Tag: crime

Trump Would-Be Assassin Ryan Wesley Routh Has Over 100 Criminal Charges, Was Arrested for Possessing a Weapon of Mass Destruction in 2002 — Yet Only Received Probation

Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspected gunman behind the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, was previously charged in 2002 for possessing a weapon of mass destruction.

Roth is a construction worker and a registered Democrat.

This is according to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records, which show that despite the severity of his crime, Routh received a mere slap on the wrist — probation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, “A weapon of mass destruction is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people.”

Former FBI agent and justice contributor for NewsNation Jennifer Coffindaffer weighed in on the implications of such a charge.

“Essentially, it’s a weapon that can be used to cause a lot of damage to any sort of infrastructure or a large population,” she said.  “That can be radiological, that could be chemical, that could be nuclear, that could be explosive. We don’t know the exact details, but this is a very serious charge.”

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Gov. Newsom signs bill to resume harsh penalties for smash-and-grab robberies in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that reinstates tough criminal penalties for those who conduct large-scale theft schemes and smash-and-grab robberies that continue to frustrate voters across the state.

Under the new law, prosecutors are required to begin imposing harsher sentences on those who damage or destroy property with a value of more than $50,000 while committing a felony.

In 2018, a similar law expired, though the new law will sunset by 2030.

“California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation, and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said in a statement. “We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime. We don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century.”

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Philippines police say ‘alarming details’ uncovered in new allegations against celebrity preacher

Police in the Philippines said on Wednesday more people had come forward alleging sexual abuse by celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, pointing to what they called an alarming pattern of crimes by the wealthy, self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God”.

Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church’s sprawling 30-hectare (74-acre) compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.

Quiboloy for years cultivated an image as a charismatic spiritual leader with divine powers, earning him millions of followers, a lavish lifestyle and powerful friends in the country’s political elite.

“These courageous victims have spoken up, revealing their harrowing experiences. The abuse they endured shows an alarming pattern of manipulation and exploitation,” Philippine police chief General Francisco Marbil said in a statement.

Those included girls as young as 12 and were part of a group of what police called “inner-circle pastorals” who have been crucial in uncovering the full extent of Quiboloy’s alleged crimes, Marbil added.

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Government Refuses to Publish Data on Crime and Welfare By Immigration Status or Nationality

The Government is refusing to publish data on crime and welfare claims by immigration status or nationality, making it impossible to ascertain the impact of immigration on society and the economy, says Matt Goodwin on Substack. Here’s an excerpt.

There was a truly remarkable revelation in the U.K. Parliament this week and one you probably missed. … [It] was quietly made by a renegade Conservative Member of Parliament during a committee discussion about immigration, with Nigel Farage and Reform MPs looking on. What was the revelation? Well, brace yourself because there wasn’t one but a series of bombshells, each one more mind-boggling than the last and each one underlining how it’s not populists who are stoking misinformation — it’s the elite class.

The revelations — by the respected and rigorous Neil O’Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston — really are devastating.

He pointed to not just a Government but an entire political system that is either deliberately concealing masses of information from voters about the impact of immigration, or is doing so through sheer incompetence.

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San Bernardino wildfire started by suspected arsonist

A California man has been arrested in connection with the San Bernardino Line Fire, which has scorched tens of thousands of acres of forestland. The wildfire, which began last week, has led to significant damage and the evacuation of residents in affected areas.Justin Wayne Halstenberg, a 34-year-old resident of Norco, California, was taken into custody following an investigation by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department into the wildfire that has resulted in over 34,000 acres being burned. 

“Highland Station detectives, in collaboration with Cal Fire investigators, identified Justin Wayne Halstenberg as the suspect who started a fire in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland, also known as the Line Fire, on September 5, 2024,” said the sheriff’s office in a press release.

Halstenberg has been a delivery driver for FedEx since last year and previously worked at the US Postal Service, according to the New York Post. He is facing multiple charges, including arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and possession of flammable material.

Authorities have not provided further details on how Halstenberg is suspected of starting the fire. He is currently being held at San Bernardino’s Central Detention Center on $80,000 bail, with a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.

