Latest news with #Soros-funded
Fox News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'Defund the police' mecca of Minneapolis overrun with violence, ‘failed leadership': former AG candidate
Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account - free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. Having trouble? Click here. A string of shootings in Minneapolis last week left six victims dead and five others injured in just 24 hours, highlighting "the results" of "years of anti-police rhetoric and failed leadership," 2022 Minnesota attorney general Republican nominee Jim Schultz told Fox News Digital. Minneapolis authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of James Ortley, an alleged 34-year-old gang member, in connection with an April 29 mass shooting that left four dead and two injured. The April 29 incident was the first of six shootings in 24 hours that left a total of six people dead and five others injured, police said, adding that investigators are determining if some of the shootings are connected. "Minneapolis, sadly, is experiencing the tragic consequences of years of anti-police rhetoric and failed leadership from the Minneapolis State Council and the lunatic county prosecutor of Hennepin County in which Minneapolis sits," said Schultz, a father of four and president of the Minnesota Private Business Council. "When city officials demonize law enforcement and slash police budgets and refuse to prosecute the criminals, the results are bought on the streets." DOJ OPENS PROBE AFTER LEFT-WING DA REQUIRES PROSECUTORS TO CONSIDER RACE IN PLEA DEALS Particularly, after George Floyd's murder by police in 2020, Minneapolis became "ground zero" for the "defund the police" movement, Schultz noted, adding that public sentiment toward police and officer retention hasn't been the same since. "Years later, police staffing is still down," he said. "We still have half the police officers that we need. Morale is shattered and criminals feel emboldened because, originating out of that defund-the-police movement … the county prosecutor in Minneapolis, Mary Moriarty, is one of the [George] Soros-funded, hard-left prosecutors who has embraced every policy imaginable to undermine public safety." SOROS PROSECUTOR RIPPED FOR FAILING TO CHARGE WALZ STAFFER OVER TESLA VANDALISM: '2-TIERED JUSTICE SYSTEM' Schultz said Moriarty is "aggressively pursuing law enforcement" and "electing to ... dismiss cases that give lenient plea deals to individuals who had committed serious violent crime, and otherwise embracing a variety of very woke policies, like taking race into account in sentencing guidelines and otherwise." The suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting, for example, has a lengthy criminal history. Hennepin County records show Ortley was allegedly involved in a crime spree that resulted in a Minneapolis resident being shot through his bedroom window in February, but the district attorney ultimately denied charges for the 34-year-old, as the Star Tribune first reported. LEFT-WING DA FORCING PROSECUTORS TO CONSIDER 'RACIAL IDENTITY' IN PLEA DEALS In approximately the last 15 years, he has also faced charges ranging from DWIs to first-degree aggravated robbery, fleeing a police officer, illegal possession of a firearm and second-degree assault. These charges stem from two violent incidents in which he allegedly shot at a 16-year-old girl while stealing her phone in 2009 and stabbed a man at a bar in 2021. A witness described Ortley's weapon used in the attack as a "3-inch-long pocket knife." The witness further said she saw the victim run away from the defendant, lose his shoe and turn around, at which point Ortley grabbed the victim and "began stabbing him in the back," according to Hennepin County records. In the 2021 bar stabbing, Ortley's latest charge, he was sentenced to serve 39 months in prison and five years of probation, but the court issued a stay of execution, which temporarily stops the sentencing order. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office (HCAO) did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Schultz said Minneapolis has seen a recent "improvement in the number of homicides in this city, in particular." "This, of course, is a huge step back … and a reminder that Minneapolis is still operating with a fraction of the police officers it needs," Schultz said of the mass shooting. "It's still operating in an environment in which many in city leadership are hostile to law enforcement and that crime problems in the city still persist, even if they are not at their peaks in the way that they were in 2020, '21, '23, '24." The former attorney general nominee said Hennepin County should "set aside these far-left bizarre policies that say that holding [criminals] accountable is somehow unfair because of the circumstances in which they found their lives." "We need to ensure that violent criminals are put in prison, for a just amount of time for the victims and for the public safety," he said. The Justice Department on Sunday announced an investigation into whether the Hennepin County Attorney's Office "engaged in a pattern of practice of depriving persons of rights, privileges or immunities secured or protect by the Constitution or laws of the United States" through Moriarty's new directive for its prosecutors to consider race when negotiating plea deals with criminal defendants. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In a letter dated May 2, DOJ officials cited Moriarty's recently adopted "Negotiations Policy for Cases Involving Adult Defendants," which instructs prosecutors to consider race when formulating plea offers, stating that "racial identity … should be part of the overall analysis" and that prosecutors "should be identifying and addressing racial disparities at decision points, as appropriate." "In particular, the investigation will focus on whether HCAO engages in illegal consideration of race in its prosecutorial decision-making," Justice Department officials said in the letter, which Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon shared on X. Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
