Category: Politics
Far-left congressional candidate hit with reality check after allegedly impeding ICE operations
The Department of Justice has indicted Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive congressional candidate who previously worked for Media Matters of America, with forcibly impeding, intimidating, and interfering with a federal agent during a chaotic protest in Broadview, Illinois.
Five other people involved in the incident were also indicted.
Blaze News was present at one of the protests where Abughazaleh filmed herself appearing to be part of a mob that impeded a federal vehicle with a federal agent inside.
Abughazaleh is a candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 9th congressional district but has been consistently protesting at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility outside Chicago. Broadview is not located inside the 9th congressional district.
Abughazaleh has been seen in multiple videos, including video she has posted herself, appearing to attempt to stop federal vehicles from leaving or entering the facility.
Blaze News was present at one of the protests where Abughazaleh filmed herself appearing to be part of a mob that impeded a federal vehicle with a federal agent inside. The agent continued to drive at a slow pace, and the people did not get out of the way, video showed.
ICE agents stationed by the perimeter fired pepper balls at the crowd to get them to stop their attacks.
Abughazaleh posted on X her response to the charges, claiming the Trump administration is trying to stifle dissenting views.
Photo by Blaze News
“This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protests and punish anyone who speaks out against them. That’s why I’m going to fight these unjust charges,” she said, painting her and other protesters’ actions as standing up to “masked men” who are “abducting our neighbors.”
The facility in Broadview has been a consistent target of anti-ICE agitators since the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz. DHS had to install a temporary security fence to prevent rioters from having easy access to the building, but a judge later ordered the fence to be taken down.
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California judge disqualifies Trump’s LA-area prosecutor — but he’s not going anywhere
An acting U.S. attorney in California was disqualified from prosecuting several cases after a judge ruled that he overstayed his temporary status in that role. However, the Trump appointee will continue to serve as the district’s top prosecutor.
A judge ruled that Bill Essayli has overstayed his temporary tenure as the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California — the largest attorney’s office outside of D.C. — since July 29, the AP reported. Essayli was sworn in on April 2 of this year.
‘I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works.’
The ruling relates to three criminal defendants who sought to have their cases dismissed on the grounds that Essayli was illegally serving as acting U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote in his ruling on the case, “Simply stated: Essayli unlawfully assumed the role of Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California. He has been unlawfully serving in that capacity since his resignation from the interim role on July 29, Essayli may not perform the functions and duties of the United States Attorney as Acting United States Attorney. He is disqualified from serving in that role.”
However, NBC Los Angeles reported that Seabright declined to remove Essayli fully from the prosecutor’s office.
RELATED: Federal judge rules Alina Habba is not lawfully acting as US attorney for NJ
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
According to the order, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Essayli as first assistant U.S. attorney, or FAUSA, on July 29, effective upon his resignation as interim U.S. attorney. This allowed him to remain in the prosecutor’s office and to perform FAUSA duties, as Judge Seabright affirmed.
Seabright concluded that the criminal cases against the three defendants would not be dismissed because other attorneys legitimately co-signed next to Essayli, though Essayli would not be allowed to continue prosecuting those cases in his former capacity as acting U.S. attorney.
However, Seabright noted this case does not remove Essayli from his current role as FAUSA: “Essayli remains the FAUSA and may perform the functions and duties of that office.”
“For those who didn’t read the entire order, nothing is changing. I continue serving as the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California. It’s an honor and privilege to serve President Trump and Attorney General Bondi, and I look forward to advancing their agenda for the American People,” Essayli, whose X profile still calls him the “Acting U.S. Attorney” for the district, said in a Tuesday post that included a portion of the opinion.
Late Tuesday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) attacked Essayli in light of the judge’s opinion. “’Unlawfully serving’ in his role. Acting illegally. But left in place? While this Administration continues to replace career professionals with illegitimate political allies eager to do Trump’s bidding, Californians need better relief than this,” he said.
In response, Essayli posted, “I do the American People’s bidding at the direction of their duly elected President. That’s how our Constitution works. Try reading and abiding by it sometime.”
Acting U.S. Attorney of Nevada Sigal Chattah and acting U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Alina Habba have faced similar attacks in recent months.
Blaze News contacted Essayli’s office for comment.
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Sob story about ‘undocumented father’ being arrested falls apart once rap sheet is revealed
NBC News in the San Francisco Bay area got a brutal fact-check after publishing a story about an “undocumented father,” identified only as Gerardo, being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his home before going to work.
While 42-year-old Gerardo was being arrested, Idalia, his wife and a U.S. citizen, ran out to try to stop the arrest, NBC Bay Area reported. She claimed a female agent hit her 22-year-old daughter with a baton but did not capture the moment on camera, nor is it seen on the Ring security camera.
His ‘rap sheet’ includes lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
Idalia said she immediately contacted the Mexican Consulate in San Jose and a hotline for immigration legal services.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the sob story, revealing that Gerardo has been accused of heinous crimes. According to DHS, his “rap sheet” includes:
- Lewd and lascivious acts with a child,
- Battery of a spouse,
- Domestic battery,
- Compensation for prostitution, and
- Felony re-entry after removal.
“Of course [NBC News] refuses to tell the American public that this illegal alien from Mexico has a rap sheet,” said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
At time of publishing, NBC Bay Area has not updated its story to include Gerardo‘s alleged criminal history.
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Bay Area was expected to see a surge in federal immigration agents, but that deployment was put on pause. Despite the lack of extra agents, anti-DHS protesters blocked access to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. After most protesters had left, a driver allegedly attempted to use a U-Haul to ram the security checkpoint, forcing the Coast Guardsmen to fire upon the truck.
The driver was shot in the stomach, and another bystander was slightly wounded. Both are expected to recover.
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Major shake-up reportedly under way at DHS as Trump administration works to increase deportations
The Department of Homeland Security appears to be shifting tactics in order to drastically increase the number of daily arrests of illegal aliens by changing leadership at field offices across the country.
First reported by the Washington Examiner, DHS is set to replace directors at field offices that are normally staffed with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with U.S. Border Patrol agents. While both agencies fall under DHS and carry out similar immigration enforcement duties, they have been employing different tactics to target illegal aliens.
Because of the shock-and-awe tactics … the White House favors Border Patrol to lead operations.
As previously reported by Blaze News during a ride-along near Miami, ICE agents mainly do targeted enforcement of illegal aliens who have gone on to commit more crimes while in the United States. Intelligence is gathered to determine a target’s behavior before making arrests. If they have the ability to take in other illegal aliens near the target or targets, agents can do so now under the Trump administration.
Border Patrol, on the other hand, has been let loose by the Trump administration to conduct sweeps in sanctuary cities across the country, employing daytime raids to arrest illegal aliens and to send a message that things are different than they were under the Biden-Harris administration. Border Patrol agents are eager to do missions in the interior after being forced to allow illegal immigrants into the United States during the Biden border crisis.
Border Patrol’s random sweeps at job sites worked by illegal immigrants have resulted in the arrest of people with serious criminal backgrounds.
RELATED: Border Patrol arrest at Home Depot punches hole in Democrats’ narrative
Julio Rosas/Blaze Media
Because of the shock-and-awe tactics, which have increasingly resulted in mobs forming to attack the agents, the White House favors Border Patrol to lead operations in order to get more illegal aliens out of the country.
DHS posted video on Tuesday showing an anti-Border Patrol crowd in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago attacking agents. Tear gas had to be used after some in the angry crowd threw objects at agents.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said the leadership changes are happening in cities such as:
- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
- Philadelphia
- Denver
- El Paso
- San Diego
- Seattle
- Portland
- New Orleans
The different tactics have reportedly caused tensions between the two agencies and their allies in the White House and DHS. One DHS official told Melugin the department has “lost” its way trying to solely focus on increasing arrests, while a Border Patrol official reportedly said, “What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the U.S. illegally is on the table.”
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said on X that the DHS has “no personnel changes to announce right now.”