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The Folly of Criminalizing “Hate”

Many people were shocked when over 1,000 protesters were arrested in the UK and jailed for various offenses including “violent disorder” and stirring up racial hatred. Most shocking were the cases of those arrested for posting social media comments on the riots, despite not being present at the scene and there being no evidence that anybody who joined in the riots had read any of their comments.

In societies which uphold the value of individual liberty, the only purpose of the criminal law should be to restrain and punish those who commit acts of aggression against other people or their property. The criminal law should not be used to prevent people from “hating” others or to force them to “love” each other. In announcing yet another raft of laws “to expand the list of charges eligible to be prosecuted as hate crimes,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that “During these challenging times, we will continue to show up for each other. We are making it clear: love will always have the last word in New York.” To that end, she introduced “legislation to significantly expand eligibility for hate crime prosecution.”

Attempts to promote love between different racial or religious groups in society, for example, by charging people with stirring up “hate” when they protest against immigration, misunderstands the role of the criminal law. Threats to public order entail violating the person or property of others—as happens in a violent riot—not merely the exhibition of “hate” towards others. Yet increasingly, public order offenses are linked to hate speech or hate crimes.

Laws prohibiting hate speech and hate crimes typically define “hate” as hostility based on race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Often, hostility is understood simply as words that offend others. For example, in the UK, the Communications Act 2003 prohibits sending “a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.” The Online Safety Act 2023 targets illegal content online including both “inciting violence” and the publication of “racially or religiously aggravated public order offenses.” Conduct online includes writing posts or publishing blogs or articles on websites.

Given that inciting violence is already a crime—“conduct, words, or other means that urge or naturally lead others to riot, violence, or insurrection”—there seems to be no discernible purpose in adding the concept of “hate” to such crimes. To give an example, writing “burn down the store” on social media might be seen as inciting violence, but writing “burn down the Muslim store” in the same circumstances would be categorized as a hate crime. Arson (actually burning down the store) is a crime, but based on the racial or religious identity of the store owner arson is deemed to be a “worse” crime—a hate crime—even though the harm in both cases and the loss suffered by store owners who are victims of arson does not vary based purely on their race or religion.

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Killer who transitioned while in jail for murder of NYC antiques dealer previously decapitated someone with chainsaw: prosecutors

The “baby-faced” killer who murdered an Upper East Side antiques dealer with a decorative plate, kitchen knife and “maybe a pen” previously decapitated another man with a chainsaw, authorities say.

Alex Ray Scott, a 28-year-old trans female from Oklahoma who began transitioning in jail, admitted to the gruesome previous killing of Robin Skocdopole, 63, in Broken Arrow, Okla., when she was arrested for the New York City slaying of Kenneth Savinski, 64, in January 2020, records show.

Details of the Oklahoma murder surfaced Monday at a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing, where Scott pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, as well as multiple counts of criminal possession, in Savinski’s death.

Scott killed and stole credit cards from Savinski in his Upper East Side apartment after the two met on a dating app, authorities say. She had no memory of the bloody attack when she turned herself in and told police, “I think I may have killed someone last night,” according to her indictment.

Credit cards belonging to Skocdopole and found on Scott at the time eventually led investigators to check Skocdopole’s home in Broken Arrow when he didn’t answer phone calls, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s office of the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Cops found the home empty of all possessions — but with pools and spatters of his blood around it. Investigators soon discovered that Scott had used two different kinds of saws to dismember him after killing him, the statement said. That included cutting off the victim’s head, officials said.

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann revealed in court that the saws had been purchased from a local Walmart.

Skocdopole’s dismembered remains were found in a nearby creek that May, the statement said.

Scott had rented a room in Skocdopole’s apartment and told associates that he abruptly left for Dallas to explain his later disappearance.

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Woman Attacked By Migrant Lectured By Police Over HER ‘Offensive’ Language

A woman who accused a migrant of attacking her in the street was subjected to a lecture from police about her use of politically incorrect language in the aftermath of the incident.

