Free Republic

Charlie Kirk, the conservative influencer who was assassinated in September, and Nick Fuentes, the young Hitler-loving white nationalist at the center of a growing schism on the right, were bitter enemies. Fuentes despised Kirk for his support of Israel, and, more broadly, for his efforts to marginalize Fuentes’s gleefully racist and fascist brand of politics. In 2019, seeking to expose Kirk as “anti-white” and a “fake patriot,” Fuentes organized his army of young fans — known as Groypers, after a variant on the alt-right Pepe the Frog meme — to flood events held by Kirk’s organization, Turning Point, and ask...

A defense attorney in Michigan is pushing back on the FBI’s allegations that his client and a group of young men arrested Friday were planning to carry out a violent attack over the Halloween weekend. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests of multiple people Friday who he said were plotting a “potential terrorist attack.” He said more details would be forthcoming. Amir Makled, the lawyer for a Dearborn, Mich., man who was still detained Saturday, said he hasn’t gotten many details about the case, but he told The Associated Press that, after reviewing the matter, he doesn’t expect any...

Conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro blasted Tucker Carlson on Monday, calling him “the most virulent super-spreader of vile ideas in America.” In an episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show” released Monday, Shapiro criticized Carlson’s podcast episode with Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, saying Carlson failed to push back on Fuentes’ bigotry. “The issue here isn’t that Tucker Carlson had Nick Fuentes on his show last week. He has every right to do that, of course,” Shapiro said. “The issue here is that Tucker Carlson decided to normalize and fluff Nick Fuentes and that the Heritage Foundation then decided to robustly defend that performance.”...

Viewing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) as out of step with the MAGA agenda, President Donald Trump has backed the Kentucky MAGA PAC, which plans to oppose Massie in the primary. The PAC, led by Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio, has vowed to spend whatever it takes to unseat Massie. A John McLaughlin poll shows 52% support a Trump-endorsed candidate versus 23% for Massie.

Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted President Donald Trump’s overseas strikes on alleged drug boats “insane” and not something “civilized people” do. Paul joined Glenn Greenwald on the System Update podcast where he called out Trump and his Republican colleagues over US strikes against alleged drug boats in South American waters. Paul accused Republicans of supporting actions they would be up in arms over if a Democrat were in office. The senator argued the strikes include no due process and could be leading to the death of innocent people.

Friday on MSNBC’s “Deadline,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) claimed lawmakers had seen “no evidence” the Trump administration’s military strikes were on drug boats. Host Nicolle Wallace asked, “What briefings have you received on the success of striking drug traffickers? Have you seen evidence or images of drugs being found on the boats that have been struck?” Blumenthal said, “What briefings? Zero. And as you may know, I think it’s public by now, there was a briefing for Republican senators only, which is unprecedented. So we’ve seen no evidence, none whatsoever, as to who is in these boats, more than ten...

Weeks after Jeffrey Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 awaiting prosecution on sex-trafficking charges, JPMorgan Chase filed a report alerting the U.S. government to tens of millions of dollars of potentially suspicious transactions involving him and prominent Wall Street and business figures. The so-called suspicious activity report that JPMorgan filed identified transactions with Leon Black, the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management; Glenn Dubin, a well-known hedge fund manager; the lawyer Alan Dershowitz; and trusts controlled by Leslie Wexner, the retail tycoon. The nature of the transactions, as well as Mr. Epstein’s role in them, is unclear....

@freethepeople One of the main reasons why the government remains shut down — and why Speaker Johnson (R-La.) is preventing the House of Representatives from convening — is that Massie has the votes to release the Epstein files.

Q: Why is President Trump going after Thomas Massie? JD VANCE: It's one thing to disagree with the party on an issue...voting against the party on *EVERY single issue*? Every time we've needed Thomas for a vote, he's been completely unwilling to provide it. That's why Trump turned his ire on Massie. We could never count on him for some of the most difficult votes. I say that as someone who knew Thomas well before I got into politics.

