Free Republic

About a month ago, Senator Jim Justice hosted the owners of the Omni Hotels & Resorts chain for a meeting at The Greenbrier Hotel to explore possibilities for working together. The meeting, by all accounts, had moments of strain, and lawyers for the Omni owners now allege the senator threatened his leverage over West Virginia’s courtrooms. Justice, a two-term Republican governor now serving in the U.S. Senate, and the Texas billionaires who own Omni are in conflict over control of The Greenbrier, its 710 guest rooms, four golf courses and casino. [snip] “At that meeting, the Senator and his counsel...

NSTITUTE, W.Va. — A chemical leak at a West Virginia silver recovery business on Wednesday killed two people and sent about 30 others to hospitals, including one in serious condition, authorities said. The leak occurred at the Catalyst Refiners plant in Institute as workers were preparing to shut down at least part of the facility, Kanawha County Commission Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigman said. A chemical gas reaction occurred at the plant involving nitric acid and another substance, Sigman said at a news briefing. He added that there was "a violent reaction of the chemicals and it instantaneously overreacted." "Starting...

Democratic House candidate Sarah Trone Garriott's campaign is on the defensive after a resurfaced video showed her recounting her role in the marriage of a pair of satanists while serving as a minister-in-training. Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister running in a battleground House district in November’s midterm election, participated in the wedding of a satanist couple in 2006 while serving as an intern pastor in a West Virginia parish. Trone Garriott is vying to unseat Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, for a "toss-up" congressional seat in the southwestern part of the state. Throughout the campaign, she has been criticized for expressing...

MONTROSE, W.Va. — Two West Virginia men face felony charges after authorities said one of them shot his younger brother multiple times at a home in Randolph County on Feb. 12, and the other helped restrain the wounded man as he tried to get away. Investigators say the shooting began inside a home on Mule Hollow Road in Montrose at about 9:15 p.m. and left Brett Lee Arbogast, 31, with gunshot wounds to the head, arm and hand. Derek Justin Arbogast, 36, is charged with first-degree attempted murder. Larry Brian Talkington, 63, is charged as a principal in second-degree attempted...

CDC Update: Tularemia Outbreak in Prairie Dogs in Texas Tuesday, August 06, 2002 4:15 PM Eastern US http://www.videonewswire.com/CDC/080602/event.html?id=7237

A West Virginia mother has been jailed for 15 years to life for the horrific starvation death of her 14-year-old daughter. Julie Miller sobbed in court as she was sentenced on Wednesday for the April 2024 death of Kyneddi Miller, who investigators said they found 'emaciated to a skeletal state' lying on the bathroom floor in the family's Boone County home. Miller, who pleaded guilty in November to death of a child by a parent by child abuse, will be eligible for parole after 15 years but will face 50 years of supervised release if she is freed. Despite letting...

The government in West Virginia, instead of trying to thwart federal immigration officers, formed a partnership with them that helped put over 600 illegal alien criminals in handcuffs.While Democrat-run California could be on the cusp of releasing 33,000 illegal alien criminals, Republican-run West Virginia is now prioritizing the safety of its citizens. If only more state governments would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), there would not be so much violence against ICE and it would be much more straightforward to arrest and deport foreign criminals.In just two weeks in January, the state-federal authorities’ partnership resulted in 650 arrests,...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia already has strict abortion laws compared to some of its blue neighbors. But if passed, one bill could make them even stricter. It's called Senate Bill 173, and it would prohibit the mailing of abortion pills to a person in West Virginia. It's being backed by at least six senators, including Chris Rose and Laura Wakim-Chapman, who say it's a chance to crackdown on pill trafficking. "A lot of these websites, we don't know where they're operating from,” Chapman said. “Some of them are operating outside of the United States. We don't know what kind...

PHILADELPHIA — From Jan. 5 to Jan. 19, ICE Philadelphia conducted a statewide surge with 14 of its 287(g) partners in West Virginia, arresting over 650 illegal aliens, including several with serious criminal histories and prior removals. ICE Philadelphia deployed surge teams to Martinsburg, Moorefield, Morgantown, Beckley, Huntington and Charleston as part of the operation. Together, federal, state and local law enforcement officials identified and arrested hundreds of illegal aliens who present dangers to national security and risks to public safety, as well as those who entered the United States illegally or have otherwise undermined the integrity of U.S. immigration...