If Trump Wants To Back Blue, Start With These Unjust Prosecutions
If President Trump wants to implement the pro-police policies he outlined in his April 29 Executive Order, a good start would be dropping two unjust (but ongoing) federal prosecutions of police. The two flimsy and politically motivated cases - in Kentucky and Massachusetts - are left over from the Biden Justice Departments war on cops. Trump can make good on his law enforcement-first approach by putting an end to these egregious charges brought by Biden officials (including a now-disgraced Soros DA) and career bureaucrats. Trumps EO, "Strengthening and Unleashing Americas Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens," lays out the White Houses refreshingly pro-law enforcement approach. In addition to directing more federal resources to local law enforcement, it orders the Justice Department to provide much-needed legal resources to aid the defense of wrongfully accused cops. The executive order builds on concrete actions the administration has already taken in pausing burdensome consent decrees and pardoning unjustly prosecuted police officers like D.C. Police Officer Terence Sutton. But Trump doesnt have to pardon these officers if he keeps his own Justice Department from repeating the same injustices inflicted on Sutton. Like in that case, politics is driving these prosecutions - facts be damned. And worse, these interim U.S. attorneys (who hold office until Trumps picks are confirmed) are doing it all under the noses of a pro-police president and attorney general. In Massachusetts, a police sergeant with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police, which patrols Bostons subway system, faces federal charges for filing a false report - a rarely charged offense - related to a subordinates minor use of force on a homeless man in 2018. Sgt. David Finnerty, who as shift supervisor was not present and did not participate in the incident, could get 20 years in prison for allegedly lying on the report. State charges were originally brought in 2019 by Bostons Soros-backed local prosecutor, Rachael Rollins, who had unilaterally decriminalized most public order offenses. After Rollins charged Finnerty and another officer, she got Bidens nod to be Bostons chief federal prosecutor in 2021. The next year, Rollins successor as district attorney dropped the case after uncovering computer evidence that Finnerty had not made the false report edits. But Rollins, who has a long history of anti-police animus, wasnt finished. The Soros-funded DA went after Finnerty again for the same offense in federal court, despite the new exculpatory evidence. But Finnertys pursuer resigned in disgrace in 2023 after being found to have engaged in influence-peddling, corruption, and - yes - perjury. Yet, Rollins case against Sgt. Finnerty remains, more than three months after Trump took office. Career lawyers at the Justice Department plan to try the zombie case in the coming weeks. In another egregious example of anti-police prosecutions, three Kentucky State Troopers face decades in federal prison over force incidents. The indictment was sought by Michael A. Bennett, the U.S. attorney who took office under Biden. Shockingly, the charges were brought in March 2025 - under the Trump administration - since Bennett remains in charge. Notably, Bennetts office also led the questionable investigation into the Louisville Police Department, alleging systemic police abuses to justify federal meddling. Thankfully, a federal judge and the Trump Administration kiboshedthat effort. The federal case largely stems from two incidents in the spring of 2020. During an April arrest for a domestic violence bench warrant, the troopers James Wright and Thomas Czartorski struck the wanted man and took him to the ground. Czartorski, who struck the suspect on the leg with a flashlight, lost his job and later pleaded guilty to perjury for denying, in a civil suit deposition, that he struck the man. Wright, who was cleared in an internal affairs investigation and local prosecutors declined to charge, now faces 25 years in federal prison. Lewis is accused of tasing a suspected drunk driver, but was also cleared by police investigators and never charged at the state level. After the federal indictment, the decorated officers (Wright was nominated for Trooper of the Year) were immediately suspended. In the four officers cases, local officials already imposed consequences (Czartorski) for misconduct or found no basis for prosecution, yet in the wake of the 2020 anti-police unrest, the Biden Justice Department persisted. The Trump DOJ should not be carrying out an unethical Soros prosecutors vendetta in Boston, nor should it allow Biden holdovers to go after cops in Kentucky unjustly. Just like it did with unnecessary police consent decrees, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi should put an end to these egregious political prosecutions of police in Kentucky and Massachusetts. Jason Johnson is the president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, which advocates for pro-police policies and provides legal aid to wrongfully accused officers. Johnson is the former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nonprofit sues Ryan Walters, library board, alleging open records and open meetings violations
An Oklahoma nonprofit already involved in multiple lawsuits against state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has added another, alleging violations of open meeting and public records laws by Walters and the agency he leads, the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court by the Tulsa-based Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, alleges violations of the Open Meeting Act related to the creation and operation of the Library Media Advisory Committee, a public body tasked with reviewing school library materials. The lawsuit also contends the state agency has failed to comply with the Open Records Act by withholding requested public documents regarding the formation, membership selection and activities of the library committee. The case has been assigned to District Judge Anthony Bonner. No hearing dates have been set. During a meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education in January 2024, Walters disclosed the formation of the committee, a panel he said would include Chaya Raichik, the woman behind the conservative 'Libs of TikTok' social media account. Raichik also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. She and Walters often trade congratulatory social media posts, and a video of her praising Walters for the library committee's formation was shown during that state board meeting. Also named as defendants were the state education board, that board's current members and former member Kendra Wesson, and the library committee. "This lawsuit is nothing more than a politically motivated attack by a radical, Soros-funded organization determined to obstruct the work being done in Oklahoma," Walters said. "These extremists are using the legal system to harass and obstruct progress in an effort to push their radical agenda. OSDE will not be bullied by extremist organizations trying to weaponize the courts and remains committed to transparency and compliance with all legal requirements." Walters' claim about Oklahoma Appleseed being funded by liberal billionaire George Soros is false. Walters is, or has been, a defendant in at least 20 state and federal lawsuits filed since he took office in January 2023. Despite multiple open records requests from multiple media outlets, Walters and the state agency have steadfastly declined to identify any other members of the library committee, which appears to be a public committee, given its work for a state agency. The state Education Department has said the committee is a volunteer advisory board appointed by Walters and is made up of parents, current or retired librarians, and English literature teachers. Oklahoma Appleseed says despite repeated requests, the agency has not provided information on how library committee members — specifically Raichik — were appointed and how the committee conducts its business. The lawsuit claims the state agency and the library committee have violated the Open Meeting Act by failing to hold public meetings, post agendas or conduct public votes. Although the committee was publicly announced as a government advisory body, it has never met in compliance with the law, effectively operating in secrecy, according to the lawsuit. Oklahoma Appleseed also said it has yet to have a June 28 open records request, seeking information about the library committee, filled by the state Education Department. Open records provided to The Oklahoman last year gave a glimpse into how the committee was formed and some of its work, but did not include its membership list, which has been requested multiple times by the newspaper. The committee has not been mentioned publicly by Walters since an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision effectively voided a handful of the agency's administrative rules — pushed by Walters and approved by the state Board of Education ― including one giving the agency the authority to determine what books could be in the libraries of individual school districts. That decision stemmed from a lawsuit originally filed by Edmond Public Schools. The court ruled that to be a decision reserved to local school boards, not any state agency or board. Oklahoma Appleseed seeks a court order compelling the Education Department to release all requested public records and requiring the library committee to comply with Open Meetings Act requirements. Brent Rowland, the legal director of Oklahoma Appleseed, said the lawsuit filed Tuesday was about government transparency and accountability. 'The public has a right to know who is making decisions affecting its public schools,' Rowland said. 'Oklahomans have a right to expect that their government will follow the law regarding open records and open meetings. 'In this instance, the state Department of Education has formed a Library Media Advisory Committee to make decisions about students' access to books when our state Supreme Court has determined those decisions should be made by local school boards. State officials cannot hide behind closed doors and avoid public accountability, and why would they want to?' Oklahoma Appleseed is a party to at least two other lawsuits involving Walters, one in the Oklahoma Supreme Court regarding his Bible mandate and one that's been appealed to the same court. That case was filed by a Moore Public Schools student seeking to change their pronouns in school records. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nonprofit sues Ryan Walters over open records, Libs of TikTok hire
