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Man Caught Lighting Ballots on Fire in Boston Dropbox

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Authorities have charged a man for allegedly lighting a ballot box on fire and damaging dozens of ballots in Boston over the weekend, police said Monday. The Boston Election Department said 87 of the 122 ballots inside the dropbox were legible and able to be processed, but the rest were destroyed or unable to be counted.

Worldly Armand, 39, was taken into custody late Sunday after officers matched his appearance with the description of a person wanted for the alleged arson, police said. After a query by the officers, they found Armand was wanted on a warrant out of a local court for receiving stolen property. He will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of willful and malicious burning.

Police said smoke was coming out of a ballot box near Copley Square early Sunday morning and firefighters extinguished the fire by filling it with water. The Boston Police Department released photos to help find the culprit. . .

City officials last collected ballots at the dropbox Saturday around 2:29 p.m., according to the Boston Election Department. The department said the city would mail a new ballot to all voters whose ballots were identified in the Copley Square dropbox at the time. If those voters don’t recast the ballots, the city will hand count the ones recovered. (Read more from “Man Caught Lighting Ballots on Fire in Boston Dropbox” HERE)

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31 Members of Notorious Boston Street Gang Are Raided and Charged With Robbery, Murder and Sex Trafficking

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More than 30 members of a notorious Boston street gang were raided and charged with violent crimes amid a major federal operation to dismantle it after almost three decades of terror across the city.

A total of 31 members and associates of the Dorchester-based NOB gang are facing federal charges after authorities carried out several overnight raids to ‘take the most violent members of that gang off the street’, US Attorney Andrew Lelling announced Tuesday.

NOB – which stands for Norton, Olney and Barry streets – is associated with the Wendover Street gang and has been embroiled in ‘violent feuds’ with the rival Cameron Street gang for decades, authorities said.

NOB gang members face charges including sex trafficking, murder, armed robbery, armed assault, witness intimidation, firearms crimes and drug trafficking.

Authorities said one of the sex trafficking victims was a 16-year-old girl, while firearms uncovered during the arrests have been tied to a 2016 shooting incident at UMass Dartmouth as well as eight other shootings. (Read more from “31 Members of Notorious Boston Street Gang Are Raided and Charged With Robbery, Murder and Sex Trafficking” HERE)

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Watch: Straight Pride Parade Turns to Chaos

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BlazeTV correspondentand host of “Slightly Offens*ve”, Elijah Schaffer headed to Boston, Massachusetts, over Labor Day weekend to brave the crowds of black-clad counter-protesters at a “Straight Pride” rally and parade.

Marchers were outnumbered by thousands of counter-demonstrators during the controversial event, which was organized by a group called “Super Happy Fun America,” and clashes left at least four officers with non-life-threatening injuries and led to dozens of arrests, according to the Boston Globe.

(Warning: videos contain explicit content.)

(Read more from “Watch: Straight Pride Parade Turns to Chaos” HERE)

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Former Boston Crime Boss Tells Teens Who Wrote Him for School History Project: ‘My Life Was Wasted’

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Former Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger had some advice for three high school girls who wrote to him for a history project: Crime doesn’t pay.

The 85-year-old sent the handwritten letter, dated Feb. 24, from federal prison in Florida where he is serving two life sentences, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.

“My life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame and suffering on my parents and siblings and will end soon,” Bulger wrote.

He went on to write: “Advice is a cheap commodity some seek it from me about crime — I know only one thing for sure — If you want to make crime pay — ‘Go to Law School.'”

Bulger, a former FBI informant whose case brought scrutiny to the agency, was convicted in 2013 on racketeering charges that included playing a role in 11 murders. He spent 16 years as one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives before he was captured in California in 2011. His lawyers are appealing his conviction before the federal appeals court in Boston next month. (Read more from “Former Boston Crime Boss Tells Teens Who Wrote Him for School History Project: ‘My Life Was Wasted'” HERE)

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Boston Marathon Bomber Tsarnaev Convicted, May Face Death Sentence

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BomberDzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on Wednesday of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured 264 others, and the jury will now decide whether to sentence him to death.

Tsarnaev, 21, is the surviving member of pair of ethnic Chechen brothers who planted the homemade pressure-cooker bombs that tore through the crowd at the famed race’s finish line in one of the most shocking attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. He left a note behind describing the attack as an act of retribution for U.S. military campaigns in Muslim-dominated countries.

His lawyers opened Tsarnaev’s federal trial in Boston a month ago by bluntly admitting “it was him” who planted one of the bombs on April 15, 2013 and three days later shot dead a police officer, kicking off a day of chaos in Boston. After 11 hours of deliberations over two days, the jury found him guilty of all 30 criminal counts he faced.

