Free Republic

A United States Agency of International Development (USAID) official as well as three corporate executives have pleaded guilty in a decades-long bribery scheme connected to over $550 million in contracts. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, four men pleaded guilty to the charges of being part of the bribery scheme. The USAID official in the case was Roderick Watson, 57, of Maryland, who was a contracting officer and pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official. Walter Barnes, 46, of Maryland; Darryl Britt, 64, of Florida; and Paul Young, 62, of Maryland all pleaded guilty to...

Chicago’s radical and deeply unpopular Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson is urging his residents to “rise up” and take to the streets to oppose the legal enforcement of federal immigration laws even as the nation braces for a series of protests in big cities across the nation this weekend. With the threat of mass riots during the so-called “No Kings” protests, Johnson is dangerously egging the protests on in his cash-strapped city. On Wednesday, when asked about the coming protests, Johnson praised the “No Kings” plans and said he hoped his constituents would join the demonstrations.

They should have put this protest on ice. A massive raid on a suspected cartel member found in Arizona with a huge stockpile of drugs and guns was interrupted by “idiots” who thought it was “an ICE raid,” according to a sheriff. Investigators had spent around six months investigating the unidentified cartel member, who had crept back into the country despite previously being deported, according to Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple [snip] “Even when it was explained to them [protesters] that this was a criminal case, where we were taking a criminal drug smuggler, a known felon off the street...

In a new legal memorandum filed with the New York Supreme Court, Fox News accused Smartmatic executives – including CEO Antonio Mugica – of “spoliation of records” related to the high-stakes lawsuit, which stems from Fox’s coverage of the 2020 election. The conservative network pointed to explosive internal communications to support its claims. “On the eve of filing this lawsuit, and while the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating Smartmatic and its executives for bribery and corruption, Smartmatic’s CEO Antonio Mugica, in writing, ordered Smartmatic’s President Roger Piñate Jr. – who has since been federally indicted for those crimes –...

The dad of a young union worker and socialist activist arrested by the FBI for handing out face shields to dozens of LA rioters said his son isn’t a criminal — but slammed him for supplying the anti-ICE riots, and leading the feds to bust down the door of their family home. Francisco Orellana’s reaction to seeing his son Alejandro “Alex” Orellana driving a truck loaded with supplies for protesters was: “What the f--- are you doing?” The elder Orellana, a US citizen who moved to the US in the 1970s, told The Post the feds handcuffed the whole family...

As the anti-ICE, pro-illegal immigration, and even pro-terrorist riots continue in Los Angeles, there's not merely questions and concerns over the ineffective state and local leadership--though that is the case thanks to LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Many want to know who is funding these riots, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). He already discussed at great length the riots over X as well as in Monday's episode of "The Verdict," and he's devoted another episode to the riots for Wednesday. The question of the riots and who is funding these, not just in LA but across the...

BREAKING: 300+ arrested as violent Anti-ICE protests spread from Los Angeles to cities nationwide. Marines and National Guard have been deployed amid looting, Molotovs, and flashpoint confrontations Another streamer covering the various protest. I don't know much about this stream, but he's covering l.a. right now.

Photo has surfaced of the man behind the wheel of a truck used to deliver and hand out tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of face shield masks to rioters in Los Angeles. He is reportedly affiliated with Local 399, a Southern California chapter of the “Teamsters for a Democratic Union.”

LOS ANGELES - The mood in downtown Los Angeles shifted from tense to surreal Monday evening as FOX 11 cameras captured a masked group handing out riot shields and gas masks just steps from federal buildings—despite official claims that protests remained largely peaceful. Reporters on the ground described chaotic scenes: protesters doing burnouts, tagging sidewalks, and climbing light poles as riot gear was passed around in full view. No local police were visible at the time, even as National Guard troops stood guard outside nearby federal buildings. The masks being distributed were branded "bionic shield," and the boxes appeared to...

The left threw violent anti-immigration protests in seven different areas of Los Angeles beginning on Friday, and you’ll never guess who paid for it. If you guessed "you," you are right. Not only are taxpayers paying for the initial ICE raids, which netted 44 illegal aliens, but we’re paying for the police, sheriff's deputies, enhanced California Highway Patrol, and the federal response to the violent protests against the ICE raids, too. But that's only the half of it. Most Americans are only too willing to pay for law enforcement, but it turns out that you’re also paying for the L.A....

