A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden cut an illegal immigrant murder suspect loose, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Bryan Rafael Gomez is wanted in his home country of the Dominican Republic for murder, DHS said Thursday. Despite having an active warrant, U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose ordered Gomez&#8217;s release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention on Tuesday.
“This is yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities,&#8221; Acting Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
&#8220;Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,&#8221; Bis said.
Gomez crossed the border illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, in 2022, DHS said. Border Patrol agents apprehended him at the time and subsequently released him into the country.
The Coordination of the Courts of Instruction of the National District of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, issued a criminal arrest warrant for Gomez for homicide on Jan. 24, 2023, according to DHS.
Officers with the Worcester Police Department arrested Gomez on April 4, 2026, for assault and battery, according to DHS. Local authorities honored an ICE detainer, handing Gomez over to federal immigration agents after he was released on $500 bail.
Gomez had filed a habeas petition, which is a legal challenge to his detention, and DuBose allowed for his release on &#8220;minimal release conditions,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2050200540835897432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Fox News.
Since President Donald Trump commenced his mass deportation campaign, illegal immigrants have found that habeas petitions are the best tool for getting released from ICE custody.
Immigrant detainees have filed more than 18,000 habeas petitions challenging their detention in federal courts since Trump&#8217;s second term began, ProPublica <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/habeas-petitions-immigrant-detentions-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in February. It’s more than the number of detention challenges filed over the last three administrations combined.
Scott Mechkowski, former ICE deputy field office director in New York, told The Daily Wire that Gomez&#8217;s case &#8220;isn&#8217;t an isolated incident,&#8221; adding that &#8220;hundreds of individuals with similar backgrounds (foreign fugitives) are arrested by ICE every year, only to be let go or stuck in a cycle of release and re-arrest.&#8221;
&#8220;During my time serving in ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations], we worked behind the scenes to remove thousands of threats like Gomez from our communities, all without seeking to draw attention to ourselves. These silent professionals put everything on the line to keep the public safe, but their efforts are undermined by rogue judges who prioritize activism over justice.&#8221;
&#8220;The result is a reckless endangerment of American lives, and it&#8217;s a problem that needs to be addressed urgently. The fact that judges are willing to release killers back into our communities is a betrayal of the trust we&#8217;ve placed in them to protect us.&#8221;
The habeas petitions move detainees’ cases out of the immigration court system and into the district courts, where judges are often much more favorable to the illegal immigrant, experts previously told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/illegal-immigrants-found-a-new-way-to-get-released-from-ice-detention">The Daily Wire</a>.
Immigration lawyers often resort to filing habeas petitions after it becomes clear their clients either have no chance of getting bond from immigration judges or have been denied bond already.

Untitled design – 2026-05-01T094803.095

Biden-Appointed Judge Lets Illegal Immigrant Wanted For Murder Walk Free

Crime

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Joe Biden

U.S.

