Latest news with #Soros-funded
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Misinformation about LA Ice protests swirls online: ‘Catnip for rightwing agitators'
Since protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles began, false and misleading claims about the ongoing demonstrations have spread on text-based social networks. Outright lies posted directly to social media mixed with misinformation spread through established channels by the White House as Donald Trump dramatically escalated federal intervention. The stream of undifferentiated real and fake information has painted a picture of the city that forks from reality. Parts of Los Angeles have seen major protests over the past four days against intensified immigration raids by the US president's administration. On Saturday, dramatic photos from downtown Los Angeles showed cars set aflame amid confrontations with law enforcement. Many posts promoted the perception that mayhem and violence had overtaken the entirety of Los Angeles, even though confrontations with law enforcement and vandalism remained confined to a small part of the sprawling city. Trump has deployed 2,000 members of the national guard to the city without requesting consent from California's governor, Gavin Newsom, which provoked the state to sue for an alleged violation of sovereignty. The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has also ordered the US military to deploy approximately 700 marines to the city. Related: Los Angeles braces for arrival of more troops in 'crisis of Trump's own making' Amid the street-level and legal conflicts, misinformation is proliferating. Though lies have long played a part in civil and military conflicts, social media often acts as an accelerant, with facts failing to spread as quickly as their counterparts, a dynamic that has played out with the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, a devastating hurricane in North Carolina and the coronavirus pandemic. Among the most egregious examples were conservative and pro-Russian accounts circulating a video of Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, from before the protests with the claim that she incited and supported the protests, which have featured Mexican flags, according to the misinformation watchdog Newsguard. The misleading posts – made on Twitter/X by the conservative commentator Benny Johnson on pro-Trump sites such as or Russian state-owned sites such as – have received millions of views, according to the organization. Sheinbaum in fact told reporters on 9 June: 'We do not agree with violent actions as a form of protest … We call on the Mexican community to act pacifically.' Conspiratorial conservatives are grasping at familiar bogeymen. A post to X on Saturday claiming that 'Soros-funded organizations' had dropped off pallets of bricks near Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facilities received more than 9,500 retweets and was viewed more than 800,000 times. The Democratic mega-donor George Soros appears as a consistent specter in rightwing conspiracy theories, and the post likewise attributed the supply drop to LA's mayor, Karen Bass, and California governor, Gavin Newsom. 'It's Civil War!!' the post read. The photo of stacked bricks originates from a Malaysian construction supply company, and the hoax about bricks being supplied to protesters has spread repeatedly since the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the US. X users appended a 'community note' fact-checking the tweet. X's native AI chatbot, Grok, also provided fact-checks when prompted to evaluate the veracity of the post. Related: 'The language of authoritarianism': how Trump and allies cast LA as a lawless city needing military intervention In response to the hoax photo, some X users replied with links to real footage from the protests that showed protesters hammering at concrete bollards, mixing false and true and reducing clarity around what was happening in reality. The independent journalist who posted the footage claimed the protesters were using the material as projectiles against police, though the footage did not show such actions. The Social Media Lab, a research unit out of Toronto Metropolitan University, posted on Bluesky: 'These days, it feels like every time there's a protest, the old clickbaity 'pallets of bricks' hoax shows up right on cue. You know the one, photos or videos of bricks supposedly left out to encourage rioting. It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters.' Trump himself has fed the narrative that the protests are inauthentic and larger than they really are, fueled by outside agitators without legitimate interest in local matters. 'These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists,' Trump posted to Truth Social, which was screenshotted and reposted to X by Elon Musk. Others in the administration have made similar points on social media. A reporter for the Los Angeles Times pointed out that the White House put out a statement about a particular Mexican national being arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer 'during the riots'. In fact, Customs and Border Protection agents stopped him before the protests began. Trump has increased the number of Ice raids across the country, which has stoked fears of deportations across Los Angeles, heavily populated with immigrants to the US. Per the Social Media Lab, anti-Ice posts also spread misinformation. One post on Bluesky, marked 'Breaking', claimed that federal agents had just arrived at an LA elementary school and tried to question first-graders. In fact, the event occurred two months ago. Researchers called the post 'rage-farming to push merch'. Related: LA protests: Trump sends thousands more troops in 'authoritarian' move The conspiratorial website InfoWars put out a broadcast on X titled: Watch Live: LA ICE Riots Spread To Major Cities Nationwide As Democrat Summer Of Rage Arrives, which attracted more than 40,000 simultaneous listeners when viewed by the Guardian on Tuesday morning. Though protests against deportations have occurred in other cities, the same level of chaos as seen in Los Angeles has not. A broadcast on X by the news outlet Reuters, Los Angeles after fourth night of immigration protests, had drawn just 13,000 viewers at the same time. The proliferation of misinformation degrades X's utility as a news source, though Musk continually tweets that it is the top news app in this country or that, most recently Qatar, a minor distinction. Old photos and videos mix with new and sow doubt in legitimate reporting. Since purchasing Twitter and renaming it X in late 2022, Musk has dismantled many of the company's own initiatives for combatting the proliferation of lies, though he has promoted the user-generated fact-checking feature, 'community notes'. During the 2024 US presidential election in particular, the X CEO himself became a hub for the spread of false information, say researchers. In his dozens of posts per day, he posted and reposted incorrect or misleading claims that reached about 2bn views, according to a report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
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:
