Police accused a man convicted of manslaughter of intentionally starting a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-pacific-northwest-city-devastated-by-massive-wildfires">devastating wildfire</a> in Spokane, Washington. 
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that it charged 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci with first-degree arson over the Old Trails Fire that has burned some 3,600 acres. Farinacci was previously convicted of manslaughter in Arizona after first being charged with premeditated murder, authorities said. 
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels credited some “very aware and alert citizens” with aiding in the arrest of Farinacci. 
“The witness, a citizen, very good citizen, noticed a male standing on the side of the road looking into the trees as he was going to pick somebody up,” Nowels said at a press conference. “About 10 minutes later, he was coming back through the area. He noticed the male was bending down near some grass.”
That citizen later called police and Nowels said police spoke to Farinacci shortly after the blaze started. He was not arrested at the time, but investigators later used footage from that encounter to identify him after arson was determined to be behind the blaze. 
Nowels said that police determined “that the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass earlier that day.”
Farinacci was detained by police and was in possession of a butane lighter and waterproof matches. Nowels said law enforcement is looking into whether he committed any other crimes. 
<div id="attachment_1150139" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1150139" class="size-full wp-image-1150139" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Spokane Sheriff&#8217;s Department.</div>
“This was fantastic and very quick work by everybody involved,” he said. “As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware, and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci.”
Farinacci is being held on a $1 million bond in Spokane County Jail and is set to appear in court on Tuesday. 
More than 60,000 people have been forced to evacuate as many homes were destroyed after three major blazes broke out over the weekend in the Spokane area. No known fatalities have yet been reported, but authorities are still working to locate 14 people. 
“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-spokane-washington-evacuate-8e42b37783bda01e7d004d71e546458e?taid=6a716be0423cf600011ce836&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">told</a> the Associated Press about the destruction of her home. “It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. &#8230; There’s just so much loss for so many people.”
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown described the fires as “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”

US-ENVIRONMENT-WILDFIRE

Convicted Felon Accused Of Lighting Devastating Washington Wildfire

arson

spokane

washington

wildfire

Police are investigating a suspicious overnight fire at Nöam, a kosher restaurant in Montreal&#8217;s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, as local leaders and community members urge authorities to treat the incident as a hate crime.
The blaze broke out around 3:15 a.m. on Saturday. While no injuries were reported, the building sustained major physical damage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A kosher restaurant in Montreal, Canada, was burned to the ground in a suspected arson attack in the early hours of Saturday morning. Emergency services were called to Nöam restaurant at around 3:15 a.m. after a man was seen on video apparently starting the fire before fleeing… <a href="https://t.co/8abdyivkBt">pic.twitter.com/8abdyivkBt</a>
&mdash; StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) <a href="https://x.com/StandWithUs/status/2083885987046854934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) spokesperson Raphael Bergeron confirmed investigators possess security video showing an individual in a white T-shirt setting the fire before fleeing. Building owner Howard Szalavetz expressed heartbreak over the destruction, sharing fears that the business was intentionally targeted due to its Jewish identity. Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather and Provincial Representative Elisabeth Prass both visited the site, condemning the attack and demanding a thorough hate-crime investigation, CBC <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/police-fire-kosher-restaurant-9.7293777#:~:text=(%20St%C3%A9phane%20Gr%C3%A9goire%2FRadio%2DCanada)%20Social%20Sharing.%20Police%20are,Ville%20de%20Montr%C3%A9al%20(SPVM)%20spokesperson%20Raphael%20Bergeron.">reported</a>.
The arson attack reflects a wider, escalation of hostility directed at Canada&#8217;s 400,000-strong Jewish population. Over recent months, cities including Toronto and Montreal have experienced a noticeable surge in violent incidents: A Toronto Jewish girls&#8217; school was targeted by overnight gunfire on three separate occasions; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bagels-and-bullets-antisemitic-terror-wave-hits-jewish-bakery-chain">shots were fired</a> at Kiva’s Bagel Bar in Toronto, two Montreal Jewish institutions faced firebombings, and multiple synagogues in Nova Scotia were defaced with hate-filled graffiti.
Other reported incidents include attempted abductions and the assault of a Jewish man in front of his children in Montreal.
Community advocates note that these events put 2026 on track to be one of the most violent years on record for the Canadian Jewish community.
Meanwhile, only hours after the fire, the hostility extended into professional sports during a Major League Soccer match at Stade Saputo. Israeli international forward Dor Turgeman, playing for the visiting New England Revolution against CF Montréal, was subjected to hostile chants including &#8220;Death to Israel&#8221; and &#8220;Free Palestine&#8221; from sections of the crowd throughout the game.
Turgeman answered on the field in the 36th minute, scoring to give New England a 2–0 lead. He  celebrated by running toward the stands with his arms outstretched, pointing to his ears as if to say he couldn’t hear the hostility.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
That was quick ⚡️
Dor Turgeman makes it 2-0 for <a href="https://x.com/NERevolution?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NERevolution</a>!
📺 Apple TV: <a href="https://t.co/OHJW1JrVDJ">https://t.co/OHJW1JrVDJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/kgA8Z8TpUC">pic.twitter.com/kgA8Z8TpUC</a>
&mdash; Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://x.com/MLS/status/2083709603888455830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Spectators reportedly <a href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/artc-targeted-by-chants-of-death-to-israel-dor-turgeman-responds-with-a-goal#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20match%2C%20some%20Montreal%20supporters%20chanted,allegedly%20behind%20recent%20antisemitic%20attacks%20in%20Canada.">hurled beer bottles</a> onto the pitch in response, and Montréal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza shoved Turgeman, triggering a brief altercation between players on both teams.

