Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host representatives from more than 60 countries next week for a counterterrorism summit focused on what the Trump administration describes as a resurgence of transnational political extremism, particularly violent far-left networks.
The July 15 gathering in Washington follows President Donald Trump&#8217;s counterterrorism strategy released earlier this year, which prioritizes disrupting politically motivated violent groups, including anarchist movements and what the administration describes as Antifa-affiliated networks, while also addressing extremists on the political right. 
According to the State Department, the meeting will bring together ministers and senior officials from Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere to improve intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation against politically motivated violence. 
&#8220;Our counterterrorism operating system needs an update to deal with the reality of such threats, to protect American citizens and U.S. national security and interests,&#8221; a State Department official told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/rubio-host-summit-political-violence-july-15-2026-06-26/">Reuters</a>.
The initiative, however, has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/09/rubio-tries-enlist-other-nations-antifa-fight-some-allies-recoil/">drawn criticism</a> from some current and former government officials, European diplomats, and terrorism experts, many of whom argue the administration is overstating the scale of the far-left threat. Some European officials have reportedly questioned why their governments were invited, saying left-wing political terrorism is not viewed as a major national security concern in their countries. Others have expressed concern that expanding counterterrorism authorities could eventually be applied against domestic political activists. 
The summit comes after several high-profile incidents involving alleged Antifa-affiliated extremists in the United States.
Most notably, the Justice Department last month <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-antifa-cell-members-north-texas-sentenced-100-years-prison-terrorist-attack-ice">announced</a> lengthy prison sentences for members of what prosecutors described as a &#8220;North Texas Antifa cell&#8221; that carried out a coordinated July 4, 2025, attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Prosecutors said the group arrived armed with firearms, explosives, body armor, and medical kits before launching fireworks and explosives at the facility, vandalizing property, and opening fire on responding officers. One Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck during the attack. 
Federal prosecutors argued the attack demonstrated planning, encrypted communications, reconnaissance, and coordination consistent with organized political violence rather than spontaneous protest. FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators would continue targeting Antifa funding networks. 
The administration has also cited repeated confrontations outside ICE detention facilities and immigration enforcement operations as evidence that violent anarchist networks have become increasingly organized.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott defended the summit, saying far-left political terrorism is &#8220;an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences&#8221; and argued that previous administrations had not adequately addressed it. 
&nbsp;

