Latest news with #Quakers
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
‘Lifelong Quaker' charged with assaulting federal officer in Portland anti-ICE riot
A man whose father describes him as a 'lifelong Quaker who is deeply committed to pacifism' is now facing multiple federal charges over his alleged actions at an anti-ICE protest. A Portland, Ore., man, Robert Jacob Hoopes, is being charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, and depredation of federal property in an amount exceeding $1,000. Advertisement During a June 14 anti-ICE protest, Hoopes was allegedly throwing large rocks at a building belonging to the agency located in South Portland. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, he threw one of the rocks at an ICE officer and caused a 'significant laceration over the officer's eye.' Additionally, Hoopes and two others were allegedly seen using a stop sign as a battering ram and caused 'major damage' to the building's main entrance. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said Hoopes faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the aggravated assault charge and up to 10 years in prison for damaging federal property. Robert Jacob Hoopes is being charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon 'Jacob is a lifelong Quaker who is deeply committed to pacifism. He's an organic gardener and the soul of kindness,' Hoopes' father, Tom, said, according to KATU 2. 'Jacob was involved on June 14 in an action. What his involvement was: I can't speak to that. But he is deeply committed to justice.' Advertisement The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said Hoopes faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the aggravated assault charge. U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon Quakers are known for their devotion to pacifism and, according to followers of the faith reject 'war and violence in all its forms.' The local ABC affiliate also quoted a letter originally written by Hoopes' roommate, who said 'he is not someone who would have 'assaulted an officer.'' The roommate recalled that at approximately 9:00 a.m. local time on July 25, they saw 'a flood of armed officers race into our driveway and charge at our house with assault rifles.' Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You granted Hoopes pretrial release at his first hearing, going against the federal prosecutors' request.
Fox News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Portland Quaker charged with assaulting federal officer in anti-ICE riot
A man whose father describes him as a "lifelong Quaker who is deeply committed to pacifism" is now facing multiple federal charges over his alleged actions at an anti-ICE protest. A Portland, Ore., man, Robert Jacob Hoopes, is being charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, and depredation of federal property in an amount exceeding $1,000. During a June 14 anti-ICE protest, Hoopes was allegedly throwing large rocks at a building belonging to the agency located in South Portland. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, he threw one of the rocks at an ICE officer and caused a "significant laceration over the officer's eye." Additionally, Hoopes and two others were allegedly seen using a stop sign as a battering ram and caused "major damage" to the building's main entrance. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said Hoopes faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the aggravated assault charge and up to 10 years in prison for damaging federal property. "Jacob is a lifelong Quaker who is deeply committed to pacifism. He's an organic gardener and the soul of kindness," Hoopes' father, Tom, said, according to KATU 2. "Jacob was involved on June 14 in an action. What his involvement was: I can't speak to that. But he is deeply committed to justice." Quakers are known for their devotion to pacifism and, according to followers of the faith reject "war and violence in all its forms." The local ABC affiliate also quoted a letter originally written by Hoopes' roommate, who said "he is not someone who would have 'assaulted an officer.'" The roommate recalled that at approximately 9:00 a.m. local time on July 25, they saw "a flood of armed officers race into our driveway and charge at our house with assault rifles." Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You granted Hoopes pretrial release at his first hearing, going against the federal prosecutors' request.
