Alaskan Children’s Book Illustrator Charged With ‘Terroristic Threatening’ for Suggesting Trans People May Kill Children

A children’s book illustrator has been charged with terroristic threatening for leaving notes around Juneau, Alaska, suggesting that transgender people will commit violence.

The notes were left in apparent connection to the recent killing of 6 individuals at a Christian school in Nashville, including 3 children, by a transgender.

Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, has been put under arrest under one charge of terroristic threatening, which is a Class C felony. A Class C felony can result in up to 5 years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines. Watley is being held in the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.

The Juneau Police Department received a report on March 31 about a note “that indicated a possible general threat against children.” Later that same day, the police received a second report about a similar note. On April 2, two more notes were reportedly left at local businesses. Police were able to identify and arrest Watley that same day. The arrest was made with assistance from the FBI.

“Feeling Cute Might Shoot Some Children,” one note read, with a picture of a rifle and a transgender pride flag, according to a criminal complaint accessed by the Juneau Empire. (Read more from “Alaskan Children’s Book Illustrator Charged With ‘Terroristic Threatening’ for Suggesting Trans People May Kill Children” HERE)

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A Children’s Book Illustrator Has Been Arrested in Alaska over Anti-Transgender Notes

By Yahoo News. . .On Friday, which was Transgender Day of Visibility, the Juneau Police Department received an early morning report about a note found in a local store that “indicated a possible general threat against children,” according to a statement issued by the department. Several hours later, police received a second report about a similar note found on a bulletin board in the State Office Building. . .

According to court documents, Watley referenced the Nashville school shooting suspect after his arrest.

“Officers spoke to Mitchell, who said (in essence) that he was in fear of the recent transgender school shooter and took it upon himself to print out and distribute these leaflets,” the criminal complaint said. . .

Watley is best known for his illustrations in the children’s books “I Would Tuck You In” and “You Are Home With Me,” which feature animals snuggling their children. The animals make their young feel safe and loved with affirmations like, “Wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.” (Read more from “A Children’s Book Illustrator Has Been Arrested in Alaska over Anti-Transgender Notes” HERE)

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Sen. Dan Sullivan: White House Should Send F-16S to Ukraine Now

Senior Defense Department officials were leaning toward supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets until President Biden quashed the idea this year, Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sunday.

The Alaska Republican sent a letter about Ukraine’s urgent need for fighter jets to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, after hosting a delegation of Ukrainian pilots last summer on Capitol Hill.

“It looked like it was moving well through the bureaucracy of the Pentagon,” Mr. Sullivan said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

But that momentum came to a grinding halt in January after Mr. Biden responded with a terse “no” to a reporter’s question about providing Kyiv with fighter jets.

“And then, last week the national security adviser [Jake Sullivan] says, ‘Well, we’re not going to do F-16s for now,’” said Mr. Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “That’s exactly the wrong approach.” (Read more from “Sen. Dan Sullivan: White House Should Send F-16S to Ukraine Now” HERE)

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U.S. Military Pilots Say Unidentified Flying Object Shot Down Over Alaska Had ‘No Identifiable Propulsion,’ Interfered With Their Sensors: Report

The unidentified flying object shot down 10 miles off the coast of Alaska had “no identifiable propulsion” and interfered with the sensors of the U.S. military fighter jets that engaged the aircraft on Friday, according to a new report.

An unidentified object the size of a small car with a cylindrical shape, and flying at 40,000 feet off the coast of Alaska.

A senior military official said the object was initially detected by radar, and then F-35 stealth fighter jets were scrambled to investigate the UFO.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said fly-bys of the object happened on Thursday night and Friday morning, but both encounters provided “limited” information about the unidentified object.

Kirby noted that the object “did not appear to be self-maneuvering.” (Read more from “U.S. Military Pilots Say Unidentified Flying Object Shot Down Over Alaska Had ‘No Identifiable Propulsion,’ Interfered With Their Sensors: Report” HERE)

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Pentagon Shoots Down ANOTHER Unidentified Object, This Time Over Canada; Yesterday, UFO Shot Down Over Alaska; Total of Four

By Faris Tanyos. An “unidentified object” which “violated “Canadian airspace” was shot down over Canada Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.

The object was shot down by a U.S. military F-22 fighter jet over the Yukon, Trudeau said.

A U.S. official had previously confirmed that the object was detected by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and appeared to be a “high-altitude balloon.”

Trudeau tweeted that “Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled” after he “ordered the take down” of the object by NORAD.

In a statement to CBS News, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that it was first detected over Alaska on Friday night, and then monitored by two F-22 fighter jets with the assistance of the Alaska Air National Guard. (Read more about the unidentified object that was shot down over Canada HERE)
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Fourth “Unidentified Object” Located Over Montana, Says Congressman

By Harriet Alexander. A Montana congressman said on Saturday night that he had been told an unidentified object was spotted over his district, forcing the temporary closure of airspace – and the search for it would resume at daylight.

Matt Rosendale, a Republican elected in 2020, said he had been briefed by the Department of Defense, while he was at a Lincoln Reagan dinner.