WASHINGTON — Justice Department prosecutors in the Biden administration discussed their desire to target Catholic nuns, text messages shared with The Daily Wire show.
Communications obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) show <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/trump-trial-special-counsel-jack-smith-prosecutors-team-20d57b78" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joseph Cooney and Molly Gaston</a> texting one another in February 2021 as they scoured media coverage of January 6. The texts specifically reference a New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/29/us/oath-keepers-capitol-riot.html#:~:text=Donovan%20Crowl%20and%20Jessica%20Watkins,Watkins%20close%20by." target="_blank" rel="noopener">photo of religious sisters</a> who attended the &#8220;Stop the Steal&#8221; rally, wearing traditional habits and veils, as well as big Trump scarves around their necks.
&#8220;I would like to take a special assignment of finding and prosecuting them,&#8221; Gaston wrote to Cooney.
&#8220;I&#8217;m with you,&#8221; responded Cooney. &#8220;Although I&#8217;d like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit.&#8221;
&#8220;Hahaha,&#8221; his fellow DOJ prosecutor responded.
The Justice Department provided the communications to Grassley as part of his investigation into Arctic Frost, an FBI investigation into Republicans and conservatives. Both Cooney and Gaston went on to serve as top deputies to Special Counsel Jack Smith throughout his Arctic Frost investigation. They now head &#8220;Gaston &amp; Cooney PLLC,&#8221; and Cooney is running for Congress in Virginia.
Grassley, who previously released messages showing that Cooney and other DOJ prosecutors sought to find ways to target Trump with criminal charges over January 6, told The Daily Wire that he found the messages appalling.
“Freedom of religion is a cherished First Amendment right enshrined in our Constitution by the Founding Fathers,&#8221; the senator said. &#8220;I was appalled, but sadly not surprised, to discover evidence of Biden DOJ prosecutors threatening to use the power of the federal justice system to target people of faith.&#8221;
&#8220;Time and again, my oversight has shown the Biden Justice Department, including these prosecutors who went on to advance Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation, showed total disdain for equal justice,&#8221; he added.
Cooney, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is now running as a Democrat for a congressional seat in Virginia — specifically Virginia&#8217;s 7th congressional district, which is part of the Diocese of Arlington, one of the most traditional Catholic dioceses in the United States serving over 430,000 Catholics in the Northern Virginia area.
He&#8217;s running on an overtly anti-Trump platform, telling CNN last week: &#8220;Donald Trump needs to be impeached. I’m running for Congress to do it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Donald Trump needs to be impeached.
I’m running for Congress to do it. <a href="https://t.co/aYTwrNwKm8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pic.twitter.com/aYTwrNwKm8</a>
— J.P. Cooney (@cooneycongress) <a href="https://twitter.com/cooneycongress/status/2047876577883509038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Cooney also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/explosive-report-reveals-the-biden-administrations-disdain-for-religious-pro-life-activists?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Explosive+Report+Reveals+The+Biden+Administration%E2%80%99s+Disdain+For+Religious+Pro-Life+Activists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disparaged the report</a> the DOJ put out this month on the weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, defending the Justice Department&#8217;s actions after it was exposed that the Biden DOJ used FACE to prosecute and imprison pro-life protesters while providing &#8220;extensive support to abortion clinics” and ignoring and downplaying &#8220;vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship.”
The report also found that the Biden DOJ was in constant contact with pro-abortion groups to track the travel plans of Christian pro-life activists who had not been charged with any crimes.
Cooney, however, said he is proud of his team&#8217;s work on these cases.
&#8220;The Trump DOJ&#8217;s report on the FACE Act is false,&#8221; Cooney said in a post on social media. &#8220;I am proud of my team&#8217;s work prosecuting people who conspired to barricade a reproductive health clinic, shoved staff, and forced a woman seeking treatment to climb through a reception window. That&#8217;s not First Amendment activity — that&#8217;s a crime.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Trump DOJ&#8217;s report on the FACE Act is false. I am proud of my team&#8217;s work prosecuting people who conspired to barricade a reproductive health clinic, shoved staff, and forced a woman seeking treatment to climb through a reception window. That&#8217;s not First Amendment…
— J.P. Cooney (@cooneycongress) <a href="https://twitter.com/cooneycongress/status/2044132489543991782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
In other messages reviewed by The Daily Wire, Cooney and Gaston discussed COVID-19 restrictions on Catholic masses. Gaston complained that it was &#8220;insane&#8221; for Catholics to be upset that then-President Joe Biden was receiving Holy Communion at Holy Trinity in Georgetown.
&#8220;People are insane,&#8221; she told Cooney.
&#8220;It&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; he responded, before asking her if she was going to mass in person. When Gaston replied that no, she wasn&#8217;t going to mass, and she wasn&#8217;t even watching mass via a live stream, Cooney shared that someone he knew (their name was redacted) was going to &#8220;daily mass since the summer, thankfully without a problem.&#8221;
&#8220;They really shouldn&#8217;t be doing that,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;Wow,&#8221; responded Gaston. &#8220;Good for them, except not.&#8221;
The New York Post&#8217;s Miranda Devine reported last summer that Cooney and other prosecutors showed &#8220;nitpicking malice&#8221; that &#8220;tainted special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.&#8221;
“Can we do some work to nail down Trump’s role in this,” Cooney wrote to his colleagues at the DOJ in a March 8, 2023, email with the subject line: “J6 Prisoner Choir/DJT.”
Cooney attached an article from Forbes that was headlined “Trump Collaborates On Song With Jan. 6 Defendants,&#8221; writing that Trump recorded the January 6 prisoner choir singing the &#8220;Pledge of Allegiance&#8221; at Mar-a-Lago.
&#8220;Proceeds are intended for families of incarcerated J6 defendants — but there is apparently a vetting process that excludes families of defendants who assaulted police officers,&#8221; Cooney wrote, according to the New York Post, adding that he would talk to colleagues about &#8220;doing some follow up here to nail down Trump’s role.”

Untitled design – 2026-04-29T134642.653

EXCLUSIVE: Biden DOJ Lawyers Fantasized About Prosecuting Catholic Nuns, Emails Show

Chuck Grassley

Biden administration officials may have broken the law by concealing small business loans to Planned Parenthood, a senator said Monday.
Small Business Administration officials disbursed and forgave loans to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates even after the agency determined that the group is not a small business that would be eligible. Top officials, including Biden SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, concealed their maneuvering on the topic by substituting the words Planned Parenthood with &#8220;Benghazi&#8221; in emails, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who chairs the committee that oversees the agency, revealed Monday.
&#8220;We now know that after the SBA Biden officials met, planned and strategized (over &#8216;Benghazi&#8217;), keeping the White House involved, approximately $90 million in Planned Parenthood SBA PPP loans and interest on the loans were forgiven by the Biden administration,&#8221; she said.
Ernst asked the Department of Justice to investigate the officials under a statute that says anyone who attempts to conceal a federal record can be imprisoned for up to three years, according to a letter first obtained by The Daily Wire.
In the early days of the 2020 pandemic, the first Trump administration&#8217;s Small Business Administration sent more than $80 million in COVID loans reserved for small businesses to Planned Parenthood and 38 affiliates after they &#8220;self-certified&#8221; as eligible.
More than 90 Republican members of Congress wrote to the agency, noting that &#8220;under the rules of the CARES ACT, a nonprofit that exceeds 500 employees, as Planned Parenthood did, was not a small business and should be deemed &#8216;disqualified from PPP loans.'&#8221; Under SBA rules, entities that are &#8220;affiliated&#8221; with a larger entity aren&#8217;t small businesses.
The next month, SBA sent letters to Planned Parenthood affiliates &#8220;informing them they were ineligible for SBA loans&#8221; and asking for &#8220;potential repayment.&#8221;
By the time Joe Biden entered the White House in February 2021, SBA still hadn&#8217;t gotten the money back, and Planned Parenthood affiliates later received a second round of payments, Ernst said.
In April 2021, Republicans demanded to know &#8220;the steps the agency took once Planned Parenthood affiliates were deemed ineligible for SBA loans,&#8221; she wrote.
That month, the SBA&#8217;s top lawyer, Peggy Hamilton, convened top honchos with an email subject line &#8220;Benghazi (PPP/PPH) Decisions.&#8221; The context suggested that Benghazi was a code word for Planned Parenthood.
The email tasked staff with &#8220;reviewing loans to non profit PPP applicants to decision whether affiliation bars eligibility&#8230; WH has been engaged. Need to inform WH as decisions are made.&#8221;
In a direct message, Hamilton reminded a colleague of the code, writing, &#8220;Can I schedule a meeting so we can decision Benghazi (Planned Parenthood)?&#8221;
&#8220;Yes, let&#8217;s talk Benghazi,&#8221; came the reply.
&#8220;It strains credulity to think SBA&#8217;s General Counsel Peggy Hamilton was doing anything other than hiding her Planned Parenthood records from Congressional and public scrutiny and oversight,&#8221; Ernst wrote. &#8220;That&#8217;s not something she is allowed to do under federal law, and, as a lawyer for almost three decades, she knew that.&#8221;
As Republicans continued to press the agency to discuss the Planned Parenthood issue and &#8220;the agency&#8217;s overall responsiveness&#8221; to Congress, officials kept using the coded email, Ernst said. The officials included Arthur Plews, who later became the agency&#8217;s chief of staff.
At a hearing in May 2021, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) pressed SBA Administration Guzman about $17 million in funding that went to Planned Parenthood affiliates after the agency said they weren&#8217;t eligible, saying, &#8220;You believe you are above the law &#8230; It looks like you are specifically hiding this information from us.&#8221;
Two days later, SBA officials used the Benghazi email chain to say they would &#8220;like to set up a meeting to discuss forgiveness.&#8221;
In June 2021, Administration Guzman herself set up a Microsoft Teams meeting called &#8220;Benghazi (PPP/PPH) Decisions,&#8221; records show.
Ernst noted, &#8220;If someone tried to search for government records related to Planned Parenthood&#8217;s loans and loan forgiveness &#8230; this meeting would not have appeared, as again it was concealed as Benghazi.&#8221;
&#8220;PPH&#8221; is not an acronym used for the abortion provider, which is sometimes initialized PPFA, for Planned Parenthood for America, she said.
&#8220;If other SBA Biden officials are complicit in conspiring with SBA&#8217;s General Counsel Peggy Hamilton and Administration Guzman to conceal or attempt to conceal federal records and evade public records retention laws, that is in clear violation of 18 U.S.C. S2017 and deserves investigation for potential Federal Records Act violations,&#8221; Ernst said.
Given the email&#8217;s note that &#8220;need to inform WH as decisions are made,&#8221; those conspirators could currently work in the White House, Ernst said.

President Biden Delivers Remarks At DNC Event In Washington, DC

Biden Officials Used Codeword To Hide Loans To Major Abortion Provider

Abortion

Joni Ernst

Planned Parenthood

Small Business Administration

The following excerpt is taken from the new book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1">End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers,</a>” by Gord Magill. (Creed &amp; Culture Books, 2026)
* * *
On Saturday, January 29, 2022, thousands of trucks and other vehicles from across the country entered the city of Ottawa. I was there to welcome the Western Canada convoy with a group of friends on an overpass above Highway 417, about half an hour west of the city. The truckers were animated by righteous frustration, yet I saw thousands of people full of love for one another, smiles, outbursts of hugs, and national flags attached to hockey sticks. There was even a sense of relief: it was as if a nation exhaled and exulted, “Finally, the cavalry is here to save us from our captors.” There are no words to adequately describe the feeling of everyone I interacted with on that overpass and also later when we went into Ottawa to join the party on Wellington Street.
<div id="attachment_1079819" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079819" class="size-large wp-image-1079819" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-864x576.jpg" alt="Demonstrators gather as rows of trucks sit parked on Wellington Street during a protest near Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. A convoy of truckers and others who oppose vaccine mandates began rolling into Ottawa on Friday, putting Canada's capital city on edge amid warnings from police that they dont know how large the protests will get. Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238067992.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
People outside Canada could tell that the cause of the Freedom Convoy was just. When I went back to America after that weekend in Ottawa, as the Convoy settled in for what would be a three-week-long winter encampment, I was amazed to find my American neighbors cheering us on in solidarity. I delivered propane and hauled logs in the weeks after I came home, and I had never seen so many Canadian flags flying in the United States. It was unbelievable.
People I met while working or otherwise traveling, upon finding out that I was a native Canadian and a trucker, would exclaim, “Good for you guys; someone had to stand up to this nonsense,” or “Man, I thought Canadians were p*ssies, but those truckers have made me change my mind about you guys.” At the time, I had been living in America for six years, and almost no one had ever said anything about where I was from. For a hot minute, I was a minor celebrity simply for being from Canada.
<div id="attachment_1079895" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079895" class="size-large wp-image-1079895" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-768x576.jpg" alt="Gord Magill at Freedom Convoy." width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />Gord Magill at Freedom Convoy.</div>
Up north, however, things were not looking good for my colleagues in the protracted standoff between the truckers and a government whose officials refused to speak with them. In total, thirteen Convoys had arrived in Ottawa, and numerous protests were held at other sites across the country, most famously at Coutts, Alberta, and on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the Canadian city of Windsor with Detroit and is the busiest of all border crossings between Canada and the U.S. Although everything was more or less peaceful—despite the outright lies and fabrications of the Canadian media about the truckers’ behavior in Ottawa—the two border-protest sites gained the attention of very powerful people outside Canada whose interests were not at risk from the hockey games, bouncy castles, and techno parties taking place in the streets of Ottawa.
<div id="attachment_1079473" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079473" class="size-large wp-image-1079473" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-384x576.jpeg" alt="Cover credit: Creed &amp; Culture" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-384x576.jpeg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-200x300.jpeg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/End-of-the-Road-Jacket-Cover.jpeg 1000w" sizes=" (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" /></a>Cover credit: Creed &amp; Culture</div>
In Coutts, Tony Olienick had found an atmosphere similar to that which presided in Ottawa. People were peacefully assembling and saying no to the mandates that were ruining their lives. He met and spoke with Americans who had come to the Sweetgrass, Montana, side of the border and to bask in solidarity and common cause with the protesting truckers. Tony also volunteered as a sort of security detail for the protest site. It should be noted that although the government and media were claiming that the protesters had shut down the border, the crossing itself remained open for all but three days during the three weeks of the Coutts protest. Other, nearby border crossings remained open the whole time and were available for trucks to use, although with more limited hours than the normal 24/7 customs services available at Coutts. 
<div id="attachment_1079903" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079903" class="size-large wp-image-1079903" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-1024x576.jpg" alt="Gord Magill personal archive" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Gord-convoy-II.jpg 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Gord Magill personal archive</div>
The perception that Coutts was closed, along with the growing protest at the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario, which forced most truck traffic to cross at the Bluewater Bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron, was useful for those who were antagonistic to the aims of the Convoy. Wild and unsubstantiated claims about the cost to the economy were thrown around, mostly based on guesstimates made by business associations. Were there delays at those other crossings from diverted traffic? Obviously, and they were sometimes substantial. Did the protests cause delays in shipments and disruptions to the fragile nature of just-in-time delivery schedules for automakers? Of course. Yet not one of those who complained about the supposed costs of the Convoy ever compared these guesstimated costs to the costs to the entire world from the madness of the COVID regime, which lasted the better part of three years, not three weeks, and was solely the responsibility of government, not of citizens who wanted their lives back.
<div id="attachment_1079811" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079811" class="size-large wp-image-1079811" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-864x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - Supporters of the Truckers Convoy against the Covid-19 vaccine mandate block traffic in the Canada bound lanes of the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, in Windsor, Ontario on February 8, 2022. - The protestors have blocked traffic in the Canada bound lanes since Monday evening. Approximately $323 million worth of goods cross the Windsor-Detroit border each day at the Ambassador Bridge making it North Americas busiest international border crossing. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP) (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238303996.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images</div>
The whining of the automotive industry, one of the most powerful corporate interest groups in America, got the attention of the Biden Administration. Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, got the ear of Trudeau’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who set up a call between Trudeau and Biden on February 11, 2022. It is believed that this phone call set the wheels in motion for the ultimate crackdown on the Convoy.
Biden’s White House put out a statement about the call with Trudeau, and it is worth a read:
<blockquote>Today President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to discuss the ongoing blockade of key bridges and crossings between the United States and Canada, including Detroit/Windsor, Sweetwater/Coutts, and Pembina/Emerson. The two leaders agreed that the actions of the individuals who are obstructing travel and commerce between our two countries are having significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives and livelihoods. The President expressed his concern that U.S. companies and workers are experiencing serious effects, including slowdowns in production, shortened work hours, and plant closures. The Prime Minister promised quick action in enforcing the law, and the President thanked him for the steps he and other Canadian authorities are taking to restore the open passage of bridges to the United States. (Bold mine)</blockquote>
Significant direct impacts on citizens’ lives and livelihoods. Oh, like the long nightmare of the COVID regime?
The Coutts border crossing was only ever fully closed for three days, and two other border crossings were available to use. There are no automotive plants in that part of the prairie on either side of the border, and the only road closure that took place anywhere near Coutts was of Alberta Provincial Highway 4 at Milk River, a few miles north of Coutts; it was closed by the RCMP, not the protesters. In any case, the protest at Coutts was about to become the centerpiece of Trudeau’s rationale for the invocation of the Emergencies Act, whose outrageous violations of basic liberties included throwing an innocent trucker in jail, where he remains three-and-a-half years later at the time of this writing.
<div id="attachment_1079823" style="width: 886px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1079823" class="size-large wp-image-1079823" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-876x576.jpg" alt="A line of police push protesters back on February 19, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. - Police in Canada deployed to dislodge the final truckers and protesters from downtown Ottawa, aimed at bringing an end to three weeks of demonstrations over Covid-19 health rules. Ottawa police, who pledged the operation would push ahead &quot;until residents and citizens have their city back,&quot; were still working to clear the capital's streets. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP) (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)" width="876" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-876x576.jpg 876w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-300x197.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687-768x505.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/GettyImages-1238618687.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px" />DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images</div>
By this time, the Freedom Convoy protest sites were crawling with undercover officers, or UCOs, who poked around looking for any hint of illegal activity or actionable intelligence that could be used against the protesters. Meanwhile, the federal government was waging a media smear campaign later found to have been planned by the staff of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. This campaign failed to dent the widespread support the Convoy had in Canada and around the world: almost everyone except the most hopelessly naïve saw right through a staged Nazi flag photo and the usual tiresome accusations of white nationalism and racism. Anyone who went to a Freedom Convoy site to avail themselves of reality unmediated by state propaganda was surrounded by solidarity, happiness, and a genuine outpouring of love. Trudeau was losing the PR battle. He needed scapegoats. He searched for a pretext for invoking the Emergencies Act, something he had been considering since the early days of the protest but couldn’t pull off because those damn truckers were so well behaved. Allegations from UCOs at Coutts would give Trudeau everything he needed.
* * *
Originally hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Gord Magill has spent most of his life behind the wheel. From spinning along the ice roads of Canada’s Northwest Territories, to hauling logs down volcanos in New Zealand, to steering Road Trains across the outback of Western Australia, to running freight along the interstates of America, Gord has spent over twenty-five years trucking all over the world. His writing about the industry has appeared in Newsweek, the American Conservative, and American Affairs, among other outlets. Magill lives in Ithaca, New York.
The excerpt from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/End-Road-Inside-War-Truckers/dp/1967613028/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1UP8KDOSWY3ES&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QbLM4aRWWFaQiN9zyl11ZY2PbjV1hUeagK4cN_PVCCd3mXA_rXwetJvwK97ol4vt73RgMO-QWLZpNXWzgUZEvDVXcEIzJqyWNXFaP-izNdKFUTEistDHjnCfiXC6DAWJDN1QCVneawl8UCxe4awRI-r2RW0h52NG9rPsKvZTrCZ4m1UUaEEYUoG_y-kNjEekn6f7Zr1u29uF8C1T0oSVEkfFaOm658FFCzE4_zDOgUk.870LMXCqRYp6NNb2NIi8x2PTYsuyEBaOoPXE7ssEBno&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=end+of+the+road+gord&amp;qid=1776374636&amp;sprefix=end+of+the+road+gord+%2Caps%2C273&amp;sr=8-1">End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers</a>” by Gord Magill is published by permission of Creed &amp; Culture Books. Copyright 2026 Gord Magill. Chapter 13: The Truckers Strike Back.

TOPSHOT-CANADA-HEALTH-VIRUS-PROTEST

I Was There For The Freedom Convoy — And The Crackdown That Followed

End Of The Road: Inside The War On Truckers

Books

Canada

COVID

Justin Trudeau

Trucker Convoy

Truckers

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday that the Biden administration knew the man suspected of murdering a DHS employee had a checkered criminal history, but granted him citizenship anyway.
Mullin said that 26-year-old Olaolukitan Adon Abel had an established criminal pattern before he was granted citizenship in 2022 by the Biden administration. Abel was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-employee-murdered-while-walking-dog-as-biden-era-naturalized-suspect-emerges?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DHS+Employee+Murdered+While+Walking+Dog+As+Biden-Era+Naturalized+Suspect+Emerges">arrested</a> earlier this week for murdering 40-year-old DHS employee Lauren Bullis in DeKalb County, Georgia, while she was out walking her dog.
“This individual not just had a pattern of criminal activity, but his pattern was every April. Every April, he had escalated his criminal activity, and the Biden administration knew this, law enforcement knew this, and they decided not to just deport him, but they allowed him to become a citizen, and then he escalated it to the point he did now,” Mullin said during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Lauren Bullis, a DHS employee, was shot and stabbed while she was walking her dog by a citizen naturalized by the Biden administration.
This horrific incident is a devastating loss for the entire DHS community.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecMullinDHS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecMullinDHS</a> <a href="https://t.co/3QyPIbffEG">pic.twitter.com/3QyPIbffEG</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2044565998028656938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Abel was arrested on Monday after police said that he went on a random killing spree that left Bullis and another woman dead, and a homeless man seriously injured. Bullis was shot and stabbed while out walking her dog Monday morning.
Born in the United Kingdom, Abel has an extensive criminal history including convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism.
Mullin said it did not appear to be a targeted killing, but said there must have been some connection to the month of April.
“So the question is, why April? There must have been something in his life that was triggering April, that he was acting out, but there was a direct pattern to it,” he said.
Bullis worked in the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security as an auditor.
“In every role she held, Lauren exemplified dedication to the OIG mission. Lauren approached her work with integrity, thoughtfulness, and a commitment to excellence that strengthened our organization and the communities we serve,” DHS <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2044473024808948076">said</a> Wednesday. “Beyond her professional accomplishments, Lauren was a bright spot for so many of the DHS community. She brought warmth, kindness, and a genuine sense of care to her colleagues each day.”

IMG_2029

Mullin Slams Biden’s Green Light For DHS Murder Suspect Despite Criminal Past

Department of Homeland Security

Markwayne Mullin

United Kingdom

A Department of Homeland Security employee out walking her dog was brutally murdered in Georgia — by a man naturalized under former President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday. 
Mullin said that Olaolukitan Adon Abel, the 26-year-old man suspected of killing 40-year-old DHS employee Lauren Bullis in Dekalb County was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022. Abel was born in the United Kingdom and has an extensive criminal history including convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer, obstruction, and assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism, Mullin said. 
“He has also been arrested for the murder of an unidentified woman whom he reportedly shot outside a Checkers, before randomly shooting a homeless man multiple times outside a Kroger in Brookhaven,” Mullin <a href="https://x.com/SecMullinDHS/status/2044372949826683104">said</a>. “These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department and my prayers are with the families of the victims.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On Monday, a DHS employee, Lauren Bullis, was brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old, born in the United Kingdom, who was naturalized by the Biden Administration in 2022.
Since President Trump took office, <a href="https://twitter.com/USCIS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCIS</a> has implemented measures to…
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecMullinDHS/status/2044372949826683104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Abel has been charged with two counts of murder and aggravated assault, in addition to multiple gun charges. 
Police have described the attacks as random, with the first beginning at 12:52 a.m. Monday morning and the second at around 2:00 a.m. Bullis was attacked at around 6:50 a.m. and died after being stabbed and shot. Her dog, Sancho, has been missing since the attack, according to local reporting. 
Mullin said that the Trump administration was working to ensure that only those with good character could attain American citizenship. 
“Since President Trump took office, [U.S.] Citizenship and Immigration Services] has implemented measures to ensure individuals with criminal histories and who otherwise lack good moral character do not attain citizenship,” Mullin said. 
In a later statement, Homeland Security emphasized the fact that the suspect was &#8220;NATURALIZED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION&#8221; and said the department&#8217;s &#8220;prayers are with the families of the victims during this tragic time.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On Monday, DHS employee Lauren Bullis and two other victims were brutally shot and stabbed to death by Olaolukitan Adon Abel, who was NATURALIZED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
Adon Abel&#8217;s criminal record includes convictions for sexual battery, battery against a police officer,… <a href="https://t.co/LuizgGZDzK">pic.twitter.com/LuizgGZDzK</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2044468456754438639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bullis worked in the office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security as an auditor and as a team leader in the Office of Innovation. 
“She was a respected colleague whose contributions and presence will be greatly missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, as well as to the families, friends, and communities of the additional victims. We strongly condemn this act of violence,” the department <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/lauren-bullis-dekalb-shooting-spree-victim-family-statement/85-e5a5bbf9-3526-40cb-a686-ddf925961d9d">said</a>. “We will cooperate with the ongoing investigation but will not comment further on the suspect or the nature of the case.”
Her family said that she “deeply loved her family and found joy in running, reading, and traveling,&#8221; and that her “generosity touched everyone surrounding her.

