Free Republic

A Target store in a Minneapolis suburb cordoned off a hallway with six changing rooms, seemingly to convert at least part of the space into a Muslim prayer area. The store is located in Apple Valley, Minnesota, which is just south of the Twin Cities. A concerned customer recently photographed the repurposed area and sent the photos to Alpha News. The pictures show retractable belts sectioning off both sides of the hallway, as well as a sign on one of the doors that said 'RAMADAN MUBARAK,' which is a traditional Arabic greeting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A pro-Palestinian Texas businessman has been bankrolling an anti-Israel super PAC that’s now backing a a trio of insurgent far-left New York congressional candidates, records show. Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq — the owner of Enterprises International, which runs AutoMax and Dollar Rent-A-Car — donated $400,000 to the American Priorities PAC, which was formed earlier this year as a counter to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The organization said Tuesday it would drop $2 million on TV, streaming and digital ads to boost House candidates, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander, who have all been endorsed by Mayor Zohran...

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who was hired to oversee reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, chose to resign rather than face disciplinary action for interfering with an investigation into his conduct, Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday. O’Hara, who led local police during the recent federal immigration crackdown in the city, was under investigation on accusations that he was engaging in intimate relationships with city employees. The mayor told O’Hara he would be disciplined, which could include his termination. He chose to resign instead, Frey said. “It was an extremely painful decision, obviously, but I concluded that that...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday compared Alberta’s vote on whether to move toward independence to Brexit, calling it a potential “dangerous bluff.” Danielle Smith, the premier of Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta, said last week a vote would be held Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should stay in Canada or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on leaving. Carney drew on his experience with Brexit in his comments. Carney was the governor of the Bank of England in 2016 when Britain voted to leave the European Union, and he helped navigate the central...

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey honored George Floyd on Memorial Day, May 25. It was six years ago that George Floyd died while in police custody after being arrested for passing a counterfeit bill in a store. When cell phone video of the arrest went viral online, agitators burned parts of Minneapolis and rioted across the US, causing over $1 billion in damages and leading to the deaths of at least 30 people. Frey took a knee during the summer of BLM riots in deference to the rioters. He also advocated to defund the Minneapolis police department after claims that policing...

“Today, we remember George Floyd, who was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer six years ago,” Frey said on X. “That moment changed our city forever. It forced Minneapolis to confront painful truths about race, policing, inequity, and trust — and demanded hard conversations and accountability. Since Floyd’s murder, our city has been challenged not just to say we’ve changed, but to prove it.“ This isn’t Frey’s first foray into pandering for support by propping up Floyd. Astute observers will remember that Frey performatively kneeled before Floyd’s golden casket while weeping back in 2020.

Faith FactsLuigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has attracted disturbing fan worship from Americans celebrating violenceCultural critics warn of an emerging ‘assassination culture’ where murder is glamorized and political violence is normalizedThe breakdown of shared moral values rooted in the sanctity of life threatens the foundation of civil society and democratic governanceThe troubling case of Luigi Mangione has exposed a dark undercurrent in American culture that should alarm every person of faith and conscience. Accused of the cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, Mangione has inexplicably become a folk hero to a disturbing number...

And so, the indictments on the fraud front just keep rolling in, and yes, this is what we voted for. In the latest, 15 people have been indicted in a fraud scheme in (where else) Minnesota, that may have seen the alleged perps defraud the American taxpayers to the tune of $90 million. That is, as someone once said, a big freakin' deal.🚨🚨 Today - 15 individuals have been indicted for over $90 million in an alleged massive healthcare fraud scheme in Minnesota, after a sweeping FBI investigation with @TheJusticeDept and our Interagency Partners.These charges involve the two LARGEST Medicaid...

Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar on Wednesday denied allegations she knew about a widespread fraud scheme, following the Vice President's claims that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was investigating her. Omar's statement to Newsweek also followed an allegation from the purported mastermind of the $250 million meals scam that Omar was in on the conspiracy, adding fuel to ongoing accusations by some within the Trump administration that the Representative has committed various forms of fraud, including immigration. “Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false," Omar said in her statement shared with Newsweek. "The moment this fraud...

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced the woman prosecutors call the “mastermind” behind the nearly $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme to 41 years in prison. Aimee Bock, 45, of Apple Valley, was convicted in March 2025 for her role at the top of what the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office called the single largest known pandemic-era fraud scheme in the U.S. A jury found her guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery after a roughly one-month trial. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel ordered Bock to pay $243 million in restitution to the...