NATO Summit In Ankara Day 2

Rubio Bringing 60 Nations Together To Confront A Growing Threat

Anarchism

Antifa

Marco Rubio

Terrorism

World

On Sunday, an active-duty Air Force member set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. to protest the war in Gaza. This has unlocked all of the worst of the Internet, namely people who have decided that apparently this member of the Air Force, a disturbed anarchist, was some sort of hero.
That has some bad implications for politics, for morality, and for virtue.
Aaron Bushnell was 25-years-old and a disturbed anarchist. How do we know that he was an anarchist?
Because he said so.
This should raise some serious questions about how we actually screen for the American military. The simple fact of the matter is that the standards for the American military have been dropping pretty radically. This guy was an IT specialist. He’d been in the military for several years — and he was an active anarchist.
The military has been targeting so-called white supremacy in the military. If you&#8217;re a conservative in the military and you&#8217;re open about it, that may call into question your loyalty to the U.S. military.
But apparently, you can be a radical anarchist publicly, and that has no implications whatsoever for your military service. Apparently, you can also be a disturbed person because it turns out you have to be disturbed to set yourself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy to protest a non-existent genocide, which is what this person did.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1913-stop-cheering-disturbed-people-setting-themselves-on-fire-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/26/israeli-embassy-airman-fire-death-gaza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>:
<blockquote>Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli Embassy on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective. 
Bushnell, 25, mentioned nothing violent or self-sacrificial, the friend said. 
Then on Sunday, Bushnell texted that friend, who described the exchange on the condition of anonymity to protect his safety. 
“I hope you’ll understand. I love you,” Bushnell wrote in a message reviewed by The Washington Post. “This doesn’t even make sense, but I feel like I’m going to miss you.”
He sent the friend a copy of his will on Sunday. In it, he gave his cat to his neighbor and a fridge full of root beers to the friend. 
Twelve minutes later, Bushnell, who was a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, doused himself with a liquid and set himself on fire. He had posted a video online saying he did not want to be “complicit in genocide.” He shouted “Free Palestine” as he burned. 
Secret Service officers extinguished the blaze. Bushnell died seven hours later at a hospital.</blockquote>
What&#8217;s amazing about all of this is that we know his past. He was apparently raised on a cult religious compound and fell out of that cult. And then he immediately went into the military and started associating with radical anarchist groups.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/26/israeli-embassy-airman-fire-death-gaza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continues</a> with the story, reporting:
<blockquote>Lupe Barboza, 32, said she met Bushnell in San Antonio in 2022 at an event for a socialist organization. She said they bonded over their politics and started working together to deliver clothing and food to people experiencing homelessness. 
“He was outraged, and he knew that no one who is in charge is listening to the protesters out there every week,” Barboza said. “He knows that he has privilege as a White man and a member of the military.”</blockquote>
In fact, in the public statement that he released to the media before committing suicide by burning himself to death, Bushnell included his pronouns in his suicide notes. The final <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-air-force-member-set-fire-israeli-embassy-dc-died-rcna140455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook post</a> of Bushnell states, “Many of us like to ask ourselves, What would I do if I was alive during slavery or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide? The answer is, you&#8217;re doing it. Right now,” over a huge anarchist symbol. 
This person was a far leftist — not just a far leftist, but a disturbed far leftist; there are many people who are far-Left who do not set themselves on fire. And when he says in his final note that he was “complicit in genocide,” the question would be exactly how, considering the United States Air Force is not even involved in the war in the Gaza Strip.
Not only that, there is not a genocide in the Gaza Strip. That has become commonplace for morons in the media to suggest the targeted operation by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip that has killed, according to the Israelis, upwards of 10,000 members of Hamas who are hiding among civilians, is somehow an example of a genocide.
That is definitionally wrong. Israel has complete air superiority over the Gaza Strip. If Israel wished to kill hundreds of thousands of people, Israel certainly has the air power to do so, but they have not done that. In fact, I know multiple members of the military who&#8217;ve been injured in Israel going door-to-door in order to prevent civilian casualties in highly populated areas in which terrorists are extremely popular.
But the Left has decided this person is not a disturbed anarchist. Rather, they have deemed this person a hero. Many people on the Left have decided he is a hero for foolishly and tragically killing himself in the most horrific way possible, predicated on a complete lie that actually helps a genocidal terrorist group.
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There is a tendency among radicals in politics to suggest that radical acts suddenly become good — if you agree with the motivation that is really just overzealousness. When people riot and set things on fire, that&#8217;s really an overzealous commitment to the cause.
That&#8217;s the language you&#8217;re hearing here. It sounds like, “Well, Aaron Bushnell may have been overzealous, but he was speaking on behalf of a good cause.”
That, of course, suggests what people like this are doing is actually quite virtuous because they&#8217;re so overzealous and they&#8217;re so passionate that they have to do this terrible thing, which, of course, incentivizes other people who are disturbed to do terrible things.
That is not good. That is very bad. In any coherent and cohesive society, you don&#8217;t want to incentivize people to engage in terrible acts or praise people for participating in terrible acts.
Victimizing yourself is not insurance against being called foolish. It is foolish to burn yourself alive on behalf of a cause that is terrible. It is foolish and bad. There are two problems here. One, the act is horrible for his family, horrible for his friends, and obviously horrible for him. That&#8217;s awful and tragic. And the celebration of people who are mentally ill doing this sort of stuff is awful.
Two, there&#8217;s this tendency among people who are defenders of what happened in this situation to suggest that if you point out Aaron Bushnell happened to be wrong on the merits, this is somehow being disrespectful to Bushnell or not acknowledging the tragedy of his death.
Self-victimization is, indeed, a tragedy. But it does not relieve you of the moral culpability for engaging in a bad act on behalf of a terrible cause.
Let us be clear: When it comes to the Gaza Strip, Israel is engaged in an attempt to extirpate an actual horrific terror group that committed the worst terrorist atrocity against Jews since World War II.

