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Supreme Court broadens standard for unreasonable force claims against police

The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier to bring unreasonable force claims against police, ruling unanimously that courts should examine the circumstances beyond the split seconds when an officer fears for their safety in deciding whether they can be tried for unreasonable force.

The case stemmed from a 2016 traffic stop in Texas.

Ashtian Barnes, 24, was killed during the routine stop. He had been driving his girlfriend’s rental car, which had outstanding toll violations, when stopped by officer Roberto Felix Jr.   

After Barnes was asked to present his license and insurance, the car started moving forward. Felix jumped onto the vehicle’s doorsill and shot inside, striking Barnes twice and killing him.

The exchange turned deadly in seconds. The justices were asked to weigh whether courts should examine everything that happened during the traffic stop or just the moment when Felix feared for his safety when evaluating an excessive force claim.

In a 9-0 decision, they said the so-called “moment of the threat” doctrine should not be applied in such cases, instead directing courts to review the “totality of the circumstances.”

“To assess whether an officer acted reasonably in using force, a court must consider all the relevant circumstances, including facts and events leading up to the climactic moment,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the majority opinion.

Kagan noted the situation at the precise moment of the shooting may often be what matters most, given that the officer’s choice in those split seconds are what is under review. However, she said earlier facts and circumstances may inform how a “reasonable officer” would have responded to later ones.

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German Conservative Media Leak Secret Police Dossier Used to Ban and Spy on AfD: Criticizing Mass Migration is “Far Right”

Several conservative German media have published the allegedly “secret” dossier the German intel service used to justify classifying the largest German opposition party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as “confirmed far-right”. The 1100-page dossier contains mainly public statements by party members which criticize open borders and mass immigration.

“Cicero“, “Tichy’s Einblick” and “Junge Freiheit” obtained the 1,100 page dossier which ex-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser used to drop a bomb on the AfD on her last day in office. The German secret political police (Office for the Protection of the Constitution – Verfassungsschutz / BfV) has since retracted its classification of the AfD as “far-right” after the AfD sued in court and US Senator Tom Cotton wrote to DNI Tulsi Gabbard to ask US intel agencies to stop exchanging information with German secret services that spy on the political opposition.

The dossier released by the conservative media did not contain any new revelations, but consists entirely of public statements by AfD politcians that most US conservatives will find completely normal sentiments, such as a Facebook post by the party from September 25, 2023:

Instead of a pointless housing summit: Deportation for more housing! If hundreds of thousands or even millions enter Germany every year without the same number of apartments being built, there won’t be enough housing. So due to rising demand, rents also increase. The result: According to calculations by the housing industry association, up to one million apartments may be missing by 2025. But instead of even talking about how this problem can be reduced through consistent deportations and protected borders, the established parties organize a pointless housing summit and decide on brutal regulations at the expense of the Germans.

Pretty extreme, huh?

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Georgia Governor Signs Bill Granting Immunity for Harms Caused by Pesticides and Fertilizers

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed SB144 into law, which has also been referred to as an immunity bill for agrochemical businesses that sell pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. The bill states, “a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.” The Georgia legislature passed the bill and was awaiting Kemp’s signature, which he finalized on Monday.

Georgia became the second state in the nation to provide manufacturer immunity for harm caused by pesticides after North Dakota signed a similar bill into law last month. Bayer has been handling tens of thousands of lawsuits related to cancer allegedly caused by Roundup, a product that Bayer owns after the agrochemical corporation purchased Monsanto in 2018. In April, The HighWire reported about Bayer’s recent court loss in which the company is required to pay over $2 billion for causing a man’s non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but the high payout amount is expected to be appealed. This case was conducted in a Georgia courtroom.

The EPA is still awaiting a court decision regarding its most recent evaluation of glyphosate’s effect on human health. The EPA currently states, “No risks of concern to human health from current uses of glyphosate.” The EPA website also states, “No evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans.”

Meanwhile, the passage of SB144 in Georgia means a farmer cannot sue Bayer for harms allegedly caused by Roundup because the product contains the label required by the EPA. The label states, “Keep Out of Reach of Children CAUTION See [back/ side] [panel/ booklet/ label] for [additional] first aid and precautionary statements. Alternative Text: [See container label for [complete] use directions, first aid and precautionary statements.]”

Bayer issued a statement applauding the Governor for signing the legislation. The statement said, “The signing of SB 144 by Governor Kemp demonstrates that Georgia stands with its farmers, who work tirelessly to produce safe and affordable food for communities throughout the state. We thank Governor Kemp and the legislators, farmers and ag groups that supported this important piece of legislation.”

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GOP Congressman Humiliates a Grandstanding AOC as She Plays to the Cameras While Asking Questions About Medicaid – AOC Then Completely Snaps

Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) lost it early this morning after a GOP congressman humiliated her by calling out her grandstanding tactics during a committee hearing.