Views Of Quebec’s Largest City As Home Sales Rise

Montreal Kosher Restaurant Torched In Arson Attack As Anti-Semitic Hostility Spills Across Canada

antisemitism

canada

dor turgeman

montreal

world

The building that was once St. Ann’s Church in Buffalo, New York, burned down after sustaining two fires in less than a week, and officials have confirmed the latest fire was arson. 
The 140-year-old church suffered a three-alarm fire last Friday, which the firefighters contained for the most part, per <a href="https://www.btpm.org/local/2026-07-17/buffalo-firefighters-take-on-second-multi-alarm-fire-this-year-at-former-st-anns-parish">PBS</a>. The building seemed to remain structurally stable after the fire, but firefighters were called back to the church at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday as another fire tore through the building. 
These were not the first fires at the St. Ann’s Parish this year, where the 140-year-old church resides. Back in January, a massive four-alarm fire gutted St. Ann’s schoolhouse, causing $600,000 in damages, according to <a href="https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/buffalo/tuesday-fire-at-former-st-anns-church-determined-to-be-arson/">WIVB</a>.
St. Ann’s Parish was closed by Bishop Richard Malone in 2013, but the Vatican confirmed the closure in 2017, according to <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2017/11/21/historic-st--ann-church-in-buffalo-officially-closed">Spectrum News</a>. The Catholic church was then sold to the Buffalo Crescent Holdings, which is associated with a Muslim group, in November 2022 for $250,000. It was set to be converted into a mosque. The multimillion dollar project, which included an Islamic school and college, shopping plaza, and Muslim funeral home. Developers have made no further plans for the project, according to <a href="https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/will-a-buffalo-catholic-church-become-a-mosque-here-s-what-to-know?utm_source=chatgpt.com&amp;redirectedfrom=cna">EWTN News</a>. 
Leah Halton-Pope, Buffalo Common Council Member, said that earlier on Tuesday she had talked about securing the building. 
“I literally just had a conversation this afternoon with a member of the administration asking what are we going to do about it and stressing that something has to be done over there to secure it, and then said it’s probably going to be set on fire again, but I just didn’t think it would happen today,” she said.
Bernice Radle, executive director at Preservation Buffalo Niagara, said that the owners of the property have been unresponsive and “refuse to secure the building.”
“Preservation Buffalo Niagara calls on the City of Buffalo to pull out all the stops to wrestle this landmark church from its negligent absentee owner,” Radle said. “Enough is enough!”
This <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/173-year-old-church-burned-down-its-not-the-first-in-recent-months?author=Trinity+Gentry&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=9&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=173-Year-Old+Church+Burned+Down.+It%E2%80%99s+Not+The+First+In+Recent+Months.">church fire</a> isn&#8217;t the first for New York in the past months. In June, a landmark 173-year-old church, whose congregation still met weekly, was burned in Brooklyn. Officials determined that the blaze was caused by a firebug. In April, a 138-year-old church in Astoria was destroyed by a five-alarm fire and still remains under investigation. Police also arrested a man on July 8 who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at two different houses of worship in Queens.

Church building

Another Historic New York Church Burned Down In Arson Attack

catholic church

church

Mosques

Muslim

The FDNY believes the fire that burned a Brooklyn church built in 1853 was intentionally set, and New York City officials began the demolition of the building on Tuesday despite the congregation&#8217;s objections. 

After <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/173-year-old-church-burned-down-its-not-the-first-in-recent-months?author=Trinity+Gentry&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=173-Year-Old+Church+Burned+Down.+It%E2%80%99s+Not+The+First+In+Recent+Months.">flames engulfed</a> the South Bushwick Reformed Church, an active congregation, on June 19, church engineers said that the building required only a partial demolition, but the NYC Department of Buildings pushed for a full demolition, originally scheduling it for August. Now, the Department of Buildings, headed by Ahmed Tigani — a practicing Muslim — is demolishing the historic building this week, according to <a href="https://www.brownstoner.com/development/south-bushwick-reformed-church-855-bushwick-avenue-dob-full-demolition/">Brownstoner</a>.
During a Zoom meeting on Monday, which included representatives from the Department of Buildings, the church, and others, the city said demolition would begin this week. City officials have maintained that the church&#8217;s engineers never provided a plan to &#8220;safely stabilize the structure&#8221; that would allow a partial demolition instead of a full teardown. Dina Alfano of the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association, who has worked with the church to save the historic landmark, said the new deadline was impossible to meet.
“That left us basically less than half a day to try to get a team in there to get them the remaining information they needed,” Alfano said. “The long and the short of it is that it just wasn’t possible with the time constraints to get them what they wanted.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the church&#8217;s pastor, James Steward, lamented: &#8220;It is with extremely heavy hearts that the South Bushwick Church reports that, despite its best efforts, we have been informed that demolition of the remaining structures at 855 Bushwick will commence tomorrow.”
Steward was told that a full demolition would likely strip the property of its landmark status. Without that protection, the cleared lot could be sold to a developer — and because the cost of the teardown is expected to exceed the $15,000 raised through the church&#8217;s <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-south-bushwicks-fire-rebuild">GoFundMe</a>, the congregation may be left unable to rebuild and forced to sell. The fundraiser was originally started to save and rebuild the building.
Upon hearing that the FDNY was investigating arson, Steward said that the church has “no known enemies&#8221; and that learning the fire was intentionally set has deepened the community&#8217;s grief. Until the fire, the church community met weekly in the historic building, which was also used as an event space and food pantry. 
The <a href="https://www.fundforsacredplaces.org/participants/south-bushwick-reformed-church/">church</a> building was prized for its combination of the Greek Revival style and Georgian-inspired tower and steeple. Its first congregation was made up of 20 families from neighboring farms. The building also anchored the community that grew around it. As one of only eight “wooden landmarked houses of worship in New York City,” the church hosted community events, such as “youth performing arts classes, vocal academies, open mic nights, and an art expo.”
The loss of an influential building that had fostered a strong community has left residents heartbroken and confused. 
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s messed up. This church has been here forever. My aunt got married in this church,&#8221; local resident Marcel Sanabria told CBS News.
Helena Munoz, another community member, said the tragedy was “incredibly upsetting.”
“If it is arson then that would be really shocking and upsetting because, like you said, it&#8217;s an historic landmark and it means a lot to people,” Munoz added.

Collage

Mamdani’s NYC Moves To Quickly Demolish Historic Church Burned In Suspected Arson Attack

South Bushwick Reformed Church

A 20-year-old man was arrested after threatening to burn down the headquarters of artificial intelligence company OpenAI and chucking a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman&#8217;s San Francisco home early Friday morning.
San Francisco police said officers were called to investigate a fire at a home in North Beach around 4:12 a.m. local time and discovered that a male suspect had thrown an incendiary device at the house, sparking a fire at a gate outside the home. The suspect fled the scene on foot, but he was found by police around an hour later outside of OpenAI&#8217;s headquarters, where he was threatening to start another fire and burn the building down.
The San Francisco Police Department said the 20-year-old, who has yet to be identified, was taken into custody &#8220;immediately&#8221; after officers recognized him as the person who ran from officers after throwing a Molotov cocktail at Altman&#8217;s home.
&#8220;Early this morning, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman&#8217;s home and also made threats at our San Francisco headquarters. Thankfully, no one was hurt,&#8221; OpenAI said. &#8220;We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe. The individual is in custody, and we&#8217;re assisting law enforcement with their investigation.&#8221;
As of late Friday morning, charges against the suspect were still pending, and the San Francisco Police Department said the investigation remained &#8220;open and active.&#8221;
Altman, a central figure of the AI boom, lives in a mansion in the San Francisco neighborhood of Russian Hill. The AI executive bought the massive home for $27 million in March of 2020, <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/31/sam-altman-russian-hill-mansion/">according</a> to the San Francisco Standard. Altman lives in the home with his husband and a baby boy whom they acquired through a surrogate mother in February of 2025.
Altman has faced criticism in recent years for rapidly pushing forward with AI development as some industry experts express concern about a lack of guidelines around the technology. Altman was fired by the OpenAI board in 2023 after accusations that he was not open or honest in his communications, especially with regard to AI safety. Altman, however, was reinstated as CEO after backlash from OpenAI employees and investors.
Altman and OpenAI have also been sued by Elon Musk, who helped start OpenAI, but then left the company&#8217;s board in 2018 over conflicts with his own pursuit of AI development. Earlier this week, Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-says-the-ai-shaping-your-life-pulled-a-800b-bait-and-switch">revised his lawsuit</a> against OpenAI, demanding that Altman be removed as CEO and seeking to force the intelligence giant to end its for-profit structure and return to its nonprofit roots.
Musk has alleged that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman “manipulated and misled” him into providing roughly $38 million in seed funding between 2015 and 2018, based on assurances that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit dedicated to open-source artificial general intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

Sam Altman

Man Threatens To Burn Down AI Giant’s Headquarters, Throws Molotov Cocktail At CEO’s Home

artificial intelligence

crime

openai

police

san francisco

U.S.