Vigil Held At Israeli Embassy For U.S. Airman Who Died After Setting Himself On Fire

The Left Turn Disturbed Anarchist Who Set Himself On Fire Into A Hero

Air Force

Ben Shapiro

Hamas

Israel

Leftists

Opinion

Palestinians

Readers Pass

The Anarchist, a coffee shop in Toronto, <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canada</a>, that functioned on a “pay what you can” system, will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/anarchism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">close</a> at the end of the month after slightly more than one year in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/business" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business</a>.
Gabriel Sims-Fewer, the owner of The Anarchist, said in an expletive-filled <a href="https://theanarchist.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> on the company’s website that he appreciated the opportunity to experiment with “living and working in ways that don&#8217;t enthusiastically embrace the pure misanthropy of capitalism.” He blamed the failure of his anti-capitalist business venture for the lack of “seed capital” from “ethically bankrupt sources,” which left him “unable to weather the quiet winter season, or to grow in the ways needed to be sustainable longer-term.”
“The Anarchist has been a huge success in every way I hoped, and has given me so much inspiration and education that I plan to put to use in future projects,” he told his customers. “F*** the rich. F*** the police. F*** the state. F*** the colonial death camp we call ‘Canada.’ Solidarity.”
Sims-Fewer previously wrote on a frequently asked questions <a href="https://theanarchist.ca/faqs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">page</a> that his “pay what you can” pricing scheme for drip coffee was meant to make coffee more affordable, admitting that the model gradually lost him money despite the hope that the losses would be counterbalanced by more expensive items. “I hate how everything in specialty coffee is so inaccessible to working class people, and inhospitable to everyone but the white upper middle class,” he had written on the website. “That&#8217;s also why I continue to scrutinise my prices and look for opportunities to lower them. Maybe when the shop has a couple more workers, allowing us to make significantly more drinks per day, we&#8217;ll be able to do an across-the-board price cut.”
The entrepreneur had also apologized for the fact that he is a “white, cisgender” man by noting that he is also “queer” and vowing to hiring people outside of his “particular intersection of privileges.”
“The best thing I think I can do is hire people who aren&#8217;t white, cisgender, heterosexual men, make them equal owners, and follow their lead in making the place less white-male-centered than the industry standard,” he had remarked. “That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m working towards.”
Beyond the apparent lack of access to capital faced by The Anarchist, businesses in Canada have been severely impacted by government lockdowns and vaccine mandates over the past three years. Sims-Fewer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CamzEyiONqY/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on the coffee shop’s social media last March that proof of vaccination would be required for dining in the restaurant. Other posts included a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm4GqPAgjrm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">depiction</a> of police officers hung by the neck under the slogan “ACAB,” as well as a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cicwyp8gTF5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> which read “the queen was sh** and should have died sooner,” an ostensible reference to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who served as the monarch of Canada and other commonwealth realms.
The Anarchist is not the first small business founded on explicitly leftist principles to recently fail in spectacular fashion: Mina’s World, a coffee shop in Philadelphia known for its LGBTQ brand identity, shuttered last year after employees <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-coffee-shop-closes-down-after-insane-demands-from-even-more-woke-employees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revolted</a> against the owners and demanded that they “redistribute” the company and its resources. A social media page called the “Mina’s World Workers” started posting accusations against the ownership, claiming they had subjected workers to “manipulation, abuse of power, exploitation, anti-blackness, ableism,” and other charges summarized in a “List of Grievances.”

Raised Fists

Get Woke, Go Broke: Anti-Capitalist Cafe That Let Customers ‘Pay What You Can’ Closes Down After One Year In Business

Anti-Capitalist Cafe That Let Customers 'Pay What You Can' Closes Down After One Year In Business

Business

Canada

Economics

Toronto

Wokeness

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/portland">Portland</a>-based summer camp for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/children">kids</a> in grades four through eight is attracting attention for aiming to create young <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/anarchism">anarchists</a> bent on overthrowing society.
Budding Roses claims to “provide a free, safe and empowering space for East Portland youth to learn, express themselves, and engage critically with the social justice issues that impact them.” They accomplish this through a variety of social justice-focused activities in a summer camp setting. It&#8217;s unclear how many children have attended the camp or completed the workshops in the past.
The <a href="https://www.buddingroses.org/about">page</a> says that mainstream education “often reproduces structural oppression and disempowers youth, particularly low income and youth of color.” The creators are interested in “activating young leaders to see themselves as agents of change.”
Because of the pandemic, Budding Roses has only offered the camp online for the past two years.
Online resources include the “Budding Roses Protest and Chant Book,” which features <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ea4a7584941f64a4fccfdf7/t/5fc426f51972c46e3c2088aa/1606690568235/Songbook+Activity+%28Printable+View+-+Doublesided%29.pdf">songs</a> such as  “Solidarity Forever,” the labor rights song from the International Workers of the World, and “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” by Woody Guthrie.
<a href="https://www.buddingroses.org/curriculum">Materials</a> for camp attendees also include an instructional called “Tear Gas for Portlanders,” which teaches kids how to handle being sprayed with tear gas and donate to bail funds.
There’s also a Black Lives Matter coloring book, an Indigenous land map, a walking tour of radical Portland highlighting an “amazing history of radical organizing,” a primer on police abolition, and a white supremacy reflection series that promises to explore topics such as intersectionality, privilege, and systemic racism.
The printable coloring pages include themes such as “Restorative Justice,” “Globalism,” “Collective value,” “Queer Affirming,” and “Transgender Affirming.”
Budding Roses was founded by the Black Rose Anarchist Federation, which claims its mission is to “overthrow the state and capitalism and build a new world from the bottom up.”
The youth camp was selected for a 2018 Spirit of Portland Award as Nonprofit Initiative of the Year.

Put the power back in your hands

Portland-Based Anarchist Camp For Kids Promises To Turn 10-Year-Olds Into Activists

Children

Portland

A pro-life group pregnancy center was attacked outside of Buffalo, New York, early Tuesday morning, adding to a growing number of similar attacks following a leak of a Supreme Court opinion regarding the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The attack occurred at CompassCare, where vandals broke windows and set fire to the structure&#8217;s medical office, adding graffiti with the words &#8220;Jane Was Here,&#8221; a phrase used by a group called Jane&#8217;s Revenge that has claimed responsibility for similar attacks nationwide.
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CompassCare’s Buffalo Office Firebombed by Abortion Activists <a href="https://t.co/lML4Bvm8Q1">https://t.co/lML4Bvm8Q1</a> <a href="https://t.co/t8SRGpEV6j">pic.twitter.com/t8SRGpEV6j</a>
&mdash; CompassCare® (@compasscare) <a href="https://twitter.com/compasscare/status/1534180002094366720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“This is the pro-abortion ‘Kristallnacht.’ Because of this act of violence, the needs of women facing unplanned pregnancy will go unmet and babies will die,&#8221; CompassCare CEO Jim Harden <a href="https://www.compasscarecommunity.com/2022/06/compasscares-buffalo-office-firebombed-by-abortion-activists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a statement on the organization&#8217;s website.
&#8220;I wonder if Gov. Hochul will veto the Pregnancy Center Investigation Bill? I wonder if Attorney General Letitia James will investigate these cowardly criminals? CompassCare will rebuild because women deserve better. CompassCare will not stop serving because pre-born boys and girls deserve protection,&#8221; he added.
The Jane&#8217;s Revenge group took credit for firebombing a pro-life center in Madison, Wisconsin, last month.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-life-group-attacked-in-wisconsin-if-abortions-arent-safe-then-you-arent-either">reported</a> that the Madison Fire Department <a href="https://www.cityofmadison.com/fire/daily-reports/fire-on-north-side-under-investigation">said in a news release</a> that it believes the pro-life center was “intentionally set” on fire and that “the incident is being investigated as an arson.”
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It was not immediately clear who set the building on fire. Wisconsin Family Action claimed the attack was from an “elitist anarchist group” that threw “two Molotov cocktails into the office, after breaking windows, and then proceeded to light a fire.”
“The arsonists posted graffiti on the outside of the building near the group’s offices. The message was, ‘If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.’ Anarchy 1312 took responsibility for the attack, leaving its logo on an outside wall,” the organization said.
The Jane&#8217;s Revenge group later claimed responsibility for the incident, as reported by Bellingcat&#8217;s Robert Evans.
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Earlier this week the office of a Wisconsin anti abortion organization was firebombed.
I have received a statement from the group claiming responsibility. They call themselves &quot;Jane&#39;s Revenge&quot; (a reference to the Jane Collective).
More follows.<a href="https://t.co/wgGX3l5DEU">https://t.co/wgGX3l5DEU</a>
&mdash; Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) <a href="https://twitter.com/IwriteOK/status/1523926913806336000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This was only a warning. We demand the disbanding of all anti-choice establishments, fake clinics, and violent anti-choice groups within the next thirty days. This is not a mere ‘difference of opinion,&#8217; as some have framed it. We are literally fighting for our lives. We will not sit still while we are killed and forced into servitude,&#8221; the statement said.
&#8220;We have run thin on patience and mercy for those who seek to strip us of what little autonomy we have left. As you continue to bomb clinics and assassinate doctors with impunity, so too shall we adopt increasingly extreme tactics to maintain freedom over our own bodies,&#8221; the statement continued.
In late May, vandalism was reported at four churches in Olympia, Washington over a single weekend, with anarchists signing off as &#8220;Jane&#8217;s Revenge.&#8221;
&#8220;Crisis pregnancy centers are exploitative and serve the aims of upholding the patriarchal family, a primary site of violence against women, queers, and children,&#8221; they <a href="https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/olympia-attack-on-4-anti-abortion-churches/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
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Female hand spray painting wallpaper

