Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s political star is on the rise, with many commentators identifying him as the heir apparent to a post-Trump GOP. For someone with such an immense public persona, DeSantis has been curiously tight-lipped about his military past. A bombshell new report from journalist and Army veteran Mike Prysner on his podcast Eyes Left now reveals why. According to former Guantánamo Bay detainee Mansoor Adayfi, DeSantis oversaw torture in Guantánamo, greenlighting everything from beatings to forced feedings of hunger-striking detainees. After his stint in Guantánamo, DeSantis was deployed to Fallujah to act as the US military’s human rights lawyer during the Second Gulf War. Mike Prysner joins TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez to discuss his reporting, and what DeSantis’s past tells us about the future he has in store for all of us.
Blog
District administrator calls for ‘privileged white voices’ to be dismissed from curriculum plans in California
A California district administrator involved in overseeing curriculum, Samia Shoman, called for “privileged White voices” to be removed from influencing against a far-left ethnic studies curriculum.
Shoman oversees curriculum in the San Mateo Union High School district as manager of English Learners and Academic Support Programs. The email was dated March 2021 and was obtained via public record request by Zachor Legal.
Shoman contacted the California State superintendent, Tony Thurmond, in March 2021. Shoman blasted “white voices” and said they should have no part in influencing the curriculum.
“We urge the [state board of education] not to give in to the pressures and influences of political lobbyists, racist & privileged white voices, and individuals,” she said.
Another issue Shoman took up with the proposed ethnic studies curriculum was the idea of “multiple perspectives.”
UAP Report Reveals 171 UFOs That Seem to Defy Natural Laws
The August 2022 Unclassified Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has surfaced, revealing a number of unexplained UFO sightings. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 required the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on UAPs to Congress. The renewed interest in UAPs comes on the heels of the May 2022 House Intelligence Committee hearing requiring transparency on UAPs and their potential threats to national security. A classified version of the report has also been presented to Congress. UncoverDC reported on the 9-page preliminary report that was released in June 2021.
A Department of Defense news report from December 17, 2022, detailed the formation of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Established in July 2022, the Office is tasked with identifying and analyzing UAPs that might pose a threat to the military and other federal agencies. It is an “interagency” effort “to document, collect, analyze and, when possible, resolve reports of any unidentified anomalous phenomena,” said Sean M. Kirkpatrick, the Director of AARO.
According to a memo from Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, AARO will “leverage” DoD capabilities in coordination with the Intelligence Community to “tackle the unique challenges posed by the presence of anomalous objects across all domains…following along [6] lines primary lines of effort.”
Vatican investigating ‘sex party’ in cathedral
The Catholic Church is investigating allegations of a “sex party” that took place at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle while the rest of the UK was under strict lockdown rules, the Sunday Times reported. The probe is part of a wider Vatican inquiry into the diocese, involving multiple cases of sexual abuse.
In a letter reported by the newspaper on Sunday, the Archbishop of Liverpool said that he had been asked by the Pope’s advisers to compile “an in-depth report” into events leading up to the resignation of Robert Byrne as the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in December.
Byrne was made bishop in 2019, and immediately appointed Father Michael McCoy as the Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle.
When the UK was placed under strict lockdown rules the following year, McCoy allegedly approached several parishoners and asked them to attend “a party” at the cathedral, a source told the Times. This event was described by the source as “a sex party taking place in the priests’ living quarters attached to Newcastle cathedral.”
Australians Hand in Almost 18,000 Weapons in First Year of National Gun Amnesty
Australians handed in almost 18,000 weapons, including a Vietnam-era flamethrower, automatic firearms, and a crossbow, to police during the first year of a national firearms amnesty.
A total of 17,543 firearms weapons and 606 weapons components, including suppressors and magazines, were surrendered between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, according to the Permanent National Firearms Amnesty Annual Report issued on Jan. 20 by Attorney-General’s Department.