Fighter jets were scrambled and airspace above Havre, a town of 10,000 people, 30 miles south of the Canadian border, was shut at 7:50pm before being reopened about 50 minutes later.

‘I’m at an event, a Lincoln Reagan dinner in Columbus, Montana right now,’ Rosendale told Fox News.

‘And DOD called me as I have been sitting here and started giving me briefings to tell me what was going on. I clarified with them that this is actually the fourth balloon, OK.’ (Read more about the fourth unidentified object HERE)

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Mystery Object Shot Down Over Alaska

By New York Times. The Pentagon said it shot down an unidentified object over frozen waters around Alaska on Friday at the order of President Biden, less than a week after a U.S. fighter jet brought down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic in an episode that increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft.

At a news conference on Friday, John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said Mr. Biden ordered the unidentified object near Alaska downed “out of an abundance of caution.”

The Friday shootdown showed Mr. Biden taking direct and forceful action far more quickly than he did last week, when some Republican lawmakers criticized him for letting the spy balloon linger over the United States for several days before destroying it. But that period of observation last week allowed American officials to collect intelligence about the spy balloon, while in the episode on Friday, officials seemed unsure about what exactly they shot down. (Read more from “Pentagon Shoots Down Unidentified Object at High Altitude Over Alaska” HERE)

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After China Balloon Scare, Air Force Shoots Down Object Flying Above Alaska’s North Slope

By Alaska Public Media. An F-22 fighter jet from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down an unidentified object flying above Alaska’s North Slope on Friday, officials at the White House said.

The shootdown, at 9:45 a.m. Alaska time, took place less than a week after an Air Force fighter jet shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. . .

John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, said in a news conference that the object on Friday was “much, much smaller” than the Chinese surveillance balloon and was “about the size of a small car.” . . .

President Joe Biden ordered the object be shot down, Kirby said. It was traveling at an elevation of about 40,000 feet and could have posed a threat to commercial aviation, he said. (Read more from “After China Balloon Scare, Air Force Shoots Down Object Flying Above Alaska’s North Slope” HERE)

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Man Who Had His Face Torn off by a Bear Describes Attack in Grisly Detail

A man who was left severely disfigured after a vicious bear attack has shared his incredible survival story in hopes it can help others who find themselves in a similar situation.

The attack happened in 2011 but 65-year-old Wes Perkins still bears the scars of a terrifying encounter with a grizzly beast in the Alaskan mountains. Interviewed by Youtuber Dannie Rose for a short film released last month, Mr Perkins, a former fire chief in the city of Nome, recounted the attack in detail.

Mr Perkins had been on a hunting trip with his friend Dan Stang and Stang’s son Edward. The trio was tracking a “nice size bear” and drove around the hill hoping to find it, but before they could hunt it, the animal emerged from a hole it had dug and surprised Mr Perkins.

The bear charged at Mr Perkins, causing him to lose his teeth, tongue and jaw, before it was subdued and eventually killed by Mr Stang and his son. To survive, Mr Perkins instinctively removed the mud from his fresh wounds and he was then airlifted to receive medical care.

“I basically kept my airway open and had to dig the debris out of my airway, when I lost my tongue, jaw and all but a few teeth,” Mr Perkins told Newsweek. “So telling myself to function and never close my eyes or go unconscious was the main concentration.” (Read more from “Man Who Had His Face Torn off by a Bear Describes Attack in Grisly Detail” HERE)

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More Than 16,000 People Have Gone Missing From One Mysterious Area of the U.S. Since 1988

The Alaska Triangle, or Alaskan Triangle, is a swath of land with an area of 32,000 square miles located between Utqiagvik, Anchorage, and Juneau, Alaska.

It consists of a variety of rough terrain like vast forests, frozen tundra, and icy mountains, making it extremely difficult to navigate.

Since 1988, over 16,000 people have disappeared without a trace when traveling through the area.

People go missing there at a rate of 4 out of every 1,000 travelers. This is more than twice the national average. The total number of people who were never found is even higher.

The disparity in the data indicates that there is something more sinister at plan than simply wandering off. The most notable disappearance is that of House Majority Leader, Hale Boggs.

@spooky_sleuth The Alaska Triangle #urbanlegend #murderino #truecrimetok #spookyseason ♬ Mysterious – Andreas Scherren

(Read more from “More Than 16,000 People Have Gone Missing From One Mysterious Area of the U.S. Since 1988” HERE)

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Oath Keepers Member From Alaska Will Keep His State House Seat

The plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the eligibility of state Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, to hold office said Tuesday that he will not appeal a judge’s decision allowing Eastman to retain his seat in the Alaska House.

After the weeklong trial, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna ruled that Eastman is eligible for office. McKenna found that Eastman is a member of the Oath Keepers, and the Oath Keepers “have advocated imminent, concrete action to violently overthrow the United States government and have engaged in conduct to that end.” However, McKenna found that Eastman “did not have a specific intent to further the Oath Keepers’ unprotected speech or conduct.” . . .