Pro-Life Group Says Abortion Activists Firebombed New York Location

Abortion Activists Claim Responsibility For Firebombing Pro-Life Group New York Location

Abortion

New York

Pro-Life Movement

Supreme Court

June marks LGBTQI+ Pride Month – a month honoring those who are “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex.” This ever-expanding rubric revolves around a particular value system entirely embraced by the modern Left: the notion that a person’s core identity ought to lie not in the relationship between individual desires and societal duties, but instead ought to revolve around a subjective sense of self, unverifiable by the world at large, and justified against all societal roles and rules.
Joe Biden has said as much from the White House. In a proclamation urging Americans to “wave their flags of pride high” – it is worth noting that an entire side of the political aisle in the United States now finds the so-called pride flag far less controversial than the American flag itself – Biden stated, “This month, we remind the LGBTQI+ community that they are loved and cherished.  My Administration sees you for who you are — deserving of dignity, respect, and support.”
Of course, seeing people for who they are typically requires some sort of objective standard; it is literally impossible to see someone for who he is based on his own internal self-perception. This means that Biden is using perfectly Orwellian euphemism to say that we all ought to validate the self-perception of any he, she, xe or catself.
This perspective is absolutely incoherent. Ironically, this incoherence is exposed by the conflict between the different letters within the alphabet soup of the supposedly sexually marginazlied. The case for tolerance of lesbian and gay Americans used to be that biological drives should not be regulated by society at large, because such drives were inborn and innate; that idea at least had the merit of internal consistency. Now, however, that idea has been jettisoned for its logical opposite, the belief that biology has no hold on us whatsoever, and that we ought to be free to define ourselves in opposition to our own biology, changing our gender and sexual orientation at will. Homosexual orientation relies on the continued distinction between the sexes &#8212; after all, why prefer males or females if those sexes are mere social constructs? Transgenderism relies on the absolute malleability of sex. This is the reason that so-called TERFs – “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” – are so bewildered by the suddenly mainstream view that women’s rights ought to be extended to biological men.
And yet here we are, told by the White House that we must ignore the internal contradictions of Left-wing sexual ideology, and simply pretend the incoherence away. We are told that we ought to stand for women’s rights by the same people who insist that Lia Thomas is a woman; we are told that one need not be a biological female to be a lesbian; we are told that biology dictates behavior, but that biology must never be used as an identifier. None of this makes one whit of sense. But we ought to be proud of it, because after all, it liberates us to celebrate our inner sense of authenticity, free of society’s strictures.
There is only one problem, of course: this sort of illogic quickly devolves into anarchy. There is no way to speak coherently with one another absent objective meaning, let alone to reach consensus. Suggesting that the world at large owes each of us validation for our innermost desires is a recipe for complete chaos. Unity can only come from opposition to something – and in this case, that means opposition to tradition, institutions, and the roles that actually facilitate human flourishing.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Ben Shapiro 10

The Anarchic Philosophy Behind “LGBTQI+ Pride Month”

