Three Stories You Missed While The White House Parades The UFC On The Front Lawn

The second century Roman satirical poet Decimus Junius Juvenalus once famously said “Give them bread and circuses, and they will never revolt”. An astute observation of how the Roman populace became complacent in the face of abuses by their government, placated with free grain and spectacles rather than exercising their civic duties.

This phrase has been oft repeated in the centuries since, applied to numerous governments across the world. But perhaps nowhere is it more prevalent than in present-day America.

In the lead up to the much anticipated 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation, and in the midst of a wave of the worst presidential scandals in over 100 years, the Trump administration is doing everything in its power to shift attention away from the disastrous Iran War and the fact that The sitting president of the United States is implicated hundreds of times in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors.

Whether it be by continuing the limited hangout of selective UFO disclosure, or by hosting the Ultimate Fighting Championship on the White House front lawn in some sort of weird hyper-masculine MAGA charade, the political theatrics only continue to intensify.

That being said, here are a few worthwhile stories that actually matter.

Pro-2A Pushback In Virginia

In March, the Free Thought Project reported on a massive anti gun crusade being pushed by legislators in Virginia under the new Democrat administration of former CIA analyst Abigail Spanberger. Among the myriad of infringements to Virginia’s Second Amendment rights were proposals seeking civil liability for firearms manufacturers, expansions of the already blatantly unconstitutional red flag laws, attempts to prohibit 3D printed firearms, the implementation of gun buyback programs, ending the right to open carry, and an outright ban on so-called “assault weapons”.

The most egregious of these, the “assault weapons” ban, was signed into law on May 14th, 2026. 

Thankfully, however, this callous disregard for the Constitution was immediately challenged, with several gun rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation as well as the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Virginia Citizens Defense League have all filed lawsuits in response to the new legislation.

Additionally, at least four Virginia prosecutors have publicly come out in opposition to the new legislation, signaling their intent to refuse to enforce the law. According to the Washington Times:

Prosecutors in Spotsylvania, Smyth, Powhatan and Pulaski counties argued that it violates Second Amendment protections, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022.

Keep reading

Spanberger ripped over ignored ICE detainer after illegal alien with 18 prior charges accused of sex assault

An illegal alien with a lengthy criminal history has been arrested on sex crime charges in Virginia after a federal immigration enforcement detainer request could have seen him deported from the United States.

Cristobal Liobardo Vasquez-Sanchez, 25, a Salvadoran national, racked up 14 criminal charges this year alone before his May 22 arrest on charges of sexual battery and object sexual penetration by force. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had previously issued a detainer for Vasquez-Sanchez, but that request was denied.

At the direction of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia ended state agency cooperation with ICE and has demanded judicial warrants where immigration experts say such warrants are wholly irrelevant.

Just days before Vasquez-Sanchez’s alleged sexual assault, Spanberger issued an executive order adding further roadblocks for federal immigration officers to operate in the state.

Keep reading

‘Reckless’: Virginia Recommends MMR Vaccine for Infants as Young as 6 Months

Virginia’s Department of Health is recommending infants ages 6 to 11 months receive a MMR vaccine — earlier than the age recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Doctors and other vaccine experts told The Defender that Virginia’s guidance is “reckless” and “not grounded in science.”

The state’s recommendations also include an accelerated measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination schedule, advising that infants get the second dose in the two-dose MMR series 28 days after the first.

Virginia’s recommendation comes in response to a recent measles outbreak in Buckingham County, which as of Tuesday had reached 54 cases.

The state’s MMR vaccine guidance was included in a May 13 letter from Virginia State Health Commissioner Cameron Webb. The recommendations call for infants ages 6 to 11 months to “get an early dose of the MMR vaccine,” and two more doses at the AAP’s recommended ages, at least 28 days apart.

The CDC and AAP recommend a minimum age of 12 months for MMR vaccination, except in “special situations,” such as international travel.

Keep reading

SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s Va. home targeted in ‘swatting’ hoax

The Fairfax County, Virginia, home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is the latest target of a malicious “swatting” attempt, prompting a rapid law enforcement coordination that quickly exposed the emergency call as a hoax.