A warehouse employee is facing multiple felony arson charges after allegedly setting a massive fire at a paper distribution center, and recording himself doing it while ranting about his pay.
Authorities say 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim, an employee at a facility operated for Kimberly-Clark, was arrested after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massive-california-warehouse-destroyed-in-suspected-arson-attack">six-alarm fire tore through a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse</a> in Ontario, California, Tuesday morning.
The fire was set at around 12:30 a.m., quickly spreading through the building, which was filled with paper goods like toilet paper and facial tissue. What sets the case apart — beyond the sheer scale of destruction — is video circulating online that investigators believe shows Abdulkarim lighting the fire while delivering a profanity-laced grievance.
“All you had to do was pay us enough to live,” a voice believed to be Abdulkarim says repeatedly in the footage.
“You may not pay us enough to f*cking live … but these b*tches dirt cheap,” he adds referring to a lighter, as stacks of products catch fire. At one point, as flames begin to spread, a voice is heard over a walkie-talkie: “We’ve got a fire in the warehouse.” He concluded the rant saying, “there goes your inventory.”
Warning: Strong Language
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A pissed off employee started a massive fire at a warehouse after complaining about low pay. 😬
“All you had to do was pay us enough to f*cking live… there goes your inventory.” <a href="https://t.co/beWaZScs55">pic.twitter.com/beWaZScs55</a>
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) <a href="https://twitter.com/kirawontmiss/status/2041995687168979210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Fire officials said the scale and speed of the blaze immediately raised red flags. “This fire was very quickly identified as suspicious in nature,” Ontario Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Wedell <a href="https://6abc.com/post/arson-suspect-arrested-massive-fire-tears-warehouse-ontario-california/18851853/?ex_cid=TA_WPVI_FB&amp;link_source=ta_first_comment&amp;taid=69d771a78830ae00010ca3f1&amp;utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem">said</a>. “There was a subject of interest identified very early on in the incident. That subject has been arrested.”
While investigators have not publicly confirmed a motive, if the video is verified, it would certainly leave little question.
More than 140 firefighters responded as the fire escalated to six alarms, with crews forced into a defensive operation as flames moved rapidly through the structure. Roughly 20 employees were inside at the time. No injuries were reported.
Abdulkarim was initially reported missing, but was later located nearby and taken into custody. He is being held without bail. The warehouse itself was a major regional hub, supplying paper goods to an estimated 50 million people. The facility is valued at roughly $156 million.
Officials said the building’s fire suppression system activated, but was ultimately compromised when part of the roof collapsed.
The nature of the inventory, large quantities of paper products, accelerated the fire’s spread. Flames and smoke were visible for miles, and air quality warnings were issued for surrounding neighborhoods. Several trucks docked at the facility were also destroyed.
Beyond the immediate damage, the fire is expected to have a broader economic impact. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-07/toilet-paper-facility-fire-risks-disruption-to-major-us-market?srnd=homepage-americas&amp;embedded-checkout=true">Industry analysts</a> say the loss of the facility could affect more than 3% of Kimberly-Clark’s U.S. sales, while increasing transportation and logistics costs as distribution is rerouted. The company’s stock fell more than 4% following the incident.
The warehouse was operated by a third-party logistics firm, which said it is cooperating with authorities and working to relocate affected employees. Kimberly-Clark said its supply chain is designed to handle disruptions and does not expect widespread shortages.
Authorities say the video is part of an ongoing investigation.

WATCH: Did An Arson Suspect Just Record Himself Lighting A Warehouse On Fire?

