The Senate passed a two-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows federal agents to obtain the online communications of foreign nationals without a warrant, late Friday night in a 60-34 vote. 
The debate on the renewal of Section 702 pitted those who said it was essential to national security against those who were worried about the potential for Americans to be surveilled. Senators who <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1182/vote_118_2_00148.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> in favor included 30 Republicans, 28 Democrats, and two independents, while 16 Republicans, 17 Democrats, and 1 independent voted against. 
The measure was supported by both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
&#8220;The stakes of such an outcome are grave,&#8221; McConnell <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-fisa-surveillance-renewal-avoiding-lapse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;The authorities in question today have, quite literally, been the only defense against would-be national security disasters.”
Schumer said passage was necessary for American national security. “It wasn’t easy, people had many different views, but we all know one thing: letting FISA expire would have been dangerous. It’s an important part of our national security to stop acts of terror, drug trafficking, and violent extremism,” he <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-renews-fisa-section-702-spying-privacy-rcna148394" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
On the other side, lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that there should be a warrant requirement if the communications of Americans are caught up in the surveillance of a foreign national. 
Previous reports have indicated that the FBI has inappropriately used FISA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-misused-surveillance-tool-over-278000-times-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 278,000 times</a> to collect information about American citizens, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-inappropriately-used-spy-powers-on-u-s-senator-court-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said that</a> the FBI searched for information on an unidentified U.S. senator using Section 702 powers. 
“Yet again the Senate was asked to consider the question: can liberty be exchanged for security? And sadly the majority of Senators said yes it can,” Paul <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1781536215793025043" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> after his amendments failed. “Final FISA reauthorization passed once again.”
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Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said there were not enough protections in place for American citizens. 
“The Department of Justice’s abuses of FISA to spy on American citizens and their communications are unacceptable and contrary to the intent of the protections enshrined in our Fourth Amendment,” he <a href="https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-cramer-votes-against-fisa-reauthorization-legislation-after-fourth-amendment-protections-rejected#:~:text=U.S.%20Senator%20Kevin%20Cramer%20(R,obtain%20a%20warrant%20from%20the" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “The prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure can’t be taken for granted.”
Earlier this week, the House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-overcomes-final-hurdle-to-send-fisa-reauthorization-bill-to-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> its reauthorization of FISA after a similar warrant amendment stalled 212-212. Lawmakers eventually voted 259 to 128 to advance the legislation. 
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation as his administration has pushed lawmakers to renew Section 702.

Capitol Hill Prepares Ahead Of Full House Vote On Impeachment Articles This Week

Senate Sends FISA Reauthorization Bill To Biden’s Desk After Late Night Vote

Chuck Schumer

Civil Rights

FISA

Joe Biden

Mitch McConnell

National Security

Rand Paul

Senate

The Supreme Court on Wednesday made a decision that has largely flown under the radar, but has big implications for employers who have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-193_q86b.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> 9-0 in favor of St. Louis Police Sergeant Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow, who sued the St. Louis Police Department (SLPD) after she was transferred from one department to another against her wishes. Muldrow worked for nearly 10 years in the SLPD’s specialized Intelligence Division, but in 2017, the new Intelligence Division commander requested she be transferred from the unit so she could be replaced with a man.
The request was approved and Muldrow was transferred to a position where she was now “supervising the day-to-day activities of neighborhood patrol officers,” instead of working in the Intelligence Division. While her rank and pay remained the same, her job changed and she lost the use of an unmarked take-home vehicle, as well as a more regular schedule where she had weekends off.
Muldrow sued, claiming she was discriminated against because she was a woman, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. A lower court found she had not been discriminated against because she did not show that she had been “significantly” harmed by the transfer, so Muldrow appealed, eventually getting her case before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court determined that there was no threshold for harm, and that someone alleging discrimination “does not have to show … that the harm incurred was significant. Or serious, or substantial, or any similar adjective.”
Typically, Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” when it comes to “compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges.”
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With the Supreme Court decision stating that an employee doesn’t have to show “significant” harm, many have taken the new ruling to mean it will be easier for women and minorities to sue based on alleged discrimination.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for example, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-delivers-big-win-for-workplace-equality-in-muldrow-v-city-of-st-louis-ruling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> the ruling as “a huge victory for workers and workplace equality.”
But some conservatives have noted that this ruling could make it easier to sue employers who have DEI programs that favor women and minorities.
The Daily Signal <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/04/17/supreme-court-just-made-easier-sue-employers-dei-policies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that it’s “fashionable for corporate employers to create race- and sex-based employment conditions and privileges as part of their DEI initiatives.” The outlet pointed to LinkedIn’s “employee resource groups,” which provide mentoring and training programs for “systemically marginalized” groups. The outlet suggests that these programs would fall under the “privileges of employment,” mentioned under Title VII, and that the additional pay given to leaders of these groups would count as “compensation” under the law.
The ACLU pushed back on this notion, with Ming-Qi Chu, the deputy director of the organization’s Women’s Rights Project, dismissing the idea as “fearmongering.”
“The fearmongering of DEI opponents has no basis in law and fundamentally misunderstands how most DEI programs work. The purpose of DEI and other remedial workplace programs is to improve the process by which employment decisions are made and close the gap in opportunities among workers. They do not disadvantage any particular worker. This is why they have long been held lawful. These scare-tactics are trying to chill employers’ commitment and investment in expanding workplace opportunity. We won’t let them,” she said in the ACLU’s statement regarding the Supreme Court decision.

