Hezbollah Operative Scoped out Times Square, Statue of Liberty for Possible Terrorist Attacks, Prosecutors Say

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that they have charged a New Jersey man over his support of Hezbollah, a militant Islamist group.

The DOJ announced a nine-count indictment against 42-year-old Alex Saab, alleging that Saab had scoped out iconic New York City landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, for a terrorist attack.

“Saab served as an operative of Hizballah and conducted surveillance of possible target locations in order to help the foreign terrorist organization prepare for potential future attacks against the United States,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said in a statement. “Such covert activities conducted on U.S. soil are a clear threat to our national security and I applaud the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation and prosecution.”

Saab is a naturalized citizen, but U.S. attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said that his “true allegiance was to Hizballah, the terrorist organization responsible for decades of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including U.S. citizens and military personnel.” (Read more from “Hezbollah Operative Scoped out Times Square, Statue of Liberty for Possible Terrorist Attacks, Prosecutors Say” HERE)

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Colt Ends AR-15 Production for Civilian Use

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Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons. . .

“The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity,” Colt’s chief executive officer, Dennis Veilleux, said in a written statement. “Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.” . . .

FBI statistics show more than 2.3 million people applied for background checks to purchase guns in August, up from just over 1.8 million in July. Those applications, the best available statistic from tracking gun sales, has have been rising steadily, with a slight decline after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, something call the “Trump slump.”

(Read more from “Colt Ends AR-15 Production for Civilian Use” HERE)

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Kevin Spacey Accuser Found Dead Ahead of Trial

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An anonymous massage therapist who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey has died, according to a notice filed in court by the actor’s attorneys.

The individual, suing as a “John Doe,” filed claims in September 2018 with the allegation of being forced to grab the actor’s genitals twice during a massage two years earlier at a private residence in Malibu. In May, a federal judge in California allowed the case to move forward despite Spacey’s objection that the plaintiff’s identity was being shielded.

Now, just a month after the parties came to a plan for proceeding in the suit that detailed prospective discovery and envisioned a seven- to 11-day trial, the plaintiff’s attorney has informed Spacey that the client “recently passed.” . . .

Spacey recently got out of another legal situation when criminal charges against him were dropped in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In that case, Spacey pleaded not guilty to felony indecent assault and battery, and prosecutors withdrew charges after the accuser — a teenage busboy — stopped cooperating.

The “John Doe” lawsuit subsequently represented the most significant legal situation for Spacey, who has been accused of sexually improper conduct against multiple individuals. In this case, as detailed in joint report filed in August, the plaintiff’s lawyers represented to the court two other alleged masseur victims of Spacey expressing “concern for their safety and/or do not want their names revealed publicly in the media.” (Read more from “Kevin Spacey Accuser Found Dead Ahead of Trial” HERE)

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Looney Cruz: Deep State Caused Trump to Fire Bolton

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Sen. Ted Cruz openly speculated that “deep state forces” may have influenced President Trump’s decision to force out national security adviser John Bolton.

Bolton, a foreign policy hawk, was a key figure behind Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. In a flurry of tweets Tuesday, Cruz wondered if Bolton’s exit signals Trump has been convinced to go “soft” on Iran.

“I sincerely hope his leaving the White House does not mean that the deep-state forces at State and Treasury—who have been fighting tooth and nail to preserve the Obama Iran nuclear deal—have finally convinced the president to go soft on Iran,” the Texas Republican said.

“Relaxing the maximum pressure strategy, which is succeeding in dramatically weakening the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, would be an enormous mistake,” he added.

Cruz delivered a similar warning last week, during a speech in Washington, D.C., about sinister forces within the federal government bureaucracy working to salvage the Iran deal. (Read more from “Looney Cruz: Deep State Caused Trump to Fire Bolton” HERE)

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Airline Mechanic Accused of Sabotaging Plane Had ISIS Video on His Phone

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. . .Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was accused earlier this month of inserting an object into the navigational system of the airplane that would tamper with airspeed readings. The plane detected the mechanical error shortly before taking off from Miami to the Bahamas and was promptly taken out of service, forcing 150 passengers to deplane and seek out other methods of travel.

Alani, who was reportedly seen on video tampering with the airplane, alleged that he was motivated to do so because he was dissatisfied with employment contracts and hoped the mechanical issue could translate to more overtime pay for himself.

Prosecutors in federal court on Wednesday, however, allege that Alani had downloaded an ISIS propaganda video to his cellphone, which he sent to other unnamed individuals. Prosecutors also alleged during the Wednesday bond hearing that Alani confided to coworkers that his brother was involved in ISIS.

The U.S. attorney further stated that Alani had traveled to Iraq earlier this year, a fact which he had confided to his roommate, because his brother had been kidnapped. He also reportedly transferred $700 to an unidentified recipient in Iraq this past July. Alani’s phone is said to contain a news article about Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 on board. (Read more from “Airline Mechanic Accused of Sabotaging Plane Had ISIS Video on His Phone” HERE)

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Christian Artists Celebrate Religious Freedom Win

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In response to their stunning victory at the Arizona Supreme Court, Christian artists Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski are proudly standing for “artists everywhere.”

As The Daily Wire’s Hank Berrien reported on Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Duka and Koski would not be in violation of Phoenix’s ordinance on discrimination if the pair refused to use their artistic talents to create custom invitations for a same-sex wedding. Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, the artists said the victory was deeply important to them, as Christian artists.

“We are super excited,” Koski said, as reported by Fox News. “Ever since Joanna and I were little girls, we had a dream of being artists and starting a business, and we are just so overjoyed that the city recognized our rights as artists. This was super important to us to stand for artists everywhere across the country. We do serve everybody and love everybody, but it’s just certain messages that we cannot promote in our business because of our faith.”