california

law enforcement

Since 2021, more than 80 churches across Canada have suffered <a href="https://ccrl.ca/">arson attacks</a>. The most recent casualty is the <a href="https://x.com/RebelNewsOnline/status/2036815655941353570">reported</a> fire at the historic Christ Church Anglican in Maugerville, New Brunswick.
If Canadian media covers the fires at all, they will claim a total of 30 to 35 churches have burned across Canada, meaning churches that have burned entirely to the ground. The media will often use phrases like “arson is suspected” and “motives remain unclear.” By that description, one would think a Walmart had burned down. An attack on a house of God, however, is treated by the media as an incidental detail. This is not a stylistic tic — it is the prose of a society willfully blind to the crisis in which it is engulfed.
One need not be Socrates to see the obvious. These are not random accidents but episodes in a larger campaign: an open war being waged against the West. Our collective silence does not assuage it; it shields it and helps it spread.
Every Canadian understands, though few will confess publicly, that these burnings are half-applauded as revenge. Our previous prime minister <a href="https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/01/18/church-burnings-canada-unmarked-graves-246978/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20sad%2C%E2%80%9D%20Horgan,%2C%20including%20against%20Catholic%20churches.%E2%80%9D">assured us</a> they are “understandable,” albeit regrettable, responses to the “discovery” of mass graves at residential schools. Except there is one problem: it was and is a lie.
Nevertheless, hints became headlines, headlines became dogma, and dogma became license.
<div id="attachment_1067267" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067267" class="size-large wp-image-1067267" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1024x315.jpg" alt="Source: StatCan" width="1024" height="315" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1024x315.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-300x92.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-768x236.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can-1536x472.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/stat-can.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Source: StatCan</div>
To the Left, whether it corresponds to the truth is secondary to the permission it grants. It conceals under the guise of “justice” a hatred that long predates the tale. Much of what now presents itself as moral outrage is little more than repackaged hatred of Western civilization: of its God, its truth, and its nobility. Old resentments have now learned to call themselves righteous.
To refuse to name this as such is not neutrality but complicity. Consider Canada’s nominally Catholic Prime Minister, Mark Carney. He is known to thunder like a prophet when it comes to Trump or climate change. And yet here he is conspicuously silent. Indeed, he takes great pains to avoid invoking the terms “the West” or “Western civilization.” One gets the impression Mr. Carney prefers to deliver its eulogy rather than defend its inheritance.
This silence is instructive. It educates citizens, especially the young, that nothing is sacred, least of all its own civilization. Resentment, not reverence, becomes the proper orientation towards the highest things. Our enemies, both foreign and domestic, understand precisely what must be erased if the West is to be disarmed.
<div id="attachment_1067255" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067255" class="size-large wp-image-1067255" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422264-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Toronto, ON &#8211; June 10: Investigators survey St. Anne&#8217;s as they begin to piece together what caused the fire. Historic St. Anne&#8217;s Anglican Church at 270 Gladstone Ave. was destroyed by a fire early on June 9th. (Photo by Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)</div>
These fires, however, did not begin in sanctuaries but in the seminar rooms of our universities. Our reigning orthodoxy and radical relativism, pushed by the Left, have filtered down through every institution: from our classrooms to our boardrooms and even our bathrooms. The church burnings are simply where theory meets action: where the lit match meets our steeples.
For decades, we have taught students that all ways of life are equal; that any claim to superiority is a disguised will to power; and that distinctions between noble and base, just and unjust, good and bad, and above all, true and false, are instruments of “oppression.” Relativism came promising peace. We were told that wars and persecutions arose from the conviction that one’s own way is best. Reduce all virtues to “values,” all truth to “opinions,” and civilization to “cultures,” and the source of conflict would dissolve. After all, if there is no truth, there is nothing over which to fight.
But relativism produced not gentle tolerance but a new and fanatical intolerance. “Everything is relative” except, of course, relativism. This alone is absolute and unquestionable. The one unforgivable sin is precisely what the West at its best affirms: that our way of life is superior not by race or conquest, but because it is true; therefore, it is good, just, and noble.
For these radicals, the West represents a rival claim to their tyrannical rule. The West does not simply assert that it is true: we boldly proclaim it is true by both God and nature. Our founding is constituted by the twin roots of Jerusalem and Athens: biblical revelation and reason. Despite their differences, both converge on the same point: there is the Truth; there is a best way of life; and there is a standard that stands both outside and above us.
This is why our churches must burn. Our steeples are the most visible symbol of the biblical half of our inheritance. It is no wonder these steeples were once the highest structures in cities and towns, rising above parliaments, banks, and homes. Our steeples served as silent reminders guiding our eyes, and with them our souls, upward to the highest things, higher than political power, commerce, or comfort.
When the Christian claims that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” it is a living rebuke to these radicals. It not only condemns them as inferior or unequal, but exposes them as false. The Church testifies that there is an order and law greater than ourselves and accessible to all through our reason: we are neither our own Creators nor legislators. For leftist radicals, this is intolerable. For, when there is God and Truth, then everything is not permissible.
<div id="attachment_1067257" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067257" class="size-large wp-image-1067257" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-864x576.jpg" alt="Toronto, ON - June 10: St. Anne's Reverend Don Beyers looks towards the remains of his church. Historic St. Anne's Anglican Church at 270 Gladstone Ave. was destroyed by a fire early on June 9th. (Photo by Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2156422018.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images</div>
Our American friends should not delude themselves into thinking this is some uniquely Canadian phenomenon. The same doctrine, the same hatred for the West, and the same fanatics are already entrenched in your universities, bureaucracies, and halls of power. They look north and see not an aberration but a guiding model. Given the opportunity, they would happily bury your churches under ashes, too.
And yet, our enemies pay us great compliments. Hatred and resentment always look upwards: inadvertently, they betray our superiority. If we were truly inferior, the proper orientation would be pity or indifference. Confident victors do not waste precious time and energy making war against defeated opponents. One does not attempt to murder a corpse.
In this way, we owe our enemies thanks. The vehemence of their rage is proportional to the threat they perceive. Our enemies declare that the West is not dead: it is alive and well and remains the greatest obstacle to the tyranny they wish to institute. Our enemies understand this; it is we who have forgotten.
The proper response is not to hide or to apologize for existing, but to regain a seriousness equal to that of our opponents. If they judge this way of life dangerous enough to burn, then it is time we judged it once more worthy of living and of defending in full.
* * *
Dimpee Brar currently serves as the Director of Engagement for Allies for a Strong Canada. She is a writer whose work can be found in the Federalist, the Western Standard, and the Toronto Sun. She appears frequently on various podcasts and radio shows. You can follow her on X: @isthisdimpeeb