The National Firearms Amnesty program was approved in 2019 by the then Coalition government. However, the program was delayed until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New South Wales (NSW) accounted for the largest amount, with 6,704 weapons and firearms surrendered. Victoria and Queensland ranked second and third place, with 3,279 and 2,835 weapons and firearms surrendered, respectively. Among all firearms submitted, 6,343 were handed in for destruction.
Over 8,000 rifles and nearly 3,000 shotguns were collected, with almost two tonnes of ammunition collected in the ACT, NSW, and Tasmania.
‘Child Protection’ Org Fought Against Efforts To Crack Down On Childlike Sex Dolls, Cartoon Child Porn
The Prostasia Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that claims to work to prevent child sex abuse, has fought against measures cracking down on fetish activities involving sexually fantasizing about children, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation found.
Prostasia’s stated mission is to prevent child sex abuse before it happens through research, consulting, “defending the innocent” and advocating for “effective laws” that could help prevent abuse, according to the group’s website. In practice, however, Prostasia has advocated for policies that would expand adults’ access to childlike sex toys and fictitious child pornography while making life easier for convicted sex offenders; the organization argues that these activities do not harm children and may help pedophiles avoid committing crimes.
“Prostasia Foundation is a child sexual abuse prevention organisation, led by survivors and experts,” Jeremy Malcolm, founder and former executive director of Prostasia, told the DCNF in September. “One of the ways that we can prevent abuse is by ensuring that mental health services are available to those who may otherwise be at risk of offending. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse, and have never offered any excuse to those who abuse children.”
‘He Was Looking for People’: What We Know About the Monterey Park Shooter
A 72-year-old man shot and killed 10 people on Saturday night at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, where decades earlier he had met his wife.
On Sunday night police named the shooter as Huu Can Tran, and confirmed that he had taken his own life earlier in the day. Police found his body inside the van he used as a getaway vehicle the night before.
Authorities have yet to identify why the gunman did what he did.
“We still are not clear on the motive,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference Sunday night.
The gunman’s ex-wife and former friends have described him as irritable and “quick to anger,” while police sources told the LA Times that the gunman had recently gone to a police station close to where he lived to claim his family was trying to poison him.
Saturday night’s massacre happened as thousands of people gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival in Monterey Park, a city of 60,000 people located seven miles from downtown Los Angeles. The city is a haven for Asian Americans, who make up almost two thirds of the population. It was once described by a developer as the Chinese Beverly Hills.
The massacre on Saturday is the 36th mass shooting to take place in the U.S. since the year began, according to Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that defines a mass shooting as a shooting where four or more people are injured or killed. It is the deadliest attack since the Uvalde school shooting last May when 21 people, including 19 children, were killed.
As a mark of respect to the victims, President Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown at half staff on the White House and all federal buildings until sunset on Thursday.
“I still have questions in my mind, which is, what was the motive for this shooter? Did he have a mental illness? Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he get these guns, and was it through legal means? Well, those questions will have to be answered in the future,” said Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes Monterey Park and who served three terms as the city’s mayor, during a news conference on Sunday night.
Former top FBI official Charles McGonigal arrested over ties to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
A former top FBI official in New York has been arrested over his ties to a Russian oligarch, law enforcement sources told ABC News Monday.
Charles McGonigal, who was the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the FBI’s New York Field Office, is under arrest over his ties to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who has been sanctioned by the United States and criminally charged last year with violating those sanctions.
McGonigal retired from the FBI in 2018. He was arrested Saturday afternoon after he arrived at JFK Airport following travel in Sri Lanka, the sources said.
He was charged along with a court interpreter, Sergey Shestakov, who also worked with Deripaska.
McGonigal, 54, is charged with violating U.S. sanctions by trying to get Deripaska off the sanctions list. McGonigal is one of the highest ranking former FBI officials ever charged with a crime.
McGonigal and Shestakov, who worked for the FBI investigating oligarchs, allegedly agreed in 2021 to investigate a rival Russian oligarch in return for payments from Deripaska, according to the Justice Department. McGonigal and Shestakov are accused of receiving payments through shell companies and forging signatures in order to keep it a secret that Deripaska was paying them.