Diversity Equity And Inclusion

Supreme Court Makes It Easier To Sue Employers Over DEI Claims

Discrimination

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Supreme Court

U.S.

A parental rights organization has filed a civil rights complaint against a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/minnesota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota</a> high school because the school has a student council exclusively for “Indigenous” students.
The complaint against the Minneapolis-area school, filed by Parents Defending Education with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, <a href="https://defendinged.org/complaints/ocr-complaint-burnsville-high-school/">alleges</a> that Burnsville High School is violating federal civil rights laws through a student council that is only open to American Indian/Alaska Native students.
“PDE makes this complaint as an interested third-party organization with members who are parents of school children throughout the country. PDE and its members oppose discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and political indoctrination in America’s schools. Burnsville High School is offering programming to affinity groups that is not open to all students,” a copy of the complaint obtained by The Daily Wire <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/OCR-_Burnsville-High-School.pdf">says</a>.
The club is <a href="https://bhs.isd191.org/activities/affinity-groups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> on the school’s website alongside other clubs like the Black Student Union, the Muslim Student Association, and the Gender Sexuality Alliance.
“Unlike the other six affinity groups identified in the exhibits, the Indigenous Student Council (ISC) is the only group that explicitly states it is not open to the entire student body,” the complaint says. “Accordingly, we ask that the Department promptly investigate the allegations in this complaint, act swiftly to remedy unlawful policies and practices, and order appropriate relief.”
The complaint claims that the club violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which says federal funding cannot go toward racially discriminatory programming.
The Daily Wire reached out to the high school for further clarification on the nature of the council and response to the complaint.
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Caroline Moore, the vice president of Parents Defending Education, said the student council was “unabashedly unconstitutional.”
“Burnsville High School has two student councils,” Moore told The Daily Wire. “One that everyone can participate in, and another that only allows Native American students. If students cannot coexist in something as simple serving as leaders for their graduation class, where does this madness end?”
“If Minneapolis and its suburbs are any indication of where race relations in this country are going, I want no part of it. This is unabashedly unconstitutional and the DOE should conduct a thorough investigation of racial discrimination in this district immediately,” she added.
Schools across the country have faced backlash from parents who want teachers to focus on academic achievement as opposed to focusing on racial and sexual identity.

Empty classroom with desks, chairs and chalkboard

Minnesota High School Has Separate ‘Student Council’ For ‘Indigenous’ Students

Department of Education

Education

Minneapolis

Minnesota

A math and science school in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/illinois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illinois</a> runs an annual race-based retreat open only to black and &#8220;Latinx&#8221; students, according to a civil rights complaint filed to the Department of Education on Wednesday by a parent&#8217;s rights group.
Parents Defending Education filed the complaint against the Illinois Math and Science Academy with the Education Department&#8217;s Office of Civil Rights over racially focused programs at the school centering around the Brotherhood Sister Circle (BHSC), a club that appears to only be open for black and Latino students. The so-called &#8220;affinity&#8221; club has an annual retreat only open for students who are black or “Latinx,” according to a complaint shared with The Daily Wire. 
“PDE and its members oppose discrimination on the basis of race and political indoctrination in America’s schools,” the complaint <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/OCR_Illinois-Mathematics-and-Science-Academy_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>. “Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy is offering affinity group programming to some that is not offered to all. Admittance into the Brotherhood Sister Circle affinity group is solely based on individual’s race and sex. Specifically, the group is open only to ‘Black’ and ‘Latinx’ individuals and certain events are further divided based on the individual’s sex.”
The complaint comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-black-lives-matter-spirit-week-at-the-wokest-elementary-school-in-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schools across the country</a> have faced scrutiny over emphasizing racial and sexual identity as opposed to education. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-30-illinois-public-schools-have-no-students-proficient-in-math-or-reading-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report last year</a> showed that there were 53 schools in Illinois where there were zero students proficient in math.
&#8220;The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy magnet school gives preferential treatment to students solely based on race and sex,” Caroline Moore, vice president of PDE, told The Daily Wire. “The Brotherhood and Sisterhood Circle affinity group has a hard and fast rule that specifically forbids white male students.&#8221;
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-30-illinois-public-schools-have-no-students-proficient-in-math-or-reading-report">More Than 30 Illinois Public Schools Have No Students Proficient In Math Or Reading</a>
The information on the affinity club and the retreat put on by the Illinois Math and Science Academy, an advanced public school in Aurora catering to about 650 students in grades 10-12, was obtained by PDE through public information requests. 
The school defended its program, saying it believes &#8220;in creating opportunities for students to celebrate their culture and discuss issues that reflect their identities.&#8221;
&#8220;We are happy to address any questions with the Office for Civil Rights should they wish to inquire further about our student club activities,&#8221; the school&#8217;s public affairs officer Tami Armstrong told The Daily Wire.
The complaint says that the school is violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which says federal funding cannot go toward racially discriminatory programming.
According to the school, the <a href="https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/dei_bhsc/4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a> is intended to give “black and Latinx students an opportunity to celebrate and enhance their strengths, creativity, intelligence, promote networking, community involvement, financial literacy, resources, and academic success.”
The club has a retreat every year, put on with the help of the school&#8217;s Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, that is for “Black and Latinx students to engage in meaningful conversations, fun activities, and meet alumni,” according to a flier for the retreat referenced in the complaint. Alumni who are black and Latino are also encouraged to register for the retreat.
<div id="attachment_693029" style="width: 435px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-693029" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-693029 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.57-PM-425x576.png" alt="" width="425" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.57-PM-425x576.png 425w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.57-PM-221x300.png 221w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.57-PM-768x1041.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.57-PM.png 865w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px" />Flier: Parents Defending Education.</div>
In emails preparing for the retreat, school staff requested the contact information of black and Latino students while another requested that only a black or &#8220;Latinx&#8221; photographer be allowed to work the event. 
“I would ask for Black/Latinx photographers so that pictures can be taken throughout the day,” the school’s DEI director requested in an email in March 2022 before the retreat.  
<div id="attachment_693035" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-693035" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-693035 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.02-PM-629x576.png" alt="" width="629" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.02-PM-629x576.png 629w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.02-PM-300x275.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.02-PM-768x704.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/Screen-Shot-2024-02-07-at-3.29.02-PM.png 1316w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Parents Defending Education</div>
PDE&#8217;s Moore said the request reveals &#8220;deep-seated hate&#8221; from organizers.
&#8220;The group even prohibited a white male yearbook staff member from taking their annual affinity group photograph,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;This shows deep-seated hate towards a specific demographic and cannot be tolerated.&#8221;
At the retreat one year, there were breakout sessions focused on “men of color” and “women of color.” Another session was on &#8220;Black and Latinx Emotional Social Well-being in a Radicalized Society.&#8221; 
“By intentionally separating students based on the basis of skin color and gender for educational programming, this unlawful practice perpetuates and condones discrimination in one of the state’s leading STEM institutions. This will have a long-term impact on the institution, as well as the individuals who inhabit it,” the complaint says.