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – Today, Governor Patrick Morrisey announced that the West Virginia National Guard, the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation have received signed Memorandums of Agreement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to participate in the 287(g) Program, enabling designated local officers to perform certain immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight. “The Biden administration’s border policies allowed millions of people to unlawfully enter our country as massive amounts of deadly fentanyl flowed across the southern border and into West Virginia,” said Governor Morrisey. “We are proud to partner with...

Meet Morgan L. Morrow, a librarian at Jackson County Public Library in West Virginia. She appears to call for someone to ass*ssinate Trump while other commenters call to also kiII Stephen Miller, Larry Ellison, and Peter Thiel. Our tax dollars pay her salary.BREAKING UPDATE: West Virginia librarian Morgan Morrow has been ARRESTED following our reporting of her post appearing to recruit individuals to ass*ssinate Trump. She is charged with one count of t*rroristic threats.

PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia State Police and federal immigration officers detained eight men during a traffic stop and subsequent investigation at a home in Hurricane, according to State Police. According to a news release from State Police, troopers and ICE officers conducted a traffic stop on a red 2024 Ford F-250 around 12:30 p.m. on Friday near Sleepy Hollow Drive and Oakmont Drive for equipment violations. Troopers said the driver was identified as Miguel Angel Alvarado Molina, a native of Honduras. "Mr. Molina is a native of Honduras and was determined to be unlawfully present in the...

WASHINGTON (WJLA-TV) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi will urge prosecutors to seek the death penalty against 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal. Lakanwal, an Afghan national, was identified by federal officials as the gunman who opened fire on West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, on Nov. 26, 2025. Beckstrom died a day after the shooting, and Wolfe was left fighting for his life. "I will tell you right now, I will tell you early, we will do everything in our power to seek the death penalty against that monster who should not have been in our...

West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of West Virginia, has died after being shot Wednesday in a Washington, D.C. ambush just blocks from the White House. President Donald Trump confirmed the news Thursday night, noting he was told just seconds before speaking to members of the military at Mar-a-Lago. "I heard that Sarah Beckstrom, of West Virginia, ... highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023, outstanding in every way, she's just passed away," Trump said. "She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It's just...

The devastated dad of one of the National Guard members gunned down in a suspected terror attack has revealed that she will not survive her injuries. Sarah Beckstrom's father, Gary, provided the update on Thursday, just one day after his daughter was shot in Washington, DC. 'She has a mortal wound, it's not going to be a recovery,' he told the New York Times, speaking from her bedside. 'I'm holding her hand right now.' Beckstrom was 'ambushed' alongside fellow West Virginia National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, 24, who was described as in a critical condition. Afghan suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29,...

The suspect in the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday reportedly had his asylum application approved by the Trump administration earlier this year, according to CNN. “What we know is that he comes here from Afghanistan. Now, this is a guy who’s been living in Washington state, not Washington, D.C. On the other end of the country,” reported CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller:

President Trump just gave a brief address to the nation regarding the National Guard shootings. The address is just under 5 minutes in length.

Two National Guard soldiers were shot in the head just yards from the White House during a possible terror attack by a lone gunman identified as an Afghan national. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, has been named as the alleged gunman in custody over the horror shoot-out at Farragut West metro station in the center of Washington, DC, which has left two soldiers in a critical condition. Law enforcement sources initially told NBC News the gunman has been identified as an Afghan national and the shooting is being investigated as a possible act of terror. He allegedly came to the United States...

CBS News: Multiple law enforcement officials say the suspect in the shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. today is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, noting he entered the U.S. in 2021

WASHINGTON (WOWK) – West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey says two National Guard Members shot in an attack in Washington, DC on Wednesday were members of the West Virginia National Guard. During a press conference in Washington, D.C., just before 5 p.m., officials confirmed that the soldiers remain in critical condition. They say the suspect is also in the hospital at this time. Shortly before 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, DC Metro police confirmed they were on the scene of a shooting near 17th and I Streets NW, a few blocks from the White House. Initially, Morrisey said the guard members...