A former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot was arrested Wednesday on allegations that he traveled to China to illegally train combat pilots with the People’s Liberation Army. 
The Justice Department<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-air-force-pilot-arrested-providing-defense-services-chinese-military"> announced</a> that 65-year-old Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr. had been charged with providing and conspiring to provide defense services to Chinese military pilots without authorization in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Brown was arrested in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday. 
“Gerald Brown, a former F-35 Lightning II instructor pilot with decades of experience flying U.S. military aircraft, allegedly betrayed his country by training Chinese pilots to fight against those he swore to protect,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “The Chinese government continues to exploit the expertise of current and former members of the U.S. armed forces to modernize China’s military capabilities.”
The complaint accused Brown of beginning in August 2023 to conspire with foreign nationals to train People’s Liberation Army Air Force combat pilots. It said that Brown did not obtain the proper license from the State Department to train a foreign military. 
Brown served in the U.S. Air Force for 24 years. He commanded sensitive units with responsibilities that included oversight of nuclear weapons delivery systems. He led combat missions and served as a fighter pilot instructor, according to the Justice Department. Before he retired in 1996, he was known by the call sign &#8220;Runner.&#8221; Brown also worked for multiple defense contractors in recent years on flight training. 
The Justice Department said that Brown worked with Stephen Su Bin, a Chinese national who pleaded guilty back in 2016 for conspiring to hack into the computer systems of multiple defense contractors. 
Brown traveled to China in December 2023, where he allegedly answered questions about the Air Force. According to the complaint, he told a co-conspirator in a message upon landing in China that he now had &#8220;the chance to fly and instruct fighter pilots again!” He did not return to the United States until February 2026. 
“As an Air Force Officer, Brown took an oath to defend our Nation against all enemies foreign and domestic, he broke that oath, and betrayed the country, jeopardizing the safety of our servicemembers and allies,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “We will hold Brown, and anyone conspiring against our Nation, accountable for their actions.”
The case against Brown was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office.

NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500

He Served The U.S. Air Force For 24 Years. He’s Now Accused Of Training CCP Combat Pilots

Former Air Force Fighter Pilot Arrested For Training CCP Combat Pilots

Air Force

China

Department of Justice

Military

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was the subject of multiple federal raids on Wednesday.  Multiple reports confirmed that authorities conducted searches of both his home and his office.
An affidavit was filed in connection with the <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/lausd-superintendent-carvalho-raid/3853654/">searches</a>, but officials stated that the details remain under seal. Another search was executed at a Miami property also connected to Carvalho, who has been the head of the second-largest school district in the United States since 2022. Carvalho previously worked for 14 years as superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
No details have been released regarding the reason for the searches, but the FBI Los Angeles office released a statement confirming the action: &#8220;We can confirm that the FBI is serving a court-authorized warrant at those locations. However, the affidavit in support of the warrant has been sealed by the court and we, therefore, have no further comment.&#8221;
According to a <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/fbi-raids-lausd-headquarters-superintendent-alberto-carvalho-home">report</a> from local FOX affiliate FOX11, employees were evacuated from the Los Angeles school district offices while officers searched the premises. Other officers searched his home in San Pedro, California. Drone footage captured by local news outlets showed multiple FBI agents entering and leaving the properties, some carrying boxes.
Complicating matters further, President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration joined a lawsuit against LAUSD alleging that the district discriminates against white students by funneling money and resources to schools based on the racial demographics of the attending students.
The lawsuit, filed by the 1776 Project Foundation, states that LAUSD uses a race-based label to designate certain schools as &#8220;PHBAO&#8221; (Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Other non-Anglo). The complaint then argues that schools without that designation — meaning they are predominantly white — often do not receive the same funding considerations or allocation of resources. The DOJ asserts that, in addition, students from &#8220;PHBAO&#8221; schools receive preferential treatment when they seek to transfer to magnet programs.
The FBI has not indicated whether the searches are related to the lawsuit and the school district as a whole or are directed specifically at Carvalho.

LAUSD, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho,

FBI Raids Home And Office Of Los Angeles School Superintendent

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Schools

Schools

Whoopi Goldberg floated a bizarre theory during Monday&#8217;s broadcast of &#8220;The View&#8221; on ABC, suggesting that FBI Director Kash Patel had been sent to Italy to watch Team USA&#8217;s first Olympic hockey gold medal in 46 years because the rank and file wanted him out of the way.
Goldberg and her cohosts began the segment by bashing Patel for going to the championship game between fierce rivals, the United States and Canada, because that meant he was not present to handle other major issues in which the FBI has been deeply involved.
Cohost Ana Navarro mentioned the videos that showed Patel partying with Team USA in the locker room after their overtime win, and complained that he was behaving like &#8220;a member of &#8216;Animal House,'&#8221; and claimed she had no idea what he was even doing there.
Sara Haines argued that she personally would rather have a law enforcement leader who was &#8220;serious and borderline boring,&#8221; complaining that he was partying instead of dealing with real issues like the upheaval in Mexico and the Secret Service-involved shooting at Mar-a-Lago.
&#8220;Right now the world doesn&#8217;t feel settled or stable, and you&#8217;ve got the head of the FBI, and the visual of chugging a beer in a locker room,&#8221; she added, arguing that he was not helping the administration to appear more &#8220;competent&#8221; and that the whole scenario was &#8220;a bit of an insult to the American people.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Whoopi suggests the rest of the FBI told Patel to get out of the office to get their &#8220;incompetent&#8221; boss out of their hair so they could do their jobs: 
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to put a positive spin on it. Maybe the folks in the FBI say, &#8216;yeah, Kash, go do that&#8217; so they don&#8217;t have to deal with… <a href="https://t.co/Fjof0tBmGn">pic.twitter.com/Fjof0tBmGn</a>
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFondacaro/status/2025970450304524565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Goldberg then pivoted to suggest that maybe the move had come at the behest of some in the FBI who felt that they would be better able to do their jobs if Patel was off doing something else.
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to put a positive spin on it. Maybe the folks in the FBI say, &#8216;yeah, Kash, go do that&#8217; so they don&#8217;t have to deal with him, because they know he doesn&#8217;t know what he&#8217;s doing,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They know that he is incompetent. They know that he is just — he is a joke and he is a joke in the rest of the world. And because for most of the people working in the FBI it is not a joke. They are the ones whose eyes are on the ball.&#8221;
Patel himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kash-patel-owns-partying-with-usa-hockey-team-yes-i-love-america">addressed the media</a> scrutiny in a post to X, saying that he&#8217;d been invited to celebrate with Team USA after their gold-medal win and had chosen to do so.
&#8220;For the very concerned media — yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth.&#8221;

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Floats Wild FBI Theory Tying Kash Patel To Team USA’s Gold Medal Moment

Whoopi Thinks The FBI Sent Kash Patel To USA Hockey Game To Get Rid Of Him

Donald Trump

kash patel

Media

Politics

The View

The armed intruder who was shot dead on Sunday after attempting to breach Mar-a-lago has been identified after being reported missing by his family.
Austin Tucker Martin, who was reported missing by his family on Saturday, was identified as the man armed with a shotgun and a gas can attempting to breach Mar-a-Lago, law enforcement sources <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/22/us-news/mar-a-lago-shotgun-wielding-madman-idd-as-north-carolina-golf-course-artist/">told</a> the New York Post.
Martin’s family has been desperately searching for Martin since Saturday, according to the Post’s review of Martin and his family&#8217;s social media accounts.
Martin’s social media reveals an obsession with drawing golf courses in the Sandhurst region of England, as well as local courses surrounding his hometown of Cameron, North Carolina.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/armed-intruder-with-shotgun-sparks-deadly-secret-service-response-at-mar-a-lago?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Armed+Intruder+With+Shotgun+Sparks+Deadly+Secret+Service+Response+At+Mar-A-Lago">reported</a>, the shooting happened at around 1:30 a.m. when Secret Service agents, alongside a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, responded to an unauthorized breach near the north gate of the property.
Authorities said the suspect was carrying what looked like a shotgun and a fuel can when he was confronted. Shots were fired after Martin refused to drop the shotgun and gas can, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
President Trump and his family were not on the property during the incident, the Secret Service confirmed.
No agents or deputies were injured during the incident, and the FBI director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau is investigating the shooting.
&#8220;[The] FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning’s incident at President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago — where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter,&#8221; the director <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2025596613738000645">said</a> on X. &#8220;We will continue working closely with @SecretService as well our state and federal partners and will provide updates as we are able.&#8221;

Missing North Carolina Man Identified As Armed Intruder Shot Dead At Mar-A-Lago

Crime

Mar-a-Lago

Political Violence

Secret Service

Shooting

U.S.

The reward for information in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of &#8220;Today&#8221; show host Savannah Guthrie, has been significantly increased thanks to a Wisconsin attorney.
Michael Hupy, president of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, sent a $100,000 check through Crime Stoppers to 88-Crime in Tucson in hopes of generating new leads in the case.
88-Crime is Tucson&#8217;s Crime Stoppers chapter. Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit organization that offers rewards for anonymous tips that lead to arrests. The 88-Crime reward now stands at $102,500 thanks to the boost from Hupy and Milwaukee Crime Stoppers. The FBI is also offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie&#8217;s whereabouts or an arrest in the case.
Though Tucson is nearly 2,000 miles from Milwaukee, where Hupy is based, he felt compelled to help.
&#8220;This case stuck out to me because of the age of the person and the need for medical treatment,&#8221; Hupy told The Daily Wire. &#8220;We have an 84-year-old woman who was left without taking her pills. That&#8217;s not a good situation. I said I better do something.&#8221;
Hupy said time is critical, and with the search entering its third week, more tips are needed.
&#8220;I think if we had motivated someone at the beginning, we might have a solution,&#8221; Hupy said.
Unlike many reward programs, Crime Stoppers guarantees tipsters complete anonymity, even through the payout process.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fng-ep-13"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1039207 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-1024x243.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="243" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-1024x243.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-300x71.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-768x182.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-1536x365.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Guthriebannerfinal-2048x487.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
&#8220;When you call, we don&#8217;t take your phone number,&#8221; Hupy said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t take your name. We don&#8217;t take any information about you. We just take the information you give us. If that results in an arrest, you get a reward. We still don&#8217;t take your name.&#8221;
&#8220;You go to an undisclosed location, give them your number and your code number, and you get the reward,&#8221; Hupy added. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know of an instance where this has not worked, or anyone&#8217;s been betrayed by the system.&#8221;
Guthrie has been missing since February 1, when the grandmother was taken from her home. The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff&#8217;s Office are working to locate her and identify a person who was seen on her front stoop.
Hupy said tips submitted through Milwaukee Crime Stoppers have helped solve murder cases. As an organization, Crime Stoppers has helped solve more than 300,000 cases over its 50 years of operation.
Anyone with information about the Nancy Guthrie case can contact 88-Crime at 520-882-7463.
For live updates about the case, read the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-updates-search-continues-for-nancy-guthrie-as-deadline-for-ransom-note-passes?author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=LIVE+UPDATES%3A+Has+The+Nancy+Guthrie+Kidnapping+Gone+Cold%3F+Sheriff+Responds">blog</a> or listen to the latest episode of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-10x?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finding Nancy Guthrie</a>, a special Daily Wire true crime podcast.

Credit: Brandon Bell via Getty Images

High-Stakes Money Move Enters Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Mystery