Close-up of a chair on a student’s desk inside a classroom in a secondary school.

Illinois Math And Science Academy Hosts Race-Based Retreats Exclusively For ‘Black And Latinx’ Students

Illinois

Target removed a &#8220;Black History Month&#8221; product from its shelves this week after a TikTok video went viral showing three Civil Rights leaders on the item had been misidentified.
The <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@issatete/video/7329892395485564191" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> posted by Las Vegas high school teacher Tierra Espy showed that photos of Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois, and Booker T. Washington in a magnetic learning activity all had the wrong names under them, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/target-stops-selling-product-dedicated-civil-rights-icons-tiktok-video-rcna137085" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. After Epsy posted her video pointing out the flaws on Tuesday, Target confirmed that it would be removing the item from all its stores and its website. The AP reported that the magnetic activity appeared to be made by Bendon, an Ohio-based children’s publisher.
“We will no longer be selling this product in stores or online,” the retail giant said in a statement. “We’ve also ensured the product’s publisher is aware of the errors.”
Espy told the AP that she bought the learning activity at the end of January hoping to hand it out to her children, but she quickly discovered the error after opening it up at home. Espy pointed out that Woodson’s name appeared under DuBois’ photo, Washington’s name appeared under Woodson’s photo, and DuBois’ name showed up under Washington’s photo.
“These need to be pulled off the shelves immediately,” Espy said in her video. “I teach U.S. History &#8230; and I noticed some discrepancies as soon as I opened this.”
“I get it, mistakes happen, but this needs to be corrected ASAP,” she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Woke Target can&#39;t even get Black History Month right&#8230;
H/T <a href="https://twitter.com/YourLibertyNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YourLibertyNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/LQFNhw4U4n">pic.twitter.com/LQFNhw4U4n</a>
&mdash; Red Voice Media (@redvoicenews) <a href="https://twitter.com/redvoicenews/status/1753806186976055767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last year, Target was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-sales-sink-after-pride-backlash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> for its Pride Month collection, which included a kids swimsuit with a tag reading “thoughtfully fit on multiple body types and gender expressions.” Target also featured LGBT-themed books aimed at young children, such as “The Pronoun Book” and “Bye Bye Binary,” a story about a “joyful baby” who “refuses to conform to the gender binary and instead chooses toys, colors, and clothes that make them happy.”
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Following the backlash and boycotts over its Pride-themed products, Target reported that its sales dropped for the first time in six years, falling 5.4% in the second quarter. Then, around the Christmas holidays, the retail giant was criticized again — this time for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-mocked-for-selling-disabled-black-santa-ornament-pride-nutcrackers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">selling</a> an ornament of a black Santa Claus in a wheelchair.

Target

Target Pulls ‘Black History Month’ Product After Viral TikTok Video Calls Out Major Problems

Target Pulls 'Black History Month' Product After Viral TikTok Video Calls Out Major Problems

Black History Month

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ted-cruz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ted Cruz</a> (R-TX) is pressing a taxpayer-funded television service over the existence of a “diversity” fund that appears to discriminate against white filmmakers and violate the Civil Rights Act, according to a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/02/2024.02.01-Letter-to-ITVS-re-Diversity-Development-Fund-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> obtained by The Daily Wire. 
On Thursday, Cruz questioned the Independent Television Service (ITVS), a congressionally chartered production service funded by taxpayers, over its Diversity Development Fund, a <a href="https://itvs.org/funding/diversity-development-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research and development scholarship</a> of up to $35,000 that is available exclusively for “directors of color.” In a letter to ITVS CEO Carrie Lozano, Cruz said that the organization should make the fund available to applicants of all races and said that the organization appears to be biased toward liberal filmmakers. 
“Because white filmmakers are facially ineligible for this seed money, the fund runs afoul of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866,&#8221; Cruz wrote. &#8220;I therefore urge you to remove race as an eligibility criterion for the Diversity Development Fund. ITVS can surely pursue its mandate to ‘expand the diversity and innovativeness’ of public programming without violating the law.&#8221;
ITVS <a href="https://cpb.org/programs/ITVS-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gets</a> about $17 million per year in taxpayer funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to ITVS, the diversity fund <a href="https://archive.ph/g79rw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has been</a> used to make 156 films and is only eligible for filmmakers who “identify as a person of color.” 
Cruz, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said that the diversity fund was “actively flouting” federal law because Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits federal dollars from going toward programs or activities that discriminate on the basis of race. The Texas Republican asked ITVS to provide full details on how much money had been allocated to the Diversity Development Fund and details on the recipients of the fund and their projects. 
Cruz said that the fund is not only discriminatory, but also appears to be pushing partisan politics with government money.
“As if this blatant violation of the law were not concerning enough, ITVS appears to almost exclusively fund documentaries from a liberal viewpoint, and may be discriminating against certain filmmakers based on political ideology,&#8221; Cruz told The Daily Wire. &#8220;I have no doubt this organization could expand the ‘diversity and innovativeness’ of public programming without violating the law, and I am hopeful ITVS will commit to removing race as an eligibility criterion for the Diversity Development Fund.&#8221;
Cruz highlighted how ITVS brags on its website about encouraging political activism. &#8220;The ITVS website features an &#8216;Impact&#8217; page demonstrating how its documentaries &#8216;inspir[e] audiences to take action&#8217; on politically charged issues like criminal justice reform. These documentaries overwhelmingly reflect a liberal worldview,&#8221; Cruz wrote in the letter.
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One documentary funded by ITVS is “Racist Trees,” which was about the removal of trees from an area in Palm Beach, California, because the trees were “an enduring symbol of racism.” Another documentary, “Everything Wrong and Nowhere to Go,” examines one woman’s “search of a cure for her crippling climate anxiety in a deeply personal documentary about therapy and existential threat.” Another documentary <a href="https://itvs.org/films/almost-american/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">takes aim</a> at the &#8220;anti-immigration agenda&#8221; in Washington, D.C. while one called &#8220;Breaking the Blue Wall&#8221; <a href="https://itvs.org/films/breaking-the-blue-wall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">challenges</a> Maryland protections for police officers. 
&#8220;Yet ITVS funds hardly any documentaries from a conservative perspective. A public organization that costs American taxpayers $17 million a year should not be a vehicle for left-wing agitprop,&#8221; Cruz wrote.
ITVS did not immediately return a request for comment on the diversity fund.

Former FBI Director James Comey Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee On Russia Investigation

Cruz Questions Taxpayer-Funded Television Service Over ‘Diversity’ Fund That Excludes White People

Diversity

Politics

Racial Discrimination

Taxes

Ted Cruz

Whites

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Bureau of Investigation</a> attempted to celebrate the late Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday — but X&#8217;s Community Notes quickly reminded the public that the FBI was responsible for wiretapping MLK.
The FBI shared a photo via X, showing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial juxtaposed with the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;This #MLKDay, the #FBI honors one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement and reaffirms its commitment to Dr. King’s legacy of fairness and equal justice for all,&#8221; the caption read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLKDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLKDay</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FBI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FBI</a> honors one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement and reaffirms its commitment to Dr. King’s legacy of fairness and equal justice for all. <a href="https://t.co/tj9EUoXsFK">pic.twitter.com/tj9EUoXsFK</a>
&mdash; FBI (@FBI) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBI/status/1746910418436513980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Community Note that appeared after the photo was posted cited several articles from <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/18/956741992/documentary-exposes-how-the-fbi-tried-to-destroy-mlk-with-wiretaps-blackmail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Public Radio</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mlks-family-feels-vindicated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>, and read: &#8220;The FBI engaged in surveillance of King, attempted to discredit him, and used manipulation tactics to influence him to stop organizing. King’s family believe the FBI was responsible for his death.&#8221;
In December of 1999, a jury found that King had been a &#8220;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mlks-family-feels-vindicated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">victim of a conspiracy</a>&#8221; rather than a lone wolf attacker when he was shot in 1968. An attorney for King&#8217;s family said during the trial that the cover-up after King&#8217;s assassination had involved not only the FBI, but also the CIA, the media, and U.S. Army Intelligence.
Documentary film director Sam Pollard explored the FBI&#8217;s interest in the Civil Rights leader in his 2020 film titled &#8220;MLK/FBI&#8221; — and he set the stage by explaining, &#8220;The first fear that [FBI director J. Edgar Hoover] had was that King was going to align himself with the Communist Party, which &#8230; J. Edgar Hoover was obsessed with destroying.&#8221;
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During a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/14/rfk-jr-defends-wiretap-mlk-00135543" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO interview</a> that was published on the eve of the holiday, independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his family&#8217;s role in approving the wiretaps on King.
&#8220;They were betting not only the Civil Rights Movement but their own careers. And they knew that Hoover was out to ruin King,&#8221; Kennedy explained. &#8220;My father gave permission to Hoover to wiretap them so he could prove that his suspicions about King were either right or wrong. I think, politically, they had to do it.&#8221;

