Tag: maryland

Small Town in Maryland Suspends Entire Police Force and Residents Have No Idea Why

The leaders of the small town of Ridgely, Maryland recently suspended its entire police force and to make matters worse, the people who live there have absolutely no idea why this happened.

So much for transparency in government.

This comes at a time when concerns about crime are at an all-time high.

The Associated Press reported:

A small town suspended its entire police force. Residents want to know why

A small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore has suspended its entire police force pending the results of an investigation by state prosecutors, a largely unexplained decision that has left residents shocked, skeptical and on edge…

With the Ridgely Police Department temporarily defunct, other public safety agencies have agreed to fill the void. But residents of the historic town are concerned about response times should they need assistance. And they remain entirely in the dark about why their police department was shut down.

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Maryland city hires ‘racial equity’ leader who incites violence, promotes black liberation through revolution

The City of College Park, Maryland, hired a “racial equity” leader to spearhead its mission to eliminate systemic racism in its departments who has made statements defending violence and promoting the idea of a revolution against the United States. 

Kayla Aliese Carter supports “Black liberation” through revolutionary means and said she is working with some activists to plan “how we will eat and live and grow after we burn it all down.” She was hired to be a “Racial Equity Officer” under former Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn, who resigned from office after being arrested for child pornography.

According to the city’s website, she assembled a team tasked with implementing a “racial equity” agenda across all city departments, affecting policies, practices, programs and budgets. However, after publication, the city told Fox News Digital that Carter doesn’t oversee an entire team. 

“Ms. Carter does not oversee an ‘entire team.’ Ms. Carter does not supervise City staff and her work primarily has been with the City’s Restorative Justice Commission, which has been charged with the development and implementation of a successful process of restorative justice for College Park’s Lakeland community,” the city told Fox News Digital. 

Carter was hired after former Mayor Wojahn signed into law “Resolution 20-R-16,” “which renounced systemic racism, declared support of Black lives, and called for the ongoing explicit and conscious confrontation of racism,” in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020.

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Top Maryland Lawmaker Calls Out Counties For Blocking Marijuana Dispensaries

An effort by some counties to use zoning to limit if not prevent the opening of cannabis dispensaries has drawn the ire of the powerful chair of a House committee in Annapolis.

House and Senate panels are considering legislation that would make it tougher for local governments to restrict where cannabis dispensaries can locate. House Economic Matters Committee Chair Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) said counties are trying to countermand the newly legalized cannabis market and the state’s efforts to limit if not end illegal sales.

In the months that followed the first legal recreational sales in July, some counties looked to zoning to slow the opening of new dispensaries. Those efforts are now the focus of legislation designed to block those attempts, which sometimes seek to prevent any sales of the drug or are born out of the concerns about the clustering of alcohol and tobacco shops in Black and brown communities.

“This was thought out,” said Wilson, speaking of the state’s entry into legal recreational cannabis sales. “This was not done randomly. And this is not about state control. It is about protecting people, protecting us and protecting a now legitimate business. So I want to make sure we understand that we are not here to stuff them, to cluster them.”

Wilson’s HB 805 prohibits counties from imposing zoning regulations more restrictive than those imposed on retail liquor stores. Current law prohibits dispensaries within 500 feet of a playground, recreation center, library, public park, or place of worship. Wilson’s bill qualifies that restriction to pre-existing facilities.

Wilson said he will ask for an amendment to increase the distance between dispensaries from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet.

Counties can reduce but not increase the statutory distance requirements for dispensary locations.

Some lawmakers worry the bill will usurp county zoning authority.

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Maryland Senate Committee Approves Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients’ Gun Rights Under State Law

A Maryland Senate committee has approved a bill that’s meant to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients under state law.

About one week after the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee first took up the legislation—as well as a separate proposal to let police search vehicles based on the smell of cannabis—members unanimously passed the firearms bill on Wednesday.

There was no discussion, except that the chair briefly pointed out that “we’ve passed the bill like probably five times” over recent sessions, though the reform has not yet been enacted into law.

Sen. Mike McKay (R) is sponsoring the current legislation, which would protect the rights of registered medical cannabis patients to buy, own and carry firearms under Maryland law, even though they are still restricted from doing so under federal statute.

The Maryland legislature also took up the issue around this time last year, with the House Judiciary Committee holding a hearing on a separate but related measure to ensure medical marijuana patients’ gun rights are protected.

The issue has been raised in multiple state legislatures and federal courts in recent years, as marijuana and gun rights advocates challenge the constitutionality of the federal ban that currently prevents cannabis consumers from owning firearms.