Arizona

Nancy Guthrie

News

The latest release of FBI files reveals little evidence that Jeffrey Epstein ran a sex-trafficking ring, Vice President JD Vance becomes the highest-ranking American official to visit Armenia, and a Hong Kong court sentences pro-democracy CCP critic Jimmy Lai to prison.
It’s Tuesday, February 10, 2026, 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:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epstein-release-raises-eyebrows-vance-visits-armenia/id1576594336?i=1000749053832" 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;">FBI’s Epstein Files Findings</h2>
Analysis of newly released Epstein documents shows that the FBI found little evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was running a sex-trafficking ring for powerful individuals. According to an analysis of millions of documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the FBI found insufficient evidence that Epstein was operating a sex-trafficking ring involving other wealthy or influential people. While the files confirm that Epstein sexually abused underage girls, there was not enough evidence to prove that he supplied minors to other powerful men. These conclusions are based on media reports of released DOJ and FBI documents, such as internal memos, and the DOJ has not issued an independent statement confirming these findings. Some politicians and commentators say there are far too many redactions and not enough of the documents have been released. The DOJ says many documents could not be made public for several reasons, including victim privacy.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Vance’s Historic Armenia Trip</h2>
Vice President Vance became the first president or vice president in American history to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-new-beginning-jd-vance-signs-nuclear-deal-in-historic-visit-to-armenia?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98A+New+Beginning%E2%80%99%3A+JD+Vance+Signs+Nuclear+Deal+In+Historic+Visit+To+Armenia">travel</a> to Armenia this week. He met on Monday with Armenia’s Prime Minister, who signed a document reaffirming Armenia’s commitment to peace with Azerbaijan. The peace was negotiated six months ago by President Donald Trump after more than 30 years of conflict. The vice president also announced a deal for the United States to sell Armenia $11 million in drone technology, and that the two countries are working on a civil nuclear agreement. Stepan Sargsyan, a former Armenian governor who works closely with the prime minister, spoke to The Daily Wire about Armenia’s geopolitical importance: “The United States has a strategic interest into region because, both Armenia and Azerbaijan, being in the South Caucasus, represent an important corridor which serves as a bridge between East and West, be it for various oil and gas pipelines or trade between China and Europe.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Jimmy Lai Sentenced</h2>
In what’s being seen as a major blow to the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, British businessman Jimmy Lai was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hong-kong-court-sends-ccp-critic-pro-democracy-publisher-jimmy-lai-to-prison-for-20-years">sentenced</a> to 20 years in prison on Monday. Lai’s newspaper, Apple Daily, was widely seen as the last free press outlet in Hong Kong. Lai is now 78 years old, which means he could very likely spend the rest of his life in prison. His chances of escaping now lie with President Trump, according to Robert Sirico, a Catholic priest and longtime friend of Lai. Trump has previously pushed for Lai’s release, and he has another meeting scheduled with Xi Jinping, head of China&#8217;s ruling Communist Party, in April. That could be where a deal for Lai is negotiated. Sirico told The Daily Wire in December, after Lai was convicted, that Lai’s release should be a top priority, despite the complexity that bargaining over Lai’s life would cause in international relations. “We are being judged by this, the way we react to this man. This man needs to be a Solzhenitsyn. He needs to be a Mandela. He needs to be seen in that light,” said Sirico.

US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-EPSTEIN

Morning Brief: The FBI’s Epstein Findings, JD Vance In Armenia, & Jimmy Lai Sent To Prison

Armenia

Hong Kong

JD Vance

Jeffrey Epstein

Jimmy Lai

Morning Wire

Federal prosecutors filed new terrorism-related charges against Elias Rodriguez, the keffiyeh-wearing man accused of murdering Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim earlier this year.
The 13-count superseding <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/new-terrorism-related-charges-filed-against-alleged-killer-israeli-embassy-employees">indictment was unsealed</a> on Wednesday, showing that 31-year-old Rodriguez was charged with an additional four counts of committing acts of terrorism while armed, along with a federal aggravating factor alleging substantial planning and premeditation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Rodriguez’s previous charges included murder of a foreign official, causing death through the use of a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, two federal counts of hate crime resulting in death, and two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and assault with intent to kill while armed under the D.C. criminal code.
Some of the charges carry a possible sentence of death or life imprisonment.
“My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim, and our Jewish community,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “These additional terrorism-related charges carry a mandatory life sentence under D.C. Code, while also reflecting the reality that this act was in fact an act of terror.”
Lischinsky, 30, and Milgrim, 28, were allegedly shot and killed by Rodriguez outside of an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. He allegedly fired approximately 20 shots from a handgun and shouted “Free Palestine,” according to the indictment.
After the shooting, he entered the museum wearing a red keffiyeh, where attendees were still present, and said, “I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza.”
While being arrested, he shouted “shame on you” and “shame on Zio-nazi terror,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, Rodriguez wrote and published a manifesto “attempting to morally justify his actions and inspire others to commit political violence.”
Lischinsky was a German-Israeli dual citizen and a devout evangelical Christian. He immigrated to Israel at 16, served in the Israel Defense Forces, and began working as a political analyst at the embassy in 2022.
He was planning to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-family-react-to-murder-of-israeli-embassy-staffers-by-keffiyeh-wearing-terrorist">propose</a> to Milgrim, who grew up in the Kansas City suburbs and was a full-time employee at the embassy’s Department of Public Diplomacy.

TOPSHOT-US-ISRAEL-MUSEUM-SHOOTING

Suspect In Deadly Israeli Embassy Attack Hit With New Terrorism Charges

antisemitism

Courts

Murder

The man who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course during the 2024 presidential campaign may never step outside of a federal prison after Wednesday.
Ryan Routh, 59, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for plotting to shoot Trump while he golfed at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024. Routh was convicted in September 2025 of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate.
The Justice Department has requested that Routh be sentenced to life in prison.
“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence—he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major Presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims,” the department wrote in a January sentencing memo. “The Constitution affords citizens many peaceful avenues to oppose or express strong dissent about a Presidential candidate—murder is not one of them.”
The attempted assassination <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jury-convicts-man-attempted-assassination-president-donald-j-trump-and-assault-federal-law">took place</a> on September 15, 2024, after weeks of planning when Routh was spotted by Secret Service Special Agent Robert Fercano embedded in a hedge near the sixth hole of the golf course with a rifle. Fercano opened fire on Routh, who fled the scene, leaving behind an SKS-style rifle with scope, an extra magazine with 19 rounds of ammo, steel armor plates, and a camera.
<div id="attachment_1038387" style="width: 1583px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1038387" class="size-full wp-image-1038387" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM.png" alt="" width="1573" height="1050" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM.png 1573w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM-300x200.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM-863x576.png 863w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM-768x513.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-4.16.04-PM-1200x800.png 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1573px) 100vw, 1573px" />Justice Department.</div>
Routh fled the scene in a black Nissan Xterra before he was arrested by officers with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, heading north on Interstate-95. Inside the vehicle, officers found multiple cell phones and a list of flights out of the country. A search of cell phone records found that they had pinged near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home multiple times from August 18 to September 15, 2024. Investigators also <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25171975/routh-detention-memo.pdf">said</a> that one of the phones had searched how to drive from Palm Beach County to Mexico.
Another list contained dates and venues where Trump was set to appear and a notebook that contained ramblings about how to fight on behalf of Ukraine. Routh was also the apparent author of a book called “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, WWIII and the End of Humanity.”
Routh wrote in the book that he “must take part of the blame for the [person] that we elected for our next president that ended up being brainless, but I am man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake and Iran I apologize. You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal. No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection.”
According to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-would-be-assassin-tried-to-buy-a-rocket-propelled-grenade-from-ukraine-doj-filing?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Would-Be+Assassin+Tried+To+Buy+A+Rocket-Propelled+Grenade+From+Ukraine%3A+DOJ+Filing">another filing</a> from the Justice Department, Routh communicated with a person he believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military-grade weapons and requested a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), lamenting that then-presidential nominee Donald Trump &#8220;is not good for Ukraine.&#8221;
Over a year before the assassination attempt, Routh <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/world/europe/volunteers-us-ukraine-lies.html">was quoted</a> in The New York Times talking about recruiting foreigners to fight for Ukraine.
<div id="attachment_1038391" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1038391" class="size-full wp-image-1038391" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2171706745.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="654" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2171706745.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2171706745-300x192.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2171706745-902x576.jpg 902w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2171706745-768x491.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Routh detained in Florida: Photo by Martin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images.</div>
The FBI also <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25171975/routh-detention-memo.pdf">obtained</a> a letter from Routh that was delivered in a box to a civilian witness.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh wrote. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”
The letter also attacked Trump for ending “relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled.”
The would-be assassin was also convicted in September of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Routh had previous convictions in 2002 for possession of a weapon of mass destruction and in 2010 for multiple counts of possession of stolen goods.
As the verdict was delivered, Routh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attempted-trump-assassin-tries-to-stab-himself-in-neck-after-guilty-verdict">attempted</a> to stab himself in the neck with a pen, prompting law enforcement to restrain and shackle him. Routh has argued that his charges should not be enhanced with federal terrorism classifications. The Justice Department says he is a threat to American society.
“Routh is also a threat to the public collectively,” the Justice Department said in its sentencing memo. “He attempted to prevent the American people from exercising their right to elect the President of their choosing, by killing one of the two major candidates in the 2024 Presidential election. His conduct jeopardized the democratic process as well as multiple human lives.”
Cannon, the judge who will sentence Routh, was appointed by Trump. She previously dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, saying that special counsel Jack Smith was appointed unconstitutionally to oversee the case.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-TRUMP-GUN-SUSPECT

Attempted Trump Assassin Ryan Routh To Be Sentenced. Here’s What You Need To Know.

assassination attempt

Florida

President Donald Trump suggested that Republicans may have to &#8220;nationalize the voting&#8221; in a Monday interview, predicting that &#8220;interesting&#8221; details would come out of the FBI&#8217;s probe of a Fulton County, Georgia, election office last week.
Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2018378177387577835">told</a> conservative podcaster and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino that Republicans &#8220;should take over the voting in at least 15 places,&#8221; citing his belief that it&#8217;s the only way to secure elections.
“The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump told Bongino.
&#8220;We have states that are so crooked and they&#8217;re counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didn&#8217;t win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now, you&#8217;re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get the ballots with the court order. You will see some interesting things come out. But like the 2020 election. I won that election by so much. Everybody knows it.&#8221;
Last Wednesday, the FBI raided a Georgia election office and took 700 boxes of election materials. The raid was reportedly related to a federal probe into allegations of interference in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to former President Joe Biden. Trump has argued that the 2020 election results from Georgia were rigged against him. Trump lost to Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes in Georgia in 2020.
Fulton County officials are questioning the legality of the FBI&#8217;s search and said the county would sue and attempt to &#8220;force the government to return the ballots taken.&#8221;
When asked about Trump&#8217;s comments to Bongino, a White House official told The Daily Wire on Tuesday morning that Trump doesn&#8217;t believe states taking election security seriously. The official <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id">highlighted</a> more than a dozen states, including California, New York, and Illinois, that do not require photo ID to vote, and accused many states of refusing to comply with federal law on sharing voter-roll information.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Wire: &#8220;President Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections – that’s why he’s urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting.&#8221;
The SAVE Act, which passed the House last year, would require voters to provide ID and proof of citizenship before casting their ballots in an attempt to prevent illegal immigrants and noncitizens from voting. It has stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Trump also told Bongino that Republicans must deport the millions of illegal immigrants who were allowed to flood the country under Biden, or the party &#8220;will never win another election.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s crazy how you can get these [illegal immigrants] to vote,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And if we don&#8217;t get them out, Republicans will never win another election. Think of it, I won in a landslide. I won every swing state. I won the popular vote by millions. I won everything.&#8221;
&#8220;But you&#8217;re never going to have that again if you don&#8217;t get these people out. These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And it&#8217;s amazing that the Republicans aren&#8217;t tougher on it.&#8221;
Trump has also recently claimed that he won Minnesota in each of the past three elections as his administration focuses on the state&#8217;s fraud and immigration issues. Trump&#8217;s Democratic opponent carried the state in the past three presidential races.
“They’re crooked officials,” he said of Minnesota leaders. “I feel that I won Minnesota. I think I won it all three times &#8230; and I didn’t get credit for it.&#8221;

Trump Predicts FBI Georgia Raid Will Expose ‘Interesting Things,’ Calls To ‘Nationalize The Voting’

Trump Demands 'Nationalize The Vote,' Says FBI Georgia Raid Will Expose ‘Interesting Things’

Elections

Georgia

Republicans

A man posing as an FBI agent walked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night in an attempt to spring suspected assassin Luigi Mangione from jail, according to a criminal complaint.
The suspect, 36-year-old Mark Anderson of Minnesota, was charged on Thursday with impersonating a federal agent. Anderson allegedly illegally approached the jail&#8217;s intake area and told authorities at the jail that he had an order “signed by a judge” to free an inmate. While the criminal complaint does not specify who Anderson was allegedly attempting to free, law enforcement sources told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-allegedly-break-luigi-mangione-jail-impersonating-fbi/story?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dhfacebook&amp;utm_content=app.dashsocial.com/abcnews/library/media/635358670&amp;id=129679620">ABC News</a> and the<a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/29/us-news/lunatic-luigi-mangione-fan-posed-as-fbi-agent-in-botched-bid-to-break-accused-ceo-killer-out-of-nyc-jail-feds/"> New York Post</a> that it was Mangione.
Anderson told officials that he had weapons in his bag, and when officials searched the bag, they found a pizza cutter and a barbecue fork, according to the criminal complaint. When asked to provide his credentials, Anderson handed officials his Minnesota driver&#8217;s license, the complaint stated. Anderson reportedly moved to New York City recently and was working at a pizza parlor. The Minnesota man was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.
<div id="attachment_1035785" style="width: 701px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1035785" class="wp-image-1035785 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Untitled-design-2026-01-29T172313.983-691x576.jpg" alt="" width="691" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Untitled-design-2026-01-29T172313.983-691x576.jpg 691w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Untitled-design-2026-01-29T172313.983-300x250.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Untitled-design-2026-01-29T172313.983-768x640.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Untitled-design-2026-01-29T172313.983.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px" />U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York</div>
Mangione is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center as his trial unfolds. The 27-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate is charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down on a New York City street on December 4, 2024.
Mangione has been charged at the state and federal levels, with his federal murder charge opening up the door to the death penalty if he is convicted. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal murder charges. The suspected assassin has attracted fans, who have called for him to be released. Some of Mangione&#8217;s supporters have used the murder of Thompson to condemn the U.S. health care system and to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/luigi-mangione-protesters-call-death-elon-musk-other-corrupt-healthcare-ceos.print">call</a> for other health care executives to be killed.
The Mangione fans, some of them wearing costumes of Luigi from Super Mario, have flocked together outside of the courthouse in New York City when the suspected killer was due in court. Mangione is due back in court for his federal case on Friday as the judge considers whether the death penalty can remain on the table.
The accused killer&#8217;s attorney&#8217;s wants the judge to prevent the prosecution from using items found in Mangione&#8217;s backpack when he was arrested as evidence. The lawyers argue that Altoona, Pennsylvania, police illegally searched Mangione&#8217;s backpack when they arrested him. Among the items found in Mangione&#8217;s backpack were a gun, a loaded magazine, and a notebook that allegedly described Mangione&#8217;s plan to &#8220;whack&#8221; the health care CEO &#8220;at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.&#8221;
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said last week that Mangione&#8217;s federal trial will start on September 8.

Luigi Mangione

Man Armed With BBQ Fork And Pizza Cutter Posed As FBI Agent To Spring Luigi Mangione From Jail

