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Columbus police say weekend shooting spree was racially motivated

The 39-year-old man charged in a weekend shooting spree told Columbus police his assaults were racially motivated, targeting white men he felt had taken from him all his life, a detective testified Monday.

Though police allege Justin Tyran Roberts was involved in three separate assaults that wounded five people Friday and Saturday in Columbus and Phenix City, he was in Columbus Recorder’s Court to face charges in just one of those incidents, a shooting around 2 p.m. Saturday under the Oglethorpe Bridge at Broadway and Fourth Street.

That’s where a man was shot in the back as he was getting into his vehicle in a parking area under the bridge, said Detective Brandon Lockhart, who quoted Roberts as telling police, “I had to have him.”

The victim was hit once in the back, but four bullets hit his vehicle, and police found six shell casings at the scene, Lockhart said.

Under questioning by public defender Robin King, Lockhart elaborated on what Roberts, who is Black, told him during an interview at police headquarters.

“Basically, he explained throughout his life, specifically white males had taken from him, and also what he described as ‘military-looking white males’ had taken from him,” the investigator said.

Roberts also claimed that such men were “shooting at him in a wooded area with a slingshot,” and the wounds had infected his skin, Lockhart testified. Police saw no injuries to substantiate that, he said.

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Biden Administration Asks Americans to Report ‘Potentially’ Radicalized Friends and Family

President Joe Biden’s administration announced their plans to create ways for Americans to report radicalized friends and family to the government, in an effort to fight domestic terrorism.

In a conversation with reporters, one senior administration official explained the importance of stopping politically fueled violence before it started.

“We will work to improve public awareness of federal resources to address concerning or threatening behavior before violence occurs,” the official said.

The official cited the Department of Homeland Security’s “If you see something say something” campaign to help stop radical Islamic terror as a domestic possibility.

“This involves creating contexts in which those who are family members or friends or co-workers know that there are pathways and avenues to raise concerns and seek help for those who they have perceived to be radicalizing and potentially radicalizing towards violence,” the official said.

Biden began his presidency with a stark warning in his inauguration speech about the “rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.” On June 1, Biden described the threat from “white supremacy” as the “most lethal threat to the homeland today.”

The Biden administration said it would also work with large technology companies on “increased information sharing” to help combat radicalization.

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Unindicted Co-Conspirators in 1/6 Cases Raise Disturbing Questions of Federal Foreknowledge

Of all the questions asked, words spoken, and ink spilled on the so-called “Capitol Siege” of January 6, 2021, none hold the key to the entire event quite like what Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked of Christopher Wray.

The Democrat from Minnesota asked the Trump-appointed FBI Director: Did the federal government infiltrate any of the so-called “militia” organizations claimed to be responsible for planning and executing the Capitol Siege?

The full segment is available on YouTube.

Christopher Wray is able to uncomfortably weasel his way out of answering the question directly, partially because Klobuchar does him the courtesy of not asking him the question directly. Klobuchar instead asks the FBI director if he wishes he had infiltrated the militia organizations allegedly involved in 1/6 — assuming from the outset that there was in fact no infiltration, thereby providing the FBI director an easy way to avoid addressing the question one way or another.

Revolver News is willing to address the matter directly in the following three questions:

  • In the year leading up to 1/6 and during 1/6 itself, to what extent were the three primary militia groups (the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and the Three Percenters) that the FBI, DOJ, Pentagon and network news have labeled most responsible for planning and executing a Capitol attack on 1/6 infiltrated by agencies of the federal government, or informants of said agencies?
  • Exactly how many federal undercover agents or confidential informants were present at the Capitol or in the Capitol during the infamous “siege” and what roles did they play (merely passive informants or active instigators)?
  • Finally, of all of the unindicted co-conspirators referenced in the charging documents of those indicted for crimes on 1/6, how many worked as a confidential informant or as an undercover operative for the federal government (FBI, Army Counterintelligence, etc.)?

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Wikipedia’s Quiet, Big-Tech-Funded Grip On Internet Knowledge Gives It Too Much Power

Wikipedia’s quiet dominance over internet knowledge and close ties to authoritarian big tech companies is giving the online encyclopedia site too much unchecked power.

In one recent example, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is under federal and state investigation for mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and growing list of scandals, is described on his Wikipedia page in a positive light while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential GOP frontrunner for the 2024 presidential election, is painted as a partisan hack who ignored the science.