Catholic church in Morinville destroyed by fire

Churches Are Burning, And The Lie Fueling It Still Holds

Graves

indigenous

Leftists

Legacy Media

progressivism

Idaho authorities say an attempted arsonist targeted a building housing offices for the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday night.
Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea described the attack during a Thursday press conference. He <a href="https://x.com/Dapper_Det/status/2024623982096318793">said</a> someone stole an ambulance and covered it in an accelerant. The attempted arsonist then rammed it into a building that houses leased offices for Homeland Security, but was scared off before being able to ignite the fuel.
“We want to emphasize that this was a serious criminal act. The theft and destruction of an emergency vehicle not only created risk to responding personnel, but it also temporarily removed a critical medical resource from the community,” Basterrechea emphasized.
The police chief said that the suspect is still at large. During the press conference, he suggested that controversy and radical rhetoric regarding the Department of Homeland Security may have played into the attack.
“There has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the Department of Homeland Security leasing office space at this location, and comments on social media such as, ‘property damage isn&#8217;t violence,’ is absolutely false,” said Basterrechea.
“This was absolutely an act of violence, and if the suspect had not been interrupted, there is no doubt this building would have been burned, putting the lives of first responders and others at risk,” he continued.
The attempted arsonist stole the ambulance from St. Luke’s hospital and crashed it into a building owned by St. Luke’s Health System in Meridian. St. Luke’s Health System had rented space in the damaged building to the Department of Homeland Security, and the lease has been at the center of some heated public debate, according to the <a href="https://wtop.com/national/2026/02/police-in-idaho-search-for-suspect-who-stole-ambulance-drove-into-building-that-houses-dhs-offices/">Associated Press</a>.
The attack comes at a time when federal immigration enforcement is facing a steep rise in threats and attacks as agents attempt to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda and enforce federal law. Earlier this month, a DHS spokeswoman presented several data points showing the rapid jump in violence.
“Thanks to rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and encouragement of illegal aliens to evade arrest, our officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. Secretary Noem has been clear: anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-alien-indicted-in-major-ice-assault-case-released-into-country-under-biden-admin">said</a>.
Democratic politicians have repeatedly attacked federal immigration agents, especially those with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/with-ice-facing-historic-violence-dems-fan-flames-by-labeling-immigration-agents-nazis?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=With+ICE+Facing+Historic+Violence%2C+Dems+Fan+Flames+By+Labeling+Immigration+Agents+Nazis">compared</a> ICE agents to Nazi secret police.

Department Of Homeland Security

Man Targets DHS Building With Stolen Ambulance In Attempted Arson Attack

department of homeland security

idaho

A man who expressed anti-Israel views and called Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro a “monster” pleaded guilty to all charges on Tuesday morning after firebombing the Governor’s Residence in April.
Cody Balmer, 38, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted homicide and terrorism, along with dozens of arson-related charges, The Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/crime/cody-balmer-arson-guilty-plea-josh-shapiro-mansion-fire-20251014.html">reported</a>. Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
Balmer scaled the property fence and broke into the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence at around 2:00 a.m. on April 13, shortly after Shapiro — who is Jewish — finished celebrating Passover with his family. The arsonist lit multiple homemade incendiary devices and threw them on the floor inside the home as Shapiro and his family slept, security footage shows. Balmer then fled the property.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Video inside Gov. Shapiro&#8217;s residence shows the moments Cody Balmer threw Molotov Cocktails inside the residence earlier this year
More details on <a href="https://t.co/7vlW67ZTdM">https://t.co/7vlW67ZTdM</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZKWrn5LQqm">https://t.co/ZKWrn5LQqm</a> <a href="https://t.co/scIl39YPYH">pic.twitter.com/scIl39YPYH</a>
— abc27 News (@abc27News) <a href="https://twitter.com/abc27News/status/1978097948140388429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
After the blaze erupted, the governor and his family were awakened by state troopers and escaped unharmed. The fire damaged much of the home, costing more than $7 million to repair, the Inquirer reported.
Hours after he set the fire, Balmer called police and admitted to the attack, saying that he would not “take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arsonist-arrested-for-attack-on-josh-shapiro-hated-israel-911-call-reveals">reported</a>. Balmer told authorities that he strongly disagreed with Shapiro’s stance on the war between Israel and Hamas and admitted that he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer if he had encountered the governor during his rampage, according to police documents.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout</a>
Balmer had past run-ins with law enforcement, and his mother said that he is “mentally ill and he went off his medication.” In 2023, police responded to a call from Balmer’s home, and he reportedly told police that he attempted suicide with a “bottle full of pills” and got into a fight with his wife and 13-year-old son. His wife alleged that Balmer hit the teenager and punched her in the face and bit her. He was charged with three counts of simple assault at the time.
Last year, as Shapiro was on the shortlist of potential running mates for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the governor faced intense criticism from many on the Left for his stance on the war in Gaza. Harris ultimately skipped over Shapiro and selected Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz. Shapiro maintained that he was not passed over due to any form of antisemitism within the party.
Balmer’s social media activity shows that he expressed a range of leftist beliefs, while also criticizing former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/14/us-news/cody-balmer-suspected-josh-shapiro-arsonist-pictured/">reported</a>. Leftist media personalities like Don Lemon and Joe Scarborough <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-the-attack-on-democrat-josh-shapiros-house-is-not-an-example-of-maga-violence">attempted</a> to spin Balmer’s attack as an example of Right-wing violence.