Joe Miller, the attorney who who represented Eastman, said in a statement that Kowalke’s decision not to appeal “is no surprise,” and went on to say that Kowalke filed the lawsuit in an effort “to restrict Alaskans’ rights to free speech and association.”

“The irony of Kowalke’s case is that he essentially accused Rep. Eastman of attempting to overturn an election when that’s precisely what he was attempting to do himself through this lawsuit,” Miller said. (Read more from “Oath Keepers Member From Alaska Will Keep His State House Seat” HERE)

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Canceled Seattle Flight Costs Alaskan Chance at Heart Transplant

An Alaska man in need of a heart transplant had to give up his opportunity to receive the life-saving organ to another patient when travel chaos from the US winter storm over Christmas prevented him from flying to the procedure in time.

Patrick Holland, a 56-year-old father of seven battling congestive heart failure, received the potentially life-altering call from the University of Washington Medical Center on Dec. 22 that a heart was becoming available. . .

Holland, who is from Fairbanks, Alaska, was given an 8-hour window to fly to Seattle for the procedure so he immediately booked an overnight flight and rushed to the airport.

But when he got there, he learned it was canceled amid the ferocious storm last week that battered most of the country. . .

Soon after he got the call that the hospital was going to give the heart to somebody else. (Read more from “Canceled Seattle Flight Costs Alaskan Chance at Heart Transplant” HERE)

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Alaska Judge Rules Conservative Lawmaker, Despite Oath Keepers Membership, Eligible for Office

Editor’s note: Restoring Liberty’s publisher Joe Miller was the trial attorney who litigated and won the below case. In response to press inquiries, Attorney Miller stated, “We’re pleased that Judge McKenna agreed with us that Representative Eastman should not be removed from office just because he attended President Trump’s speech on January 6. As we argued from the very beginning in this case, the First Amendment protects the rights of association and speech that were attacked here. However, we are disappointed in the court’s determination that Oath Keepers is an organization that sought to overthrow the government by force or violence and believe there was no admissible evidence supporting that finding.”

If you would like to read the decision, it is available HERE. You may also donate to Representative Eastman’s legal fund HERE.

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By Associated Press. An Alaska lawmaker with ties to the far-right Oath Keepers group is eligible to hold office, a state judge ruled Friday.

Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna issued the ruling after overseeing a trial this month in the case against Republican state Rep. David Eastman. The decision can be appealed.

The ruling found that Eastman is a member of the Oath Keepers, but that he “does not and did not possess a specific intent to further the Oath Keeper’s words or actions aimed at overthrowing the United States government.” (Read more from “Alaska Lawmaker with Oath Keepers Membership Eligible for Office” HERE)

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Rep. Eastman’s Trial Concludes

By Alaska News Source. After both sides rested their cases Tuesday in the case questioning Rep. David Eastman’s eligibility for office, closing arguments were heard by Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna Wednesday morning. . .

Eastman’s active lifetime membership was proved early on when he took the stand and openly admitted his affiliation. After a number of expert and witness testimonies for both the plaintiff and defense teams, attorneys from both sides made their final statements on record Wednesday.

Eastman’s attorney Joe Miller reinforced his stance that speech — including that which advocates for the force or violence to overthrow the government — is constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. The attorney for Kowalke, the plaintiff, painted a different picture before the judge, stating that it’s proved that the words and actions used on Jan. 6 go beyond protected rights to free speech. (Read more from “Rep. Eastman’s Trial on Oathk Keepers Membership Concludes” HERE)

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Environmental Groups Deal Another Blow to Key Alaska Mine, Undermining Biden’s Green Energy Dreams

Two environmentalist nonprofits purchased three conservation easements for $20 million to make lands and waters near Southern Alaska’s Bristol Bay permanently off-limits to economic development, a move that will impede the development of a mine that produces minerals that are needed to manufacture green energy technologies.

The Conservation Fund and the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust purchases will put over 44,000 acres of land and water off limits to development, which would prevent Pebble Mine’s operators from building a road that would transport minerals, after the Pedro Bay Corporation, an Alaska Native group, previously voted to let the nonprofits purchase the easements, according to a Thursday press release. Pebble Mine sits on an estimated 80.6 billion pounds of copper deposits and 5.6 billion pounds of molybdenum, highly conductive metals which are crucial to manufacturing solar panels, wind turbines and constructing geothermal energy facilities.

“It’s important to recognize that mining is a valuable economic activity and provides benefits to society that can’t be derived in any other way,” Conservation Fund President Larry Seltzer said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “However, not all projects should be approved, and the Pebble Mine is the wrong mine in the wrong place – up high in the watershed that supports the greatest wild salmon stronghold in the world.”

President Joe Biden wants to generate all of the country’s electricity from solar energy, wind power and other forms of “clean” energy by 2035, up from just 40% in 2020, according to a White House fact sheet. However, the Biden administration has previously worked to block large mining projects in both Minnesota and Arizona, citing environmental concerns. (Read more from “Environmental Groups Deal Another Blow to Key Alaska Mine, Undermining Biden’s Green Energy Dreams” HERE)

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