In a major breakthrough that could finally bring long-awaited answers to the American people, federal investigators have recovered Dr. Anthony Fauci’s COVID-era phones and electronic devices, which could include data crucial in determining whether the former architect of the federal pandemic response lied to the public and to Congress.

After Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned ICE for operating in LA, the city is seeing massive unrest all across the city. But now that President Donald Trump is bringing in the national guard against CA Governor Gavin Newsom's wishes, will this save the city? Check out @AnthonyCabassa_'s work on x!

The first members of the National Guard have arrived in Los Angeles early on Sunday morning following President Trump’s order to deploy 2,000 troops in the city after two days of violence and protests. New video from ABC 7 in Los Angeles shows vehicles stopping in front of the Hall of Justice next to City Hall in downtown Los Angeles early today, hours after parts of the neighborhood erupted in riots in response to ICE raids on Friday. Other footage shows troops driving through the suburb of Paramount, which also saw riots on Saturday. California National Guard troops arrive in...

President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guardsmen to the Los Angeles area on Saturday as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rattle the city. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move is a result of “violent mobs” attacking “Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations” in recent days. Trump said California Democrats Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass were to blame for the unrest that began as a result of ICE raids. Los Angeles police have not responded to rowdy demonstrations where protestors have vandalized cars and property, according to administration officials. LAPD...

Was there a coup? That question, when asked in the context of American politics, invites ridicule from respectable quarters. Yet when the subject turns to foreign regimes, that same question is treated with analytic seriousness. Political scientists pore over cases from Georgia to Ukraine, from Venezuela to Egypt, cataloguing the hallmarks of so-called "color revolutions", soft regime-change efforts executed through legal, media, and civic levers, rather than military ones. Oddly, however, the moment one notices similar tactics deployed on American soil, the conversation ends. That silence deserves scrutiny. For there is a credible case that the 2020 effort to remove...

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez was arrested on charges related to racketeering on Thursday morning. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended Lopez from his role. Christopher A. Blackmon was immediately appointed to fill Lopez's position.

DOJ Pardon Attorney Ed Martin discussed Biden’s growing autopen scandal this week with journalist Mark Halperin on the “2WAY Tonight” podcast. Last Tuesday Ed Martin said that the Justice Department is reviewing Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons since it has become increasingly clear he was incapacitated during his presidency. Ed Martin this Tuesday revealed he wrote to the Biden family and others and a senior Democrat whistleblower came forward with shocking allegations. A couple of people “lawyered up” Ed Martin said. “The Biden pardons are unprecedented,” he added. “I had a whistleblower in my office 10 day ago, senior, senior Democrat...

Illegal aliens are being recruited to join sophisticated criminal networks in the United States that stage accidents and injuries to get payouts through the nation’s personal injury system, House Republicans told Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a letter led by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), the group of Republicans warned Bondi that personal injury fraud is a growing industry in the U.S. that requires immediate attention from the Department of Justice (DOJ). “These fraudulent schemes pose serious risks to public safety, increase consumer costs, and raise insurance premiums for the motoring public,” the Republicans wrote. “According to the Coalition Against Insurance...

The Washington Free Beacon has a story titled “Top Corporations Fund Former Obama Official Calling To ‘Wage War on Whiteness.” It reminds us that DEI won’t go down without a fight, but go down it will, eventually. It is very much like racism and extortion combined. “Play our racial game or we will wage war against your white business.” David Johns, who is running a group called the National Black Justice Coalition, has the blessing of Health and Human Services as a grantee. According to the article, HHS gave $279,000 to this group in 2024 and did not respond to...

Democrats on Thursday were bracing for a sustained attack on their fundraising operation by Republicans, as President Donald Trump targets ActBlue. Trump plans to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the major online donation platform for what the administration cast as “unlawful ‘straw donor’ and foreign contributions to American elections” in a presidential memorandum on Thursday. “President Trump is taking action to address malign actors and foreign nationals who seek to illegally influence American elections, undermining the integrity of our electoral process,” a fact sheet detailing the memo obtained by POLITICO states. “ActBlue has become notorious for its lax...