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Maryland Senators Take Up Bills To Let Police Search Vehicles Based On Marijuana Odor And Protect Gun Rights For Cannabis Patients

Maryland senators took up two GOP-led marijuana bills on Friday: one that would let police search vehicles based on the smell of cannabis and another that’s meant to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients.

Members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee discussed the legislation during a hearing, listening to testimony in support and opposition, but did not vote on the proposals.

Sen. William Folden (R) is sponsoring the bill to authorize law enforcement searches based on marijuana odor, a measure he said attempts to “correct a wrong, an error, that the legislature made” when it passed reform legislation that was enacted last year to specifically prevent such searches given that the state has legalized marijuana.

If the smell of cannabis is emitted from a car, that’s a “strong indicator that person is in violation of law and potentially impaired at the time,” Folden said, adding that “this strong odor is definitely discernible by law enforcement and those in the community.”

Two county prosecutors also testified in favor of the measure. But drug policy reform advocates, including ACLU of Maryland Public Policy Director Yanet Amanuel, defended the current policy that bars police from conducting cannabis odor-based searches.

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Woke Maryland Private School Questions Young Boys About “Gender” & “Sexuality”

Reversing the “woke” takeover of America’s education system will require a concerted effort from concerned parents who don’t want their children infected by the woke mind virus. 

The latest example of parents becoming infuriated with diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI being injected into the education curriculum, comes from an elite private school in Baltimore County, Maryland. 

Project Veritas posted on X this week that St. Paul’s, a private school that charges $38,000 or more per year, issued a questionnaire to 5th-grade boys, asking if they were “Cisgender” or “Transgender” or “Gender Non-Conforming” or “Agender.” 

The same questionnaire asked the boys about their “sexuality”…  

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Maryland Medicaid Will Now Cover Sex Change Procedures and Treatments – Even Voice Lessons and Hair Removal

Maryland will now cover an unprecedented number of sex change procedures and treatments through the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program.

Even hair removal and voice lessons for transgender people can be covered.

A law that went into effect in the state on January 1 requires Medicaid to cover “gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner.”

This includes breast implants, fertility preservation services, facial cosmetic surgeries, hair alterations, and much more.

According to a report from the far-left LGBTQ Nation, “Voice therapy and lessons, scar and hair removal, hormone therapy, puberty blockers, fertility preservation, and ‘alterations’ to the abdomen, genitals, chest, buttocks, neck, and face are all included. Patients cannot be denied unless a healthcare professional decides the treatment would be detrimental to their health.”

Detransition procedures will also be covered.

Maryland Medicaid already covered mental health services, hormone replacement therapy, and sex change surgeries.

A transgender biological male who uses the name “Renee Lau” told CBS News that he is planning to take advantage of the change.

“I plan on having some surgeries and having consultations within the next two months. I would not believe the relief it is for me, because I never could have paid for [these services] out of pocket,” Lau said.

“It’s an emotional relief,” he added.

According to the report, “There are around 24,000 transgender adults in Maryland, according to research from UCLA’s Williams Institute. Of those, around 6,000 are enrolled in Medicaid.”

Maryland Governor Wed Moore signed an executive order protecting sex change treatments during a Pride event in the state last year.

“In the state of Maryland, nobody should have to justify their own humanity,” Moore said while signing the order.

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PILOT’S BIZARRE ENCOUNTER WITH 30-FOOT-TALL TRIANGULAR UFO PROMPTS AVIATION SAFETY CONCERNS

A baffling incident unfolded in the skies above Frederick County, Maryland, last month as a private pilot reported a mid-air encounter with a 30-foot-tall triangular UFO, newly released audio recordings reveal.

The pilot, flying a Piper Cherokee Arrow (P28R), registration N30024, was flying from Allegheny County Airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland at the time of the incident, which occurred on December 20, 2023.

Approximately 50 miles northwest of his destination, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers (ATC) to report sighting an object he described as appearing to be “approximately 30 feet tall” as it passed him flying “at about 6500-6800 feet.”

“Not sure what it is,” the pilot can be heard saying in an audio recording of the incident uploaded to the YouTube channel You Can See ATC, which specializes in reconstructions of non-standard and emergency situations that occur in flight.

“It was 30 feet tall?” an obviously perplexed ATC operator can be heard replying.

“It was pretty tall, probably about 30 feet tall,” the pilot confirms. “It was going opposite direction of us.”

Asked if the object was moving at a fast pace, the pilot, just prior to entering his descent, also confirmed that the object appeared to be moving quickly as it passed him.

“Arrow to 024, what does the object look like?” the ATC operator can then be heard asking.

“It’s kinda hard to describe,” the pilot responds. “It was just, uh, tall and, uh, pointy.”

“Like a triangle?” the ATC operator then asks.