The Department of Justice announced criminal charges against 15 defendants in Minnesota on Thursday, alleging schemes that targeted more than $90 million in taxpayer funds across state-managed Medicaid programs. Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, said the cases involve seven Minnesota-run Medicaid programs that prosecutors say were “systematically pilfered by fraudsters” who treated taxpayer-funded services as “their personal piggy bank.” “Let me be clear upfront about something: This is not the end of our work in Minnesota," McDonald said. "This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota. The fraud here in Minnesota is...

Federal prosecutors have filed the first criminal fraud case connected to Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program against a woman already charged in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Fahima Egeh Mahamud now faces one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States after she allegedly received millions in CCAP funds without collecting required co-payments from parents. In February, Mahamud was charged with wire fraud for her alleged involvement in the $250 million Feeding Our Future meal fraud scheme. According to charging documents, all of Mahamud’s purported fraud activity came through her business, Future Leaders Early Learning Center in Minneapolis. During...

A Minnesota county prosecutor on Monday announced charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Trump administration’s crackdown in the state. The officer, Christian Castro, is charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference. A warrant was issued for his arrest. “Mr. Castro is an ICE agent, but his federal badge does not make him immune from state charges for his criminal conduct in...

The Minnesota House fraud prevention and oversight committee released its final report following a two-year investigation into the state’s fraud crisis, concluding this week that Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) administration allowed fraud to persist by protecting Somali fraudsters from state regulators out of concerns for cultural sensitivity, even accusing rank-and-file investigators of racially profiling suspected scammers. According to the committee’s 84-page report on “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Minnesota,” adopted Wednesday, when government employees flagged suspicious billing patterns to their supervisors, officials in the Walz administration ignored, demoted, and retaliated against the whistleblowers, at times accusing them of being “xenophobic”...

What is it with Minnesota? Something in the air? Something in the water of those 10,000 lakes? Or is it the (let's say this softly) Third World people from low-trust cultures that they have been so freely importing? Whatever it is, Minnesota seems to be Fraud Central Station, and now we see another Minneapolis resident has been busted and is facing charges. This one is alleged to have engaged in a million-dollar Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) fraud rip-off. Authorities in Minnesota have filed criminal charges against a man accused of a food stamp fraud scheme that defrauded taxpayers out of...

The Trump administration scored a legal victory in combating illegal immigration when a federal judge cleared the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to operate near schools, for now. The lawsuit brought by Minnesota public school districts sought a temporary injunction against immigration enforcement agents having a presence near schools, claiming it increased absenteeism and disrupted learning. U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino of the District of Minnesota denied the schools’ request for a preliminary injunction while the case moves forward and said the plaintiffs likely lacked standing. Provinzino is a Biden appointee. “Accordingly, because the Court concludes that Plaintiffs...

Dustin Grage @GrageDustin 🚨 Democrats voted UNANIMOUSLY to not require the removal of dead people from Minnesota’s voter rolls last night. This is insane. Why would anyone oppose this? 🚨 Democrats voted UNANIMOUSLY to not require the removal of dead people from Minnesota’s voter rolls last night.This is insane.Why would anyone oppose this? pic.twitter.com/LYRn4HHiN3— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) May 7, 2026

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president last cycle, opted to fly to Maine to stump for Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who is running for Senate and who has a Nazi tattoo. Several members of Congress responded. “Don’t forget to ask him about his Nazi tattoo,” stated Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas). “Can you let him know there’s ways to remove the Nazi tattoos from his chest?” asked Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). “In case it wasn’t clear before why Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro. This is who they are,” the Republican Jewish Coalition stated....

Minnesota’s new state flag, adopted after a public redesign process, is now at the center of a growing divide across the state. The debate traces back to 2023, when the DFL-controlled Legislature established a commission to overhaul both the flag and state seal. The move followed years of criticism that the old flag was overly complex and featured imagery seen by some as offensive to Native Americans. Over the course of the redesign effort, the commission received roughly 20,000 public comments and more than 2,000 design submissions before settling on a final version. “We were committed to maximum public input...

A seventeen-second video shows a dark-haired man rapping his pale knuckles gently below the tinted windows of a silver minivan. He stands back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his puffer coat, his boyish face twisted into a severe expression. The car drives off, and the camera pans to follow it down the suburban Minneapolis road. No words are spoken. Splashed across the screen, a bright red and white caption reads, “ICE was circling a local elementary school. I knocked on their door to have a conversation, but they ran away instead.” The man is Matt Little, 41, a...