Tag: new york

Court Rules New York County Denied Free Speech Rights to Pro-Life Advocates

A federal court has ruled that Westchester County, New York, violated the First Amendment rights of pro-life sidewalk counselors, marking a significant victory for free speech in a legal challenge brought by Thomas More Society attorneys. The decision in Hulinsky v. County of Westchester found the County liable for enacting an unconstitutional provision in its 2022 “Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act,” or Chapter 425, which restricted peaceful pro-life advocacy near abortion facilities.

The decision awards plaintiffs Oksana Hulinsky and Regina Molinelli nominal damages for the chilling of their life-saving sidewalk counseling for over two-and-half years as a result of the unconstitutional law, even though the County attempted to avoid liability by repealing the offending provision earlier this year.

This ruling builds on a March 14 decision that rejected the County’s attempt to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims against part of Chapter 425 prohibiting so-called “interference” with abortion access “by deceptive means or otherwise”—a sweeping and unprecedented restriction adopted as part of the County’s furor over the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.The Court rightly held the provision “criminalized large swaths of protected speech” on pain of jail, fines, and civil liability, flagrantly violating the First Amendment.

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Pirro Announces Arrest of Woman Who Traveled to DC to Assassinate President Trump

US Attorney For DC Jeanine Pirro on Monday announced the arrest of a woman who traveled from New York to DC to assassinate President Trump.

According to the DOJ, 50-year-old Nathalie Rose Jones was charged with threatening to take the life of, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, and transmitting in interstate commerce communications containing threats to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another.

“She was working to have [Trump] eliminated. She’s now in custody, she will be prosecuted to the fullest extent to the law,” Pirro said.

Per the Justice Department:

Nathalie Rose Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Indiana, was arrested in the District of Columbia on Saturday, August 16, and charged in connection with making a series of threats on social media in which she threatened to kill President Trump, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Jones was charged in a complaint in U.S. District Court with threatening to take the life of, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, and transmitting in interstate commerce communications containing threats to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another.

According to court documents, from August 2 to August 9, members of the U.S. Secret Service observed that Instagram user account “nath.jones” had posted threatening comments about the President of the United States. The Instagram user called for President Trump’s removal, labeled President Trump as a terrorist, referred to President Trump’s administration as a dictatorship, and stated that President Trump had caused extreme and unnecessary loss of life in relation to the coronavirus.

On Facebook between August 6 and August 15, “Nath.Jones” allegedly continued to post threatening comments about President Trump. In an August 6 post directed at the FBI, Nath.Jones wrote that “I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present.”

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Billionaires For Socialism: The $2 Billion “Grassroots” Operation Behind Zohran Mamdani

How the Working Families Party sells itself as “grassroots” — with IRS-documented, publicly admitted “common control” revealing it’s really a Soros-financed political money washer.

In New York politics, there’s one machine that towers above the rest. No, not the Democratic Party—it’s the Working Families Party, the most powerful minor party in America. Its name sounds wholesome enough—who doesn’t support “working families”? But behind that branding lies a $2 billion tax-exempt laundromat that’s anything but local, grassroots, or honest.

Take Zohran Mamdani, their current belle of the ball. 

After winning his race, he announced on NBC: “I don’t think we should have billionaires.” Hilarious considering Mamdani’s “grassroots” revolution was fueled by over $2 million in PAC and organizational spending, much of it courtesy of the very billionaire class he allegedly opposes.

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Dem Governor Literally Pardoned a Convicted Killer to Protect Him from Deportation

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has outdone herself. 

At a time when violent crime, illegal immigration, and public safety dominate national concerns, the governor of New York decided her top priority was granting clemency to an illegal immigrant with a manslaughter conviction. 

Yes, you read that correctly. 

Hochul pardoned Somchith Vatthanavong, a 52-year-old illegal immigrant who was convicted as a teenager of killing a man in a Brooklyn pool hall. By offering him a pardon, Hochul effectively cleared the path for him to stay in the United States and avoid deportation.

Vatthanavong shot and killed a man outside that pool hall in 1990. He called it self-defense. The court didn’t buy it. He was convicted of manslaughter and criminal possession of a firearm and served 14 years behind bars. After his release, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flagged him for removal, as any reasonable person would expect. After all, if you’re not an American citizen and you commit a crime that serious on American soil, deportation seems like an obvious consequence.

But Hochul disagreed. Last month, the governor stepped in with a pardon, which not only eliminated the conviction that triggered his deportation order but also allowed him to reopen his immigration case entirely. 

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Corrupt Democrat AG Caught Committing Fraud

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing serious allegations of mortgage fraud—claims that could carry criminal liability and continue undermine her credibility as the state’s top law enforcement official.

