Jury Finds Leader of NXIVM Sex Cult Guilty of All Charges

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The jury only needed four hours Wednesday to come to a verdict on accused “sex slave cult” leader Keith Raniere, the man whose followers called him “Vanguard” and who worked closely with former “Smallville” star Allison Mack to recruit new women to his infamous “self-help” group. The verdict: guilty of all charges.

The swiftly delivered verdict means “Vanguard” is facing a potential sentence of life in prison for a string of serious charges, including “sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion,” “attempting to establish peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, trafficking,” “sexual exploitation of a child,” and “possession of child pornography.”

“There was no shortage whatsoever of lurid testimony over the course of an accused sex cult leader’s trial in the Eastern District of New York, and it didn’t take long for a jury of his peers to reach a verdict,” Law & Crime reported Wednesday. Among the disturbing accusations presented in the trial is that Raniere created a sex slave “pyramid,” keeping women loyal through blackmail and manipulation, and encouraged his followers to abort their children in the interest of his sexual desires. Along with being “lurid,” the hearing was also highly contentious, the outlet reports:

In one instance, Judge Nicholas Garaufis (who apparently has quite a reputation) erupted, yelled “You’re done” multiple times at Raniere’s defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo. It happened while government cooperator, Lauren Salzman, was being cross examined by Agnifilo. This prompted Agnifilo to file a motion for a mistrial. The judge rejected his argument. Salzman, a former NXIVM member, recounted how she and Raniere were taking a nap at a Mexican villa when the feds showed up to arrest him. She said this happened just before a planned group oral sex session was to occur.

Agnifilo’s attempt to defend Raniere by describing his lifestyle as “disgusting,” but not illegal, ultimately failed to convince the jury, who determined that he was guilty of a lengthy list of shameful crimes. (Read more from “Jury Finds Leader of NXIVM Sex Cult Guilty of All Charges” HERE)

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DOJ Arrests Refugee After Allegedly Planning ISIS Attack on Pittsburgh Christian Church

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The Department of Justice announced Wednesday afternoon the arrest of a 21-year-old Syrian refugee who was allegedly assisting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) with a terrorist attack targeting a Pittsburgh Christian Church.

According to authorities, Mustafa Mousab Alowemer is a current resident of Pittsburgh but arrived in the United States from war-torn Syria in August 2016. A press release sent out today by the DOJ alleges that Alowemer used various social media and technological communications to coordinate an ISIS-style attack after pledging his support to the Islamic extremist organization.

Apparently, the suspect believed he was speaking with a member of ISIS when he “distributed propaganda materials, offered to provide potential targets in the Pittsburgh area, requested a weapon with a silencer, and recorded a video of himself pledging an oath of allegiance to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.”

An “FBI Pittsburgh JTTF investigation…revealed that Alowemer plotted to bomb a church located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the Church), using a weapon of mass destruction” the DOJ said.

“According to Alowemer, his motivation to detonate a device at the Church was to support the cause of ISIS and to inspire other ISIS supporters in the United States to join together and commit similar acts in the name of ISIS. Alowemer also targeted the Church in order to ‘take revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria,” the press release continued. (Read more from “DOJ Arrests Refugee After Allegedly Planning ISIS Attack on Pittsburgh Christian Church” HERE)

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What a Moron: Joe Biden Is Getting His Gun Control Agenda from James Bond

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During a fundraiser on Monday evening, former Vice President Joe Biden reference James Bond and the use of “smart guns” as a means of achieving gun control in the United States.

“If I get elected president of the United States of America with your help, if that happens, guns, we have the capacity now in a James Bond-style to make sure no one can pull a trigger unless their DNA and fingerprint is on it,” Biden said, according to the Washington Examiner. “We have that capacity to do it now. You know it.”

“But what happens? The gun manufacturers, when two folks started to sell some of those guns to two dealerships, they said, ‘We’re going to shut you down.’ My god, we don’t have to worry about the 2nd Amendment,” Biden explained. “Imagine all the people who would be alive today if the only person who could buy a gun is qualified because of background checks and they’re the only ones that can pull the trigger? So my point is there are so many things we have the capacity to do.”

It’s hard to take a presidential candidate seriously when they’re talking about implementing gun control policies simply because a fictional character has that kind of technology. While it’s great for fictional characters and movies, smart guns are absolutely not the answer to achieving “common sense” gun laws in America.

Smart guns require a person’s fingerprint to be programed into the firearm in order for the trigger to be pulled and the gun to fire. That sounds great on paper but there are practicality issues. (Read more from “What a Moron: Joe Biden Is Getting His Gun Control Agenda from James Bond” HERE)

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MUST SEE: CNN Cuts Away from Trump Rally After Crowd Breaks out in ‘CNN Sucks’ Chant; 2020 Dems Attack Re-election Campaign

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By Breitbart. CNN cut away from President Trump’s massive reelection rally in Orlando Tuesday evening after the crowd broke out in a “CNN Sucks!” chant. . .

