Judge Keeps Hate Crime Charges Against Navy Veteran Who Toppled Satanic Statue, but the Jury Will Have the Last Word

A Christian Navy veteran toppled a satanic statue at the Iowa Capitol just before Christmas. A Democratic prosecutor subsequently slapped him with hate crime charges. This week, a judge ensured that the charges would stick.

While the Satanic Temple and the Democratic prosecutor might like to see Michael Cassidy ultimately locked up, his fate will be determined by a jury — a jury likely to contain at least a handful of sympathetic, God-fearing Americans.

“We believe that the jury will have the opportunity to consider all of the facts in this case, including Mr. Cassidy’s military service and motivation,” Davis Younts, Cassidy’s lawyer, told Blaze News. “He was compelled by his faith to act to protect others.” . . .

The Satanic Temple is an anti-Christian leftist organization that has performed public “unbaptisms”; advocated for mothers to kill their unborn babies by way of its “religious abortion ritual”; agitated to prevent chaplaincy in Florida schools; disseminated satanic literature to kids; held a demonization ceremony in protest of the canonization of the Catholic Spanish priest Junípero Serra; and pushed the LGBT agenda.

In recent years, the ST has also erected multiple demonic statutes across the country on public property. Ahead of Christmas 2023, the Satanic Temple raised one such statue — a ram-headed Baphomet statue holding a red pentacle — along with a satanic altar on the first floor of the Iowa Capitol.

(Read more from “Judge Keeps Hate Crime Charges Against Navy Veteran Who Toppled Satanic Statue, but the Jury Will Have the Last Word” HERE)

Columbia Law Review Demands School Cancel Tests for Students Traumatized by NYPD

The Columbia University anti-Israel encampment has been cleared out, but the New York school continues to beclown itself.

According to a report by the Washington Free Beacon’s Aaron Sibarium, the student editors of the Columbia Law Review issued a statement on Wednesday, calling on Columbia Law School to cancel final exams. They wrote that it had to be done because the “violence” students had witnessed on campus left them “irrevocably shaken” and “unable to focus.”

The statement “represents the majority opinion of the editorial board and was endorsed by five other law journals,” Sibarium wrote.

Columbia Law Review isn’t some generic school paper or marginal publication, it’s the most prestigious law journal on campus and one of the most prestigious law publications in the country.

The editors said that canceling exams would be a “proportionate response” to the “distress our peers have been feeling.” (Read more from “Columbia Law Review Demands School Cancel Tests for Students Traumatized by NYPD” HERE)

Archaeologists: Ancient Wall in Jerusalem Supports Biblical Account

In a groundbreaking revelation, a team of archaeologists has uncovered evidence suggesting that a stretch of wall in ancient Jerusalem, previously attributed to King Hezekiah, was actually built by his great-grandfather, King Uzziah. This discovery, made after nearly a decade of research, challenges long-held beliefs and provides further support for the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The wall, located in the City of David, the historic core of Jerusalem according to biblical accounts, has been a subject of scholarly debate for years. While it was commonly thought to have been constructed by King Hezekiah to fortify the city against Assyrian invaders, new findings indicate that it dates back to the era of King Uzziah, who ruled during the eighth century BC.

Joe Uziel of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) explained, “For decades, it was assumed that this wall was built by Hezekiah, King of Judah. But it is now becoming clear that it dates back to the days of King Uzziah, as hinted at in the Bible.”

The study, conducted in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science, employed carbon-14 dating to determine the age of the ancient wall. This technique, which measures the decay of a radioactive isotope of carbon, provided researchers with unprecedented accuracy in dating the structure.

Elisabetta Boaretto of the Weizmann Institute highlighted the significance of this advancement, stating, “With the work we’ve done in the City of David, we succeeded to reach a resolution less than 10 years, which is really something very very new and dramatic.”

By analyzing organic artifacts found at excavation sites within the City of David, including grape seeds, date pits, and bat skeletons, researchers were able to ascertain the true age of the wall. The precision of the carbon-14 dating method not only confirmed the wall’s origins but also shed light on the expansion of the ancient city.

Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University noted that the study’s findings have pushed back the westward expansion of Jerusalem by five generations, further enriching our understanding of the city’s historical development.

Impeachment ‘Whistleblower’ Knew of Biden-Ukraine Corruption Trump Wanted Probed

The “whistleblower” who sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment was deeply involved in the political maneuverings behind Biden-family business schemes in Ukraine that Trump wanted probed, newly obtained emails from former Vice President Joe Biden’s office reveal.

In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.

But four years earlier, while working as a national security analyst attached to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s office, Ciaramella was a close adviser when Biden threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it fired its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. At the time, the corruption-riddled energy giant was paying Biden’s son Hunter millions of dollars.

Those payments — along with other evidence tying Joe Biden to his family’s business dealings — received little attention in 2019 as Ciaramella accused Trump of a corrupt quid pro quo. Neither did subsequent evidence indicating that Hunter Biden’s associates had identified Shokin as a “key target.” These matters are now part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

“It now seems there was material evidence that would have been used at the impeachment trial [to exonerate Trump],” said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who has testified as an expert witness in the ongoing Biden impeachment inquiry. “Trump was alleging there was a conflict of interest with the Bidens, and the evidence could have challenged Biden’s account and established his son’s interest in the Shokin firing.” (Read more from “Impeachment ‘Whistleblower’ Knew of Biden-Ukraine Corruption Trump Wanted Probed” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Pentagon Confirms Americans Sharing Air Base With Russian Troops in Niger

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed on Friday that American troops are sharing space on Airbase 101, a facility in the capital of Niger, with Russian military forces, but dismissed the Russians’ presence as “not a significant issue here.”