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's Rant At A Heckler Backfires After Critics Deliver Brutal Reality Check
Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday complained about fellow billionaire George Soros supposedly sending 'operatives' to an event in Wisconsin where Musk was paying people to help sway this week's state Supreme Court election. Musk handed out two $1 million checks to voters in support of conservative candidate Brad Schimel in a race that will determine the ideological balance of the state's highest court. At one point, a heckler interrupted Musk. He blamed Soros. 'It was inevitable at least a few Soros operatives would be in the audience,' he said, then giggled. 'Give my regards to George. Say 'hi' to George for me.' Soros is a billionaire backer of progressive causes and the object of right-wing conspiracy theories. Conservatives claim he tries to buy elections with his contributions, among other things. But critics said that's exactly what Musk has been doing, and very directly with gimmicks such as the $1 million checks. The Daily Show even recently shared a segment in which right-wingers complained about Soros, but tweaked the video to make it seem like they were talking about Musk: Musk spent $291 million during the 2024 election cycle, most notably to help President Donald Trump, according to A Soros-funded PAC spent $60 million in 2024. In addition, much of the $179 million Soros donated during the 2022 cycle was not used until 2024, the website said. In this year's Wisconsin race, Musk has contributed $19.3 to Schimel, nearly 10 times the $2 million that Soros has given to help Schimel's opponent, Susan Crawford, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Musk's critics were quick to point out that he's doing what Soros is accused of ― and they did it on X, Musk's own social media platform:
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dem senator on Schumer future: 'Important' to know 'when it's time to go'
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., faces potentially losing the confidence of his caucus after a controversial decision to advance the Republicans' stopgap spending bill earlier this month and avoid a government shutdown. "Let me just say it's important for people to know when it's time to go," Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., reportedly told constituents during a town hall on Wednesday. "We're going to have conversations, I'm sure, in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership." The senator had been asked if he would call for Schumer to step aside, which he did not commit to. Speaker Johnson Says Gop Looking At 'All Available Options' To Address 'Activist Judges' Opposing Trump "I do think on the leadership question, it's always better to examine whether folks are in the right place, and we're certainly going to have that conversation," he explained, per Npr. The comments come after Schumer faced swift backlash for his shutdown vote, during which he was in the minority of his caucus, most of whom opposed moving the stopgap spending measure forward. Read On The Fox News App Despite claiming his caucus was unified just one day prior, Schumer revealed his decision to vote to advance the bill, to the dismay of many of his colleagues. "I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option," he explained at the time. Dem Senator Refuses To Address Relationship With Founder Of Soros-funded 'Propaganda' News Network House Democrats, nearly all of whom voted against the measure, slammed the move. Dozens of the lower chamber Democrats even signed last-minute letters to Schumer to urge him not to go forward with his vote, to no avail. In a striking statement, House Democratic leaders came out against Schumer's decision, without mentioning him by name. During a press conference, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refused to answer a question about whether he was confident in his New York colleague. "Next question," he responded. Who Is James Boasberg, The Us Judge At The Center Of Trump's Deportation Efforts? Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also released a statement during the controversy, urging the Senate to listen to the female appropriators. The prominent Democrats appearing at odds with Schumer publicly only further intensified the scrutiny he faced afterward. Jeffries later clarified his feelings on Schumer, however. "Yes, I do," he said when asked if he was confident in Schumer during a different press conference. According to the House Democratic leader, "we are all aligned on the fights that are in front of us." Jeffries and Schumer had a "good conversation about the path forward, particularly as it relates to making sure we all speak with one voice," he added. What was already considered an identity crisis for Democrats following the 2024 election has appeared to evolve into a crisis of leadership, with senators, such as Bennet, entertaining the idea of discussions about the caucus and its direction. Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration To Pay 'Unlawfully' Restricted Usaid Funds "I think that Leader Schumer has been very effective in a lot of battles, but we also need to— these are new times, and we need to all come together," Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., told reporters directly after the shutdown votes. "And so, you know, second-guessing Leader Schumer out here isn't going to accomplish the kind of unity that we're going to need to be able to stand up to the president. So we'll have that conversation inside caucus."Original article source: Dem senator on Schumer future: 'Important' to know 'when it's time to go'