LGBTQ

On Thursday, self-styled &#8220;anarchists&#8221; targeted the Mark Hatfield federal courthouse in Portland, setting fires, shattering windows and setting on fire plywood protecting the building. The courthouse was the scene of roughly four months of rioting over the summer.
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A guy uses a scooter to bash in the window before getting hit with what sounds &amp; smells like pepper balls or some other kind of crowd control munitions <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/koin6news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#koin6news</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pdx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pnw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pnw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oregon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oregon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Portland</a> <a href="https://t.co/EuyXiYejjs">pic.twitter.com/EuyXiYejjs</a>
&mdash; Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenDowlingNews/status/1370259079331860480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Someone in the group set fire to the plywood on the building at the entrance to the courthouse. Federal officers are responding with crowd control munitions. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/koin6news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#koin6news</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pdx</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pnw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pnw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oregon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oregon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Portland</a> <a href="https://t.co/pQS1IPV7iL">pic.twitter.com/pQS1IPV7iL</a>
&mdash; Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenDowlingNews/status/1370260762896203780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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According to <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/protests/portland-protesters-protect-the-land-end-america/">KOIN</a>, “A group of about 50-60 people dressed in black were seen ripping down plywood, spray painting graffiti and setting fires. After a while, Federal Protective Officers pushed them back with tear gas and less-lethal munitions. Over the course of about 2 hours, multiple skirmishes were seen as protesters set fires, officers put them out, then pushed the protesters back again.”
One person was arrested after he resisted arrest and punched an officer in the face.
&#8220;The protest happened just days after the federal government removed the metal anti-personnel fence that had surrounded the building for more than eight months,&#8221; OPB <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/03/12/protesters-vandalize-portlands-federal-courthouse-again/">reported</a>. &#8220;At the time, a spokesperson for the Federal Protective Service called the dismantling a &#8216;return to normalcy.'&#8221;
<a href="http://v">FOX 12</a> reported on Tuesday that a spokesperson for DHS told the outlet that the department had begun working to take down the fence on Monday night and that its full removal would take several days.
Robert King, Portland mayor Ted Wheeler’s senior public safety adviser, told KOIN that the agitators behind recent protests were “self-described anarchists. … Coming in to the weekend, we of course, as the chief has indicated, have staffed up. We are aware of the event that’s been advertised for (Friday).”
“The mayor will meet this week with the Acting US Attorney to talk more about this group and potential assistance from the US Attorney’s office and other federal entities to hold individuals involved in this conduct accountable,” he added.
PPB Deputy Chief Chris Davis stated, “With this group, this is a small group that is bent on destroying things. And what they want is a conflict. My advice is — don’t give them a conflict.”
During his <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508877-1/attorney-general-confirmation-hearing-day-1">confirmation hearings</a> for the position of U.S. Attorney General, Judge Merrick Garland drew a distinction between acts of violence in which federal properties were targeted while they were in operation as opposed to when they were not, i.e. at night.
Garland was asked by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) regarding attacks on the federal properties in Portland and Seattle, “Do you regard assaults on federal courthouses or other federal property as attacks of domestic extremism, domestic terrorism?”
Garland answered: &#8220;Well, senator, my own definition, which is about the same as the statutory definition, is the use of violence or threats of violence in an attempt to disrupt the democratic processes. So an attack on a courthouse while in operation, trying to prevent judges from actually deciding cases, that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism. An attack simply on a government property at night or any other circumstances is a clear crime and a serious one and should be punished. I don&#8217;t know enough about the facts of the example you’re talking about, but that’s where I draw the line. One is—both are criminal, one is a core attack on our democratic institutions.&#8221;

Portland Protests Continue Unabated Despite Federal Law Enforcement Presence

Only Days After Feds Remove Protective Fence, Left-Wing Rioters Attack Portland Federal Courthouse