Anyone who searches for information about both of these governors’ pandemic responses will be given this information that isn’t necessarily true, and Wikipedia doesn’t seem to do anything about it. As a matter of fact, any user who wanted to manipulate a page to fit his agenda could as long as it slipped through Wikipedia’s editing process. That happened seven years ago when a Wikipedia user overlooked The Federalist’s long list of “featured-in” publications and important interviews to try to delete our publication’s entry because, according to the user, it “does not pass the threshold for notability.”

Wikipedia’s move to the left, especially when echoing narratives found in corporate media, is not a sudden one. Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger is just one of the many people who recently called attention to Wikipedia slowly but surely kissing its neutrality goodbye. In an interview in February, Sanger said the 20-year-old website’s shift towards the left is “disheartening” and “troubling.”

“Wikipedia’s ideological and religious bias is real and troubling, particularly in a resource that continues to be treated by many as an unbiased reference work,” Sanger said.

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White farmers win fight against “discriminatory” criteria for federal Covid relief

A Wisconsin federal court has temporarily stopped payments in a federal farmer loan forgiveness program that allocates benefits on the basis of racial categories.

Twelve farmers and ranchers across nine states filed the lawsuit against the Biden Administration, saying they are not eligible for relief because they are white.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 directs the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give preferential treatment to businesses owned by women, veterans, and people who are “socially and economically disadvantaged.”

The federal law uses a controversial “critical race theory” definition of “socially and economically disadvantaged” that can only include minority groups.

The court entered the emergency injunction temporarily halting payments in the $4 billion program, stating that the white farmers are “likely to to succeed on the merits of their claim”.

A Texas court recently temporarily halted a program for restauranteurs under the same federal program for the same reasons.

Several other courts have ruled similarly and enjoined the Biden Administration from administering the Covid relief program on a discriminatory basis.

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40 Percent of Teachers Say Civics Education Should Focus On Critical Race Theory

More than 40 percent of teachers say civics education should be focused on critical race theory, according to a Heritage Foundation study released Monday.

The report found that 43 percent of teachers are familiar with critical race theory. Of those teachers, 55 percent supported the doctrine, which teaches that American institutions are inherently racist. Forty-one percent of teachers said civics education should focus on critical race theory, while 57.5 percent of teachers said critical race theory should be included in civics education. Parents were marginally less supportive of critical race theory compared to teachers.

Parents and educators have feuded over the future of American civics education in recent months. Voters in Virginia and Texas have ousted pro-critical race theory school board members in recent elections. Red state legislators have moved to ban critical race theory, while blue states have encouraged it. The Illinois State Board of Education in February approved standards that asked teachers to “mitigate” behaviors that stem from “unearned privilege” and “Eurocentrism.”

The Heritage Foundation conducted the survey, first reported by The Federalist, of 1,003 teachers and 1,012 parents from December 2020 through February 2021. The report’s authors claim that teaching critical race theory in schools could reverse “the immense progress this country has made in race relations and equality.”

“Young Americans are taught not to be proud of their country, but to see it as an oppressor,” the study says. “In order to reverse this destructive and dangerous trend, it is essential that schools teach America’s founding principles, while at the same time build strong relationships between parents and teachers.”

While critical race theory in schools has made headlines over the past year, 65 percent of parents said they were not familiar, or unsure if they were familiar with, critical race theory. Just under 57 percent of teachers said the same.

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Feinstein Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award From Bush Scion’s CCP-Backed Group

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) last week quietly accepted a lifetime achievement award from a foundation with deep ties to a Chinese Communist Party front group.

The George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations honored Feinstein for her commitment to “a robust and mutually beneficial U.S.-China relationship.” The group is heavily funded by the China-U.S. Exchange Foundation, a Hong Kong-based think tank considered a key player in the Chinese Communist Party’s united front propaganda system. Axios reported last week that the Exchange Foundation gave the Bush foundation a five-year, $5 million grant in 2019 to promote ties between the United States and China.

U.S. officials have expressed concern that the Exchange Foundation serves as an influence agent for the Chinese government. CIA director William Burns testified at his February confirmation hearing that he ended a partnership with the group when he served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, citing the think tank’s influence activities. Feinstein attended that hearing as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Feinstein has come under scrutiny for China-related matters before. She said last year that China was “growing into a respectable nation” and cautioned against holding China accountable for the coronavirus pandemic. Feinstein also employed a suspected Chinese spy as a congressional aide for nearly two decades. She supported expanded trade relations with China while her husband sought business deals in the country.

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