Dr King Speaks at Sproul Plaza in Berkeley

FBI Slapped With ‘Community Note’ After Trying To Celebrate MLK Day

FBI Slapped With 'Community Note' After Trying To Celebrate MLK Day

General

John F. Kennedy (JFK)

Martin Luther King Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Florida Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-desantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron DeSantis</a> said during a town hall on Tuesday night that he will fire any FBI official who violates Americans&#8217; civil liberties.
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks as voting in the GOP primary begins in less than a week with the Iowa caucuses.
&#8220;The Left has weaponized the FBI, DOJ, and the IRS against their political enemies, including President Trump,&#8221; a voter said at the town hall. &#8220;When you&#8217;re president, will there be a reckoning for this abuse of power?&#8221;
DeSantis responded: &#8220;That&#8217;s an easy answer. Yes. And we&#8217;re going to do it on day one. We&#8217;re going to be ready to go. Because here&#8217;s the thing. Those agencies have become weaponized. I mean, you look at what they&#8217;ve done. I mean, I first saw it when I first ran for Congress. I had groups in my district where the IRS was targeting those conservative groups back there in 2012, and it&#8217;s like a small nonprofit that&#8217;s just talking about the Constitution. Under Obama, they did it, and no one was held accountable for doing that. Then you had the Russia collusion, where they went after President Trump &#8212; false theory about stealing the ‘16 election. They kneecapped him any way they could. Nobody was held accountable for that. So you&#8217;re going to keep getting these outcomes until you have a president that comes in and drops the hammer.&#8221;
DeSantis said that he will fire the FBI director and hire a new one on day one and that there will be heads that roll at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also criticized former President Donald Trump for supporting the FBI wanting to build a massive new headquarters in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;Here&#8217;s the thing, those are not independent agencies,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a canard in Washington that the beltway press will say, &#8216;Oh, the president can&#8217;t be involved in the Department of Justice. That&#8217;s politicizing it.&#8217; No, if they&#8217;re independent of who the elected president is, that means they&#8217;re unaccountable. You don&#8217;t want unaccountable power for people who can put you in jail and people that have guns.&#8221;
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&#8220;If an FBI agent is going after parents going to a school board meeting, I&#8217;m firing those people,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;If the FBI is colluding with big tech to censor dissent in this country, I&#8217;m firing those people. If the FBI is passing around memos saying observant Catholics are potential terrorists, I&#8217;m firing those people. So there&#8217;s going to be a reckoning, and not just for those agencies. There&#8217;s going to be a reckoning for the agencies that plunged this country into lockdown during COVID &#8212; Anthony Fauci, CDC, NIH, all those agencies, FDA, you&#8217;re going to see major accountability, because if we want to change the way this government operates, you&#8217;ve got to hold the people accountable who are responsible for the madness, and I will do that.”
WATCH:
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If FBI agents are going after parents going to a school board meeting, I’m firing those people.
If the FBI is colluding with Big Tech to censor dissent in this country, I’m firing those people.
If the FBI is passing around memos saying observant Catholics are potential… <a href="https://t.co/VaNwt86ySC">pic.twitter.com/VaNwt86ySC</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1744866883298320563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Fox News Hosts Town Hall With GOP Presidential Candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis In Des Moines, Iowa