At approximately 9:02 pm on Wednesday evening, police received a call to their non-emergency line reporting active gunfire outside of the justice’s suburban residence.

Officers contacted security at the residence and quickly determined the report was a false call intended to swat the home. Swatting is the illegal act of making a false report of a violent or high-risk incident in order to trigger a heavily armed police response to an unsuspecting person’s address.

“Officers immediately coordinated with Supreme Court Police personnel assigned to the residence and quickly determined that the report was fictitious. No additional police resources were utilized,” the police department said. 

Barrett’s home has also previously been a focal point of chaotic demonstrations, drawing persistent crowds of abortion-rights activists following the High Court’s landmark 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) weighed in on the reports, characterizing the hoax as an attempt to get an innocent person killed, in this case, a sitting Supreme Court justice. He suggested the proper response will be putting the offender in prison for “many, many years.”

Keep reading

Spotsylvania’s top prosecutor tells why he won’t enforce tighter gun laws

New Virginia laws banning the sale and transfer of assault weapons go into effect in about five weeks. But at least five conservative prosecutors say they won’t enforce them.

Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey said he believes the laws violate the Constitution.

“The Second Amendment is alive and well in Spotsylvania County,” he told News4.

The commonwealth will ban the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic weapons, shifting gun laws to more closely align with states such as California and Illinois. But as Virginia teeters from purple to blue and back again, some elected officials are making clear that the new laws won’t be enforced in their counties.

Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement: “Commonwealth’s Attorneys are elected to enforce our laws, which is what we expect them to do when these laws take effect on July 1.”

The law will make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for people to buy, sell, transfer, import, or manufacture an assault firearm.

Mehaffey said the law is in direct conflict with the Second Amendment.

“It’s fundamentally opposed to a free society, a society where liberty reigns. And this is the moment in time where the Second Amendment was drafted and enacted, where the government couldn’t take the right of the people to defend themselves away,” he said.

Keep reading

Fairfax County’s Political Ecosystem Protects Illegal Immigrants at the Expense of All Others

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a federal civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano over allegations that his office gave preferential treatment to illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes.

This Thursday, mere days after that announcement, Descano—who has received more than $650,000 from George Soros-backed PACs and affiliated groups—is scheduled to testify before Congress at a House Judiciary Committee hearing examining the dangerous consequences of sanctuary policies in Fairfax County, Virginia. 

Indeed, Descano is a key player contributing to the increasingly dangerous environment in Fairfax County. In February, police arrested Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone, and charged him with the fatal stabbing of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother, at a bus stop in Fairfax County. Jalloh had previously been arrested more than 30 times, only to be released back onto the streets. In more than a dozen of his arrests, Descano’s office entered “nolle prosequi,” a legal term meaning it chose not to pursue the charges. 

Sadly, Jalloh is one of many illegal immigrants in Fairfax County whom Descano was committed to keeping out of jail following violent crimes. In fact, Descano openly stated his intentions on his since-deleted 2019 campaign page. He wrote, “If two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County.” 

The Department of Justice is right to investigate Descano for discriminating against Americans, but he is only the tip of the iceberg. Descano and other county leaders seem to believe that the “values of Fairfax County” include protecting illegal adult criminals in K-12 public schools. 

For background, English language learners are permitted to attend school until they are 22. The number of English language learners in Fairfax County’s schools increased precipitously due to former President Joe Biden’s open southern border and the inception of the sanctuary policy, up to a total of 47,438 English language learning students in 2025. 

Disturbingly, a recent Freedom of Information Act request found that there are 339 adult male English language learning students attending K-12 public schools throughout the county. By design, it is unclear how many of them are in the country illegally.

Keep reading

HOW CURIOUS: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger Signing Executive Order to Keep ICE Away From Polling Places 

Virginia’s new Democrat Governor Abigail Spanberger has just announced that she is signing an executive order to keep ICE agents away from polling places.

Why do you suppose such a thing would be necessary?