While the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing entered the early morning hours as part of its marathon mega bill markup, AOC attempted to disassemble the GOP’s plans to reform Medicaid by asking witnesses a series of leading questions. Of course, she wanted to play to the cameras at the same time.

When she did finally act like a professional, Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) took notice and roasted her.

“Um, in terms of some of the exemptions, pregnancy is covered, correct?” AOC asked.

“May I interrupt? I’m glad you’re addressing us instead of addressing the camera,” Weber quipped.

AOC then repeated her question about pregnancy, and the witness answered that pregnancy was covered. AOC then tried to ask a gotcha question about abortion laws.

“Given the Dobbs decision and the fact that many women and the fact that many women in many states are forced to…” she began before Weber cut her off.

“Okay, what about miscarriage?” AOC asked.

“Reclaiming my time. I just want to make the point that we’d like for you to address the Republicans and let’s have a dialogue this way & not through a camera,” Weber said.

“But, but, I’m just asking about a miscarriage,” AOC whined.

“The gentlelady is out of order!” Weber shouted.

A short time later, AOC started grandstanding again after getting some backup from Rep. Yvette Clarke.

“There are 13.7 million Americans on the other side of that screen there. Hello, hello,” Ocasio-Cortez stated, waving to the camera. “I’m talking to you because I work for you. They deserve to see what is happening here because there are plenty of districts, including Republican ones, where 25 percent of your constituents are on Medicaid, 40 percent of your constituents are on Medicaid.”

“Will the gentlelady yield?” Weber asked.

Upon hearing this, AOC finally snapped completely.

“I will not yield because it was a terribly disrespectful comment, and I will not yield to disrespectful men!” she whined.

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Texas mother arrested after allegedly aiding in son’s planned school attack

A Texas mother was arrested this week on allegations she purchased ammunition and tactical gear for her son, who authorities said was planning “mass targeted violence” at a San Antonio school, according to an affidavit obtained by CBS News.

Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested Monday on one count of aiding in the commission of terrorism after tactical gear and ammunition were found at her home, which authorities said she purchased for her son in exchange for babysitting his younger siblings, according to the arrest affidavit issued by Bexar County Magistrate Court. 

Pardo “intentionally and knowingly aided” her son, San Antonio police wrote in the affidavit.

The situation unfolded in January, when school staff at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio found a map of the school which had been allegedly drawn by the Pardo’s son, who was not named in the affidavit. 

The map was labeled “suicide route,” with the name of the school and a rifle drawn above it, according to the affidavit. The boy told officials that he had a “fascination with past mass shooters, including their manifestos.” 

In April, the boy was suspended from school for using a school-issued computer to research the 2019 massacre on two mosques in Christchurch , New Zealand, according to the affidavit.

The boy was “subsequently suspended,” and later in the day attempted suicide, the affidavit states. He attended an alternative school through May 7, and returned to his Jeremiah Rhodes on May 8.  

On Monday, the boy’s grandmother contacted police after the middle schooler told her that Pardo gave him guns and ammunition, according to the affidavit. The grandmother had found her grandson playing with a live bullet and a hammer the day prior, the documents read. 

The grandmother told police that Pardo had taken her son to a surplus store and bought him tactical gear, including magazines, a tactical vest, a tactical helmet and army clothing.

“It has been expressed to the Defendant the concerns of her child’s expression and desire to commit acts of mass violence,” the affidavit stated about Pardo. “The Defendant expressed to the school her support of (her son’s) violent expressions and drawings and does not feel concerned for his behavior.”

The grandmother also found a homemade explosive device made from a mortar-style firework in the boy’s bedroom, the affidavit said. Written on the device were the words “For Brenton Tarrant,” the Australian white supremacist who carried out the Christchurch shootings which killed 51 people. 

Multiple “SS” symbols and “14 words” were also written on the device, according to the affidavit, references to white supremacist ideology.

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Judicial Coup Exposed: New Bill Proposed to Answer Courts’ War on Trump and America

A bold legislative proposal, the “Restoring Constitutional Mandate for Congress to Set Rules for the Federal Courts Act,” seeks to rein in what its author warns is an existential crisis – a  “judicial coup” targeting President Donald Trump and the American people.

Drafted by Jonathon Moseley, a 24-year legal veteran and founder of the Patriot Legal Defense Fund, the bill aims to rescind the Rules Enabling Act.  The Constitution empowers Congress to set the rules for the Federal courts.

But Congress generously trusted the U.S. Supreme Court with this honor and prestige.  The bill includes a rebuke of U.S. Supreme Court Justices who have abused their constitutional role.

On May 12, Chief Justice John Roberts – who never criticizes misconduct by judges, politicized lawfare, or abuses against conservatives – issued his third attack on President Trump.

Roberts has not seemed to grasp that respect is earned, not demanded.  But when judges like Roberts criticize only one side of the political world, they lose all credibility.

Roberts made similar veiled threats against the Trump Administration in Buffalo on May 7, the week before.

The previous week Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson added to a seemingly-coordinated drum beat.