Trump explained that 2016 was not “merely another four-year election.” He said it was a “defining moment in American history” and pointed to the cameras in the back of the arena.

“Ask them right there,” he said of the media.

At that moment, the crowd broke out in a “CNN Sucks!” chant.

After the chant broke out, CNN briefly cut away from the rally.

(Read more from “CNN Cuts Away from Trump Rally After Crowd Breaks out in ‘CNN Sucks’ Chant” HERE)

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Biden, Sanders Blast Trump After He Launches 2020 Campaign at Florida Rally

By The New York Post. Sen. Bernie Sanders livestreamed a surly response to President Trump’s first official campaign rally of the president cycle, while other Democratic 2020 hopefuls tweeted about it.

“It’s going to take me a little while to settle down because I just had the extremely unpleasant experience of watching Donald Trump in action for an hour and a half. Wow, and that was certainly something,” Sanders uttered to the camera in his low-budget rebuttal. “An hour-and-a-half speech of lies, distortions and total absolute nonsense.”

Sanders said he didn’t blame his supporters for being “discombobulated” after watching Trump – who used the Orlando, Florida, rally to revive some of his greatest hits, even asking the crowd what happened to his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 emails. . .

“Let’s be clear: President Trump inherited a growing economy from the Obama-Biden administration,” a tweet from “Team Joe” read. “And now, he’s in the process of squandering it.” (Read more from “Biden, Sanders Blast Trump After He Launches 2020 Campaign at Florida Rally” HERE)

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INCREDIBLE: Hong Kong Protesters Embrace Unexpected Christian Anthem

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A hymn sung by Christian groups participating in the anti-extradition Hong Kong protests has caught on and become an unlikely anthem for the movement of millions in the streets.

For the past week, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” has been heard almost non-stop at the main protest site in front of the city’s Legislative Council, and at marches and tense stand-offs with police, Reuters reported.

Although only 10 percent of the population is Christian, church groups quickly rallied after being alarmed by reports of police brutality to make a safe haven for protesters as the government said it had to crack down on “organized riots.” . . .

“As religious assemblies were exempt, it could protect the protesters. It also shows that it is a peaceful protest,” Edwin Chow, 19, acting president of the Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students, told Reuters. “This was the one people picked up, as it is easy for people to follow, with a simple message and easy melody.”

The simple hymn heard around Hong Kong was composed by Linda Stassen-Benjamin in the United States in 1974 for Easter.

(Read more from “Hong Kong Protesters Embrace Unexpected Christian Anthem” HERE)

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Jury Deliberations to Begin in NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Case

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By Fox News. A jury is about to begin deliberating at the trial of the former leader of an upstate New York self-help group that prosecutors say branded women.

The deliberations in the case against Keith Raniere are set for Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors have told jurors that said the 58-year-old Raniere’s organization, called NXIVM, operated like a cult. (Read more from “Jury Deliberations to Begin in NXIVM Sex-Trafficking Case” HERE)

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Nxivm Trial: Sex Cult Was Like ‘Horror Movie’ Prosecutor Says

By The New York Times. A housing development in a small upstate New York town where members of the cultlike group Nxivm had homes functioned as the set of a “horror movie,” and the group’s leader, Keith Raniere, played the role of the central villain, a federal prosecutor told jurors on Monday.

During closing arguments in Mr. Raniere’s racketeering and sex trafficking trial, the prosecutor, Moira Penza, pointed to a map of a Clifton Park neighborhood where many Nxivm members lived, then described what witnesses said had happened inside several homes. . .

Mr. Raniere, 58, co-founded Nxivm (pronounced NEX-ee-um) in the 1990s as a self-help organization based near Albany. He is now on trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy, identity theft, extortion, forced labor, money laundering, wire fraud and sex trafficking. (Read more from “Nxivm Trial: Sex Cult Was Like ‘Horror Movie’ Prosecutor Says” HERE)

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Ex-Arkansas State Senator’s Campaign Staffer, ‘Friend’ Charged in Politician’s Murder

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The former campaign staffer and “friend” suspected in the slaying of ex-Arkansas state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith was charged Monday with capital murder — potentially putting the death penalty in play if she’s convicted.

Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell, 48, was also charged Monday with abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence and ordered held without bond. She was arrested Friday in connection with Collins-Smith’s death. . .