The Department of Justice released details early on Monday morning explaining why three Democrat-controlled cities have been designated &#8220;anarchist jurisdictions.&#8221;
The DOJ identified the cities as being cities that permitted extremist violence and destruction of property to continue while taking action to stop the criminal acts. The department designated New York City, Portland, and Seattle as being &#8220;anarchist jurisdictions.&#8221;
The DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-identifies-new-york-city-portland-and-seattle-jurisdictions-permitting">released</a> the following criteria for evaluating whether a U.S. city is a &#8220;anarchist jurisdiction&#8221;:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.</li>
<li>Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.</li>
<li>Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.</li>
<li>Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.</li>
<li>Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
The Department then released information on the three cities to receive the designation of being an &#8220;anarchist jurisdiction.&#8221;
New York City:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Shootings in New York City have been on the rise since looting and protests began on or about May 28, 2020.  For July 2020, shootings increased from 88 to 244, an increase of 177% over July 2019.  In August 2020, shootings increased from 91 to 242, a 166% increase over August 2019.</li>
<li>While the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage, the New York City Council cut $1 billion from NYPD’s FY21 budget.</li>
<li>The budget resulted in the cancellation of the new police recruiting class, cuts to overtime spending, and the transfer of certain police functions, including school safety, out of the NYPD.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorneys have declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests, and the District Attorneys in Queens and the Bronx have declined to prosecute other protest-related charges.</li>
<li>Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have forcefully rejected federal law enforcement support.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Portland:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>This month, Portland marked 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing.</li>
<li>Those bent on violence regularly started fires, threw projectiles at law enforcement officers, and destroyed property. Numerous law enforcement officers, among others, suffered injury.</li>
<li>Shootings increased by more than 140% in June and July 2020 compared to the same period last year.</li>
<li>In the midst of this violence, the Portland City Council cut $15 million from the police bureau, eliminating 84 positions. Crucially, the cuts included the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which investigates shootings, and several positions from the police team that responds to emergency incidents.</li>
<li>In August, Portland Mayor Wheeler sent a letter to President Trump expressly rejecting the Administration’s offer of federal law enforcement to stop the violent protests.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Seattle:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>For nearly a month, starting in June, the City of Seattle permitted anarchists and activists to seize six square blocks of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, naming their new enclave the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) and then the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” (CHOP).</li>
<li>Law enforcement and fire fighters were precluded from entering the territory.  The Seattle Police Department was ordered to abandon their precinct within the CHOP.</li>
<li>Person-related crime in the CHOP increased 525% from the same period of time in the same area the year before, including by Mayor Durkan’s own count “two additional homicides, 6 additional robberies, and 16 additional aggravated assaults (to include 2 additional non-fatal shootings).”</li>
<li>The CHOP was allowed to stand for nearly a month, during which time two teenagers were shot and killed in the zone.</li>
<li>The Seattle City Council, Mayor Durkan, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee publicly rejected federal involvement in law enforcement activities within the city of Seattle.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

DOJ Releases Details On Why 3 U.S. Cities Were Designated ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’

Department of Justice

New York City

Seattle

William Barr

Attorney General William Barr has reportedly designated three U.S. cities — all controlled by Democrats — as “anarchist jurisdictions” that are being targeted to be defunded by the federal government for failing to stop violent rioters and for defunding law enforcement departments.
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/09/21/nyc-branded-an-anarchist-jurisdiction-targeted-for-defunding-doj/">reported</a> that Barr signed off on designating New York City, Portland, and Seattle as &#8220;anarchist jurisdictions.&#8221;
“When state and local leaders impede their own law-enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” Barr is expected to say in a statement on Monday. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
“My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses,” Trump tweeted late on Wednesday. “We’re putting them on notice today.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses. We’re putting them on notice today. <a href="https://twitter.com/RussVought45?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RussVought45</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1301315810485579776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump&#8217;s tweet followed a report from The New York Post that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-snaps-over-feds-defunding-nyc-trump-better-have-an-army-to-protect-him-if-he-comes-here">stated</a> that the administration was targeting New York City, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
The Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/trump-orders-review-to-defund-nyc-other-anarchist-cities/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Trump on Wednesday signed a five-page memo ordering all federal agencies to send reports to the White House Office of Management and Budget that detail funds that can be redirected.
New York City, Washington, DC, Seattle and Portland are initial targets as Trump makes “law and order” a centerpiece of his reelection campaign after months of unrest and violence following the May killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police.</blockquote>
“My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” the memo stated. “To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.”
The Democrat mayors of Seattle, Portland, and New York City all responded to the news earlier this month that they were being targeted.
New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo made threatening remarks to the president in response to the news earlier this month.
“He better have an army if he thinks he’s gonna walk down the street in New York,” Cuomo <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-snaps-over-feds-defunding-nyc-trump-better-have-an-army-to-protect-him-if-he-comes-here">said</a>. “New Yorkers don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
&#8220;Before Cuomo made the remark threatening the president, he gave a 7-minute statement in which he made personal attacks on the president,&#8221; The Daily Wire added. &#8220;Cuomo also pinned all the blame for his own much-maligned response to the coronavirus pandemic on the president, falsely claiming that Trump was &#8216;the cause&#8217; of the coronavirus in New York and accusing Trump of &#8216;actively&#8217; trying to &#8216;kill New York City.'&#8221;
This story has been updated to include additional information.

