Tag: gangs

Republican Lawmakers Demand Action After Somali Gangs Open Fire in Minnesota Park

A shooting in a Minnesota park has spurred Republican legislators to call for a crackdown on Somali gang activity.

Crime Watch Minneapolis said that about 50 Somali youth were at Yancey Park in Edina when shots were fired on Wednesday night, according to Alpha News.

Residents reported hearing more than 20 gunshots. No one has been arrested. No injuries were reported.

Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota said this latest incident is proof action is needed.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if you won’t assimilate, then get the hell out of here,” Emmer said.

“First it was an estimated $9 billion in fraud, now it’s out-of-control violence. These Somali gangs have shot up high school graduations and assaulted players on opposing basketball teams with tire irons. It’s absolute madness, and something must be done,” he said.

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Dr. Oz claims NY Medicaid program is being ripped off by Chinese crime syndicate

Federal Medicaid czar Dr. Mehmet Oz said New York’s overblown $110 billion spending on medical bills is sickening — as he claimed Chinese crime syndicates are ripping off the Empire State.

The TV doctor-turned-Trump administration official, blasted New York’s Medicaid program as rife with fraud in an interview Sunday as he outlined an alleged scheme that included millions of dollars in fraudulent medical bills.

“Social safety net programs are being defrauded. They’re being hurt oftentimes by foreign governments or foreign-run criminal syndicate organizations,” Oz, administrator of the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said Sunday on 77 WABC ‘s the “Cats Roundtable” program.

Oz recently toured Flushing, Queens where a cluster of 64 social adult care centers operate — mostly serving ethnic Chinese and Korean senior citizens. Officials claim the center and pharmacies have generated massive amounts of questionable bills to Medicaid, a public insurance program intended to help the needy.

The social centers arguably shouldn’t be propped up by taxpayers, Oz said. The federal government covers more than half of Medicaid’s costs, with the state and local governments covering the rest.

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CBC calls for more gun control after suspected gang shooting in Toronto

Two people were killed and five others were injured at Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair Festival over the weekend. Hours later, shots were fired near Polson Pier, a ride share was carjacked with passengers inside, and the suspect struck pedestrians and vehicles while fleeing.

David Menzies and Sheila Gunn Reid reacted to the wild weekend in Toronto on Monday’s Rebel Roundup livestream.

“I started the stopwatch to see how quick it would be before the CBC and the Toronto Star trotted out the anti-gun advocates,” David said.

Sure enough, the CBC ran a headline that made no mention of bail reform or gang violence. “Advocates speak out against gun violence following troubling weekend of shootings,” it read.

Sheila was blunt about who was actually involved.

“These are illegal firearms,” she said. “Any gun control measure you force on the rest of us doesn’t touch these people at all. And in fact, it draws police resources away from the real bad guys.”

The Polson Pier suspect, Omar Abdul-Singate, 25, of Brampton, was charged with four counts of forcible confinement, discharging a firearm recklessly, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm while prohibited — meaning he was already under a firearms prohibition — robbery, dangerous operation causing bodily harm, and dangerous operation.

A second suspect remains at large.

Both hosts also took aim at how Toronto police characterized the St. Clair shooting on social media, where it was described as an “active shooter” situation. 

Former Toronto police officer Jay Bannister, now of Mad Lab Press, told David the term was misleading. “When I hear active shooter, I’m thinking someone is still out there with a gun, walking down the street shooting innocent people,” David said, relaying Bannister’s assessment.

“What we had was gangbangers shooting other gangbangers, and then they made their escape. That’s not an active shooter.”

Sheila agreed. “This is just the gang war using this street festival as a battleground,” she said.

David closed with a note on bail, saying he could not confirm whether Abdul-Singate had been released, but was confident the question was worth asking.

“That is way more problematic,” Sheila said, “than taking away firearms from legal, law-abiding Canadians.”