Addressing tensions between the two sides, McLaughlin noted, “This is one team, one fight. President Trump has a brilliant, tenacious team led by [Secretary Kristi Noem] to deliver on the American people’s mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country.”
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LGBTQ champion Zohran Mamdani faces backlash over photo with ‘anti-homosexuality’ Ugandan lawmaker
With only a week left before the election in the contentious New York City mayoral race, socialist Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism for a photo with a Ugandan lawmaker who supported legislation restricting LGBTQ behavior.
The criticism stems from his July visit to Uganda, where he was born. During his visit, he met with Rebecca Kadaga, a well-known Ugandan lawmaker who served as speaker of the Parliament of Uganda from 2011 to 2021. She has been the first deputy prime minister since 2021, according to the New York Post.
Mamdani appeared at a ‘Gays for Zohran’ event, posing with two drag queens.
Mamdani and Kadaga appeared in a photo together during his return to Uganda.
“Delighted to meet with Zohran Mamdhani [sic] incoming Mayor of New York City. Good luck in the next phase of elections,” Kadaga said in a post on X at the end of July.
RELATED: Stop calling Zohran Mamdani a communist — he’s something worse
Photo by Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 features a variety of punishments for homosexual behavior, including seven years in prison for a variety of acts. A more recent expansion on the law includes the death penalty.
“Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift. They have asked for it, and we’ll give them that gift,” Kadaga told Reuters in 2012, prior to the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
However, Mamdani has strongly advocated for LGBTQ issues.
One X user pointed out Mamdani appeared at a “Gays for Zohran” event, posing with two drag queens. According to one source, Mamdani joined the event for National Coming Out Day on October 11.
“Zohran Mamdani ran into the First Deputy Minister while he was at Entebbe airport waiting to board his flight back to New York City. She asked to take a photo,” Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec told the Post about the photo with Kadaga.
“If he was aware she was the architect of this horrific attack on queer Ugandans, he would not have done so,” Pekec continued. “Zohran’s belief in universal human rights extends to all people, and he has put forward the most comprehensive plan of any candidate to protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.”
In July, Zohran Mamdani posted a video on X announcing that he would be heading to Uganda to celebrate his marriage to wife Rama Duwaji with family and friends. The video mocks the “thousands of messages” telling him to “go back to Africa.”
In late June, Kadaga extended her congratulations and greetings from Uganda after he won the Democratic nomination in the mayoral race.
Blaze News reached out to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
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Schwarzenegger rips into Democrats pretending to be victims in gerrymandering battle with Trump
Arnold Schwarzenegger ripped into Democrats over their insistence that President Donald Trump had been the aggressor in the ongoing battle over gerrymandering and redistricting.
The former California governor appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and argued that Democrats had been gerrymandering for many decades before the president jumped into the fray.
‘It’s all between Democrats and Republicans, and the ones that are getting left behind are the people.’
“Is it fair to argue that — do you believe that the Republican Party is starting this?” host Jake Tapper asked.
“No, Jake. There has been gerrymandering going on for 200 years,” Schwarzenegger replied.
“There is such extreme gerrymandering going on that in a state like Massachusetts, it has, like, 40% of the people voting for Trump — they have zero representatives. The Republican Party has zero representatives sent to the House. Think about that,” he added.
“In New Mexico, 45% of the people voted for Trump and vote Republican, and zero is sent to the House, zero representatives from the Republican Party,” Schwarzenegger said. “So there’s gerrymandering, crazy gerrymandering going on all over the country, and we wanted to try to stop it in California.”
Schwarzenegger has been on record in opposing efforts led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to redistrict California’s congressional seats in order to send more Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I think this whole thing about finger-pointing and saying, ‘They did it, so therefore we should [do] it,’ that’s not really the way to go,” he added. “The one party should outperform the other party.”
“When you think about this trying to outcheat each other rather than outperform each other, it’s all between Democrats and Republicans, and the ones that are getting left behind are the people,” Schwarzenegger added.
Tapper pointed out that about 62% said they supported the proposition in California that would allow Democrats to redistrict the deep blue state.
The entire interview can be viewed on CNN’s YouTube channel.
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