The slightly built, lightly goateed defendant stood silently, shifting uncomfortably as a U.S. District court official read out each guilty finding, a process that took 25 minutes. The courtroom was packed with survivors of the attack including the parents of 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest fatality, and law enforcement officials, including former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

After the verdict was read, Karen Brassard, whose left leg was badly injured by one of the bombs, said she was glad that Tsarnaev had shown no emotion. “Personally I wouldn’t have bought it if he had,” Brassard said, as an early-spring sleet fell over Boston’s waterfront. “He has been, to use my word, arrogant walking in and out of the courtroom.” (Read more from “Boston Marathon Bomber Tsarnaev Convicted, May Face Death Sentence” HERE)

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Closing Argument: Prosecutor Claims Boston Bomber Wanted to Punish US for Wars in Muslim Countries

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A courtroom sketch shows accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his trial at the federal courthouse in BostonAs he planted a backpack containing a bomb near a group of children, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made a coldblooded decision aimed at punishing America for its wars in Muslim countries, a federal prosecutor told the jury during closing arguments Monday at Tsarnaev’s death penalty trial.

“This was a cold, calculated terrorist act. This was intentional. It was bloodthirsty. It was to make a point,” Aloke Chakravarty said. “It was to tell America that `We will not be terrorized by you anymore. We will terrorize you.’”

Defense attorney Judy Clarke countered by arguing, as she did at the trial’s outset, that Tsarnaev took part in the attack but did so under the malevolent influence of his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan. Clarke repeatedly referred to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – then 19 – as a “kid” and a “teenager” . . .

The jury is expected to begin deliberating Tuesday morning in the case against Tsarnaev, 21, almost two years after the twin bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed three people and wounded more than 260. It was the nation’s deadliest terror attack since 9/11.

If Tsarnaev is convicted – and that is considered a near certainty, given his lawyer’s admission – the jury will then begin hearing evidence on whether he should get life in prison or a death sentence. (Read more from “Prosecutor: Boston Bomber Wanted to Punish US for Wars in Muslim Countries” HERE)

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Boston Police Officer Shot ‘Without Provocation’

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cop-shot-3Police Commissioner William Evans said Saturday Boston police officer John Moynihan remains in critical condition after he was shot “without provocation” on Friday night in Roxbury.

Evans said at a press conference from the Boston Police Department headquarters that officers approached 41-year-old Hyde Park resident Angelo West’s vehicle without guns drawn and the man opened fire.

According to police, West has a violent criminal history with several gun convictions.

On July 23, 2001, Boston police officer William Griffiths came upon an alleged drug deal involving West on Stuart Street. He and a State Police officer wrestled with West and were able to disarm him but not before he shot at several officers.

No one was hurt in that shooting. West was arrested following the incident. (Read more from “Boston Police Officer Shot ‘Without Provocation'” HERE)

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Biden Being Biden: Vice President Tells Boston Marathon Bombing Survivors ‘It Was Worth It’

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By Mike Miller.

Sometimes, the best part about Joe Biden’s many gaffes is that he has no idea he’s making them. Such was the case in Boston Tuesday, as the city marked the one-year anniversary of the Marathon bombing.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: WBZ-TV

Photo Credit: WBZ-TV

Bomb Squad Detonates Bags Near Boston Marathon Finish Line

On the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, Boylston Street was evacuated and two bags were detonated by the Bomb Squad near the finish line.

One of the bags was being carried by a barefoot man who was wearing a long black veil and screaming “Boston Strong.” That man has been identified by sources as 25-year-old Kayvon Edson.

A source tells WBZ-TV that when Edson was stopped by police, he told them he had a rice cooker in his bag. That is when the Bomb Squad was called to the scene.

A source tells CBS News that the rice cooker in the bag was full of confetti.

Read more from this story HERE.

Bound by Bad Precedent, Judge Rules Against Free Speech in Boston

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Photo Credit: AFP

Photo Credit: AFP

My organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) tried to place pro-Israel ads in Boston, countering anti-Israel ads that ran there. Our ad read, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”

The ad was rejected, and we sued. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Gorton ruled against us in our preliminary injunction against Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA). No surprise here, during our hearing Judge Gorton said that he did not have the authority to rule on matters out of his jurisdiction. Still, Gorton dropped the ball on the question of “reasonableness.”

This is Boston, after all, site of the most recent jihad bombing in America, so Gorton’s ruling is sad and regrettable. We will, of course, appeal.

A couple of weeks ago I headed to Boston to cover a hearing concerning our pro-Israel ads that had been barred from running by the MBTA. Such abusive violations of our freedoms have become catalysts for historical resistance and actions in the defense of freedom. And these dangerous restrictions on speech must be fought.

It was the MBTA that invited the debate on this issue by accepting anti-Israel ads. And then they turned and said that our ad was objectionable. They accepted an ad on the same subject that was so genuinely demeaning and disparaging that it had to be taken down after numerous complaints, only to be restored later, and then they had the audacity to reject our ad. That is viewpoint restriction and unconstitutional (even under the Ridley decision).

Read more from this story HERE.

Boston School Broadcasts Muslim Poem & Skips Pledge of Allegiance on 9-11

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Photo Credit: libertynews

Photo Credit: libertynews

Yesterday, on 9-11-13, Boston’s Concord Carlisle High School skipped the morning pledge of allegiance and broadcast a Muslim poem in its place.

Principal Peter Badalament says the whole incident was the result of a collision of 9-11 and the absence of student who normally recites the daily pledge, reports The Boston Globe.

Badalament explains the situation saying, “We were unaware that our student Pledge reader had an internship commitment” and therefore, wasn’t in school on 9-11.

Read more from this story HERE.