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Sheriff Says Somali Youth Gangs Are Running Wild In Minneapolis

A Minneapolis sheriff has triggered an uncomfortable conversation by saying out loud what you are not supposed to talk about in Minnesota. “Out of control” gangs of Somali youths are terrorizing the city, and the mayhem is poised to get worse.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher released a livestream video on July 6 decrying widespread violence by Somali gang members over the Fourth of July weekend. He also took the opportunity to criticize media outlets in the Twin Cities and the state for refusing to cover the problem.

Fletcher “stated that the Somali gangs are responsible for at least 14 murders in the last two years as well as over 100 shootings – many of them at high-profile events like graduations and the State Fair. Fletcher also said in his promo video that he heard from a Minneapolis police officer who said that 20 percent of their homicides are now Somalis,” local news site Alpha News reports.

The situation is blowing up right in front of the public eye.

‘It’s All About Ego for 99% of It’

“Investigators say Somali gang violence is growing quickly and now spans the metro [area], with 12 Somali gangs tracked from Minneapolis and St. Paul to St. Cloud, Apple Valley and Burnsville. Most of the violence involves guns, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office,” Fox-9 TV in Minneapolis reports. “Authorities say the gangs are still young and growing, with about 300 people involved right now.”

Ramsey County Deputy Ben Seidel said the Somali youth gangs don’t operate like traditional inner-city gangs in the sense of being motivated by money. “From what I’ve seen… it’s all about showboating. It’s all about ego for 99% of it. They aren’t selling narcotics. It’s all about just gloating,” Seidel states in the video.

There’s a history to Somali gang violence in Minneapolis that explains the seeming novelty of these officers’ remarks. In blue-dominated Minnesota, criticizing the Somali community in any way is immediately defined as racist. The “R card” has been so weaponized in the state that health-care fraud was allowed to flourish for years, which may have cost American taxpayers up to $9 billion.

There is nothing new about Somali gangs in Minnesota. They have been identified as a growing problem for 20 years or more. And it has never sounded like child’s play. Every few years, the issue is ventilated, only to recede amid de rigueur pressure from “anti-racist” organizations and personalities.

The City of Minneapolis commissioned a study in 2007 after a series of robberies by Somali teens in 2005. As Minnesota Public Radio detailed at the time:

“The report’s author, consultant Shukri Adan, presented her findings to members of the city council.

“Adan says at first it was thought the Somali youth were involved in loosely organized groups of ‘troublemakers.’ However, Adan says as these young people ended up in jail, they met established gang members and learned from them how to organize.

“‘They’re very sophisticated and they’ve adapted some of that into the Somali gang structure. But for the Somali gangs that I’ve identified, they were specifically Somalis and all their membership were Somalis, even though they had associations with other gangs.'”

Yet leftist MPR made sure to point out that “[t]he report says gang activity is relatively small. Statistics from the Minnesota Gang Strike Force identifies 52 Somali gang members – less than one percent of all known gang members in Minnesota.”

Three years later, the Somali youth had moved on to serious organized criminal activity.

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Venezuelan Illegal Alien Former Illinois School Teacher Arrested by ICE After Driving Tren de Aragua Gangsters to Chicago House Party Massacre That Killed Three and Wounded Five

A 32-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant who was teaching in an Illinois classroom has been arrested by ICE for allegedly acting as the driver and getaway accomplice for two Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang members during a brutal December 2024 mass shooting in Chicago that left three people dead and five others wounded.

Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, a Venezuelan national with dual Italian citizenship, entered the United States in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program but overstayed her visa.

She was taken into ICE custody on May 13, 2026, and is currently being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, pending removal from the country, Fox News reported.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Occhipinti drove two alleged TDA gang members, Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno, to a house party in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood on December 2, 2024.

The gunmen opened fire on the crowd. Three people were killed and five were wounded. Federal authorities say she then helped the shooters flee the scene of the slaughter.

Chicago Police arrested Occhipinti just three days later, on December 5, 2024, after finding multiple weapons in her vehicle. But because Chicago and Illinois are militant sanctuary jurisdictions, she was released without ICE ever being notified, despite the obvious public safety threat tied to a triple homicide.

