Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Four House Democratic lawmakers have traveled to El Salvador to call attention to the plight of a man the Trump administration deported to a Salvadoran prison and has refused to help return — even after the Supreme Court ruled that it was the government's duty to do so. Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Maxine Dexter of Oregon, Maxwell Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California arrived in the Central American nation on Sunday to investigate the condition of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who had lived in the United States for more than a decade. The Trump administration deported...

The House members are Reps. Robert Garcia, of California; Maxwell Frost, of Florida; Maxine Dexter, of Oregon; and Yassamin Ansari, of Arizona. Four House Democrats have traveled to El Salvador to, in the words of one member, remind Americans that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran migrant who had been living in Maryland, was wrongfully deported to his home country. “While Donald Trump continues to defy the Supreme Court, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held illegally in El Salvador after being wrongfully deported,” said California Rep. Robert Garcia, one of the four. “That is why we’re here – to...

Apparently, accurately observing and assessing reality is only okay when someone is obviously lying about their age. If you notice that they’re lying about their biological sex though? You’re a fascist, bigot, racist, homophobe, Trump-supporter, Nazi… you name it. In perhaps one of the most absurd stories I’ve ever read (from where else but Oregon?), a local high school called the cops on “Madison,” a 15-year-old “girl” trying to enroll in classes—there was a problem though, and it wasn’t the fact that “Madison” was actually a bearded male, but that he was lying about his age!Oh, and “Madison” also appears...

Sean Horan and three of his partners are going on a trip to Mexico this month. They want to see Mayan and Aztec sites and will spend almost two weeks exploring the country’s cultural heritage, from Mexico City to Cancún. Horan has been excited to see the country’s archeological sites for years, he said, and is thrilled the trip is finally happening. It’s returning to the United States that he’s a bit worried about. Two of Horan’s boyfriends are transgender men and a third is nonbinary – and none have passports that match their gender identities. One of Horan’s partners...

U.K. woman has spoken of time in detention after being branded an illegal alien by American border officials, as she warned other would-be travelers not to get caught up in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Rebecca Burke, a 28-year-old graphic artist from Monmouthshire, South Wales, told British newspaper The Guardian how she had been refused entry to Canada from the state of Washington. She told the paper after she was sent back to the U.S, American officials classed her as an illegal alien, shackled and transported her to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, where she was locked...

The WIAA was told by the state’s Attorney General Nick Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, both Democrats, as well as the state’s Office for Civil Rights, that the proposals would violate state law.. The governing body for high school sports in Washington State has announced that it will not ban men from women’s sports following legal threats from Democrat officials. Washington state law currently requires educational agencies to allow students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity.” The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) previously announced that it had proposed two bylaw...

A bipartisan pair of senators is warning the White House that recent US strikes on the Houthis in Yemen risk “emboldening” the Iranian-backed group and flouted the law regarding congressional oversight of military operations. The letter from Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., shared first with Semafor, concerns the strikes that have made headlines recently.... “Neither the U.S. strikes since October 2023 ordered by President Joe Biden, nor the previous years-long campaign against the Houthis conducted by Saudi Arabia were successful in establishing deterrence against the Houthis,” Merkley and Paul wrote in the letter sent to President Donald...

A federal negligence lawsuit can proceed against West Linn police alleging that officers should have entered the home of a man reported to be hallucinating on mushrooms and harming himself, a judge ruled.But U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon threw out allegations that officers discriminated against Michael A. Relloque IV because of his race or intentionally caused him distress in their handling of the November 2020 call. His lawyer alleged that West Linn police were reluctant to confront Relloque because of the national turmoil and mass racial justice protests that occurred that fall over the police killings of George Floyd...

A member of Oregon's Health Authority (OHA) on best practices and policies in mental health said they identify as a 'turtle' during a state panel meeting. JD Holt, who also goes by 'JD Terrapin' on Facebook, announced that they use 'they, them and turtle' for their preferred pronouns during a December meeting. 'Hello everybody, it's JD. I use they, them and turtle for my pronouns. I'm in the Springfield-Eugene area and I get to be part of the council,' Holt said during a virtual advisory council meeting. Holt is one of roughly two dozen 'consumers' on the OHA's Consumer Advisory...

Congressional Democrats — who were hoping to blast Republicans over budget cuts — instead took incoming from their exasperated constituents when they traveled home to host town halls. In Arizona, Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly were confronted at a joint forum Monday by an attendee demanding to know if they “would support removing” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In Oregon, an audience member told Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Janelle Bynum on Sunday that he is “so pissed off right now at the leadership in the United States Senate that they are not willing to step up and fight.”...