Reuters reported late on Friday that the government of Niger – a military junta known as the “National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland” that took power in a televised coup in July – had allowed Russian forces onto the airbase.

“A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital,” Reuters relayed.

The anonymous official described the situation as “not great.”

Asked about the report of Russian troops at Airbase 101, Austin confirmed that the Russian soldiers were in the facility. (Read more from “Pentagon Confirms Americans Sharing Air Base With Russian Troops in Niger” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Hope Hicks Breaks Down on Witness Stand, Defends Trump and Melania’s Relationship

Donald Trump’s former top aide Hope Hicks broke down on the witness stand Friday at his hush money trial, during testimony where she also defended the former president’s relationship with wife Melania.

Hicks, 35 — former press secretary then top White House spokesperson to the ex-president — began crying after the first few questions by Emil Bove, a lawyer for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

During the emotional moment Hicks dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan offered her a short break, which she accepted.

Although it is not clear why she started to cry, Hicks had first become visibly flustered at the end of questioning by the prosecution, while answering questions about the $130,000 payment to porn star Stromy Daniels which is at the center of the trial.

She had testified she thought Trump thought felt “it was better to be dealing” with the situation in 2018 than before the 2016 presidential election. (Read more from “Hope Hicks Breaks Down on Witness Stand, Defends Trump and Melania’s Relationship” HERE)

NYPD: Funding for Pro-Palestinian ‘Encampments’ Comes from ‘Around the World’

New York Police Department (NYPD) Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard told Fox News‘ Neil Cavuto on Thursday that pro-Palestinian “encampments” at many universities are run by “outside agitators” with funds from “around the world.”

Sheppard said that the NYPD was “very confident” that “outside agitators and influencers” have been present at protests in the city. Often, these “professionals” manage to escape arrest.

“They may just fly in for a day or two, and leave,” he said, adding that they “travel around the country” between protests.

Sheppard added: “And they have funding. They are funded by private individuals around the world sometimes.” He said that students are often easily manipulated by the professional activists to join radical, often illegal, protests.

As Breitbart News noted, one veteran activist, Lisa Fithian, was allegedly seen this week at the site of the Columbia University protests, which ended with a violent occupation of a university building, and intervention by the NYPD. (Read more from “NYPD: Funding for Pro-Palestinian ‘Encampments’ Comes from ‘Around the World’” HERE)

Disturbing: Police Arrest Teacher for Allegedly ‘Touching,’ ‘Making Out’ With 11-Year-Old Student — Just Months Before Her Wedding

A Wisconsin teacher was arrested this week over allegations that she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a 5th-grade student.

Police arrested 24-year-old Madison Bergmann, a teacher at River Crest Elementary in Hudson, Wisconsin, on Wednesday after receiving information “regarding inappropriate conduct between a current teacher and a 5th grade student,” according to WCCO-TV.

That information came from the 11-year-old student’s parents, who had discovered evidence of the inappropriate relationship from text messages between their son and Bergmann. Police said the text messages included details about the alleged relationship, which included “kissing, touching, and making out,” according to KARE-TV.

The parents brought the evidence to school administrators on Wednesday, who immediately involved police. . .

When police questioned Bergmann, she told them the student’s mother had given her the 11-year-old’s phone number when she accompanied them on a ski trip over winter break, KARE reported. (Read more from “Disturbing: Police Arrest Teacher for Allegedly ‘Touching,’ ‘Making Out’ With 11-Year-Old Student — Just Months Before Her Wedding” HERE)

Democrat Rep. Indicted on Federal Bribery Charges

The Department of Justice indicted U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife Imelda on Friday with multiple charges for alleged conspiracy and bribery uncovered through a federal investigation into American businessmen with ties to Azerbaijan.

According to the indictment unsealed Friday in the Southern District of Texas, Cuellar and his wife accepted close to $600,000 in bribes from a state-owned oil and gas company in Azerbaijan and a bank headquartered in Mexico City between 2014 and 2021. In return, Cuellar advocated for the interests of Azerbaijan and the Mexican bank in the United States.

The DOJ alleges that the Cuellars’ scheme also involved “unlawful foreign influence and money laundering” carried out “pursuant to sham consulting contracts” through “a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts.”

A press release from the DOJ states that Cuellar’s end of the alleged bribery scheme included an agreement to “use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan” and “influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank” in Mexico. (Read more from “Democrat Rep. Indicted on Federal Bribery Charges” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Another Arab Country Rejects Hosting Hamas Terrorist Leaders

Despite its previous wars and rhetoric against Israel since the Jewish State’s founding — don’t get us started on Queen Rania — the government of Jordan, though a senior diplomat, entirely rebuffed the suggestion that Hamas leaders could move to the Kingdom from their current home base in Qatar.

Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy political chief for Iran-backed Hamas, said in a recent interview that if Qatar decided to boot the terrorist leaders, Hamas would “move to Jordan.”

Jordan, however — after its air force joined in the defense of Israel during Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on the Jewish State — said that’s not an option. And it’s not the first time rejecting Hamas attempts to move their “political” (read: terrorist) operation to Jordan after the Kingdom banned Hamas in 1999

Jordanian diplomat Ziad Majali reminded that “Hamas behaves as if there’s no state and no authority in Jordan that will decide and determine how to act and how to conduct itself” and made it clear that “Jordan has closed the book on Palestinian cells — and we do not intend to reopen it.” (Read more from “Another Arab Country Rejects Hosting Hamas Terrorist Leaders” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr