Federal law enforcement arrested three more Islamic terror suspects linked to an ISIS-inspired plot to attack bars and nightclubs in Detroit on Halloween, the FBI announced Wednesday. 
Last week, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-terror-suspects-plotted-to-target-bars-nightclubs-during-halloween-celebrations-fbi-says?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Michigan+Terror+Suspects+Plotted+To+Target+Bars%2C+Nightclubs+During+Halloween+Celebrations%2C+FBI+Says">the FBI said agents arrested</a> four suspects accused of plotting an attack they hoped would mimic the 2015 Paris terrorist massacre that left 130 people dead. On Wednesday, three more men, two in New Jersey and one in Michigan, were hit with charges. 
The two New Jersey suspects are Milo Sedarat and Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, both from Montclair. Jimenez-Guzel was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport on his way to travel to Syria to join ISIS fighters, a law enforcement official <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/more-arrests-are-made-in-alleged-isis-pumpkin-terrorist-plot-6fe5e4d6?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfzLC43UvlROLGVKWI6hHud_-UTTKntEYZCGUkC4NKLla1JGlpKm7CYL98meVM%3D&amp;gaa_ts=690c9a87&amp;gaa_sig=bA3S8rI0TsYbEpPSJ1ELJNSb3VfMnBcubWzfYfqmdj-FNYgBKa2Zxz18AlpN8A4p0KXmFfQGEG9mz0xQp04Shg%3D%3D">told</a> The Wall Street Journal. 
Jimenez-Guzel has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba <a href="https://x.com/USAttyHabba/status/1986190944903803305">said</a> that law enforcement obtained a photo of Jimenez-Guzel posing in front of an ISIS flag with a knife. 
A law enforcement official told the Journal that Jimenez-Guzel was aware of the plans for the Halloween attack in Detroit and had previously visited the suspects planning that attack. Those suspects were named as Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud. Two juveniles have also been charged but have not been named. 
Sedarat has been charged with transmitting threats to interstate and foreign commerce. 
The complaint against him “describes a pattern of antisemitic messages advocating violence, along with images and purchases consistent with preparation for attack, including a knife and sword collection, tactical gear, and images of him practicing at a gun range,” Habba said. 
Habba added that both men had “pledged themselves to ISIS, and were plotting acts of terrorism in our country,” according to the criminal complaint. 
“Protecting the District of New Jersey and the United States, its people, its neighborhoods and its institutions is the core mission of our office. With our partners at the FBI and main Justice, we will continue to move swiftly and decisively whenever terrorism or hate threatens our communities,” she said. 
After the announcement of the New Jersey arrests, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said that another suspect had been arrested on Wednesday. 
“Today [FBI Detroit] and partners arrested a third additional suspect in connection to the alleged foiled terrorist attack in Michigan last week. Our investigation suggests this individual had been providing material support in preparation for the attack, inspired by ISIS,” he wrote on X. “They are now in custody. More to come. Thank you to the men and women who continue to work this case diligently.”
That suspect was identified as 19-year-old Ayob Nasser of Dearborn, Michigan. Nasser has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and having firearms that would be used to commit an act of terrorism on behalf of ISIS. 
According to law enforcement, the suspects were all in a Signal chat together where they discussed ways to support ISIS.
“We will not stop. We will follow the tentacles where they lead. We will continue to stand guard with the FBI against terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr.

MixCollage-06-Nov-2025-07-28-AM-45

FBI Nabs Three More Men Tied To ISIS-Inspired Halloween Terror Plot

Crime

Dan Bongino

ISIS

Radical Islamic Terror

terrorist attack

U.S.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that the Biden administration turned over President Donald Trump’s government phone to Jack Smith as he snooped through the president’s phone records as part of his wide-reaching investigation into the 2020 presidential election.
Bondi made the announcement on X, confirming previous revelations from Senate Republicans that the FBI seized Trump&#8217;s government-issued phone as part of Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation. That investigation, supposedly into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, targeted hundreds of Republicans in Congress and Trump allies outside of Capitol Hill.
“During the Arctic Frost Investigation, we found that Special Counsel seized President Trump’s government-issued phone. This means the Biden Administration turned over President Trump’s phone to Special Counsel—an UNPRECEDENTED action,” Bondi <a href="https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1985754381216624949">said</a>. “In addition, Special Counsel subpoenaed all of President Trump’s PERSONAL phone records.”
“We can never again allow this kind of government weaponization in America,” Bondi added. “I submitted these new documents to our partners on Capitol Hill. I commend our team at the FBI for working diligently to expose this.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt commented more on the revelation during Tuesday’s press briefing.
&#8220;I think this is just further evidence of the egregious overreach and weaponization of government that took place under the previous White House against then former president and now President Donald J. Trump. It was a clear effort by the Biden White House and the Biden DOJ to go after the president and this is just further evidence of that.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> on the Biden White House turning over President Trump’s phone records to Jack Smith as part of Arctic Frost:
&#8220;I think this is just further evidence of the egregious overreach and weaponization of government that took place under the previous White House against… <a href="https://t.co/OEZmOCXtJj">https://t.co/OEZmOCXtJj</a> <a href="https://t.co/ozajWcNjEn">pic.twitter.com/ozajWcNjEn</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1985783717340590170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to a March 2025 <a href="https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_johnson_to_doj_fbi_-_arctic_frost_updates.pdf">letter</a> from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), the FBI first began the process of seizing Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence’s phones in April 2022 before they gained access to them and entered them as evidence in May 2022.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), one of the GOP senators who was targeted in the probe, said the news should enrage every American.
“This information should outrage every American,” she <a href="https://x.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1985804405871153172">said</a>. “This is one of the worst examples of government weaponization in American history.”
Blackburn, alongside Sens. Cynthia Lummis (WY), Ron Johnson (WI), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Dan Sullivan (AK), Josh Hawley (MO), Bill Hagerty (TN), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Rep. Mike Kelly (PA), all had their phone metadata analyzed by the FBI as part of Arctic Frost.

Former President Donald Trump Indicted In January 6 Investigation

Biden’s Justice Department Took ‘Unprecedented Action’ Against Trump, Bondi Reveals

2020 Election

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

General

Jack Smith

Pam Bondi

Islamic terror suspects <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-thwart-potential-halloween-weekend-terrorist-attack-kash-patel-says">arrested</a> by the FBI in Michigan last week sought to target bars and nightclubs near Detroit on Halloween night, according to a criminal complaint filed on Saturday.
The 73-page <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/media/1416836/dl?inline">complaint</a>, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, accuses Mohmed Ali, Majed Mahmoud, and a juvenile suspect, along with five co-conspirators, of seeking to carry out a terrorist attack for ISIS, hoping to copy the 2015 Paris terrorist attack that killed more than 130 people. The suspects codenamed the attack day &#8220;pumpkin,&#8221; leading investigators to believe that the planned attack would be carried out on Halloween, when bars and nightclubs would be full of partiers.
The suspects, who are all under 21, allegedly &#8220;sought guidance from the father of a local Islamic extremist ideologue&#8221; on when to conduct their attack. Ali lives in Dearborn, Michigan, which is known for its large Muslim population, and the criminal complaint states that Ali and Mahmoud met multiple times at night at parks in Dearborn. Ali and Mahmoud also shared ISIS-related materials through encrypted messaging and social media apps, according to the criminal complaint.
FBI Director Kash Patel <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1985379689741881404">said</a> on Friday that the potential terrorist attack in Michigan was &#8220;thwarted&#8221; by federal agents. Patel added on Monday that the FBI &#8220;stopped a massacre before it could happen.&#8221;
&#8220;Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit- stockpiling weapons, scouting targets, and training at gun ranges,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.&#8221;
The suspects allegedly scoped out sites of potential targets for their attack in September. According to the criminal complaint, the suspects drove past numerous bars and clubs in Ferndale, which is just north of Detroit, and is known as a go-to party spot for gay people.
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The FBI also said that the suspects practiced shooting firearms, including AR-15 style rifles, at a gun range in September and October. Federal authorities served search warrants at Ali&#8217;s and Mahmoud&#8217;s homes on October 31, where they recovered &#8220;three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four handguns, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition compatible with the three AR-15 style rifles, optical sights, two GoPro cameras, a flash suppressor, tactical vests, and other related firearms parts and accessories,&#8221; according to the complaint.
One of the co-conspirators, referred to as &#8220;Co-Conspirator 1&#8221; in the complaint, allegedly met with Ali and the juvenile suspect in June and July before he traveled out of the country. When Co-Conspirator 1 returned to the United States, Customs and Border Protection agents looked through his phone and found photos of the co-conspirator wearing tactical gear and holding weapons, the complaint stated. The CBP agents also allegedly found Google searches for ISIS and the Islamic State.
While Co-Conspirator 1 was overseas, he got on a group call with five other people, one of whom was an FBI Confidential Human Source. During the call, which the FBI source recorded, the participants discussed traveling to Syria to join ISIS, according to the complaint. A second co-conspirator then attempted to convince Ali and the juvenile suspect to join them and travel to Syria, but the two suspects allegedly said that they wanted to stay in the United States and do the &#8220;same thing as France,&#8221; which the FBI believes is a reference to the 2015 Paris terrorist attack.

Criminal Complaint – Eastern District of Michigan

Michigan Terror Suspects Plotted To Target Bars, Nightclubs During Halloween Celebrations, FBI Says

Michigan Terror Suspects Wanted To Target Bars, Nightclubs During Halloween Celebrations, FBI Says

Halloween

Michigan

Terrorism

When you think about corporate wokeness, what comes to mind? DEI and ESG policies might be the most prominent examples, for good reason. But as someone in the industry of corporate engagement, helping investors use their financial influence to root out bias from America’s biggest brands, we often find ourselves asking this question: who determines parameters? Wokeness is parasitical, and its most subtle and pernicious effects emerge by latching on to legitimate corporate policies and twisting them to serve political ends.
Among the most parasitical of these organizations is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). An activist group <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/about/our-history/">formed</a> in 1971 to combat the influence of Jim Crow, the SPLC has gradually <a href="https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/heritage-explains/what-went-wrong-the-southern-poverty-law-center">morphed</a> into a group peddling the false equivalence between conservatives and hate groups. Case in point: the SPLC’s infamous “<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map/?hm_year=2024&amp;hm_ideology=Neo-Nazi">hate map</a>.” The SPLC would like you to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-Hate-Pay-Corruption-Southern/dp/1642934399">believe</a> that the map represents American hate in an image, with many of the groups on the map, such as the Klan, white supremacists, and the Westboro Baptist Church, being genuine hate groups. And yet, when you look at the list, you’ll see some groups that decidedly aren’t hateful: Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, Moms for Liberty — and an Arizona-based nonprofit called Turning Point USA. The SPLC specifically <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SPLCenter/posts/at-the-forefront-of-the-movement-to-promote-christian-supremacy-is-turning-point/1116433363845757/">lambasted</a> TPUSA as ‘hard-right’ in June of 2025, and <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/turning-point-usa-case-study-hard-right-2024/">even</a> smeared them as part of the political Right’s alleged efforts to “enforce a social order rooted in white supremacy.” Let’s be clear: the SPLC isn’t giving you a hate list. This is a list of groups, ranging from true extremists to normal conservative groups, that the Southern Poverty Law Center would simply like you to believe are all hateful.
<div id="attachment_995255" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-995255" class="wp-image-995255 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map-1024x534.jpg" alt="Screenshot: SPLC/Hate Map" width="1024" height="534" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map-1024x534.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map-300x156.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map-768x401.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map-1536x801.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/SPLC-hate-map.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>Screenshot: SPLC/Hate Map</div>
What matters right now is that some of America’s biggest companies have used the list to guide their corporate policies. Brands as big as Meta (Facebook), Alphabet (Google), and Amazon have used the SPLC’s Hate List for everything from writing their ‘hate speech’ policies to determining which charities they’ll support via employee philanthropy programs. In the SPLC’s eyes (a perspective granted legitimacy by some of the world’s most prominent brands), groups like Turning Point were indeed synonymous with hate.
It’s not about corporations approving of Charlie Kirk’s death (to my knowledge, that hasn’t happened). It’s about corporations enforcing bias, discriminating against conservative and Christian organizations, under the mistaken belief that this means stopping hate. If we are to move away from a society where people are shot for their political and religious views, this premise must be completely repudiated by America’s private sector. We have serious work to do.
And conservatives are <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/10/19/manufacturing-hate-conservatives-pressure-companies-drop-ties-splc/">spearheading</a> that work and using their influence to hold companies accountable for relying on the SPLC’s metrics.
This isn’t about politics, at the end of the day. It’s about getting back to business. It’s almost impossible for a company to claim to have a serious policy on combating “hate” when the organizations that define “hateful” think that the KKK and Turning Point USA belong in the same category. (This is perhaps most evident with companies like Etsy, which apparently has a problem with SPLC-deemed hate groups like TPUSA, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/legal/prohibited/">citing</a> the SPLC in their hate policies, but less of a problem with literal witches that used Etsy to <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/paid-etsy-witches-curse-charlie-124930762.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKyrSgpE_OwZ4ZR9-uaiwD15C8F7KUQ405vwpfm8CjcwAeChUfbh3bmjBTuc8iTlS74uYN3GdjWWsjSOo_gGO4Dw16hFSDCc3lCkWsbXSKy1gKoLh2Bpbh7lCm3xFwWgHkWF7b7nDllJwQMVulraHE_qktJz9S6stmmTzmYVYe-h">buy</a> an actual “hate” hex to put on Charlie Kirk shortly before he died. Because that’s not hate speech.)
As The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzs6dy74Ew8">told</a> Congress, left-wing political violence is a serious threat to the marketplace of ideas in 2025. The Southern Poverty Law Center is only part of the problem. But, as the FBI cuts <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/10/03/breaking-kash-patels-fbi-cuts-all-ties-southern-poverty-law-center/">ties</a> with the SPLC, it’s time for America’s private sector to do the same. Corporate America didn’t get Charlie Kirk killed — a gunman who believed Kirk was spreading hate did. But it’s time to get serious about how organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center reflect the same poisonous idea: that conservatism and Christianity are hateful. We are seeing now that some people will take that framing and use it to rip the peaceful fabric of society apart.
The post-Charlie Kirk world isn’t one where we can afford to wallow. There’s work to be done. It’s time for us to take all the sadness and grief of this moment and channel it into culture-building energy — for Charlie, and for the country we all love. The SPLC, and a disturbing amount of the Left, would like you (and many of America’s biggest brands) to believe that mainstream conservative views are akin to hate. That idea doesn’t warrant any support in the ideas market. And the organizations that promote that idea don’t deserve to guide our capital markets.
The best time for corporate America to ditch the SPLC was years ago, before a 31-year-old husband and father lost his life after being smeared as part of a hate group. The second-best time is now.
* * *
Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacWillour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@IsaacWillour</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Raised Fist Hand Protest in flat icon design on red color ray background

How The Southern Poverty Law Center Poisoned Corporate America

Charlie Kirk

Conservatives

Corporations

Democrats

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Hate Speech

Leftists

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

TPUSA

Millions of Americans this week will head to the polls in several crucial elections, more revelations regarding former President Joe Biden’s Arctic Frost operation come to light, and President Donald Trump draws a line in the sand regarding Christian persecution in Nigeria.
It’s Monday, November 3, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251103-member-exclusive">the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/election-week-preview-trump-warns-nigeria-11-3-25/id1576594336?i=1000735013132" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Election Day Preview</h2>
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Topline: It’s election week, with millions of Americans heading to the polls for the first time since Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.  
New York: The race for New York City’s mayor is getting the most national attention. An avowed socialist could soon lead America’s largest city. The 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani came out of nowhere this year to win the Democratic Primary, and he’s maintained a significant double-digit lead throughout the general election.
He is running against Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who, after losing in the primary, began running as an independent. Current polling shows Mamdani with an average lead of 14 points.
Mamdani’s endorsements: Typically, whoever wins the primary in New York is immediately endorsed by party leaders. But with the exception of far-Left folks like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, most national Democrats were hesitant to sign on — clearly concerned about tying themselves to Mamdani’s more radical views.
While New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) eventually were pressured into endorsing Mamdani, in an extraordinary move, high-profile Democrats like  Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have yet to do so.
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Interestingly, Mamdani’s support is coming from foreign-born Americans. One of the latest polls shows that among voters born in America, Cuomo is actually ahead by nine points. But among foreign-born voters, Mamdani holds a massive 38-point lead.
New Jersey: Republicans have had their eye on the Garden State ever since last November, when Trump got within six points of victory. In 2020, he lost by 16% – the second-largest shift to the right in any state in the country.
A few months ago, the governor’s race looked like a blowout, with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) ahead by more than 20 points. But Republican nominee Jack Ciatarelli has gained significant ground. The latest polls show him within about three points.
Virginia: Democrats were embarrassed in Virginia four years ago when Republican Glenn Youngkin pulled off a stunning upset. This time, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears needs an even bigger upset to defeat Democrat Abigail Spanberger.
This governor’s race has, in many ways, been defined by the Attorney General election, specifically, Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee. Last month, leaked texts from 2022 showed him wishing death on Republican colleagues in Virginia, even saying he hoped their children died because “only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.” Despite those messages, Jones stayed on the ticket, though it did lead to him cratering in the polls.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Operation Arctic Frost Revelations</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-994915" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Worse-Than-Watergate.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: New whistleblower documents expose a Biden-era &#8220;enemies list&#8221; buried deep in a federal investigation codenamed Arctic Frost. Republicans say this probe, which targeted President Trump and hundreds of his allies, weaponized the Justice Department for political reasons.
Arctic Frost started as an FBI operation in April 2022, led by then-agent Timothy Thibault. Initially, it was aimed at probing alleged efforts by Trump allies to challenge the 2020 election. But when Special Counsel Jack Smith took over in November of that year, it ballooned into the basis for Trump&#8217;s election interference indictments. Those charges were eventually dismissed.
But now, whistleblower records obtained by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) show a lot more was going on at the time — Arctic Frost became a sweeping dragnet targeting Republican senators, donors, and outside conservative groups.
Grassley has also revealed that the authorization for Arctic Frost had come from the top of the Biden administration, meaning then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The predicate: Grassley released 197 subpoenas issued in 2023 alone. The subpoenas included nonpublic grand jury material that demanded everything from emails to phone metadata to bank records and credit reports of 34 individuals and 163 businesses, including many conservative groups such as Turning Point USA.
The subpoenas sought communications from nine Republican senators, including Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Ron Johnson, as well as from House members and White House aides such as Stephen Miller and Jared Kushner. They even went after media companies — Fox News, Newsmax, Sinclair — demanding donor lists and fundraising data.
Repercussions: Cruz is demanding the House impeach D.C. Chief Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, for approving a 2023 gag order that silenced carriers like AT&amp;T from alerting targets. Cruz said there were &#8220;no facts or evidence&#8221; to justify it, and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) is drafting articles, calling Boasberg a &#8220;radical activist judge&#8221; who enabled spying on senators.
Some could be charged with crimes. Some conservative legal experts are pushing for criminal charges against DOJ and FBI staffers for conspiring to violate the free speech, free assembly, and privacy rights of their targets.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Threatens Nigeria Over Christian Persecution</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-994913" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Nigeria-On-Notice.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: President Trump issued a stark warning to Nigeria over the persecution of Christians – while he continues to flex U.S. might in South America.
Nigeria: Trump said the U.S. military would move on Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” unless it stops the persecution of Christians. He <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115476385101120405">posted</a> on Truth Social on Saturday that Nigeria needs to “move fast” or the U.S. military will “completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
That post came a day after Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115470116607441456">announced</a> that he had designated Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN,” which means Nigeria has been identified for “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/trump-calls-for-support-for-persecuted-nigerian-christians/">under</a> the International Religious Freedom Act.
The scope of the persecution is vast. According to one report, more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria just since the start of the year, which makes Nigeria easily the deadliest country for Christians globally.
Sen. Cruz <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-statement-on-president-trump-action-against-nigeria-for-christian-persecution">said</a> that the designation is “a critical step in holding accountable and changing the behavior of Nigerian officials who have facilitated and created an environment conducive to the outrages in Nigeria.” He has introduced legislation to take it a step further, punishing in particular officials who push blasphemy and sharia laws in Nigeria.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu <a href="https://x.com/officialABAT/status/1984640117361840491">said</a> the accusations of Christian persecution do “not reflect our national reality,” and that “Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.” A spokesman for the president <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-tells-department-defense-prepare-possible-action-nigeria-rcna241330">added</a> Sunday that he would welcome U.S. help fighting terrorism “as long as it (the U.S.) recognizes our territorial integrity.”
South America: According to reports from the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/u-s-eyes-striking-venezuelan-military-targets-used-for-drug-trafficking-cafcfe47?st=tchg4R%3E">Wall Street Journal</a> and the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article312722642.html">Miami Herald</a>, the president has weighed military strikes on Venezuelan targets, which could be launched at any time.
The reported targets would be military assets used in the drug trade, and if the president moved forward with strikes, it would serve not only as a clear message to drug traffickers but to President Nicolás Maduro, as well. The Trump administration wants him out of government – the sooner the better for him.
The military pressure on Venezuela is the opposite of the pressure Trump has used in Argentina. There, the country’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, won a massive victory in the midterm elections, at least partly due to Trump’s offer of an economic lifeline to Argentina’s government – but only if Milei’s reforms were protected.

MRN_251103_V2

Morning Brief: Election Day Nears, Biden-Era ‘Enemies List,’ & Trump Warns Nigeria

Morning Brief: Election Day Preview, Arctic Frost Revelations, And Trump Threatens Nigeria

Argentina

Chuck Grassley

Media

Morning Wire

New Jersey

New York City

Nigeria

Politics

Ted Cruz

Venezuela

Virginia

Zohran Mamdani

The FBI prevented a potentially &#8220;violent terrorist attack&#8221; planned for Halloween weekend and arrested multiple people in Michigan, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Friday morning. 
“The FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend,&#8221; Patel wrote in a post on X. 
Patel did not disclose where exactly the attack was planned to take place or who was allegedly behind it, but he added that more details would be released soon.  
The FBI director thanked the men and women of the FBI and law enforcement everywhere who stand guard 24/7 to “defend the homeland.” 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend. More details to come. Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1984222011158102097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Kash Patel

Feds Thwart Potential Halloween Weekend Terrorist Attack, Kash Patel Says

kash patel

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) says he was not among the Republicans targeted and tracked by former President Joe Biden&#8217;s FBI — and he claimed during a recent podcast episode that it was largely thanks to his wireless service provider, AT&amp;T.
Cruz was responding to recent reporting on an operation code-named Arctic Frost that the Biden administration used to spy on a number of conservatives and even elected Republicans, including many of Cruz&#8217;s current colleagues in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Chuck Grassley released a list of senators who had been targeted through Arctic Frost early in October, naming Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (MO), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Tommy Tuberville (AL), among others — but Cruz&#8217;s name did not appear on the list.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into &#8220;election conspiracy&#8221; Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith&#8217;s elector case against Trump
BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE <a href="https://t.co/V2JyiVlX48">pic.twitter.com/V2JyiVlX48</a>
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1975297712712262100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cruz explained on the October 22 episode of &#8220;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/verdict-with-ted-cruz/id1495601614?i=1000732943212">The Verdict</a>&#8221; that he was one of nine whose phone records were subpoenaed by Biden&#8217;s Justice Department in an effort to investigate the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill — but that AT&amp;T had refused to turn over his information. The DOJ reportedly received information on the other senators from Verizon.
&#8220;All nine of them had their cellphone records handed over to the Biden Department of Justice,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;Now, I gotta admit just over a week ago, Sean Hannity was in town and I had dinner with Sean and with several of the senators on that list as well — and I was laughing with Sean, I was actually kind of offended. Like how did I get left out of this list?&#8221;
The Texas senator laughed, adding, &#8220;What did I have to do? I was literally standing on the Senate floor on January 6 objecting and leading the fight, and I had brought together 11 senators to stand together and fight for an election commission to assess the evidence of voter fraud &#8230; I was joking with Sean, but I wasn&#8217;t entirely joking.&#8221;
Cruz said the reason he had initially been left out was soon clear: &#8220;Well, it turns out the reason that I was not on the list, is apparently all eight of those senators, their cellphones are with Verizon — and evidence had come out that Verizon had handed over their cellphone information. Well, my cellphone is with AT&amp;T, and I didn&#8217;t know it at the time, but I found out late last week that Jack Smith sent a subpoena to AT&amp;T demanding my cellphone records, and AT&amp;T told him to go jump in a lake.&#8221;
AT&amp;T, Cruz explained, refused to give up the information: &#8220;I&#8217;m proud of them. They did the right thing, I appreciate that.&#8221;

Pam Bondi Swears In Kash Patel As FBI Director

‘I Was Offended’: Ted Cruz Explains Why He Wasn’t Tracked By Biden’s FBI

Why Ted Cruz Says He Wasn't Tracked By Biden FBI Along With Other Senators

Joe Biden

Spying

In a twist that feels ripped from a Hollywood script — or perhaps an episode of &#8220;The Kardashians&#8221; — federal prosecutors revealed that Kylie Jenner’s former New York City townhouse <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/23/us-news/mobsters-ran-rigged-poker-games-at-kylie-jenners-nyc-pad-while-she-still-owned-it/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_source=twitter">served as the backdrop</a> for a mafia-run, high-tech poker operation that bilked victims out of millions while she was the owner.
According to a sweeping federal indictment unsealed this week, the six-story Greenwich Village mansion at 80 Washington Place, once rented by Jenner and rapper Travis Scott, was one of two key sites for an underground gambling ring allegedly tied to four of New York’s notorious mafia families — the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime syndicates.
Prosecutors say the townhouse was used to host high-stakes poker nights featuring rigged shuffling devices and X-ray tables that let mobsters and their associates cheat unsuspecting high-rollers. Among those allegedly involved in the scheme, which stretched across the country, were former NBA stars — including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player Damon Jones — who acted as “Face Cards,” drawing in the wealthy and the famous to games they never stood a chance of winning.
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The scheme, which began in 2019, wasn’t just about cards. It became a nexus of organized crime, celebrity access, and sports corruption. The operation reportedly imploded in fall 2023, when rival mob factions clashed over who could run games at Jenner’s former residence. Prosecutors say the feud turned violent, with guns drawn and a brutal fight breaking out inside the luxury home.
That home, steps from Washington Square Park and worth around $20 million, is no stranger to publicity. Jenner and Scott rented it during her second pregnancy in 2021, and it was featured in a 2023 episode of &#8220;The Kardashians.&#8221; There’s no evidence that Jenner or Scott had any involvement in, or knowledge of, the criminal activity. While one of America’s most famous reality stars was showcasing her lifestyle to millions, mobsters were allegedly using the same address as a base for a rigged gambling empire.
The poker scandal coincides with another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-player-tipped-off-gamblers-that-hed-leave-game-early-with-supposed-injury-feds-say?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=NBA+Player+Tipped+Off+Gamblers+That+He%E2%80%99d+Leave+Game+Early+With+%E2%80%98Supposed+Injury%2C%E2%80%99+Feds+Say">bombshell indictment</a> from the Department of Justice involving NBA players accused of insider gambling and game-fixing. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested for allegedly tipping off bettors that he would fake an early exit from a 2023 game to ensure his “under” bets hit. Prosecutors say the intertwined gambling and poker schemes represent one of the most extensive criminal investigations into corruption in sports and entertainment since sports betting was legalized.
FBI Director Kash Patel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-scandal-erupts-feds-nab-player-coach-in-illegal-gambling-crackdown?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=19&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=NBA+Scandal+Erupts%3A+Feds+Nab+Player%2C+Coach+In+Illegal+Gambling+Crackdown">said</a> the case exposed both “La Cosa Nostra’s continuing reach” and “the corrosive influence of gambling on American sports and culture.”
The same reality empire that turned fame into a global commodity has now, unwittingly, provided the stage for a mafia-run casino of deceit.

Kylie Jenner Celebrates 10 Years of Kylie Cosmetics with Friends & Family

Now There’s A Kardashian Family Twist To Mafia Gambling Ring Involving NBA Stars

gambling

Kylie Jenner

Mafia

The FBI unveils a massive, mafia-tied gambling scheme involving big names in the NBA, the United States strikes another drug boat bringing “poison to our shores,” and sparks fly at the final debate for New York City mayor — but will it sway the race?
It’s Friday, October 24, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">NBA Gambling Ring</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990669" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Basketball-Betting-Bust.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: A sprawling NBA gambling scandal was announced on Thursday, resulting in dozens of arrests, including former and current NBA players, coaches, and members of the Italian mafia.
The alleged scheme involved more than 30 people arrested, including Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, a former player in the Hall of Fame. 
Charges from the investigation included wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling. 
“The FBI led a coordinative take down across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case, which is very much ongoing,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a press conference. “We also entered and executed a system of justice against Laca Nora to include the Bonanno Gambino Genevese and Luccese crime families.”
First indictment: The case involves two separate indictments. The first relates to an insider betting scheme. Defendants charged in this scheme allegedly received non-public information, such as when players would be sitting out for injuries or planned absences, and used that to profit from gambling bets. 
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“One example occurred on March 23, 2023, in Charlotte, Terry Rozier, an NBA player now with the Miami Heat, but at the time playing for the Hornets, allegedly let others close to him know that he planned to leave the game early with a supposed injury,” said NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “Using that information, members of the group placed more than $200,000 in wagers on his under statistics.&#8221;
Rozier exited the game after just nine minutes. The bets paid out tens of thousands of dollars in profit.
Second indictment: The second indictment relates to mafia-backed fixed poker games, where more than $7 million was cheated. This included new technology, such as an X-ray table that could read cards face down. Current or former NBA players like Billups were used to draw people into rigged games.
“The defendants in this case orchestrated a scheme to use wireless cheating technology to run rigged poker games across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella. “What the victims, the fish, didn&#8217;t know is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players, including the face cards, were in on the scam. Once the game was underway, the defendants fleece the victims out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per game.”
The poker games played in the New York area were backed by at least four of the five mafia families there.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Drug Boat Strikes And Russia Sanctions</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990667" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Drug-Boat-Dusted.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The U.S. military carried out its ninth strike against what it said was a drug boat from a known terrorist entity heading toward the United States. Meanwhile, President Trump has imposed new sanctions on Russia for the first time since he returned to the Oval Office.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the military carried out its eighth and ninth strikes against drug boats. These strikes took place in the Pacific Ocean, a first. Up until now, the strikes have been targeted in the Caribbean, which is a known smuggling corridor for narcotraffickers in Venezuela and Colombia.
Latin American resistance: The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, called to potentially “get rid” of Trump over his campaign of pressure. Trump has accused Petro of playing a role in the drug trade and has pulled U.S. funding to Colombia.
On Thursday, Trump responded to the Colombian president’s threats, saying that the Latin American leader is a “thug and bad guy” who should “watch it.”
For now, the strikes will continue, Hegseth says.
Sanctions on Russia: The Treasury Department has now announced new sanctions on Russia for the first time in Trump’s second term. The sanctions target Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as dozens of their subsidiaries.
The sanctions came alongside additional penalties from the European Union, as well as more from the U.K., announced last week. President Trump’s new pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin was a welcome move in Washington and in Europe.
“You have to compel Russia to engage in the peace process,” <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1981329802754769164">said</a> House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). “They&#8217;ve shown they cannot be trusted. There&#8217;s a big appetite in Congress to have sanctions like this, and I think it&#8217;s a very important step.”
More important than the sanctions themselves is the message they convey. In its announcement of the sanctions package, the Treasury also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-sanctioning-russian-energy-heres-what-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> secondary sanctions against any entity that does business with Rosneft and Lukoil.
Trump on San Francisco: Trump has reversed course on sending National Guard troops to San Francisco. He said in a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115424560133045127">post</a> on Thursday that “friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress.” He said he spoke to Lurie, a moderate Democrat who took office in January, and decided to give him a chance to turn the city around – which means Trump could change his mind in the future if he doesn’t like what he sees in San Francisco.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Mamdani Cracks In Second NYC Debate</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990665" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Mamdani-Melts-Onstage.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The frontrunner in New York’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, faced a barrage of criticism in the final televised debate on Wednesday, raising questions about whether his performance managed to shake his lead or reinforce doubts about his readiness for the job.
The atmosphere of the race was definitely charged—not just because of the policies on the table, but also because of the direct, unrelenting pressure former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo put on Mamdani.
Polls show that while Mamdani is far and away the favorite to win, some also show he would be in a dead heat with Cuomo if Republican Curtis Sliwa were to drop out of the race.
Many media outlets and analysts said Mamdani looked uncomfortable and hesitant. He also appeared severely rushed. Some of his responses felt like watching a video at double speed.
However, some left-leaning outlets, such as Politico, said Mamdani won. The New York Times said Cuomo hurt him, but probably not enough. But the viral clips from the debate have received brutal responses, painting Mamdani as an unprepared left-wing extremist.
The debate: One of the most damaging moments circulating on social media came when Cuomo directly confronted Mamdani on his inexperience. 
“You have never had a job. You&#8217;ve never accomplished anything. There&#8217;s no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for eight and a half million lives. You don&#8217;t know how to run a government, you don&#8217;t know how to handle an emergency, and you&#8217;ve literally never proposed a bill on anything that you&#8217;re not talking about,” Cuomo <a href="https://x.com/EYakoby/status/1981146015714726293">ripped</a> into Mamdani.
“In your campaign, you had the worst attendance record in the assembly, and you gave yourselves the highest raise in the United States of America. You went from $110,000 to $140,000, and then you never showed up for work, and you missed 80% of the votes. Shame on you,” he continued.
Cuomo also pinned Mamdani down on the rent freeze policy, labeling it as political blather.
“Zohran is a great actor. He missed his calling. Freeze rent sounds great, yeah, it affects about 25% of the number of housing units in the city of New York. It&#8217;s not a new idea. Bill de Blasio did it. It turned out to be a debacle,” Cuomo <a href="https://x.com/nypost/status/1981152739963945271">said</a>.
Often, Mamdani didn’t help himself. For example, when he suggested that when 911 receives a call, dispatchers should decide whether it’s appropriate to send police, or maybe send mental healthcare providers instead.
“Yet what we have in our city is asking those same police officers who are being asked to respond to shootings, respond to murders, to also respond to these calls. I trust the dispatchers who would be receiving these calls to make the determination as to whether there was any indication of violence. If there is no indication of a threat of violence, then we would set the mental health experts and providers to respond to those same incidents,” <a href="https://x.com/EYakoby/status/1981149365818585538">said</a> Mamdani.
How bad was it?: Polling data is still being analyzed, so it’s really too early to tell. But it’s interesting to note that there are reports that Chinese-owned TikTok appears to be pulling out all the stops for Mamdani now, maybe trying to head off any leaks of support.
The New York Post reported that TikTok’s algorithm has been boosting pro-Mamdani content while suppressing pro-Cuomo clips.

MRN_251024_V1

Morning Brief: FBI Uncovers An NBA-Tied Gambling Ring & Trump Takes Out Another Drug Boat

Andrew Cuomo

Colombia

Drug Cartels

Russia

San Francisco

United States

Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former Detroit Pistons legendary point guard Chauncey Billups was arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning to face charges related to his alleged role in a “complex fraud scheme to rig, or cheat at, illegal poker games” throughout the United States.
Billups, along with more than 30 other defendants, was charged in connection with the illegal poker scheme that allegedly cheated victims out of millions of dollars. The DOJ tied some of the illegal poker games to New York mafia families, who are also implicated in an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
In April 2019, Billups — along with defendants Eric Earnest, Jaimie Gilet, Robert Stroud, and Sophia Wei — set up a rigged poker game in Las Vegas and proceeded to defraud victims of at least $50,000, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/media/1416616/dl">indictment</a>. Billups and the other co-defendants allegedly used a card-shuffling machine rigged to read the cards in the deck and then send the information to an off-site operator over interstate wires. The off-site operator then communicated via phone with someone at the table, called the “quarterback,” who was charged with using secret signals to pass that information along to the others who were in on the rigging, the feds allege.
The rigged shuffling machine was provided to Billups and the other co-conspirators in Las Vegas by defendant Robert Stroud, the indictment states. In 2023, Stroud allegedly conspired with other defendants to rob a person at gunpoint to steal a specific model of a rigged shuffling machine that they wanted to use for poker games.
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United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-scandal-erupts-feds-nab-player-coach-in-illegal-gambling-crackdown?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=NBA+Scandal+Erupts%3A+Feds+Nab+Player%2C+Coach+In+Illegal+Gambling+Crackdown">alleged</a> at a press conference on Thursday morning that Billups was vital to the rigged poker game because victims, known as “fish,” would be lured into the games “by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes, who were known as ‘Face Cards.’” The victims believed they were playing in “straight” illegal poker games, unknowingly sitting down at a table filled with conspirators in a fraud scheme, the indictment alleges.
The cheaters also used technologies, such as hidden cameras and an X-ray table that had the ability to read cards placed face down on the table, Nocella said. The rigged poker games in New York City were often overseen by the Bonanno, Lucchese, Gambino, and Genovese crime families, who took a cut of the proceeds and “used threats and intimidation to assure payment of debts” from the rigged poker games, according to the indictment.
“The defendants laundered their proceeds including through cash exchanges, the use of multiple shell companies, and through cryptocurrency transfers,” Nocella added.
Billups, an NBA champion who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is expected to make his first court appearance in Portland on Thursday.
The illegal poker scheme indictment was announced alongside another indictment, which alleges that six people, including a current and former NBA player, revealed insider information to gamblers. Billups was not charged in the alleged illegal sports betting scheme, but multiple people were implicated in both indictments, including former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones.

Chauncey Billups

NBA Hall-Of-Famer Chauncey Billups Tied To ‘Complex’ Mafia Poker Scheme. These Are The Allegations.

NBA Hall-Of-Famer Chauncey Billups Tied To 'Complex' Mafia Poker Scheme. These Are The Allegations.

NBA point guard Terry Rozier tipped off gamblers that he would take himself out of a game early in March of 2023 so they could place bets on him to underperform the betting lines, according to a DOJ indictment unsealed on Thursday.
The feds allege that on March 23, 2023, Rozier informed co-defendant Deniro Laster that he would remove himself from a game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter over a &#8220;supposed injury.&#8221; Laster then sold the information Rozier shared with him to multiple co-conspirators, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/23/nyregion/nba-betting-scheme-indictment.html">indictment</a>.
One of the co-conspirators who allegedly paid for the information on Rozier was Marves Fairley, a Mississippi man who sells sports betting tips on social media. Fairley and a person referred to as &#8220;Co-Conspirator 1&#8221; agreed to pay Laster $100,000 from their gambling winnings, the feds allege.
&#8220;Prior to the March 23 game, FAIRLEY, LASTER and Co-Conspirator 1 exchanged text messages confirming that ROZIER planned to exit the game prematurely and confirming their plan to place wagers on ROZIER&#8217;s under (i.e. that ROZIER would underperform relative to the oddsmakers&#8217; betting lines for his individual performance),&#8221; the indictment reads.
Rozier, one of the leading scorers on the Hornets that season, left the game after playing less than 10 minutes and recording just 5 points and two assists.
&#8220;ROZIER&#8217;s early exit from the March 23 game and his related underperformance relative to his season averages for points, assists, and three-pointers resulted in the success of numerous fraudulent wagers placed on ROZIER&#8217;s unders by the defendants and their co-conspirators,&#8221; the indictment continues.
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Rozier&#8217;s alleged involvement in the conspiracy included the NBA player paying for Laster to travel to Philadelphia to collect the payment from Fairley. Laster then drove to Rozier&#8217;s home in Charlotte, where they counted the money that Fairley had paid, according to the indictment.
Rozier, who now plays for the Miami Heat, was previously investigated by the NBA over the March 23 game, but the league ultimately determined that he did nothing wrong. While the NBA concluded its investigation, the DOJ probe continued, until on Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced a massive crackdown on illegal gambling that allegedly implicates four New York mafia families.
“Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpetrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against La Cosa Nostra, to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families,&#8221; Patel said.
Former NBA player and coach <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-nba-insider-leaked-lebron-injury-info-for-betting-scheme?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=FBI%3A+NBA+Insider+Leaked+LeBron+Injury+Info+For+Betting+Scheme">Damon Jones</a> was also charged in the indictment along with Rozier. Jones is accused of selling insider information on players&#8217; medical information, so that gamblers could place massive bets before injury reports were made public.

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NBA Player Tipped Off Gamblers That He’d Leave Game Early With ‘Supposed Injury,’ Feds Say

NBA Player Told Gamblers That He Would Leave Game Early Over 'Supposed Injury,' Feds Say

Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones is accused of attempting to profit from non-public information regarding LeBron James before a Los Angeles Lakers game in 2023, according to a bombshell indictment unsealed by the Department of Justice on Thursday.
Jones, and other defendants in the case — including NBA player Terry Rozier — face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The federal investigation into the alleged illegal betting scheme also implicates four New York mafia families. United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said during a press conference on Thursday that gambling allegations point to &#8220;one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
Before the Lakers played the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9, 2023, Jones texted a co-conspirator to place a bet on the Bucks because he knew that the Lakers would be missing a key player, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/23/nyregion/nba-betting-scheme-indictment.html">indictment</a>. The indictment referred to the Lakers player only as &#8220;Player 3,&#8221; but given the details provided and James&#8217;s absence from the February 9, 2023, game, it&#8217;s apparent that &#8220;Player 3&#8221; is James.
&#8220;By virtue of his relationship with Player 3, the Lakers and other NBA personnel, the defendant DAMON JONES had access to non-public information, including medical information that had not been released to the public,&#8221; the indictment reads. Jones was a former teammate and coach of James when the NBA star was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Before the Lakers played the Bucks in 2023, Jones is accused of texting his inside knowledge of non-public medical information to an unnamed co-conspirator, writing, &#8220;Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out! [Player 3] is out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat to [sic] now!!!&#8221;
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When Jones allegedly provided that information to the co-conspirator, James had not yet been ruled out on the injury report, but he would later be sidelined due to a lower-body injury, according to the indictment. James <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/lebron-james-ankle-out-vs-bucks">missed</a> the game against the Bucks due to ankle soreness, and the Bucks went on to win.
In another Lakers game a year later, Jones claimed to have learned that &#8220;Player 4&#8221; for the Lakers would likely be limited in his playing time or would not play well because of an injury, the indictment read. Jones was allegedly paid $2,500 by co-defendant Marves Fairley for the information. Fairley then placed a bet worth around $100,000 against the Lakers at a retail sportsbook, according to the indictment.
After Jones had given out the information, the NBA injury report listed &#8220;Player 4&#8221; as &#8220;probable,&#8221; but it was not publicly reported that he would potentially play a limited number of minutes. Anthony Davis was the only player <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2024-01-15_07PM.pdf">listed</a> as &#8220;probable&#8221; on the NBA&#8217;s injury report for January 15, 2024. Davis ended up playing his normal number of minutes and scored 27 points in a Lakers win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, causing Fairley to ask Jones to pay him back. Jones allegedly doubled down, arguing in text messages that the information he received was credible.

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