The National
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Pressure on Labour to respond to landmark Palestine occupation ruling
They have written to ministers to say that Britain's failure to respond to a landmark international legal ruling on the occupied Palestinian territories serves to 'entrench occupation and facilitate annexation' by Israel. The UK Government was sent a letter by 15 civil society organisations and one trade union, the Public and Commercial Services union, demanding it respond to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The occupation of territory outwith the borders of Israel agreed in 1948 is illegal and widely recognised as such, including by the UK Government. However, the ICJ ruling from July 19, 2024 demanded that governments take action against Israel in a bid to force an end to its annexation of Palestinian land. The letter, which has been signed by groups such as Christian Aid, Islamic Aid and Quakers in Britain, demanded that the UK Government stops selling arms to Israel and ends trade with the occupied territories. It said: 'The UK Government has continued transferring arms to Israel, including F-35 parts which it admits are used in military activities in the [occupied Palestinian territories]. 'The UK continues to allow the import of goods from the illegal settlements, and has taken no steps to prevent investment or involvement by UK companies in the illegal settlement project and occupation. READ MORE: Armed police threaten woman with terror charge for holding Palestinian flag 'The UK has failed to suspend its trade deal with Israel, or even announce a review of it, despite the text of that agreement requiring respect for human rights as an 'essential element'. 'Our organisations demand that the UK Government acts with the utmost urgency to identify and prevent financial, commercial, trade, diplomatic, military, logistical or other support that aid or assist the maintaining of Israel's unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.' It warned that Britain's abstention on a UN motion endorsing the ICJ opinion had served to embolden Israel as it continued its genocide in Gaza and expanded its illegal settlements in [[Palestine]] – with accompanying violence. The letter said: 'The failure of the UK and other influential states to respond to the AO [advisory opinion] with the urgency it demands has encouraged Israel to defy the ruling. 'With impunity, Israel is in fact deepening its illegal occupation and accelerating the accompanying displacement of Palestinians. State and state-backed settler attacks on Palestinian West Bank communities continue to soar – with more than 1000 Palestinians including over 200 children so killed since October 2023 and 30 Palestinian West Bank communities forcibly transferred in the same period.' A letter, signed by more than 100 MPs and peers has also been sent to the UK Government – with signatories crossing party boundaries – urging it to respond to the ICJ opinion. It said: 'The failure of the government to publish its response on the advisory opinion and address the unlawful situation occurring in the [occupied Palestinian territories], as well its own obligations under international law to avoid complicity, needs to be rectified. 'Over the last year, since the opinion was issued, Israel has accelerated its violations of international law including the Fourth Geneva Convention in the [occupied Palestinian territories].' Signatories include mother of the House Diane Abbott, Scottish Labour's Richard Baker, Patricia Ferguson and Brian Leishman (currently suspended), the entirety of the SNP group, former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael and Tory former Cabinet minister Kit Malthouse. And 80 MPs and peers on Thursday wrote to the Foreign Secretary with a list of specific sanctions including suspending the Israel-UK trade agreement, cutting trade with illegal settlements and imposing travel bans and asset freezes on people and companies "complicit" in the occupation. The UK Government was approached for comment.
Scotsman
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Readers' Letters: Proscribing Palestine Action as terrorists is over the top
Palestine Action should not be considered a terror group, say readers Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I am sure Home Secretary Yvette Cooper must be well aware of the long and honourable history of Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA) in development of political and social understanding. In the development of our democracy I would instance the movements for women's suffrage, without which she could not hold her present office, and for Indian independence. However, only by extreme distortion of the meaning of words could Emmeline Pankhurst or Mahatma Gandhi be described as terrorists. Here in Dunblane there are many in the local churches who still honour the memory of the late Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley, pacifist Quakers who ran the Iona Community's Peace House in Braco for 12 years from 1985. They were experts in NVDA. Ellen was one of the three peace activists who in 1999 broke into the naval facility on Loch Goil and threw computers into the loch. Was it an act of criminal damage? Possibly. The Sheriff who accepted their plea that they were acting to prevent a worse crime was later held to have been wrong in law. Were they acting as terrorists? Certainly not! Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There must be many, like me, concerned that the Home Secretary, in proscribing Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, is stretching the definition of 'terrorism' beyond any reasonable limit. Organisations supporting NVDA may be a nuisance to government, their actions may be costly and inconvenient, but that does not make them terrorists. Using anti-terrorist legislation against such an organisation appears excessively draconian against legitimate protest and risks diluting the focus of the security forces against real terrorist threats. A protester lights a flare outside the Royal Courts of Justice as Palestine Action challenge proscription in a High Court hearing in London on 4 July. The ban, which critics have called draconian, will make it illegal to be a member of the group. (Picture:) Anthony Birch, Dunblane, Stirling Running sore Surely, nobody could begrudge the Jews their homeland, particularly after the hell they went through in the Holocaust. But what about the Palestinians? Their land of Palestine was decreed by the colonial powers of the day, not least the British and French, to be the setting for the Jewish homeland. The infamous Balfour Declaration was passed in 1917, without any reference to what would happen to the Palestinians. It wouldn't be until 1948 that the Nakba would happen and the Palestinians' fate be sealed in a running sore that hasn't been healed. Indeed, it has worsened in their experience now of ethnic cleansing. What other people has been asked to make such a sacrifice? The absurd situation has been reached where even supporting the Palestinian cause is deemed to be a criminal offence. Yvette Cooper has had a twin victory, in Parliament and the courts, deeming Palestine Action a terrorist group. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I ask again, what about the Palestinians? The question is urgent, and remains in need of an answer. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Prove me wrong David Millar (Letters, 7 July) accuses me of 'disappearing down the usual separatist rabbit warren of claiming we in Scotland are in a better state than our English and Welsh neighbours regarding levels of poverty'. I don't claim this. The statistics contained in the letter he refers to prove it. If Mr Millar believes they are incorrect he is free to refute them. His letter makes no attempt to do this! Alan Woodcock, Dundee What wealth? The UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF) is apparently geared up to spend billions over the next 25 years. Apart from the fact that given our national debt is almost 100 per cent of GDP and we have no cash to spare, we have to ask if this expenditure is expected to earn interest and if so what the anticipated rate of return will be. This NWF could be just another wheeze by government to pretend that government spending is not money down the drain but actually investment! I remember the Tony Blair government suggesting that spending was investment and look where that took us. The country has yet to recover from the 2007/08 debacle, let alone Covid expenditure and the impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine on prices in this country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We don't have a magic money tree despite Rachel Reeves suggesting that some financial chicanery allows headroom to 'borrow more'. Our money tree is cash taken from our pockets to be spent in servicing our huge debt, plus big pay increases to those areas funded by government (that is, by taxpayers and even more borrowing). It should be obvious that this merry-go-round cannot continue. In fact, the sooner it stops the better it will be for the country and we taxpayers have to take a stand on the 'we need more' that is leading us nowhere but poverty for all. Perhaps that is Labour's idea of equality! T Lewis, Coylton, Ayrshire Trump China In a review of its military support, the White House says it must 'put America's interests first', and still seems ambiguous in its attitude to Vladimir Putin's war. But in a meeting last week with Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, China's foreign minister Wang Yi said Beijing does not want Russia to lose the war, as the USA would then be able to focus more directly on China. That plausible (albeit surprising or even unintended) admission surely makes President Donald Trump's priorities straightforward. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He should immediately support the pro-Ukraine Republicans in Congress, enforce with the European and other allies the maximum economic and financial sanctions against Russia, impose stronger penalties on those countries that finance Putin by their purchase of Russia's oil, gas and minerals, and supply Ukraine with the intelligence data and hardware needed for swift military success – something many experts have thought feasible since late 2022, with the right support. That would then allow the USA to pass the Ukraine baton safely and effectively to Europe, and to concentrate on globally confronting China – politically, diplomatically, economically and militarily – which Trump has for years asserted is their greatest competitor and enemy. John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife NHS app disgrace New figures show that the number of patients waiting more than 78 weeks for treatment in Scotland is now over 38,000, compared to 1,154 in England. More than 35 million people in England use their NHS app, with Scotland's app not expected before 2030. Another national SNP disgrace with no one held accountable (as usual). Jim Houston, Edinburgh Pecking order Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to John V Lloyd (Letters, 7 July), what are known in Peterhead as "scurries' are a menace. I am sure the herring gull, or scurry, might regard us a menace, might they not? I was not paying attention one morning and just accepted the scurry had won a buttery from me of the two I had bought at the bakers and just got on with life. When do we accept that the nesting season is only a couple of months long and they are protecting their young by dive bombing people? Peter Ovenstone, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire Lawyers' payday Labour is to increase the legal aid fees paid to lawyers to represent migrants fighting to stay in Britain by 30 per cent. The cost will rise from £47 million to £61m a year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ministers say the move was necessary to clear the 90,000-strong backlog of asylum claims and end the use of hotels to house migrants. Yes, and pigs can fly. This will never clear the backlog since there are numerous migrant lawyers all too willing to coach migrants on what to say as they get a slice of this £61m pie. Fear of persecution in your home country? Tick. Gay? Tick. Unable to get protection from the authorities in your home country? Tick. Subjected to sex slavery? Tick. What not to say is that you passed through numerous safe countries before arriving in the UK. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So why are lawyers now being paid more as they use every trick in the book to prevent illegal immigrants being deported? Britain is a soft touch. Instead of increasing legal aid for migrant lawyers we should abolish it. Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian Waking Nessie Reports of the Loch Ness Monster are surely 'based on some underlying physical reality' (Editorial, 4 July). But if not Nessie then what? I have examined very many reports and have come to the conclusion that boat wakes are the usual culprit. There is a phenomenon peculiar to long and deep narrow lakes used by heavy vessels. All sizeable vessels create wakes in deep water if travelling at a constant speed. Firstly a disturbance created by the screw propellers, trailing in line behind the vessel. Secondly, a wake created by the bows, spreading out both sides at a particular angle. This is known as the Kelvin wake and is always at an angle to the direction of the vessel of 19.5 degrees. On a calm surface – 'Nessie weather' – boat traffic creates wakes that will travel a long way and may even be reflected from the shoreline, sometimes interfering with the wake itself and/or the screw wake, to create a lump of water than can seem animated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One major cause of Nessie-like wakes on Loch Ness was British Waterways' converted ice-breaker tug Scot II, which operated on the Caledonian Canal from 1931. From 1960-1991 it carried tourists on cruises according to a strict timetable. It is no longer on the Canal. Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman
Scotsman
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Readers' Letters: Proscribing Palestine Action as terrorists is over the top
Palestine Action should not be considered a terror group, say readers Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I am sure Home Secretary Yvette Cooper must be well aware of the long and honourable history of Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA) in development of political and social understanding. In the development of our democracy I would instance the movements for women's suffrage, without which she could not hold her present office, and for Indian independence. However, only by extreme distortion of the meaning of words could Emmeline Pankhurst or Mahatma Gandhi be described as terrorists. Here in Dunblane there are many in the local churches who still honour the memory of the late Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley, pacifist Quakers who ran the Iona Community's Peace House in Braco for 12 years from 1985. They were experts in NVDA. Ellen was one of the three peace activists who in 1999 broke into the naval facility on Loch Goil and threw computers into the loch. Was it an act of criminal damage? Possibly. The Sheriff who accepted their plea that they were acting to prevent a worse crime was later held to have been wrong in law. Were they acting as terrorists? Certainly not! Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There must be many, like me, concerned that the Home Secretary, in proscribing Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, is stretching the definition of 'terrorism' beyond any reasonable limit. Organisations supporting NVDA may be a nuisance to government, their actions may be costly and inconvenient, but that does not make them terrorists. Using anti-terrorist legislation against such an organisation appears excessively draconian against legitimate protest and risks diluting the focus of the security forces against real terrorist threats. A protester lights a flare outside the Royal Courts of Justice as Palestine Action challenge proscription in a High Court hearing in London on 4 July. The ban, which critics have called draconian, will make it illegal to be a member of the group. (Picture:) Anthony Birch, Dunblane, Stirling Running sore Surely, nobody could begrudge the Jews their homeland, particularly after the hell they went through in the Holocaust. But what about the Palestinians? Their land of Palestine was decreed by the colonial powers of the day, not least the British and French, to be the setting for the Jewish homeland. The infamous Balfour Declaration was passed in 1917, without any reference to what would happen to the Palestinians. It wouldn't be until 1948 that the Nakba would happen and the Palestinians' fate be sealed in a running sore that hasn't been healed. Indeed, it has worsened in their experience now of ethnic cleansing. What other people has been asked to make such a sacrifice? The absurd situation has been reached where even supporting the Palestinian cause is deemed to be a criminal offence. Yvette Cooper has had a twin victory, in Parliament and the courts, deeming Palestine Action a terrorist group. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I ask again, what about the Palestinians? The question is urgent, and remains in need of an answer. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Prove me wrong David Millar (Letters, 7 July) accuses me of 'disappearing down the usual separatist rabbit warren of claiming we in Scotland are in a better state than our English and Welsh neighbours regarding levels of poverty'. I don't claim this. The statistics contained in the letter he refers to prove it. If Mr Millar believes they are incorrect he is free to refute them. His letter makes no attempt to do this! Alan Woodcock, Dundee What wealth? The UK's National Wealth Fund (NWF) is apparently geared up to spend billions over the next 25 years. Apart from the fact that given our national debt is almost 100 per cent of GDP and we have no cash to spare, we have to ask if this expenditure is expected to earn interest and if so what the anticipated rate of return will be. This NWF could be just another wheeze by government to pretend that government spending is not money down the drain but actually investment! I remember the Tony Blair government suggesting that spending was investment and look where that took us. The country has yet to recover from the 2007/08 debacle, let alone Covid expenditure and the impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine on prices in this country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We don't have a magic money tree despite Rachel Reeves suggesting that some financial chicanery allows headroom to 'borrow more'. Our money tree is cash taken from our pockets to be spent in servicing our huge debt, plus big pay increases to those areas funded by government (that is, by taxpayers and even more borrowing). It should be obvious that this merry-go-round cannot continue. In fact, the sooner it stops the better it will be for the country and we taxpayers have to take a stand on the 'we need more' that is leading us nowhere but poverty for all. Perhaps that is Labour's idea of equality! T Lewis, Coylton, Ayrshire Trump China In a review of its military support, the White House says it must 'put America's interests first', and still seems ambiguous in its attitude to Vladimir Putin's war. But in a meeting last week with Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, China's foreign minister Wang Yi said Beijing does not want Russia to lose the war, as the USA would then be able to focus more directly on China. That plausible (albeit surprising or even unintended) admission surely makes President Donald Trump's priorities straightforward. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He should immediately support the pro-Ukraine Republicans in Congress, enforce with the European and other allies the maximum economic and financial sanctions against Russia, impose stronger penalties on those countries that finance Putin by their purchase of Russia's oil, gas and minerals, and supply Ukraine with the intelligence data and hardware needed for swift military success – something many experts have thought feasible since late 2022, with the right support. That would then allow the USA to pass the Ukraine baton safely and effectively to Europe, and to concentrate on globally confronting China – politically, diplomatically, economically and militarily – which Trump has for years asserted is their greatest competitor and enemy. John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife NHS app disgrace New figures show that the number of patients waiting more than 78 weeks for treatment in Scotland is now over 38,000, compared to 1,154 in England. More than 35 million people in England use their NHS app, with Scotland's app not expected before 2030. Another national SNP disgrace with no one held accountable (as usual). Jim Houston, Edinburgh Pecking order Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to John V Lloyd (Letters, 7 July), what are known in Peterhead as "scurries' are a menace. I am sure the herring gull, or scurry, might regard us a menace, might they not? I was not paying attention one morning and just accepted the scurry had won a buttery from me of the two I had bought at the bakers and just got on with life. When do we accept that the nesting season is only a couple of months long and they are protecting their young by dive bombing people? Peter Ovenstone, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire Lawyers' payday Labour is to increase the legal aid fees paid to lawyers to represent migrants fighting to stay in Britain by 30 per cent. The cost will rise from £47 million to £61m a year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ministers say the move was necessary to clear the 90,000-strong backlog of asylum claims and end the use of hotels to house migrants. Yes, and pigs can fly. This will never clear the backlog since there are numerous migrant lawyers all too willing to coach migrants on what to say as they get a slice of this £61m pie. Fear of persecution in your home country? Tick. Gay? Tick. Unable to get protection from the authorities in your home country? Tick. Subjected to sex slavery? Tick. What not to say is that you passed through numerous safe countries before arriving in the UK. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So why are lawyers now being paid more as they use every trick in the book to prevent illegal immigrants being deported? Britain is a soft touch. Instead of increasing legal aid for migrant lawyers we should abolish it. Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian Waking Nessie Reports of the Loch Ness Monster are surely 'based on some underlying physical reality' (Editorial, 4 July). But if not Nessie then what? I have examined very many reports and have come to the conclusion that boat wakes are the usual culprit. There is a phenomenon peculiar to long and deep narrow lakes used by heavy vessels. All sizeable vessels create wakes in deep water if travelling at a constant speed. Firstly a disturbance created by the screw propellers, trailing in line behind the vessel. Secondly, a wake created by the bows, spreading out both sides at a particular angle. This is known as the Kelvin wake and is always at an angle to the direction of the vessel of 19.5 degrees. On a calm surface – 'Nessie weather' – boat traffic creates wakes that will travel a long way and may even be reflected from the shoreline, sometimes interfering with the wake itself and/or the screw wake, to create a lump of water than can seem animated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One major cause of Nessie-like wakes on Loch Ness was British Waterways' converted ice-breaker tug Scot II, which operated on the Caledonian Canal from 1931. From 1960-1991 it carried tourists on cruises according to a strict timetable. It is no longer on the Canal. Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh Write to The Scotsman