On May 8, Justice Sonia Sotomayor basically rallied the nation’s lawyers to fight an insurrection against Republican officials, speaking at the American Bar Association.

Moseley argues that judges should never be speaking outside the courthouse to maintain the public trust.

“The ABA has sued Trump over federal grant terminations,” yet Sotomayor was speaking to a litigant in an active lawsuit.

Active members of the ABA are already the most left-wing and activist lawyers compared to most attorneys just working for clients.

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Finland to criminalise Holocaust denial

The government is proposing to add a provision to the criminal code to outlaw Holocaust denial and other serious international crimes.

Suggesting that the Holocaust did not happen will become a punishable offence, with the penalty ranging from a fine to two years’ imprisonment.

The government submitted the legislative proposal to Parliament on Thursday, with the law expected to come into force this autumn.

The Finnish government proposal is based on the EU’s framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia.

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Former Member of Michigan Army National Guard Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said Arrested For Plotting Mass Shooting at Military Base on Behalf of ISIS

The Feds arrested former member of Michigan Army National Guard Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said for plotting a mass shooting at a military base in Warren, Michigan.

The DOJ announced that Said, 19, was charged in a criminal complaint with “attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.”

“According to the complaint, Said informed two undercover law enforcement officers of a plan he had devised and formulated to conduct a mass-shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan. In April 2025, the two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said’s plan at the direction of ISIS. In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack, and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target,” the DOJ said.

“On May 13 – the scheduled day of the attack – Said was arrested after he traveled to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan. He will make his initial court appearance today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be asking the court to hold Said in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee,” the DOJ said.

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New Biden Decline Details Emerge: ‘Beginning in 2023…’

We are getting even more confirmation of, and details behind, the scandalous lies and attempted cover-up surrounding former President Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive decline.  I call it an ‘attempted’ cover-up because they were unable to truly hide it from anyone with eyes, ears, and basic powers of observation.  They engaged in intense gaslighting, smearing anyone who accurately described what they plainly noticed as ‘cheap fakers‘ and ‘misinformation’ purveyors.  Contra the insulting, self-serving current line from many Democrats and journalists, Biden’s troubles were not some well-kept secret that was corruptly withheld from them by a small circle of advisors and family members.  They could all see what the rest of us were seeing, in real time, based solely on the president’s public appearances.  They actively joined the attempted cover-up, in service of their political party’s grip on control.  The indignant ‘Country Over Party’ lecturers aggressively prioritized Party Over Country, insisting that a plainly deteriorating president could not only remain on the job for a few more months, but could serve for an additional four years.  

They were mainlining their own political spin, conflating the interests of their tribe with the interests of the country.  This was textbook, hardcore partisanship.  Given the realities at play, it was also outrageous behavior, and an actual threat to the country.  We barely had a functioning president, and they were comfortable with lying to voters in the hopes of propping up some unconstitutional president-by-committee arrangement, for the sake of their power.  Democrats were all over television vouching for Biden’s wellness and capabilities.  The ‘news’ media instantly and dutifully parroted the newly-invented ‘cheap fake’ attack line from the White House within nanoseconds of its inception.  I’m sure those who were closest to POTUS had additional insights into the particulars about how bad things were getting behind the scenes, but the fundamental problem was glaringly apparent to millions of people who merely had access to videos of Biden doing things like walking and speaking — especially when it was already obvious how much they were limiting and restricting his public-facing events.  

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Hate-Filled Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Goes on Disrespectful Race-Baiting Attack Against RFK Jr in Committee Hearing – RFK Hilariously Shuts Her Down When Time Expires and She Replies, “So Has Your Legitimacy!”

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), during a Wednesday House Appropriations Committee hearing, used her time for questioning Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stick it to whitey and the Trump Administration in a nasty race-baiting rant. 

Coleman is one of the three Democratic congressmembers who stormed the Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey last week.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, ICE bodycam footage that was released over the weekend shows Rep. LaMonica McIver verbally abusing and physically assaulting federal agents at the ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey. Rep. Bob Menendez and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka were also involved in the lawlessness.

On Wednesday, she got defiant once again with an outragous attack on the Trump administration for “attempting to legitimize racial discrimination” and accusing Kennedy of pushing “the lie that [Trump] cares about me and black people.” Nothing he could have said could have satisfied her anti-white rage.

The DEI Congresswoman could barely even read her prepared speech, struggling repeatedly to hurl her race-obsessed smears against RFK Jr., the nephew of John F. Kennedy,  a driving force for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Throughout the hate-filled questioning, she refused to let Kennedy respond and constantly interrupted him with more indictments of racism.

Near the end of her five minutes, she was practically screaming at Kennedy, pressing him to answer the question she had refused to allow him to answer. When the clock passed five minutes, Kennedy caused some in the room to break out in laughter and gasps after he cut her off, saying, “My time has expired.”

“Well, then So has your legitimacy!” she stammered in response.

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