Both face money laundering charges in addition to charges for violating sanctions. Each of four counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
SWAT Team Wakes Up Couple, Shoots Unarmed Disabled Husband, Attempts to Cover It Up
If you read the original headlines in December 2022 after police filled Jason Harley Kloepfer, 41, with bullet holes, you would have thought that police acted heroically and saved the day. Headlines, however, especially when they involve “official” statements from police, are often very wrong.
“Kloepfer confronted officers, forcing them to shoot the suspect,” the police initially told reporters, who unquestioningly printed it. The official statement from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office read as follows:
On Monday December 12th, 2022 at approximately 11pm Cherokee County E911 Communications received a 911 call indicating a disturbance with several gun shots fired at 1790 Upper Bear Paw Road. Cherokee County Deputies were immediately dispatched and arrived on the scene at approximately 11:17pm. Deputies attempted to make contact with the alleged shooter but was unsuccessful. Recognizing there was an armed suspect present and the potential for a hostage situation, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant and requested assistance from the Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT Team. The suspected shooter engaged in a verbal altercation with officers and emerged from a camper trailer and confronted officers. Members of the Cherokee Indian Police SWAT Team fired upon the suspect and wounded him. The suspect was transported to Erlanger in Chattanooga Tennessee where he was last reported in stable condition.
However, video footage was released over the weekend, showing this description was a lie. Kloepfer never “confronted” anyone, complied with officers’ orders, was unarmed and had his hands up when officers filled him with bullet holes, sending him to the hospital fighting for his life.
According to police, they arrived at the scene that night over reports of shots fired. They wrongly accused Kloepfer of holding a hostage inside his home and deployed a robot camera inside his home.
As the video below shows, the robot camera wakes the sleeping couple who then get up to see what was going on. As Kloepfer and his wife walk out the front door, both unarmed, they put their hands in the air before officers open fire.
Kloepfer collapses. “What the hell!” his wife screamed at the officers while helping Kloepfer. “He’s shot – what the hell did you do!”
Despite shooting an unarmed man and knowing that he is bleeding out inside, officers yell for Kloepfer to come outside. He could not.
As cops finally enter the trailer, Kloepfer is faintly heard telling them, “I don’t have a gun. I didn’t have a gun.”
After the SWAT officer drags Koepfer’s body from the trailer, they realize they are on camera and quickly acknowledge it.
“F**k, cameras,” an officer says after seeing the video recording device. Police then turn the lights back on as they appear to put on night vision in a futile attempt to cover their actions — apparently unaware that the camera had night vision as well.
Kloepfer, who was disabled before the shooting, has been in recovery ever since, having undergone multiple surgeries. He has been sharing his recovery on Facebook and says he and his wife are staying out of state, claiming they fear for their lives with the Cherokee county SWAT team giving them ample reason to do so.
Ukrainian Diplomat Uses Twitter to Celebrate the Shooting of Female Russian Journalist
A Ukrainian diplomat is using Twitter to celebrate the shooting of a female Russian journalist while she covered the ongoing war in Ukraine, claiming in his Tweet that the journalist got “what she deserved” and “better piss off.” Attacks on the press have been part and parcel of Ukraine’s military strategy, and the Zelensky government has become known for imprisoning even Ukrainian journalists if they run afoul of the government’s approved talking points.
“Brave Russian propagandist in Ukraine gets what she & all [Russian] invaders deserve,” wrote Ukrainian diplomat Andrij Melnyk in his tweet. “So you just better piss off,” he added, attaching a video that shows a female Russian journalist, providing on-the-ground coverage in Ukraine and being shot by Ukrainian forces.
In the video, the Russian journalist can be seen peering out from behind a door and providing a narrative to viewers, in her native language, before a sudden impact jerks her back and forces her to drop her camera. Screaming ensues and she is dragged back through the doorway she was in the middle of by her male companion. It’s unclear if he’s a soldier or a fellow journalist, embedded with Russian ground forces.
You must be logged in to post a comment.