“It was in the shape of a triangle. It was bottom and flat on top. I’m not sure what it is.” Intriguingly, the pilot then adds, “[I] do have a picture of it,” clarifying that there “did not appear to be any danger” resulting from the appearance of the unusual flying triangle.

“It was pretty far away from us. Just noticeable enough for caution to other aircraft,” the pilot says.

Following this exchange, the ATC operator can then be heard advising the pilot to call his supervisor due to safety concerns that were raised after the pilot’s bizarre sighting.

“Just wanna make sure everything is safe up there, uh, for future aircraft flying through that. So give him a call once you’re on the ground safely please.”

The Debrief has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for comment on the December 2023 incident. The pilot who reported the sighting of the strange object has not been identified.

For decades, observations of flying objects of unknown origin, which the Department of Defense now calls unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), have often involved triangular UFO sightings. Beginning on November 29, 1989, a wave of sightings involving large, triangular aircraft erupted over Belgium, culminating in an intercept attempt involving two Belgian Air Force F-16s in the early morning hours of March 31, 1990. Sightings of the unusual craft continued until April of that year.

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Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search

“That’s what happens when you don’t answer questions,” a Prince George’s County police officer said as Erica Umana’s dog lay on the ground, paralyzed and bleeding out.

Minutes earlier, on a summer day in 2021, officers had shot Umana’s dog, a boxer mix named Hennessy, during a chaotic confrontation inside Umana’s apartment.

Now Umana and her roommates—Erika Sanchez, Dayri Benitez, and Brandon Cuevas—have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Prince George’s County Police Department and several of its officers, saying the police had no right to enter their apartment, shoot their dog, and detain them. The lawsuit seeks over $16 million for allegedly subjecting them to excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, and false arrest.

“This case is an outrage. It is disgusting, disgraceful, and despicable,” William Murphy, an attorney representing the roommates, said in a press release Monday. “These officers outright abused and mistreated our clients, lied to unlawfully break into their house, manhandled them illegally, and shot their dog. And in utter disregard for the severity of their intolerable behavior, they laughed about it.”

The incident began on June 2, 2021, when Prince George’s County police officers arrived at an apartment complex in Landover Hills in response to a 911 call from a woman claiming two dogs had allegedly jumped on her and bit her.

Prince George’s County Cpl. Jason Ball encountered Sanchez sitting outside of the apartments, but she refused to answer any questions. Ball then threatened to arrest Sanchez for trespassing if she didn’t leave. On body camera footage, Ball said into his radio that he believed Sanchez lived in the apartment complex but that he was about to arrest her anyway because she refused to answer his questions—the first of several retaliatory threats and comments from Ball.

Sanchez walked off, and Ball and his partner went to knock on the door of the apartment where Sanchez, Umana, and the other lawsuit plaintiffs lived. No one answered.

“This would be open by now, by the way, if it wasn’t…,” Ball said to his partner, trailing off and tapping his body camera. “I used to open them all the time.” 

“Times have changed,” Ball’s partner responded.

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The 4th Circuit Says Maryland’s Handgun Licensing Law Is Unconstitutional

Maryland is one of 14 states that require background checks for all firearm purchases, whether or not the seller is a federally licensed dealer. Since 2013, Maryland has imposed an additional requirement on handgun buyers: They must first obtain a “handgun qualification license,” which entails completing at least four hours of firearm training and undergoing a seemingly redundant “investigation” aimed at screening out people who are legally disqualified from owning guns. According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, that process, which can take up to 30 days, violates the Second Amendment.

In a decision published on Tuesday, a divided 4th Circuit panel concluded that Maryland’s handgun ownership licensing system is not “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation”—the constitutional test that the U.S. Supreme Court established last year in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Writing for the majority in Maryland Shall Issue v. Moore, 4th Circuit Judge Julius Richardson notes that Bruen “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law,” making a variety of gun control laws newly vulnerable to constitutional challenges. Maryland’s handgun licensing law is the latest example.

The state argued that the law fits a tradition of disarming “dangerous” individuals, such as people with felony records, illegal drug users, and people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors. “Maryland simply assumes that those federal prohibitions are justified by a historical ‘dangerousness’ exception,” Richardson writes. And because “the challenged law is ostensibly designed to prevent those same groups of people from acquiring handguns,” the state argued, “it also falls within the same ‘dangerousness’ exception.”

But even if the goal is the same, Richardson says, the “mechanism” embodied in the licensing law is “entirely different.” Maryland did not merely prohibit people from owning guns based on criteria that supposedly indicate they pose a threat to public safety. “Instead,” Richardson writes, “it prohibits all people from acquiring handguns until they can prove that they are not dangerous. So Maryland’s law burdens all people—even if only temporarily—rather than just a class of people whom the state has already deemed presumptively dangerous.”

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