Here's a look at how US tariffs on Chinese goods have changed during President Trump's second term so far. February: Trump imposes a 10% tariff on Chinese goods due to what he said was the flow of the drug fentanyl to the US. March: The president adds another 10% tariff on goods from China, accusing it of not doing enough to address the fentanyl flow to the US. April: Trump adds a 34% levy on all Chinese imports as part of his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs. This brings the total to 54% on Chinese goods. This is on top of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the Eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor. The announcement made on social media Tuesday, marks a continued escalation in the pace of the strikes, which began in early September spaced weeks apart. This was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day

@SenRandPaul Bomb first, ask questions “never” makes zero constitutional sense and even less practical sense. I still have questions about the survivors from Ecuador and Colombia. Either they’re drug traffickers, in which case they should be tried and locked up, or they’re not. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that people who value the Constitution and due process are skeptical.

Senator Rand Paul is on a campaign to knock President Donald Trump off of his warpath. During Paul’s appearance on Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream asked the Kentucky Republican what information he wanted the government to provide about its military strikes in the Caribbean Sea. But Paul said that a briefing wasn’t what he was after. “A briefing’s not enough to overcome the Constitution,” Paul said. “The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it. And during a war then, [there are] lower rules for engagement and people do sometimes get killed without...

The Trump administration’s military airstrikes against boats off Venezuela’s coast that the White House claims were being used for drug trafficking are “extrajudicial killings”, said Rand Paul, the president’s fellow Republican and US senator from Kentucky. Paul’s strong comments on the topic came on Sunday during an interview on Republican-friendly Fox News, three days after Donald Trump publicly claimed he “can’t imagine” federal lawmakers would have “any problem” with the strikes when asked about seeking congressional approval for them. US forces in recent weeks have carried out at least eight strikes against boats in the Caribbean off Venezuela’s coast, killing...

There are a few reasons to doubt the American government's stated aim of wiping out these so-called "narco terrorist" gangs threatening the US from Venezuela, even after one takes out of the equation the sort of equipment the military is deploying - which isn't what they would need for effective drug smuggling interdiction. While the president acknowledges that the synthetic opioid fentanyl is a huge killer in the US (which it is) and is supplied by drug gangs (which it is), to blame Venezuela for fentanyl production is simply incorrect.Mexican cartels produce fentanyl with precursors largely supplied from China, and...

“What do you expect when you sue the president?” Hearing that comment, some people may guess the comment was made by someone addressing one of President Trump’s political opponents who has been targeted for federal prosecution. That quote, though, is much older. It is from an IRS agent addressing officials of a conservative organization that was being audited during Bill Clinton’s presidency. This illustrates that the use of federal agencies to punish presidents’ enemies did not start with President Trump. The administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used tax investigations against political opponents. Targeted individuals included publishers of newspapers that...

@Holden_Culotta Tucker Carlson: “What the hell is going on that Thomas Massie is a target, but Lindsey Graham has a Trump endorsement?” “Of all the members of Congress that I know, Massie is the most principled.” “If Lindsay Graham continues to get elected, then the whole MAGA thing is totally fake.” “I don’t think there are many people in the country who live out Donald Trump’s own stated principles more precisely than Thomas Massie does.” “His personal life … is like one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard.” “He is self-reliant in the most American sense.” “This is...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) pledged to support his colleague Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) as he faces a Trump-backed primary challenge in 2026. In an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns for “The Conversation,” Paul said threats lobbed at Massie from President Donald Trump and others close to the president should raise alarms for any lawmaker, and vowed to help his Kentucky colleague maintain his seat. “Thomas Massie is going to win,” Paul said. “I’m going to help him. I’m going to be with him every step of the way.”

The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT

"When we declare war is supposed to be done by Congress. It's not supposed to be done willy nilly," Paul addedRepublican Sen. Rand Paul again slammed President Donald Trump over the administration's continued strikes against alleged drug boats off Venezuela, reiterating that any armed conflict should be approved by Congress. Speaking with British journalist Piers Morgan, Paul rejected the administration's claim that the strikes were targeting smugglers carrying different drugs, including fentanyl. "There is no fentanyl made in Venezuela. Not just a little bit, there's none being made. These are outboard boats that, in order for them to get to...