Josh Shapiro

Anti-Israel Man Pleads Guilty After Terrorizing Pennsylvania Governor’s Home

anti-Israel

Fire

israel

josh shapiro

pennsylvania

politics

Three men were being paid by the Russian state to carry out arson and kidnappings to undermine European support for Ukraine and punish opponents of the regime.
The men were found guilty on Tuesday of torching a London warehouse containing Starlink satellite technology bound for Ukraine, and acting out the directives of the Wagner Group, &#8220;a private military organisation that acts on behalf of the Russian state,&#8221; <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2k37x91vlo">according</a> to the BBC.
Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, and Nii Mensah, 23, were convicted of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life.
The getaway driver, 61-year-old Paul English, was acquitted due to lack of knowledge. Another man was convicted for knowing about terrorist acts but failing to disclose the information, and yet another was acquitted on the same charge.
The whole operation was caught on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYjhq3sJcuU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CCTV</a>. The perpetrators also livestreamed the arson along to the song &#8220;Spit of Gym&#8221; by Lowlemon, in typical Gen Z fashion.
The arson caused more than $1.36 million worth of damage.
The two ringleaders, Dylan Earl, 21, and Jake Reeves, 23, had already pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and violating the National Security Act. Both men have a history of dealing drugs.
Earl was the first person to be convicted under the United Kingdom’s National Security Act. After being arrested, he admitted to his role in a plot to kidnap Russian billionaire and expat Yevgeny Chichvarkin and burn his Michelin Star restaurant to the ground. Chichvarkin has been a vocal opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The men seem to have been motivated primarily by money. Though their handler refused to pay them for the Starlink incident, claiming that they “rushed into burning these warehouses without my approval,” he promised <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjkke22gv9o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$6,800</a> for other warehouses in East London.
Earl had also expressed allegiance to the Russian cause, prompting his handler to call him “our dagger in Europe.”
“We will be sharpening you carefully,” they added.
Earl exchanged hundreds of messages with his Wagner contact, named “Privet Bot,” over Telegram. The contact encouraged him to recruit “soccer hooligans, Irish republican militants and high-profile criminal groups,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/three-men-guilty-over-uk-arson-attack-ukraine-linked-businesses-ordered-by-2025-07-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a> reported.
The Wagner Group began as a state-funded “private military company” but “has been under the control of Russian state agencies and intelligence services since a failed 2023 coup,” according to British authorities speaking to The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/world/europe/hide-wagner-plot-kidnap-uk.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times</a>.
The Russian Embassy in London <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/three-men-guilty-of-arson-attack-ordered-by-wagner-group-on-ukraine-linked-warehouse-in-london-13393489" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> after the attack that &#8220;Russia has never engaged in sabotage activities against the United Kingdom and has no intention of doing so.”
They dismissed the claims of ties to the Wagner Group as a “malevolent campaign of anti-Russian scaremongering.”
The British government has cracked down on Russian foreign intelligence since the poisoning and attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal, a Russian double agent working for the United Kingdom, and his daughter in 2018.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve made the UK a hostile operating environment for those governments but, as a result, they&#8217;ve diversified and are now contacting relatively young people to act on their behalf as proxies in doing their activity,&#8221; Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the London police&#8217;s Counter Terrorism Command, stated.
Just last month in the United Kingdom, six Bulgarians were convicted of spying for Russia. The Associated Press has noted an <a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2025/ap-team-creates-interactive-map-tracking-suspected-russian-sabotage-across-europe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> in Russian attacks across European countries since the start of the Ukraine war.
Murphy said it was &#8220;only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse.”
The <a href="https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/how-cps-used-new-national-security-act-legislation-prosecute-plot-sabotage-ukrainian-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crown Prosecution Service</a> said that the convictions will &#8220;send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil.”