US-POLITICS-HEARING-JUSTICE-BARR

AG Barr To Officially Designate 3 U.S. Cities As ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions,’ Report Says

What happens when you take a generation of people, carefully instill in them an overriding sense of entitlement, give them lives of immeasurable comfort and ease, grant them every right and liberty known to man, but then at the same time tell them, somehow, incredibly, that they are oppressed — and then finally, after decades of this sort of schizophrenic conditioning, grant them free reign to express their confused and unearned rage in whatever way they desire, including felony vandalism and assault? Well, we are now seeing the results of that social experiment, and they are as ugly as expected — the country witnessing an eruption in rioting and mayhem by members of what the Feds generally describe as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/07/16/acting-secretary-wolf-condemns-rampant-long-lasting-violence-portland">violent anarchist</a>&#8221; groups.
Indeed, the entitlement of these left-wing &#8220;protesters&#8221; — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/civil-rights-activists-fire-back-at-portland-protesters-its-no-longer-about-black-lives">many of whom are white</a> and by the Left&#8217;s own terms &#8220;privileged&#8221; — is the most striking and inescapable thing about them. These are people who believe they actually have the God-given — or whoever-given — right to shut down roads, stop traffic, intimidate, harass, assault, burn, loot, and pillage, without consequence. They really believe they have this right. 
For example, DC activist Julia Clark posted a lengthy <a href="https://twitter.com/jc_1303/status/1287231458508234753">Twitter thread</a> over the weekend complaining about cars that kept driving down roads that she and her comrades had decided to close. Of course they had no authority to close any roads at all, but that is a minor detail in Julia Clark&#8217;s mind. If Julia Clark decides that a road is closed, well then, damn it, it’s closed. And that’s all there is to it.
In the thread she says, &#8220;Tonight @concernedofDC led a siren/noise pollution protest where we blocked off streets in Georgetown. The police presence was heavy. As we blocked off streets we demanded that people turn around. This was a minor inconvenience for this affluent white neighborhood.&#8221;
The thought never entered Clark&#8217;s head that she has no right to do any of what she just described. She doesn&#8217;t seem to realize, or care, that other humans actually exist on the planet, and that just because she feels like it would be fun and worthwhile to shut down part of the city, that arrangement may not work for everyone else. By imposing herself on the public in this way, she makes herself into the aggressor and bad guy. None of this seems to occur to Clark or her friends.
She continues:
&#8220;As we blocked streets, certain drivers got annoyed and attempted to maneuver their way around us. This particular white woman tried to cut through a gas station. Me and a couple other protestors stood in front of her car and demanded she turn around. Instead she steps on the gas.&#8221;
The footage that Clark proudly shares shows the protesters laying on top of the car while the older woman inside appears terrified and confused. The woman tried to go around them, but the protesters were incensed that anyone — especially a white woman — would defy their instructions. They then jump on top of the moving vehicle while claiming that the vehicle they are climbing on is &#8220;running them over.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ILQgfdigUII?start=98" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">﻿</iframe>
The thread finally ends with Clark whining that the police didn’t come to her aid, while also insisting that the police are evil and should be defunded. She’s mad that they weren’t there for her, but she doesn’t want them to exist at all. This kind of thought process makes sense only in the mind of someone driven mad by their own sense of entitlement.
Episodes like this played out in cities across the country all weekend, just as they have for the past two months. The scene in Austin, Texas, began in a similar way but led to a tragically fatal conclusion. BLM protester Garrett Foster came out to demonstrate while carrying an AK-47. He can be seen on camera earlier in the evening gloating that the opposition &#8220;are too big of p*ssies to stop and do anything.&#8221; Shortly after speaking those words, he would be dead. It is still not clear exactly what happened. Video captures the mob of protesters marching through the street and then stopping to run towards and swarm a vehicle that tried to continue driving. Foster approached with the mob and soon shots rang out. The driver says he fired because Foster pointed the AK-47 at him. Foster&#8217;s fellow protesters dispute that claim.
Whether he pointed the weapon or not, approaching a vehicle in the middle of the road along with an angry mob, blocking it and not letting the driver leave the situation, is an act of aggression and not something that anyone has the right to do. Apparently this point needs to be stated, though it should be obvious: You have no right to block traffic, you have no right to swarm a vehicle, and if you do that with an AK-47 strapped to your body, you have given the driver of the car reason to fear for his life.
In a moment captured on video from earlier in the night, Foster states explicitly that he isn&#8217;t carrying the weapon out of any concern for his physical safety. According to him, the opposition are a bunch of wimps who &#8220;won’t do anything.&#8221; His statement suggests he felt he was invincible, untouchable. Tragically, he learned otherwise too late. I fear the stage is set now and there will be many more tragedies ahead. The mob is emboldened, the public is weary, and people are tired of being held hostage. It only gets uglier from here.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/matt-walsh">More from Matt Walsh</a>.

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