Democrats assure us that illegal aliens are not voting because they are forbidden from doing so by law. So why would they be worried about ICE showing up at polling places? It just doesn’t make any sense.

NBC News reported:

Virginia Gov. Spanberger to sign order on dealing with federal agents at polling places

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Tuesday that she plans to issue an executive order on Wednesday to help election workers respond if federal agents show up at polling sites in Virginia.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, Spanberger said the order would include details on “how Virginia state employees or people working in support of Virginia’s state-run elections can react to, in this particular case, federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people.”

Some election officials and Democratic politicians have worried that President Donald Trump — who routinely makes false claims of widespread voter fraud — might interference in this year’s midterm elections, which are run by the state and local officials across the country.

“Throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is that we will continue to see those heightened,” Spanberger said. “The reality is that the challenges and the fear that people might have when going to the polling place is real.”

Keep reading

Virginia Teacher Abby Zwerner Testifies She Warned Assistant Principal Multiple Times Before 6-Year-Old Shot Her in Classroom: ‘He Was in a Violent Mood’

Former Virginia first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner took the stand Monday in the ongoing criminal trial of former Richneck Elementary School assistant principal Ebony Parker, delivering a harrowing firsthand account of how she was shot by a 6-year-old student.

Zwerner described the student’s escalating violent behavior and the repeated warnings she gave school administrators, which she says were ignored before the boy pulled a 9mm handgun from his jacket and shot her in the hand and chest in her classroom in 2023.

Zwerner, who has undergone multiple surgeries and still has bullet fragments in her body, described a student she referred to only as “J.T.” who displayed clear signs of aggression in the days leading up to the shooting at the Newport News school.

Three days before the incident, Zwerner testified that the boy became defiant and slammed her cellphone onto the ground after she instructed him to do something.

On the morning of the shooting itself, she immediately noticed something was wrong.

“The student appeared to be off and appeared to be in a violent mood,” the former teacher told the jury, according to a report from the New York Post.

Zwerner said she went directly to assistant principal Ebony Parker to voice her concerns.

Keep reading

Virginia Governor Vetoes Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill After Lawmakers Rejected Her Amendments

Virginia’s governor has vetoed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana sales after lawmakers rejected her proposed amendments to the proposal.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) killed the reform bills on Tuesday, days after signing separate legislation to provide resentencing relief for people with past cannabis convictions.

I share the General Assembly’s goal of establishing a safe, legal, and well-regulated cannabis retail marketplace in the Commonwealth,” the governor said. “Virginians deserve a system that replaces the illicit cannabis market with one that prioritizes our children’s health and safety, public safety, product integrity, and accountability.”

“As Virginia pursues a legal retail market, it is critical that we incorporate lessons learned by other states and ensure that our regulatory framework is fully prepared to provide strong oversight from day one,” she said. “That includes clear enforcement authority and sufficient resources for compliance, testing, and inspections, and robust tools to crack down on bad actors who continue to profit from the illicit market.”

“I greatly appreciate the patrons’ time crafting this important piece of legislation as well as our continued dialogue and collaboration to strengthen this framework ahead of the next legislative session. I remain committed to working with members of the General Assembly, stakeholders, and law enforcement to get this right.”

Keep reading

The Virginia Democrat Behind the Illegal Theft of Republican Seats Launches Fundraiser for Legal Defense

L. Louise Lucas, the prominent Virginia Democrat who was subject to a recent FBI raid on her home in business as part of a federal corruption and drug probe that began during the Biden administration, has launched a crowd sourced fundraiser to gain cash to pay for her legal defense.

“I have spent my entire life looking for good trouble,” Lucas said in her post on social media advertising the fundraiser. The fundraiser seeks to raise $100,000 for her defense. She has managed to just raise 6 percent of her goal in over a day of begging for help.

 “Lucas faces legal challenges while continuing to stand firm in her commitment to public service and democracy,” the description of the campaign read. “The L. Louise Lucas Legal Defense Fund has been established to help provide the resources necessary to support her legal defense and protect her ability to continue serving the community she has fought for her entire life.”

Keep reading