Joanna Duka said the case comes down to whether or not the government should be able to threaten artists with jail time if they do not promote certain messages.

“Can the government force artists by threat of jail time to create art that promotes messages inconsistent with their values?” asked Duka. “For Breanna and I, that includes certain messages about marriage that violate our faith, that includes messages that promote racism or incite violence, exploit women, or demean any member of any community, including the LGBT community. So that’s why we’re extremely excited the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled in favor of artistic freedom and the right of artists, not the government, to decide what messages we can and can’t promote.” (Read more from “Christian Artists Celebrate Religious Freedom Win” HERE)

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Restaurant Accused of Racism After Posting This Dress Code

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A soon-to-be opened restaurant in Baltimore is being called racist because it posted a sign with one specific message: the restaurant has a dress code.

The Choptank, which alerted prospective customers that it will be “opening soon” on its website, posted a dress code listing some items that would be unacceptable to wear on its premises. . .

One Twitter user who described themselves as a photojournalist tweeted, “Dress CODED sign at the new Choptank restaurant in Fells,” followed by another tweet with a picture of the sign and a link to a Washington Post article about the restaurant.

The restaurant tweeted back, “Being new to the Fells Point neighborhood, we simply implemented the dress code standard that is used by several other properties in the area including Barcocina, Bond Street Social Moby’s and The Horse You Came In On. Have a great day.”

Another Twitter user added, “This is racist as hell and I will never enter your restaurant & will actively warn others away from it, have a great day.” Another added, “Y’all coulda saved yourselves some time @The_Choptank and just posed a ‘No Black People’ sign.” A writer for ELLE magazine tweeted that the restaurant had a “blatantly discriminatory dress code.” (Read more from “Restaurant Accused of Racism After Posting This Dress Code” HERE)

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California Lawmakers Pass Resolution to Force Churches to ‘Embrace’ Homosexuality

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California lawmakers passed a resolution this month telling “religious groups” — including Christian pastors and churches — to “embrace” the LGBTQ worldview, even if it contradicts the moral values of those religious groups.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 99, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low, also mentions what many believe are problems with so-called “conversion therapy,” or counseling for people struggling with same-sex attraction.

The resolution calls on “all Californians,” including religious groups, to “embrace” the “individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance” of LGBTQ people.

“[T]he Legislature calls upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love, compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy,” the resolution states. . .

“The stigma associated with being LGBTQ often created by groups in society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBTQ and questioning individuals,” the resolution declares. (Read more from “California Lawmakers Pass Resolution to Force Churches to ‘Embrace’ Homosexuality” HERE)

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Illegal Alien Assaults Border Agent After Mistaking Him ‘for a Cow’

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Attorneys for a Mexican migrant who assaulted a Laredo Sector Border Patrol agent told the court he believed the agent was a cow at the time. He assaulted the agent with a flashlight.

A federal judge in Laredo, Texas, sentenced 39-year-old Melecio Lopez-Hernandez, an illegal alien from Mexico, to more than five years in prison for assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent on a ranch near Freer, KVUE reported. The community is located about 60 miles from the Texas-Mexico border.

The NBC affiliate reported that Lopez-Hernandez was walking through the brush on a ranch to circumvent a Border Patrol checkpoint. A Freer Station agent came upon the man and attempted to place him under arrest. Lopez-Hernandez resisted and dislodged a flashlight clipped to the agent’s belt. . .

Court records revealed the incident took place on February 7, 2019. A records check revealed a previous deportation in August 2017. Additional court records show the man was also deported in December 2005 after being apprehended in Duval County, Texas. The Mexican national pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry after removal and the court sentenced him in October 2016 to 21 months in federal prison. Immigration officers removed him again to Mexico on August 28, 2017.

At trial, the defendant’s attorneys attempted to convince the court that Lopez-Hernandez did not mean to assault a Border Patrol agent. Instead, they claimed Lopez-Hernandez mistook the agent for a cow. “The judge was not persuaded,” KVUE reported. (Read more from “Illegal Alien Assaults Border Agent After Mistaking Him ‘for a Cow'” HERE)

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Attorneys Knew That Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Qualify for Jail Work Release Where He Allegedly Abused Women

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Newly revealed documents show that federal prosecutors told the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office that Jeffrey Epstein was not eligible for work release.

The Daily Mail reported that despite a December 2008 letter from then-US Attorney Alex Acosta’s office that said Epstein technically had three felony convictions, which would disqualify him from work release, records show Epstein was released six days a week during the 13-month sentence he served in 2008 after pleading guilty to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution.

Acosta fostered the plea deal that would eventually be seemingly interpreted by the Corrections Division of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office to allow Epstein to serve just 13 months from a private cell block at a county jail, instead of federal prison, and obtain work release, despite Acosta’s office arguing against the release portion. The financier also pleaded guilty to just two prostitution charges, though the Daily Mail reports that because one of the charges Epstein plead guilty to was for recommitting an offence, he had three felony convictions.

“I understand Mr. Epstein would be ineligible for participation in the work release program if he committed three violations of F.S.S. 796 within the past five years,” Assistant US Attorney Marie Villafana wrote in a letter sent on December 11, 2008, according to the Daily Mail.

Villafana also reportedly noted that he had created his work release company just days before he was sentenced and that his New York-based attorney doesn’t seem to be an ideal choice to enforce the sheriff’s office guidelines of a supervisor for Epstein’s activity during his release. (Read more from “Attorneys Knew That Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Qualify for Jail Work Release Where He Allegedly Abused Women” HERE)

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