Tag: massachusetts

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey Changes Her Mind About Deporting Criminal Illegals When Things Get Real

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is one of the Democrats who has vowed to defy Trump’s plans to deport illegal immigrants.

Back in November, Healey said she would use her executive power to ‘protect’ residents of the state, even if they are illegals.

Now that ICE has begun picking up criminal illegals in the city of Boston, she is singing a different tune.

What changed?

From WCVB News in Boston:

Gov. Healey on recent Massachusetts immigration arrests: ‘I support the apprehension of criminals’

Federal immigration agents were seen Wednesday taking a man into custody in Chelsea, Massachusetts, as well as making other arrests in East Boston.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey addressed the arrests, saying she wouldn’t be quick to call them “raids.”

“I wouldn’t describe them as raids,” Healey said.”What it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”

Healey said she supports arresting criminals — whether they are undocumented or not.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell is pushing back after President Donald Trump promised a crackdown on immigration.

It’s likely that when Healey was blowing hot air about standing up to Trump, that’s all it was. Air. It was Democrat virtue-signaling.

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Trans City-Councilor Takes Month Off To Recover From Being Misgendered

A trans Massachusetts city councilor is taking a one-month leave of absence, citing feelings of being unsafe after allegedly being “misgendered” by the mayor and another councilor, and being referred to as “it” by a third city official. 

The soap opera starring that councilor, Thu Nguyen, erupted at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Worcester, Massachusetts city council, where members held a public hearing over whether it was appropriate for council members like Nguyen to attend meetings remotely. Once again appearing remotely, Nguyen blamed the mayor and peers for the routine failure to show up in person, saying, “Under your leadership, I have felt unsafe around this council body. I have faced transphobia with being misgendered and recently learned that I have been dehumanized to a point where I’m being referred to as ‘it’ by my colleagues on this council.”

Heralded as the “first openly nonbinary lawmaker” in Massachusetts history — a title we’re sure Paul Revere and Samuel Adams would be totally impressed with — Nguyen has held office on the Worcester city council since 2022. Nguyen’s preferred pronouns are “they/them.” 

The day after the hearing, Nguyen posted a statement saying “I am…sad to announce I will be taking a month to prioritize my mental and emotional safety,” so he could recover from having allegedly been misgendered by Mayor Joseph M. Petty and Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey, and called “it” by Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson. Nguyen filed a complaint with Worcester’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, urging the prompt launch of an investigation, adding that is was unfortunate to do so at the very same time that “we transition under a Trump administration and exponential increase of fear experienced by the LGBTQ+ community.” 

On Thursday, the city clerk confirmed that Nguyen will continue receiving a $2,641 monthly city stipend while providing nothing for Worcester other than melodrama. 

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State’s Audit Reveals Rampant Abuse of Psychotropic Drugs on Children in State Care

A recent audit conducted by the Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor reveals that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) apparently is really bad at doing its job and the fact that the well-being of children is at stake makes the incompetence incomprehensible.

The DCF is tasked with providing services to children who are at risk and victims of abuse or neglect. The services the state is responsible for providing include adoption, guardianship, foster care, housing stabilization, and family support.

Specifically, AbleChild is interested in the section of the audit that reviews the oversight of the drugging of children with serious psychiatric mind-altering drugs. The audit reviewed the period from July of 2019 to December of 2023.

During the audit period, 3,899 (22%) of the 17,891 children in DCF’s protective custody were prescribed at least one psychotropic medication. During the audit period, the number of prescriptions filled for each drug category included 1,065 prescriptions for anti-anxiety meds, 21,585 Antidepressants, 10,564 Antipsychotics, 10,776 Mood Stabilizers, and 48,453 Stimulants. Clearly, chemical behavior modification is a common practice, and the state’s DCF social workers are required to participate in, follow, and document the medication history of each child under their care.

To help caseworkers provide the required services, a child is provided a physical Medical Passport that records its healthcare services while in state custody. Social Workers are required to review these physical passports every six months to keep the children’s related medical records in iFN (electronic information system) updated with their most recent healthcare information.

In Massachusetts, it is required that the Courts approve antipsychotic medication use in children in the state’s protective custody. The audit revealed that “the Department of Children and Families did not always obtain or renew court approval before children in its protective custody were administered antipsychotic medications.” This is a problem because the court needs to know that the drug regimen is safe and effective. Furthermore, the courts have oversight of children who are too young to consent to the drug treatment and act as a neutral party.