The allegations come from Bill Pulte, the newly confirmed Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), who says James may have falsified mortgage and property records over decades to secure favorable loan terms.

Pulte, confirmed to lead the FHFA in March 2025 after a bipartisan Senate vote, now oversees the regulation of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks—institutions central to U.S. housing finance.

The Department of Justice maintains a conviction rate of roughly 98%, meaning it is exceedingly rare for prosecutors to pursue a case they believe they cannot win. That standard makes the current investigation especially significant. 

The fact that it is being pursued so seriously suggests a clear necessity for scrutiny, supported by substantial evidence warranting federal attention.

According to Pulte, one of the most significant examples involves a home James purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, in August 2023. At the time, she was serving as New York’s attorney general—a role that legally requires her to maintain her primary residence in New York.

Pulte alleges that James granted an associate, Shamice Thompson-Hairston, power of attorney to designate the Norfolk property as her “principal residence.” 

Mortgage applications for the property reportedly list her intent to live there, which can qualify borrowers for lower interest rates than those available for second homes or investment properties. 

If James never intended to reside there, this could constitute a false statement to a financial institution.

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House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik Demands AG Pam Bondi Launch a Full Investigation into Standard Chartered Bank’s Terrorist Financing and Letitia James’ Role in the Explosive Scandal

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a full-blown federal investigation into Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and to scrutinize New York Attorney General Letitia James’ complicity in a billion-dollar terrorist financing scandal.

House Republican Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s urgent letter to Bondi comes on the heels of a bombshell Gateway Pundit report into the Standard Chartered Bank sanctions evasion case, now before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

That case uncovered at least $9.6 billion in illegal payments by the bank to Iranian and Hezbollah entities—payments that directly violate U.S. Treasury sanctions and undermine national security.

These transactions were allegedly concealed from mandatory disclosures under a deferred prosecution agreement overseen by the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C.

Even more disturbing, the case implicates New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Reserve for ignoring these billions in illicit transactions and failing to enforce sanctions already designated by the Treasury Department.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported:

At least $9.6 billion of specifically identified illicit payments were made by SCB from its NYC branch to OFAC and known terrorist names. The $9.6 billion was found in internal trade reports turned over by bank whistleblowers and represents the first batch from SCB Dubai office that cleared through SCB NYC. There are estimated over $100 billion more of illegal payments that are more recent and from SCB China where it has 53 mainland branches that facilitate dollar trade payments for oil and war-making materials.

These payments were hidden by SCB from required disclosure in its ongoing Deferred Prosecution Agreement now under the jurisdiction of DCUSA Pirro and SDNY Clayton where both were briefed on SCB after their appointments. There are career blockers at each jurisdiction.

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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Loses His Cool When Asked About the Socialist Policies of Zohran Mamdani 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNBC this week and things got a little uncomfortable when the host pressed him with questions about Zohran Mamdani, the communist that Democrats have nominated to run for mayor of New York City.

Jeffries repeatedly dodged and weaved when asked direct questions about Mamdani’s policies before finally erupting, asking why he was getting questions about someone who is not even mayor yet.

All of the hosts questions were perfectly valid, but Jeffries clearly didn’t want to discuss the issue.

The New York Post has details:

Hakeem Jeffries bristles when grilled about NYC socialist Zohran Mamdani: ‘Not even the mayor’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries bristled when pressed about Zohran Mamdani Thursday — snapping that he didn’t “understand” why he was being asked about the New York City Democratic nominee.

The New York Democrat, during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” had ripped President Trump as being anti-free market over his recent decision to replace the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a bad jobs report.

That prompted host Andrew Ross Sorkin to redirect the conversation to the Big Apple mayoral race, telling Jeffries he didn’t understand how the congressman could be both “an advocate for a free market,” and also possibly support Mamdani, a socialist, as mayor.

“I’m trying to understand why you would spend a significant amount of time asking me about the Democratic nominee who’s not even the mayor,” a visibly frustrated Jeffries shot back.

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Is OneTaste the case that finally brings down the EDNY?

It’s been 50 days since the US government locked up Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, two women convicted during a sham trial of a little-known charge called “forced labor conspiracy.” Most Americans have never even heard of it, and for good reason. This vague, elastic statute was never meant for cases like this. These women weren’t accused of abuse, trafficking, or violence of any kind. They were targeted for running a spiritual wellness company built around adult, consensual meditation practices.

On June 8, 2025, a Brooklyn jury returned a verdict that should send a chill through every educator, spiritual leader, and entrepreneur in America. With zero evidence of any sort of confinement, threats, or violence, Daedone and Cherwitz were found guilty of “forced labor conspiracy.” This is a charge usually reserved for sweatshops, not spiritual schools and meditation groups. But that didn’t matter, because this case wasn’t about justice. It was ideological “MeToo-era” lawfare dressed up as prosecution and rubber-stamped by the Eastern District of New York.