The electric buses in question were made by a company called Proterra, which went bankrupt two years ago.. A city in Washington is selling nearly half of its electric bus fleet following reliability issues and difficulty getting replacement parts. The Everett City Council voted earlier this week to sell nine of the electric buses, of which only four are in service right now, because of reliability issues, including critical sensors and components that have been failing since they went into service. The city is now looking to purchase retrofitted diesel buses so there are no gaps in service. According to...

Yesterday, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek declared “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day,” aiming to recognize and honor the work of abortionists in the state. But pro-life Americans are aghast at a day set aside to celebrate killing babies. “Here in Oregon, we understand that abortion is health care, and providers are appreciated and can continue to provide care without interference and intimidation,” Governor Kotek said. From a pro-life perspective, this declaration is deeply concerning. Abortion ends an innocent human life, and thus, celebrating those who do abortions contradicts the fundamental value of protecting life at all stages. Such proclamations may further entrench...

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon appeals court on Wednesday found that a gun control law approved by voters over two years ago is constitutional, reversing a lower court ruling from a state judge who had kept it on hold. The law, one of the toughest in the nation, requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. It also bans high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Measure 114 has been tied up in state and federal court since it was narrowly approved...

Among the 34 largest U.S. metro areas surveyed, the Portland-Vancouver region stands out as the only place where nonreligious people outnumber Christians, according to the Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Surveying more than 35,000 Americans across all 50 states, the study provides a detailed analysis of religious affiliation and spiritual practices nationwide. “The study was designed to capture people’s religious identity, their beliefs and practices, as well as things related to their spiritual beliefs and practices and experiences,” said Becka Alper, a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. “We wanted to get a really broad assessment of that,...

Democrat lawmakers in Oregon are pushing myriad new gun controls this legislative session, including a ban on the possession of firearms by persons under the age of 21. The Statesman Journal noted that Oregon has pivoted from its previous reputation of being a pro-gun, or at least gun-control neutral, state, to being ranked highly for gun control under Democrat governance. For example, “[Oregon] ranks just outside the top 10 by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (No. 11) and Everytown for Gun Safety (No. 12).” This year’s gun control proposals include Senate Bill 697, which would ban firearm...

Update 3/7/2025: Clackamas County Commissioner Melissa Fireside has resigned. An Oregon county commissioner has been charged with several felonies for allegedly stealing from an elderly victim in a major fraud scheme. Melissa Fireside, 43, a Democrat, was arraigned on charges Wednesday. She is a newly elected Clackamas County Commissioner representing District One. Fireside faces eight felony charges including first-degree theft, first-degree aggravated theft, two counts of identity theft, two counts of computer crimes, and two counts of first-degree forgery, according to court filings. The commissioner has been accused of taking financial advantage of an 83-year-old man while accessing a computer...

Kash Patel announced on Thursday night that three individuals have been arrested by the FBI and other agencies “for theft of government property and a bribery scheme.” According to a DOJ press release, “Jian Zhao, and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested today following indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington.” ” Tian and Duan were charged in the District of Oregon for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property. Zhao was charged...

Authorities have arrested a suspect accused of launching several firebombing and shooting attacks on a Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon. Adam Matthew Lansky, 41, of Salem, was taken into custody on Tuesday and has been arraigned on federal felony charges. The defendant is a far-left extremist LGBTQ activist who identifies as transgender. Lansky has been charged with unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm (destructive device) and was remanded to custody Wednesday until further court proceedings, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice for the District of Oregon. He was apprehended in Salem without incident after authorities...

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's executive order banning funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments to transgender youth. The order applies to the states of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado. Newsweek contacted the White House press office for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters Since returning to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has signed a slew of executive orders impacting on transgender rights, which his supporters claim muddy the biological difference between males and females and are a...

There’s only one major U.S. city less diverse than Portland, according to a new report. On Wednesday, WalletHub uncovered its ranking of Arlington, Texas, Houston, New York, Charlotte N.C. and Los Angeles as the top five large cities for diversity. The personal finance platform describes large cities as those with at least 300,000 residents. And out of the 64 cities ranked within this group, Portland sits at No. 63 — with 65.55 points out of 100 for its diversity score. The only major metro with a lower score was Detroit. WalletHub’s report covers more than just race. The website ranks...