The audit also found that “the Department of Children and Families did not properly maintain healthcare records in iFamilyNet (iFN) for children in its protective custody who received psychotropic medications.” Keeping up-to-date records is essential to ensure that the child is not being overprescribed with toxic mind-altering drugs. There is no oversight, leaving the children in custody at risk.

Additionally, the DCF did not list and/or update the psychotropic medications prescribed to children in their medical passports, which clearly can lead to overprescribing of dangerous mind-altering drugs and serious, if not deadly, adverse events. And with the lack of documentation, the DCF also did not document follow-up doctor appointments and recommended psychosocial services. How can these deficits possibly help children in the state’s care?

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Massachusetts Man Arrested for Vandalizing Pro-Trump Sign With a Swastika

A Massachusetts man has been arrested for vandalizing a pro-Trump sign with a swastika.

The sign sits along Route 3 in Cohasset.

Frederic Laidlaw, 74, was visited by police at his home on Thursday. When they arrived, he reportedly said, “Guilty,” and asked, “What took you so long?”

The Cohasset Police wrote in a post on X, “LAIDLAW will be arraigned on a felony charge of defacement of property in violation of MGL. The AGs Office, Civil Rights Division, has been notified of the arrest. Investigation remains open.”

According to a report from Breitbart News, the sign belongs to Kevin O’Donnell, who is chair of the Cohasset Republican Town Committee.

“I just thought we were above that. I just thought that wouldn’t occur in this election, or any election — there’s no Nazis in America,” O’Donnell said.

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Whistleblower Reveals Trans-Identified Male Had Been Admitted To Women’s Rehab Unit In Massachusetts And Sexually Harassed Female Patients

A whistleblower has come forward to reveal that a trans-identified male was allowed on an all-female addictions rehabilitation unit at Massachusetts’ Behavioral Health Network (BHN), leading to the sexual and physical harassment of female patients.

John*, a veteran of the Marine Corps, is a rehabilitative specialist who worked at BHN for just over one year beginning in June of 2023, and worked with patients on multiple units within the BHN care center. One, known as New View, was an all-female unit intended for women under Massachusetts’ Section 35 – a mandatory rehabilitation order.

“You can [admit] yourself, but usually a spouse or family member goes to the courthouse and tries to section you. You have to be ‘a danger to yourself or others’ and a judge makes the final decision,” John explains, adding that even he didn’t feel comfortable being assigned to the unit due to concerns for the dignity of the women there.

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Massachusetts Governor Uses Emergency Powers To Fast-Track Sweeping Gun-Control Law

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has signed an emergency preamble to the state’s sweeping gun control bill, fast-tracking its implementation and halting an ongoing effort by gun rights activists to delay its effects.

The law, H.4885, was originally scheduled to take effect on Oct. 23, or 90 days after Healey signed the bill in July, but her decision to proceed with signing the emergency preamble means it goes into effect immediately.

Under Massachusetts law, governors have the authority to issue an emergency preamble to expedite legislation when “the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, or convenience” is deemed necessary.

The law’s expedited enactment was praised by gun control groups but sharply criticized by gun rights advocates, who had hoped to gather enough signatures to delay its implementation until a potential 2026 referendum.

H.4885 expands Massachusetts’ already strict gun regulations, in part as a response to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which affirmed an individual’s right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

The expedited law includes provisions banning untraceable “ghost guns,” expanding restrictions on “assault-style” firearms and large-capacity magazines, and tightening the state’s “red flag” rules. It also mandates that firearm license applicants pass a standardized safety exam and complete live-fire training, while also providing mental health information to local licensing authorities.

“This gun safety law bans ghost guns, strengthens the Extreme Risk Protection Order statute to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others, and invests in violence prevention programs. It is important that these measures go into effect without delay,” Healey said in an Oct. 2 statement to media outlets.

The governor’s decision to fast-track the law has drawn swift condemnation from gun rights organizations. Tody Leary, owner of Cape Cod Gun Works and a leader of the grassroots Civil Rights Coalition, sharply criticized the move, accusing Healey of bypassing the democratic process.

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South Shore cult ‘elder’ guilty of child rape to serve at least 30 years in prison

A leader of a South Shore religious sect will spend at least 30 years in prison after he was found guilty last month of raping and abusing two girls in the “tribe,” officials said.

Nehemyah Smith, 37, was convicted of all 25 charges last month, including 12 counts of aggravated child rape and multiple counts of indecent assault and battery. 

Smith was sentenced in Fall River Superior Court Wednesday to 13 to 18 years in prison for rape and child rape charges. He will then serve 17 to 22 years for aggravated child rape charges with a ten year age difference, according to the court clerk.