But beyond those basic facts, most elements of the case remain undisclosed by authorities. It’s not clear when or how officials believe she died or what O’Donnell’s motive may have been. Further clouding the case, a judge sided with prosecutors and ordered police documents sealed. Prosecutors had argued the files could prejudice public opinion prior to a trial and also stressed the release of the information at the current time could harm the ongoing investigation into Collins-Smith’s death.

A former Collins-Smith spokesperson described the relationship between the victim and O’Donnell as that of two friends. Court documents revealed O’Donnell was a witness in Collins-Smith’s divorce proceedings from retired Circuit Judge Philip Smith last year.

Robin Emis, an attorney for Collins during her divorce, said she didn’t believe O’Donnell was capable of the crime and described the woman as a close confidante of the ex-lawmaker. (Read more from “Ex-Arkansas State Senator’s Campaign Staffer, ‘Friend’ Charged in Politician’s Murder” HERE)

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Watch: Lawmaker Threatens Gun Owner with Confiscation – Here’s Why

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An Illinois state lawmaker, during a town hall over a proposed ban on semiautomatic weapons, responded to a gun owner’s questions about the bill by threatening to change the bill to call for outright confiscation of previously legally-obtained firearms, according to a video posted by the Illinois State Rifle Association.

The discussion was about Senate Bill 107, which would ban future purchases of semiautomatic guns and require those who keep previously purchased semiautomatics to pay a fine and register the weapon.

During the town hall, state Sen. Julie Morrison was faced with a valid line of questioning from a gun owner who would be impacted by the bill: If the guns are safe enough to allow some people to keep them with a fine, why would they need to be banned at all?

“You want me to turn them over to the state police unless I pay a fine for each firearm and register them, then I get to keep them. If I get to keep it—if I pay a fine and register it—then how dangerous is it in the first place and why do you need to ban it at all?” the gun owner asked.

(Read more from “Lawmaker Threatens Gun Owner with Confiscation – Here’s Why” HERE)

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President Trump Says Hope Hicks Is ‘Absolutely Immune’ from Testifying, Instructs Her to Not Answer Questions

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The White House informed the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee that President Donald Trump had instructed his former aide Hope Hicks not to answer questions in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

“Ms. Hicks is absolutely immune from being compelled to testify before Congress with respect to matters occurring during her service as a senior adviser to the President,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone said in a statement Tuesday. . .

“Because of this constitutional immunity, and in order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of the President, the President has directed Ms. Hicks not to answer questions before the Committee relating to the time of her service as a senior adviser to the President,” Cipollone added. . .

“Much of Ms. Hicks’s work during this period involved discussions with the President-elect and his staff relating to the decisions the President-elect would be making once he assumed office,” Cipollone said.

“Accordingly, her responses to specific questions about this period would likely implicate executive branch confidentiality interests concerning that decisionmaking process,” he added. “In order to preserve the President’s ability to assert executive privilege over such information, a member of my office will attend Ms. Hicks’s testimony on June 19.” (Read more from “President Trump Says Hope Hicks Is ‘Absolutely Immune’ from Testifying, Instructs Her to Not Answer Questions” HERE)

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SCOTUS Throws out $135,000 Fine Against Christian Bakers in Gay Wedding Cake Case

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The Supreme Court refused to take up a high-profile religious liberty case involving a family of Christian bakers on Monday and instead sent it back to the lower courts for further consideration in light of the high court’s ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.

The case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, whose Oregon bakery became a major focal point of the national debate about religious liberty and the LGBT movement, has been remanded to the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court also tossed out the Court of Appeals’ previous decision to uphold a $135,000 fine against the couple because of their refusal to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony in 2013 by making a cake for it.

Those standing behind the Kleins are chalking up Monday’s Supreme Court order as a big win.

“This is a victory for Aaron and Melissa Klein and for religious liberty for all Americans,” said First Liberty president, CEO and chief counsel Kelly Shackelford, whose organization is representing the Kleins along with Boyden Gray & Associates, in an emailed statement. “The Constitution protects speech, popular or not, from condemnation by the government. The message from the Court is clear, government hostility toward religious Americans will not be tolerated.”

The case is to be re-evaluated in light of the Supreme Court’s June 2018 narrow decision in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which reversed a decision by the Colorado Court of appeals in a similar religious liberty case.

However, since and despite the 2018 ruling, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips has been sued multiple times for alleged discrimination. Earlier this year, the state of Colorado dropped a lawsuit it brought against Phillips for refusing to bake a cake for a gender transition just weeks after last year’s ruling. Last week, the same transgender individual behind the previous lawsuit sued Phillips for allegedly refusing to sell a birthday cake; an attorney representing Phillips dismissed the claim as “yet another desperate attempt to harass” the baker. (For more from the author of “SCOTUS Throws out $135,000 Fine Against Christian Bakers in Gay Wedding Cake Case” please click HERE)

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