DeSantis Pledges To Fire FBI Officials Who Violate People’s Civil Rights

DeSantis Pledges To Fire FBI Officials Who Violate People's Civil Rights

Elections

Ron DeSantis

A former diversity director at a Wisconsin university is suing the school for allegedly demoting her because she is &#8220;white.&#8221;
Rochelle Hoffman <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2023/12/21/uw-eau-claire-employee-rochelle-hoffman-sues-over-racial-discrimination/71971984007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a federal <a href="https://www.wpr.org/sites/default/files/show_multidocs_2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> last week against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, alleging that the school essentially forced her to resign by allowing a hostile work environment due to her race.
&#8220;After eight months of intense hostility and staff questioning her &#8216;legitimacy&#8217; in the department because of her race and color, she felt she had no choice but to resign,&#8221; reads the suit, which was filed on December 14 in the Western District of Wisconsin.
The trouble <a href="https://www.wpr.org/federal-lawsuit-uw-eau-claire-demoted-dei-position-white" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a> last year, when the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire reorganized its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department and created a new Office of Multicultural Student Services, according to the suit.
Hoffman was appointed interim director of the new office by the chief diversity officer.
From that point on, Hoffman alleges she was subjected to criticism and harassment solely because she was white.
At an open house, students said, “You hired a white woman as the Interim Director?” and “We don’t want white people in the [Multicultural Student Services] office,” according to the lawsuit.
The student senate adopted a resolution opposing the diversity office reorganization and expressing “concerns over placing white identifying individuals in positions of interim leadership,” a reference to Hoffman, the suit says.
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Meanwhile, faculty allegedly approached the chief diversity officer, who had appointed Hoffman director, with concerns about the “optics” of people of color being replaced by white people since the previous two directors were black and Asian.
Some employees became &#8220;hostile and argumentative&#8221; with Hoffman and stopped talking to her and sharing their calendars with her, the lawsuit claims.
&#8220;It was exclusively Hoffman’s identity as white that was the issue; criticism was about her race and color, not her qualifications,&#8221; the lawsuit states.
Then, someone filed an anonymous complaint against Hoffman, saying her presence made them &#8220;uncomfortable and that it was hard for her to speak openly in a space made for her,&#8221; the lawsuit says.
In response to the complaint, the head of the university&#8217;s Affirmative Action office met with Hoffman and told her she needed to move to a different department for her &#8220;personal and professional safety,&#8221; the lawsuit says.
Hoffman ultimately agreed to move to Student Support Services even though she loved the work she was doing in the diversity office and did not want to move, she claims.
Previously, Hoffman had filed multiple other complaints with the university trying to solve the workplace issues. A human resource manager advised her to drop one of the complaints or suffer potential career damage, the lawsuit says.
Also, last fall just days before classes started, Hoffman says she was pulled off a class she was supposed to teach without notice, which she believes was &#8220;retaliation&#8221; for pursuing her discrimination complaint.
Hoffman is demanding financial compensation for lost wages as well as punitive damages against two university administrators, the head of the Affirmative Action Office and Chancellor Jim Schmidt.

City of San Fernando’s Pride Month Flag raising ceremony at San Fernando City Hall

White Diversity Director Sues Wisconsin University For Allegedly Demoting Her

LGBT

Wisconsin

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> recently said that he &#8220;literally&#8221; convinced the late Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) to vote for the Civil Rights Act — a statement critics quickly questioned on at least two points.
Biden was speaking to the Lawyers&#8217; Committee for Civil Rights Under Law — on the 60th anniversary of the group&#8217;s founding — when he made the claim.
WATCH:
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Biden says he &quot;literally, not figuratively, talked Strom Thurmond into voting for the Civil Rights Act before he died.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/sUDhrfePg8">pic.twitter.com/sUDhrfePg8</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1696288948274802877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Pause for just a moment. I thought things had changed,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;I was able to — literally, not figuratively — talk Strom Thurmond into voting for the Civil Rights Act before he died. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe there’s real progress,&#8217; but hate never dies, it just hides. It hides under the rocks.&#8221;
But Biden&#8217;s claim was problematic for at least a couple of reasons, not the least of which being that the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 — nearly a decade before Biden was even elected to the U.S. Senate. In addition, Thurmond — who famously filibustered the bill in 1957 — voted no on the final bill.
&#8220;Any idea what Biden is talking about? Strom Thurmond voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he died almost 40 years later, and Biden was in college at that time …&#8221; @AGHamilton asked via a post on X.
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Any idea what Biden is talking about?
Strom Thurmond voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he died almost 40 years later, and Biden was in college at that time… <a href="https://t.co/61khU6ijKJ">https://t.co/61khU6ijKJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/wxns7kZE4u">pic.twitter.com/wxns7kZE4u</a>
&mdash; AG (@AGHamilton29) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGHamilton29/status/1696293701247459789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Biden has the same time-traveling powers as Joy Reid&#8217;s hacker,&#8221; journalist Glenn Greenwald <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1696295309972820428" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joked</a>.
&#8220;For those unaware, Biden was 22 when the Civil Rights Act passed,&#8221; John Hasson <a href="https://twitter.com/SonofHas/status/1696289851685961913" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>. &#8220;So no, he definitely didn&#8217;t talk Strom Thurmond into voting for it.&#8221;
Congressional reporter Jamie Dupree suggested that President Biden might have been referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1991 — which was primarily a labor law passed in response to several Supreme Court decisions that imposed limits on the rights of employees suing employers for discrimination.
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&#8220;I assume what Biden is talking about here is the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which Sen. Strom Thurmond R-SC did vote for. Thurmond opposed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 &amp; 1968, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965,&#8221; he said.
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I assume what Biden is talking about here is the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which Sen. Strom Thurmond R-SC did vote for. Thurmond opposed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 &amp; 1968, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. <a href="https://t.co/GgLMcu4eYi">https://t.co/GgLMcu4eYi</a> <a href="https://t.co/nqakAJ0hpY">https://t.co/nqakAJ0hpY</a>
&mdash; Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) <a href="https://twitter.com/jamiedupree/status/1696309251994513806?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The White House told Fox News Digital a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-claims-have-literally-convinced-strom-thurmond-vote-civil-rights-act-21-years-old" target="_blank" rel="noopener">different story</a>, however, saying that Biden had meant to say he convinced Thurmond to support the 1980 Voting Rights Act.