Vladimir Putin

Gen Z ‘Gig Workers’ For Russian-Backed Group Convicted of Arson

gen z

russia

united kingdom

The man suspected of killing two Idaho firefighters during an ambush on Sunday was found dead with a gunshot wound.
The man is believed to have deliberately set a grass fire at Canfield Mountain in northern Idaho and then started shooting at firefighters when they responded. Two firefighters were killed, and a third is fighting for his life after sustaining serious injuries. 
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris did not release any identifying information on the suspect, but said that he was found with a weapon and that law enforcement had tracked him using his cell phone. 
&#8220;We had a cell phone activation that was in the same spot since about 3:16 [p.m.], and that it was in the same area,&#8221; Norris said at a press conference. &#8220;And we honed in on that cellphone, and we saw that there was a male, appeared to be deceased, with a weapon nearby.&#8221;
He said that the cell phone signal was tracked with help from federal resources, including helicopters. 
&#8220;There are some helicopters that had some really good technology that were able to pinpoint where that cellphone activity was,&#8221; Norris said. &#8220;So yeah, there were our federal partners assisting us in this situation.&#8221; 
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Norris said that they had not yet identified a motive, but the attack was an intentional ambush. He added that law enforcement had to act quickly to recover the suspect&#8217;s body as the fire continued to spread and that they expected to find more weapons near the scene after the blaze was fully contained. 
The two firefighters killed were from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and the Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. The names have not yet been released to allow time for family notification. 
“This was a total ambush,” Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
At one point, there were more than 300 law enforcement officers on the scene Sunday afternoon, including FBI agents. Norris said law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect, but it was not known if he was killed by law enforcement or if he shot himself. 
Based on the current information, investigators believe there was only one shooter and that there was no active threat to the community. Norris thanked the White House, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, and Republican Governor Brad Little for assisting in the response. 
“Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho. This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,&#8221; Little <a href="https://x.com/GovernorLittle/status/1939460833354072306">posted</a> on X. &#8220;I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more. Teresa and I are heartbroken.&#8221;

Close-up Shot of Police Car Siren Lights. Offices of the Law Ready for Action, Chase the Criminals, Arrest Offenders and Fight Crime. Stylish Cinematic Lights with Dark Sky

‘Total Ambush’: Idaho Firefighters Gunned Down, Suspect Found Dead In Apparent Trap

Firefighters

Just after midnight on Thursday, New York City police and firefighters found eleven NYPD vehicles on fire in a Brooklyn parking lot along with undetonated explosive devices.
Two masked individuals wearing gloves were seen running away from the scene, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/12/us-news/nypd-vehicles-burned-in-suspected-arson-attack-in-brooklyn/">reported</a>, adding that some witnesses were delighted by the arson.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
FOX NEWS ALERT: NYPD investigating suspected arson after multiple police vehicles go up in flames <a href="https://t.co/mFLE1gwyI4">pic.twitter.com/mFLE1gwyI4</a>
&mdash; FOX &amp; Friends (@foxandfriends) <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/1933135885295386695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Awesome” and “f***ing rad,” one witness reportedly said, adding, “Burn more police cars, set more s*** on fire, do things that actually matter and circumvent the police &#8230;”
Only hours before, roughly 100 anti-ICE protesters met at Foley Square, near a building where federal immigration offices and the city&#8217;s main immigration court reside. “They shouted profanities and chanted: ‘How do you spell racism: I-C-E’ and ‘Deportation no more, ICE get out of our state,’” Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-ice-rioters-fight-nypd-set-police-cars-fire">reported</a>, adding, “About 10 people were arrested when scuffles broke out with police and demonstrators refused to get off the road.”
Last Saturday, more than 100 protesters confronted police officers in Lower Manhattan, trying to block ICE vehicles transporting illegal immigrants; the NYPD said 22 people were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/nyregion/ice-detention-federal-plaza-nyc.html">arrested</a>.
On Tuesday, roughly 2,500 protesters demonstrated in Lower Manhattan, speaking out against the immigration crackdown implemented by the Trump administration. Some of the protesters yelled “Nazi scum” at police officers; others hurled bottles at the NYPD. More than 80 people were arrested, <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/nyc-protests-trump-nypd-los-angeles-ice">Fox 5</a> reported.
According to the <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/the-nypd-is-being-monitored-at-anti-ice-protests-after-recent-george-floyd-settlement">Gothamist</a>, while the NYPD has been aiding ICE, they are under scrutiny from the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI). Agents from the DOI  have been monitoring the NYPD “as part of a legal agreement reached after demonstrators in 2020 claimed police illegally arrested them as they protested the killing of George Floyd,” the Gothamist noted. “DOI spokesperson Diane Struzzi said the agency dispatched the monitors as part of a legal settlement after the 2020 protests.”
That policy came about after the Legal Aid Society, New York Civil Liberties Union, and the attorney general’s office accused the NYPD of overaggressive tactics vis-à-vis protesters. “As part of the settlement, the DOI will chair a ‘collaborative committee’ that will review the NYPD’s response to certain demonstrations in the city,” the Gothamist reported.

New York City Increases Security At Jewish Religious Sites On Shavuot After Attack In Boulder, Colorado

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