Jail

New York

The FBI executed a search warrant at an election office in Fulton County, Georgia — just outside of Atlanta — on Wednesday. The raid was related to a federal government probe into allegations of interference in the 2020 election that President Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-executing-search-warrant-election-office-georgia-related-2020-vote-fox-news-2026-01-28/">reported</a>.
FBI agents searched the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Fairburn, where they were looking to take custody of Fulton County election ballots from 2020, Fox 5 Atlanta <a href="https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fbi-executes-court-authorized-action-fulton-election-facility">reported</a>. The Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center was opened in 2023 and is used to modernize election operations. The FBI said the search warrant was signed by a magistrate judge, but did not confirm what the warrant was for, according to Fox 5.
&#8220;The FBI is conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. No other information is available at this time,&#8221; the FBI told The Daily Wire when reached for comment.
Since losing the 2020 election to Biden, Trump has claimed that Fulton County had major issues with counting ballots, such as counting ballots twice. Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Georgia in 2020, partly thanks to his wide margin of victory in Fulton County. Last month, Fulton County admitted it violated election procedures during the 2020 election, saying that more than 130 tabulator tapes used for around 315,000 early in-person votes were not signed, and 10 more tapes were reported missing.
Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, however, said that missing signatures do not mean that the votes should be invalidated. Raffensperger assured the public that Georgia&#8217;s voter ID laws were still followed and that the results had been audited.
&#8220;Georgia has the most secure elections in the country and all voters were verified with photo ID and lawfully cast their ballots,&#8221; Raffensperger <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GASecretaryofState/posts/georgia-has-the-most-secure-elections-in-the-country-and-all-voters-were-verifie/1184444390539256/">said</a>. &#8220;A clerical error at the end of the day does not erase valid, legal votes.&#8221;
Last month, the Justice Department sued the clerk of Fulton County superior and magistrate courts in an attempt to obtain documents from the 2020 election. The Justice Department said that it was seeking to ascertain &#8220;Georgia&#8217;s compliance with various federal election laws.&#8221; The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1420721/dl">argues</a> that the clerk&#8217;s refusal to hand over the documents violates the Civil Rights Act.
Fulton County was also the center of the election case against Trump that alleged the president attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump was indicted on racketeering charges in Fulton County in 2023 following an investigation by Democratic District Attorney Fani Willis. The case against Trump, however, was dismissed after it was revealed that Willis had a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Trump was also indicted on election-related charges in a federal case led by former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who investigated Trump while Biden was in office. Smith recently defended his effort to go after Trump during a congressional testimony last week and said that Georgia was &#8220;ground zero&#8221; for Trump&#8217;s efforts to allegedly overturn the 2020 election. Smith argued that Trump pushed &#8220;knowingly false claims of fraud&#8221; to keep claims of a stolen election alive.
Smith filed a motion to dismiss the case against Trump after he won the 2024 election.

FBI Bulletproof Jacket

FBI Raids Fulton County Office As Part Of 2020 Election Interference Probe

fulton county

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug trafficker Ryan Wedding has been arrested.
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised President Trump’s “law and order leadership” for helping to make the arrest possible. 
“At my direction, Department of Justice agents @FBI have apprehended yet another member of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List: Ryan Wedding, the onetime Olympian snowboarder-turned alleged violent cocaine kingpin,” Bondi wrote in an X post. “Wedding was flown to the United States where he will face justice. This is a direct result of President Trump’s law-and-order leadership. Under @POTUS, criminals have no safe harbor.”
The AG went on to thank FBI director Kash Patel, Ambassador Ron Johnson, and Mexican authorities for their assistance to capture one of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” fugitives.
Patel also posted about Wedding’s capture, adding in some details about the former Olympian’s alleged crimes. 
“Wedding is believed to have been hiding in Mexico for over a decade &#8211; and has been wanted on charges for cocaine trafficking and murder since 2024,” Patel wrote.
“He was allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation that routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California to the United States and Canada &#8211; as a member of the Sinaloa Cartel.”
The FBI director also praised President Trump’s leadership and strong law and order stance. “This is the SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive this FBI has captured within a year &#8211; fugitives who had been on the run for almost 40 years combined. That’s no accident. President Trump is letting good cops be cops and the results speak for themselves,” he wrote on X. 
“This is a huge day for a safer North America, and the world, and a message that those who break our laws and harm our citizens will be brought to justice.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and commitment to global law enforcement &#8211; as of this morning, the DOJ/FBI officially apprehended our SIXTH Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive within the last year. Thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AGPamBondi</a> for her relentless pursuit of justice, the US Attorney’s… <a href="https://t.co/fnSP4IXQRI">pic.twitter.com/fnSP4IXQRI</a>
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2014727053224841464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Wedding, who competed at the 2002 Olympics, was arrested in 2008 and accused of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine after being part of a sting operation, per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/us/former-olympic-snowboarder-fbi-fugitive-ryan-wedding-arrested">CNN</a>. His case went to trial, and he was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison.
The latest indictment says that Wedding’s latest drug crimes began in 2011, after he was released from jail. Along with drug trafficking, Wedding is accused of murdering multiple people over drug feuds.

Ryan Wedding

‘Violent Cocaine Kingpin’: FBI Arrests Former Olympic Snowboarder After Years On The Lam

Former Olympic Snowboarder, One Of FBI Most Wanted, Arrested For Drug Crimes

drug trafficking

Olympics

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FBI