Biden Delivers Remarks To Commemorate 60th Anniversary Of Lawyers’ Civil Rights Cmte

Biden Claims He Convinced Strom Thurmond To Vote For The Civil Rights Act

Executive

U.S. Senate

The University of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/minnesota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota</a> was the subject of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/civil-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civil rights</a> complaint last week for enacting a research program that offers applicants a $6,000 stipend but is restricted to students of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/diversity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">color</a>.
The Multicultural Summer Research Opportunities Program, which the school describes as an “intensive 10 week summer program in which undergraduate students of color work full-time with a faculty mentor on a research project,” is explicitly <a href="https://ugresearch.umn.edu/opportunities/msrop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restricted</a> to those who “identify as a student of color or Native American.” Participants, who were asked for their demographic information as part of the application, receive a $6,000 stipend for personal and research expenses and another stipend provided to the faculty adviser for the research.
The Equal Protection Project, an initiative of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, sent a complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights contending that the research program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/regulatory/statutes/title-vi-civil-rights-act-of-1964#:~:text=No%20person%20in%20the%20United,activity%20receiving%20Federal%20financial%20assistance." target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibits</a> any entity from receiving federal financial assistance while discriminating in accordance with race, color, or national origin. The complaint added that the Department of Education should consider “imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or continue federal financial assistance, and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings.”
“Racial discrimination by a public institution is illegal regardless of which race suffers,” the document continued. “Discrimination against white applicants is just as unlawful as discrimination against black or other non-white applicants.”
Similar civil rights complaints have been filed against universities in recent years over programs that discriminate in accordance with race and sex. Mark Perry, an economics professor emeritus at the University of Michigan-Flint, has <a href="https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/an-update-on-my-efforts-to-challenge-title-vi-and-title-ix-violations-in-higher-education-despite-new-resistance-from-bidens-office-for-civil-rights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> hundreds of federal Title IX and Title VI complaints, many of which have been successful, in response to the academic programs.
Other schools have meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-colleges-embracing-neo-segregation-in-the-name-of-inclusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implemented</a> segregated spaces on campus in recent years: New York University introduced “themed engagement communities” to provide housing for students identifying with certain minority groups, the University of Pennsylvania created a separate “permanent shared space” for black student-athletes, and Stanford University launched a physics class specifically for minority students who do not “have the same level of preparation from high school as their majority peers.”
The most recent civil rights complaint against a university initiative comes as the Supreme Court is expected to release an opinion on affirmative action in the higher education system. Members of the conservative majority were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-ive-heard-the-word-diversity-and-i-dont-have-a-clue-what-it-means" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skeptical</a> that racial diversity truly offers educational benefits despite claims from attorneys representing Harvard University and the University of North Carolina; Justice Clarence Thomas, who rarely speaks during oral arguments, commented that “I’ve heard the word ‘diversity’ quite a few times, and I don’t have a clue what it means.”
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Evidence suggests that elite universities disadvantage white and Asian students in their admissions processes to attain higher levels of racial and cultural diversity. One study from 2009 concluded that Asian students required an SAT score roughly 140 points higher than white applicants, 270 points higher than Hispanic applicants, and 450 points higher than black applicants, according to a <a href="https://asianamericanforeducation.org/en/issue/discrimination-on-admissions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Asian American Coalition for Education.

University of Minnesota

University Of Minnesota Restricts White Students From Research Program, Hit With Civil Rights Complaint

