their state’s economy in the fanciful hope of preventing the spread of a virus that, outside of New York, looks neither spreadable nor dangerous. The letter followed a similar plea a month earlier from 20 Republican governors — including many Trump allies such as Govs....

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is getting pressure to close down the state’s gun stores, which have been allowed to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic when most other retailers have had to shut their doors. Under a series of executive orders — including a stay-at-home order issued Monday — Hogan has gradually closed schools, sit-down restaurants, malls, theaters, gyms, casinos and businesses deemed “nonessential” in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus. Gun shops and shooting ranges, however, made the cut as an “essential” business. The ability of gun stores to remain open during this pandemic is worrisome for...

A woman accused of stabbing a man with a pair of scissors Tuesday night in Frederick was granted release from the county detention center Wednesday on $10,000 unsecured bail. Aimee Nicole Seals, 39, of the first block of McMurray Street in Frederick, was charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment shortly after city officers responded to a call for a stabbing in a domestic violence-related call at her home. The call came out at about 7:30 p.m. and officers found the injured man a short distance away driving a vehicle north on South Court Street near the Frederick...

Hours after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced sweeping executive orders Monday to restrict public gatherings and business operations due to the new coronavirus, state police and local law enforcement agencies said they were prepared to arrest those who deliberately flout the directives.... ...Officers, who are being instructed to record gatherings via their body-worn cameras, will be empowered to break up large gatherings of more than 50 people at all venues in the county, and officials also have the authority to further reduce the number.... The enforcement of the order prohibiting gatherings or events of 50 or more people at all...