The two actual shooters were eventually deported. One had even been released from ICE custody earlier by a federal judge due to prosecutorial issues. Occhipinti remained free in the community and was reportedly working as a teacher at a school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin until HSI agents finally tracked her down months later.

Illinois officials have refused to disclose to DHS which school employed her.

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Dem Mayor Running for Congress Posed with Crips-Linked Lounge Operators Months After Scranton Detective Shooting

Scranton Mayor and congressional candidate Paige Cognetti (D-PA) promoted a violence intervention program involving a “safe space” for people who had entered the justice system or were recently coming out of it after a gang-related shooting wounded a city detective, months after photos were posted showing her with operators of a Crips-linked hookah lounge that authorities had repeatedly associated with criminal activity.

Cognetti, who is running against freshman Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Bresnahan, faced a rise in juvenile and gang violence in Scranton in 2024, including the January shooting of Scranton Police Detective Kyle Gilmartin, who was shot twice in the head during a “gang-related crime spree.”

In the aftermath, Cognetti acknowledged the city’s gang violence problem, saying her administration had “sent legislation to City Council to reallocate $580,626 in ARPA funds to enable the creation of a gang violence initiative that mirrors successful programs in other cities.”

In 2025, WNEP reported that the Gilmartin shooting “thrust gangs into the spotlight in Scranton,” and that Cognetti’s answer was a Group Violence Intervention (GVI) program. Cognetti said of the program, “This is not an arm of the police department; it’s not an arm of the county. It cannot be. By nature, this organization needs to be a safe space for people who have either entered the justice system and don’t want to go back in or are coming out of it freshly.”

In November 2024, before Cognetti promoted the GVI program, a photo was posted showing her with Dwight Smith and Damion Williams, operators of Blueface Global Hookah Lounge. The business, previously known as the Castle after-hours club, was described by District Attorney Mark Powell as a “notorious hotbed of criminal activity and violent incidents.”

Smith and Williams were both among a group of nine people arrested for their involvement in a Crips-run drug operation at Blueface Global Hookah Lounge. Williams’s criminal history dated to 2010, while Smith’s dated to 2014.

Smith pleaded guilty in July 2014 to conspiracy: theft by deception and was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison, according to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. In November 2014, Smith pleaded guilty in Lackawanna County to manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver and was sentenced to up to four years in prison. In May 2022, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Smith was also charged in 2024 with manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, corrupt organizations, and possession of a firearm, according to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. In October 2025, he pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 48 months for each of the latter two charges and 24 months for the first charge. In March 2026, Smith pleaded guilty to doing business without a license.

Williams pleaded guilty in September 2010 to firearms not to be carried without a license and was sentenced to up to three years in prison, according to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. He later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in June 2015, November 2015, and July 2016, receiving sentences of up to six months, up to 60 months, and up to six months in prison, respectively.

Williams was charged in 2024 with manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, corrupt organizations, and possession of a firearm, according to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. In September 2025, he pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to up to 72 months in prison per offense.

The building had drawn law enforcement and neighborhood concerns years before it became Blueface Global Hookah Lounge. WNEP reported that Blueface Global Hookah Lounge was previously known as the Castle after-hours club, where a man was killed outside the building in 2019, and that the Castle was owned by Nasser Mohammadzad.

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Savannah Residents Feel Gang Violence Out Of Control And Getting Worse Under Mayor Van Johnson

A series of shocking violent criminal acts in Savannah, GA over the last week have left residents fearing for their lives, and worried about the safety of their city under Mayor Van Johnson. They feel the gang warfare and wanton disregard for human life is threatening Savannah’s way of life.

The three incidents below happened over the last few days:

The Savannah Police Department (SPD) is investigating after a shooting took place on the 10000 block of Abercorn Street Sunday afternoon.

Officers responded to the shooting at approximately 2 p.m., where they found an adult man with a gunshot wound, reported WSAV.