National Law Review:

The June 8, 2025, conviction in the Brooklyn federal courthouse of Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, co-founder and former sales executive, respectively, of the sexual wellness company OneTaste, marks a significant development in a controversial case that has drawn national attention.

The verdict, which found the wellness educators guilty of a single count of forced labor conspiracy, a crime typically associated with sweatshop operators and sex traffickers, relied on novel legal theories that could have far-reaching implications for educators, religious leaders, and community organizers who engage in intensive one-on-one interactions with dedicated students or followers. OneTaste, founded in San Francisco in 2004, gained prominence for its unconventional wellness practices centered around “orgasmic meditation,” which the company claimed could lead to personal growth, empowerment, and heightened intimacy.

However, in April 2023, following a series of critical media reports and a salacious Netflix documentary, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Daedone and Cherwitz on a single count of conspiracy to obtain forced labor. Notably, prosecutors did not charge any substantive counts of forced labor or sex trafficking, instead relying on a novel application of the conspiracy statute. The case against Daedone and Cherwitz raised eyebrows from the start.

Prosecutors alleged that the defendants had used psychological coercion and manipulation to compel participants’ labor and commitment, despite no evidence of physical confinement, violence, or overt threats. Over the course of the five-week trial, which began on May 5, 2025, the government presented testimony from nine former OneTaste staff and students who claimed to have felt pressured to devote increasing time and resources to the organization. A Verdict Built on Contradictions The trial’s outcome crystallized a fundamental paradox:

How can voluntary participation in educational programs constitute forced labor? All nine of the government’s complaining witnesses testified they received valuable benefits from OneTaste’s teachings on meditation and sexuality. No evidence showed physical restraint, prevented departure, or traditional markers of coercion. Indeed, prosecutor Nina Gupta conceded in closing: “There may not have been physical chains holding the victims in place. There may not have been locks on the door.” Instead, the government argued that losing “your job or your friends or your family or your belief system” constituted serious harm under the forced labor statute – establishing a precedent that could criminalize any religious community, athletic program, or dedicated community where participants develop deep commitments.

Yet after two days of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict for each defendant. The immediate remand by the court of both defendants – after two years of full bail compliance – added theatrical punctuation to what attorneys following the case characterized as a “show trial.” Judge Diane Gujarati cited media coverage as justification for detention, though that same media attention had existed throughout their pretrial release.

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P’Nut The Squirrel’s Owners Sue New York For $10M After Raid, Decapitation

The owners P’Nut – a beloved squirrel that was seized and euthanized by the state of New York are suing for $10 million in damages over the death of their pets, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York Court of Claims.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation staged a five-hour raid on the home of Mark Luongo after an anonymous complaint was lodged against the P’nuts Freedom Farm, where internet sensation Peanut the squirrel was taken into custody along with his sidekick, Fred the raccoon – before the state euthanized both animals ‘in order to test for rabies.’

DEC officials claimed that P’Nut but an agent through thick leather gloves during the raid, necessitating both the squirrel and raccoon be decapitated and tested for rabies. The state later admitted that both tests were negative, and have never apologized nor returned the bodies of the pets. 

According to court documents, P’Nut and Fred’s execution were “not due to a fear of rabies,” but a “senseless act of violence” and “obscene demonstration of government abuse.” 

This lawsuit comes on top of a previous suit filed by Longo and Bittner on June 27 in Chemung County Supreme Court against the City of Elmira and 36 individuals from various levels of state and local office – and seeks unspecified damages via jury trial. 

The couple claims they’ve suffered emotional trauma and financial losses since losing their star squirrel – who had appeared all over social media (including OnlyFans !?), according to both lawsuits. 

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Manslaughter, Arson, Hate Crimes — See All The Crimes Suspects In New York Now Get Released For Under Bail Reform

As New York celebrates the start of 2020, a host of new laws are taking effect at midnight — including one releasing scores of potentially dangerous suspects from jail and back onto city streets.

New York’s bail reform law eliminates pretrial detention and cash bail for the vast majority of misdemeanor and non-violent felony cases. Hundreds of offenses such as stalking, grand larceny, assault as a hate crime, and second degree manslaughter will no longer be eligible for bail or pretrial detention.

“They eliminated bail but they never put in the safeguard we need of allowing a judge to assess dangerousness and the result is we’ve got some glaring loopholes that will go into effect,” Mark Peters warned.

CBS2’s Urban Affairs Expert says this sets New York apart from other states, such as New Jersey, which have also eliminated cash bail.

“So someone can walk up to someone on the street punch them in the face and if they haven’t done lasting physical injury there’s no bail available… they’ll be let out that day they can go punch someone the next day,” Peters added.

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