Smith, of Plymouth, was a “trusted elder” within the Twelve Tribes, an international religious organization led by men where families give up their possessions and live communally, according to court records. The known abuse took place between 2016 and 2020. 

The Twelve Tribes has communities in Milton, Raynham, Hyannis, and Plymouth, where members run a restaurant called the Yellow Deli. Smith’s victims were abused in all of those towns except Plymouth, according to court documents.

The group’s website describes it as “an emerging spiritual nation” whose members aim to live like the early disciples and follow the Old and New Testament. 

An investigation from the Denver Post in 2022 described the Twelve Tribes as a cult that exploits members, pushes racist, misogynistic, and homophobic teachings, and fails to protect children from sexual abuse.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, said Twelve Tribes is a white supremacist cult that extensively beats children who misbehave and believes that homosexuality should be punished by death.

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Illegal migrant accused of raping Nantucket pre-teen child went free on bail before ICE could nab him

Local authorities in Massachusetts allowed an illegal migrant accused of raping a pre-teen child to walk free on bail — and never called immigration authorities, according to a shocking report from ICE.

Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, was charged on July 26 on the wealthy island of Nantucket with one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, authorities said.

Three days later, he was released on bail by Nantucket District Court.

ICE officers ultimately arrested Aldana-Arevalo on Sept. 10 after tracking him down.

He is in federal custody awaiting his day in immigration court.

ICE Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons called Aldana-Arevalo’s alleged crimes both “detestable and disturbing.”

“He represents a significant danger to the children of our Massachusetts communities. ERO [ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations] Boston will not tolerate such a threat to the most vulnerable of our population. We will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods,” said Lyons.

Aldana-Arevalo made his way to the island of Nantucket after sneaking into the US from El Salvador.

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REVEALED: The northeastern state that won’t tell voters about its ‘secret’ $1 billion spend on migrants

Massachusetts Republicans have demanded the state’s Democratic leaders come clean on their alleged ‘$1 billion in secret migrant crisis spending.’

The Bay State’s GOP filed public records requests asking Gov. Maura Healey’s administration to provide a detailed breakdown of spending on shelters, meals and other costs.

The request comes as Massachusetts scrambles to accommodate the roughly 50,000 non-legal migrants who’ve entered the state since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The Boston area has in recent weeks been roiled by outrage, after Stoughton school district cut bus services to local kids but kept them running for young migrants living in shelters.

Against this troubling backdrop, Amy Carnevale, the state’s GOP chairwoman, demanded that Healey come clean about how taxpayer dollars were being spent.

Her ‘administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,’ Carnevale said.

‘They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire, and EMT.’

When reporters asked questions about migrant costs, Healey’s team was ‘blocking them at every turn,’ said Carnevale.

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Shall Not Be Infringed: Massachusetts Supreme Court Strikes Down Switchblade Knife Ban

The Massachusetts Supreme Court on Aug. 27 struck down the state’s ban on carrying switchblade knives, finding the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.

The case was brought by David Canjura, who was arrested in 2020 after a domestic dispute and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon in violation of the switchblade ban following a search by officers.

Canjura said he knew that carrying the knife violated the law but filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing that the ban violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. A judge denied the motion, leading to an appeal that reached the state’s high court.

Massachusetts officials did not identify any historical bans on switchblades or their historical analogue, pocketknives, justices said on Tuesday. That means the ban is not allowed under a test outlined in a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

“The commonwealth does not identify any laws regulating bladed weapons akin to folding pocketknives generally, or switchblades particularly, in place at the time of the founding or ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Serge Georges wrote for the unanimous court. “Accordingly, the commonwealth has not met its burden of demonstrating a historical tradition justifying the regulation of switchblade knives.”

The Second Amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has also found that the right to bear arms includes items such as stun guns. In one decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, justices said that “arms” refers to “weapons of offense, or armor of defense” and “any thing that a man wears for his defense, or takes into his hands, or useth in wrath to cast at or strike another.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment covers knives, citing the historical use of knives for defense throughout U.S. history.

“In short, folding pocketknives not only fit within contemporaneous dictionary definitions of arms—which would encompass a broader category of knives that today includes switchblades—but they also were commonly possessed by lawabiding citizens for lawful purposes around the time of the founding,” Georges said. “Setting aside any question whether switchblades are in common use today for lawful purposes, we conclude switchblades are ‘arms’ for Second Amendment purposes. Therefore, the carrying of switchblades is presumptively protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment.”

Under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, government officials must, when facing a challenge to a regulation implicating the Second Amendment, provide proof the regulation is consistent with the nation’s history of restrictions.

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