Footage shot by the woman shows three Metropolitan Police officers questioning her on Kings Road in London.

She told the officers that a “filthy migrant” had confronted her and spat at her.

While the officers said they were willing to investigate the incident, they appeared more concerned with policing the woman’s language, telling her “we have a duty to challenge that language, because we are police officers and that is the law.”

“You’re saying the two things together, which is offensive isn’t it?” one of the male officers stated, referring to the woman’s words.

“We can’t not challenge that language because people in the public might find that offensive,” the officers further told the woman.

“So you find my language offensive?” the woman asked, to which the female officer responded “Yes I do actually.”

“I’m not interested in a PC lecture,” the woman told the officers, prompting one to respond, “we’re not here to give you a lecture.”

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Venezuelan Gang Is Reportedly Terrorizing North Dallas

A video went viral earlier this week depicting the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua allegedly assaulting a man in a North Dallas neighborhood.

Several multiple local outlets have covered the video, connecting  it to assertions that a Venezuelan gang is taking over a neighborhood in North Dallas.

It should be noted that this video is a year old according to Dallas police sources that were in contact with WFAA. Law enforcement sources also claimed that this was an isolated incident and not related to organized gang activity 

However, in a separate instance, law enforcement officials announced that the Dallas police department is investigating gang activity in the North Dallas area connected to Tren de Aragua.

“Our department is collaborating with other agencies to address possible crimes linked to this and other gangs in our city,” Dallas police announced in a statement. 

The aforementioned video was recorded in October 2023 and the case is apparently close. The video footage shows a group of Spanish-speaking males brutally pummeling a man. Gang unit officers launched an investigation of the incident and swept through the apartments in the Haverwood Lane area of North Dallas. Law enforcement initially believed that the assault was not connected to gang activity. 

Libs of TikTok reposted this video on X on September 3. This same account also disseminated information about the Tren de Aragua gang moving into several apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado. This incident has sparked uproar as allegations of the Venezuelan gang taking over these complexes have begun to proliferate across the web.  These claims gained steam after the release of a video showing armed individuals inside one of the apartment buildings. 

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Bombshell report reveals Venezuelan gang has had Aurora complex in a ‘stranglehold’ for over a year

A Venezuelan gang took over an apartment Complex in Colorado more than a year ago, according to a Denver law firm’s report.

The Tren de Aragua, a criminal group from Venezuela, has had a ‘stranglehold’ on the Whispering Pines Apartments in Aurora since late 2023, the law firm Perkins Coie claimed in a letter to Aurora officials.

The firm found that the gang has engaged in assaults, threats of murder, extortion and even child prostitution, as reported by CBS News Colorado.

The law firm was hired by the lender for Whispering Pines Apartments, 1357 Helena Street, to investigate the reported takeover and claims the gang has been extorting ‘rents’ from people they moved into vacant units.

The vacant units have reportedly been used to host ‘parties’ where the gang provides ‘drug and child prostitution,’ according to the apartments’ manager, who added that ‘minors are a good source of money.’

The Aurora Police Department has denied claims that the complex has been overrun by gangsters. 

However, the report, issued in August, says that ‘Tren de Aragua has threatened to kill (and, in certain instances, has apparently actively attempted to kill) members of Whispering Pines management.’ 

In November, 2023, a consultant for the complex’s management company was so allegedly severely beaten and stomped by gang members that he had to go to the hospital.

The gang’s activities reported escalated this year, with a housekeeper claiming in April 2024 that a two individuals ‘went into an apartment, came out with large firearms, and were coming to kill [the property manager].’

The property manager said the two individuals were gang members and arrested as they were coming to kill him.’

The manager also claimed ‘gang members allegedly stabbed a Whispering Pines resident for refusing to pay “rent” to the gang.’

He told the law firm that in June the gangsters offered to help him if he paid them 50 percent of the funds collected in rents. 

A housekeeper reported that a gang member told her: ‘This is our business plan… If he [property manager] doesn’t like it, we’ll fill him with bullets.’

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