The man was transported to Memorial Health for further treatment, but he ultimately died due to his injuries.

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Norwegian Teenager Allegedly Recruited by Swedish Gang Linked to Iran – Gets Arrested and Prosecuted in the UK for Attempting to Carry Out a Murder for Hire

Another aspect of the migrant invasion in Northern Europe.

We have been reporting here on TGP about the rising criminality in the Scandinavian countries, with migrant gangs in Sweden and Norway taking the law enforcement challenges to unprecedented levels.

One of the commons features of these gangs is their use of minors for criminal acts. Usually, we see teens from migrant backgrounds – but now, it appears their reach has widened.

News arose today of a court session in which a white, middle-class looking Norwegian teenager is being charged with travelling to Britain to carry out a murder for hire.

The defendant was allegedly recruited by a ​Swedish organized crime group with ties to the Iranian government, prosecutors told a London court.

Reuters reported:

“Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield in northern England in March last year ​in possession of two firearms and ammunition, prosecutor Alistair Richardson ​told London’s Old Bailey Court.

‘He had been recruited by an ⁠organization called the Foxtrot Network to an agreement that in ​return for money he would travel here and undertake a hit’, Richardson ​said. ‘The group that had recruited him, the Foxtrot Network, is a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian regime’.”

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Federal Agents Arrest Karen Bass-Linked “Peace Ambassador” — Convicted Murderer and Active 18th Street Gang Member Was Being Paid with Taxpayer Dollars Through NGO Program

Federal law enforcement just exposed another jaw-dropping failure of Los Angeles’ radical “reimagine public safety” experiment under Mayor Karen Bass.

Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, aka “Diablo,” a convicted first-degree murderer and alleged active 18th Street gang member, was arrested by federal agents after being paid over $58,000 last year by a city-contracted nonprofit to serve as a so-called “Peace Ambassador.”

The arrest went down on May 18 near MacArthur Park. LAPD officers responding to a stolen vehicle call detained Alvarez. He reportedly told them he worked for Mayor Karen Bass’s Crisis Response Team (“CRT”).

Take a look at the absolute insanity of this operation, according to the DOJ:

  • The Suspect: A hardened gangster convicted of first-degree murder in 2002. He was sentenced to 50 years to life but was cut loose early by California’s broken justice system. Federal authorities state he is still an active 18th Street gang member who was recently caught on jailhouse phone calls plotting to assault people who broke gang rules.
  • The Scam: Alvarez didn’t just sneak onto the payroll. He was funded through “Healing Urban Barrios” (HUB), a Lincoln Heights-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that secured a lucrative contract with the city.
  • The Taxpayer Cost: Under the guise of a “Peace Ambassador program”—which the city website laughably describes as an initiative to “prevent violence before it starts”—the city of Los Angeles approved a staggering $450,000 from its general fund to flow into this NGO between 2024 and 2027.
  • The Payout: In 2025 alone, this taxpayer-funded NGO handed Alvarez $58,156 to patrol the streets as an unarmed “peacekeeper.”

Federal authorities noted that during the search of “Diablo’s” vehicle, they discovered top-tier, military-grade body armor plates in his trunk — marketed as the highest level of protection available on the civilian market.  Apparently, being a “Peace Ambassador” requires a lot of tactical gear when you are actively running with a cartel-linked street gang.

If convicted, Alvarez would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

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Democrat Sen. Van Hollen Roasted For Celebrating Obama Judge’s Decision to Drop Criminal Case Against MS-13 Gang Member Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen got roasted for celebrating a federal judge’s decision to drop the criminal case against MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

A federal grand jury in Tennessee previously indicted Kilmar Abrego Garcia for “transporting undocumented migrants within the United States.”

He was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and one count of unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.

According to the indictment, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and co-conspirators from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and the US were trafficking illegal aliens from 2016 through 2025.

Read the indictment here.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Judge Waverly Crenshaw, an Obama appointee, granted Abrego Garcia’s motion to dismiss the human trafficking case for vindictive and selective prosecution in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

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