University Of Minnesota Restricts White Students From Research Program

A federal civil rights commission meeting devolved into chaos last week as Democrats went to great lengths to block a study on whether crime disproportionately impacts minorities — and, by implication, whether soft-on-crime policies create a civil rights issue by subjecting poor blacks to high crime rates. 
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights consists of eight commissioners, four liberals and four conservatives. But Republicans say Democrats “double-crossed” them by breaking a deal they had made to vote for the report. 
“Frankly, the four of us feel like we were chumps, that we agreed to the anti-Asian briefing on the condition that we also have a crime victims” report, conservative commissioner Gail Heriot said Friday. 
“We were double-crossed, plain and simple,” Republican Commissioner Christian Adams added. The question of who suffers from crime is “an issue that has broad agreement is an important issue in the United States, and it is not a difficult lift,” he said. “I don’t think it&#8217;s even controversial.”
Democrats were so adamant in blocking the study on crime victims — which applies standard Democrat logic about any policy that results in “disproportionalities” being evidence of a policy’s racism — that two Democrats newly nominated to the commission by President Joe Biden refused to rectify the “double-crossing” by their predecessors even though they knew it meant their confirmation as chair and vice chair would be blocked.
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On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6qujdJmljA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Friday</a>, the Commission voted not to confirm the people Biden nominated on April 6: Georgetown Law professor Victoria Nourse as vice chair and Rochelle Garza, a former Democrat candidate for Texas Attorney General, as chair.
In <a href="https://www.usccr.gov/files/2023-03/2022-11-18-usccr-business-meeting-transcript-unedited.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">November</a>, Democrat commissioners attempted to derail a proposal — which Republicans said was written by their nonpartisan staff — to study who was hurt by crime in cities like New York.
Then-Chair Norma Cantu threw out a series of objections to it, ranging from comparing it to the Tuskegee Experiments — in which the U.S. let blacks die of syphilis — to expressing concern about the “Paperwork Reduction Act.”
The Commission has recently searched for racist policies as evidenced by “disproportionate” outcomes in a wide variety of arenas, from the “Civil Rights Implications of Disaster Relief” to “Racial Disparities in Maternal Health.” It has viewed it as its mission to invoke civil-rights protections for criminal offenders, like “The Civil Rights Implications of Cash Bail.”
But Heriot said she was told that “over my dead body will we even look into the increase in crime” as it relates to whether minorities are disproportionately crime victims.
<blockquote>
<h1>“I’m Staff Director Morales. You may not like me, but please respect the office,” he ordered Adams.</h1>
</blockquote>
Shortly after reneging on their word to hold a vote on approving the crime victims report, the four Democrats rotated off the commission, their six-year terms having come to an end. They were replaced with four new Democrats, but under the law, the nominees for chair and vice chair can only assume those titles if a majority of the commission consents.
With no chair in place, a staff member who is supposed to simply work for the commissioners improperly “usurped” control to advance a Democrat agenda in the otherwise evenly-divided body, Republicans said. Mauro Morales, a former Obama administration official, is staff director of the commission and is tasked with carrying out the will of the commissioners. 
Morales declined to place a vote on the crime victims study on the agenda for Friday’s meeting, while insisting that the commission vote to confirm the chair and vice chair. 
Though he began the meeting by saying “I am not substantively participating in this meeting, but because of the current absence of a chair and vice chair, I will be administering it pursuant to our administrative functions,” he was soon barking orders at Republican commissioners.
“I’m Staff Director Morales. You may not like me, but please respect the office,” he ordered Adams.
“Turn off your mic,” he told Heriot. “You can answer when I’m finished.” 
Morales said he had the authority to set the agenda because “Under our statute, the chair and the staff director create the agenda for the commission.”
But the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/701.11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statute</a> actually says that “The Chairperson, after consulting with the Staff Director, shall establish the agenda.”
“The staff director is not authorized to establish the agenda, and nobody is authorized to say look we’re going to shove this down your throat,” Heriot said of the confirmation vote.
Republicans said that under the commission’s practices, in the absence of a confirmed chair, the most senior member serves as acting chair — which in this case would be Pete Kirsanow, a Republican.
<div id="attachment_538807" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-538807" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-538807" src="https://dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/commissoner-kirsanow.webp" alt="Republican Commissioner Peter Kirsanow / US Commission on Civil Rights" width="200" height="250" />Republican Commissioner Peter Kirsanow / U.S. Commission on Civil Rights</div>
Kirsanow lambasted Morales for commandeering the meeting. “Mr. Staff Director! On what authority are you directing Commissioner Heriot to vote?” he exclaimed. “You are staff director. Not the commission director!”
Morales told her she could negotiate over the crime victims report after confirming the chair, though Heriot noted “this is the only time we have leverage” and Nourse indicated that she would oppose the report.
Democrats and Morales repeatedly used parliamentary tactics to try to block a vote on the crime victims report and force a confirmation vote, with Nourse repeatedly lecturing that she was a <a href="https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/victoria-nourse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law professor</a> who was close with Biden, contending that “my intern” was the associate Attorney General, and suggesting that the “Constitution” meant that Republicans had to vote for her. When Heriot asked for her to elaborate, she threw her arms up in a shrug. 
“It’s no secret that I worked for the president in the White House when he was VP as his chief lawyer,” she said. “I know the folks in the White House are watching. There’s a reason they asked me to be here.”
After it was clear that Democrats were refusing to approve the crime victims vote even though it meant Republicans would not confirm them, Republicans tried to end the meeting to spare them the “embarrassment” of rejecting their confirmation. 
&#8220;This is an example of how the Republican members have been accommodating over and over,&#8221; Adams said.
“If we reject these nominations, which I think is what we’re going to have to do, the White House is going to have to do that all again,” Heriot said.
But Garza forced them to vote, with Morales exclaiming “Just vote!”
The confirmations of Garza and Nourse were voted down, but the report examining whether poor minorities bear the brunt of policies like those espoused by billionaire George Soros’ favored district attorneys also remained shelved.

Victoria Nourse and Rochelle Garza / US Commission on Civil Rights

Biden Nominees Torpedo Own Confirmation To Kill Report On Whether Lax Crime Policies Hurt Minorities

Biden Nominees Torpedo Own Confirmation To Kill Report Showing Whether Lax Crime Policies Hurt Minorities

Crime

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