DHS Employee Murdered While Walking Dog As Biden-Era Naturalized Suspect Emerges

Georgia

Former President Joe Biden returned to the public stage this week, and almost immediately delivered the kind of unscripted moment that has followed him throughout his decades-long political career.
While addressing a crowd, Biden spotted a black man in the audience and called out, “Barack, what are you doing? Come here, come here, come here, come here.” He then added, “Come here!” 
“I feel like he should be standing to the right and I should be standing to the left. Doesn’t he look like Barack? Anyway.” The man was not Barack Obama.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 JOE BIDEN spots a black guy: &#8220;Come here, COME HERE! [&#8230;] Doesn&#8217;t he look like Barack?!&#8221;
&#8220;Barack, what are you doing?&#8221;
Are you serious right now 😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/4BAXwHbhP9">pic.twitter.com/4BAXwHbhP9</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2044138003744870805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The moment, delivered with Biden’s characteristic wandering, off-the-cuff style, quickly drew attention online, not necessarily because it was shocking for Biden, but because it echoed the kind of comment that, in a different political context, would likely spark immediate backlash from the Left.
To be clear, there’s no indication Biden intended anything malicious. The remark came off more as a familiar blend of Biden’s age and verbal wandering than anything resembling actual animus. 
That tension is part of what makes Biden’s long history of gaffes so politically unique. For decades, he has been prone to unscripted remarks that veer into awkward or eyebrow-raising territory, often blurring the line between folksy charm and unintentional controversy.
Some of those moments have been more memorable than others. During the 2020 campaign, Biden <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/politics/biden-charlamagne-tha-god-you-aint-black">told</a> radio host Charlamagne Tha God, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” a line that drew widespread criticism at the time. Years earlier, he <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-obama-articulate-quote/">described Obama</a> as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean,” a comment that lingered in political discourse long after it was said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
FLASHBACK: Biden said “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black”
<a href="https://t.co/bmW05LCpUI">pic.twitter.com/bmW05LCpUI</a>
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) <a href="https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1793305846039924991?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Even outside of political campaigns, Biden’s tendency toward verbal stumbles has been a defining feature of his public persona. From mixing up names and places to wandering anecdotes that lose their thread mid-sentence, his speaking style has often been as unpredictable as it is incomprehensible.
Still, the “Barack” moment underscores a broader dynamic in American politics: the uneven way certain comments are received depending on who says them. What might be dismissed as a harmless slip for one figure could be treated as a major controversy for another.
For Biden, it’s just the latest addition to a decades-long reel of offhand remarks — the kind that, for better or worse, have become inseparable from his political identity.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-FIRE-BIDEN

Joe Biden Returns To The Stage, Immediately Does Something Racist

Barack Obama

Media

Politics

We now know that the Biden administration was literally partnering with abortion activists to track and imprison pro-lifers.
When I see President Trump and Pope Leo going at it, I think to myself, if we&#8217;re going to talk about presidents who are legitimately attacking Catholics, we should really be talking about Barack Obama, who went after the Little Sisters of the Poor and decided that he was going to mainstream every sin he could find.
We should talk about Joe Biden, who apparently was using the DOJ to go after pro-lifers, which is insane.
According to Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-biden-partnered-with-abortion-activists-to-track-and-imprison-pro-lifers">reporting</a>, President Biden&#8217;s administration relied on information gathered from radical pro-abortion groups to track, prosecute, and snoop on peaceful pro-life protesters who were later arrested by the FBI.
A DOJ report titled “The Biden Administration&#8217;s Weaponization of the FACE Act” examined more than 700,000 records.
The FACE Act is a bill that was designed to prevent people from obstructing entry to abortion clinics. The FACE Act also said that you weren&#8217;t allowed to invade churches during services. That came up in the context of Don Lemon and his friends invading and disturbing a church service in order to protest ICE.
The dossiers that the DOJ examined contained information about pro-life activists who had not yet been charged with any federal crimes, but were deemed threats by abortion groups because of their activism.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/">Become a DailyWire+ member and help us break the stories that matter.</a>
We&#8217;ve seen this kind of pattern emerge in all of the reporting from the Biden administration, over and over and over. They were using left-wing cutout groups to do their dirty work, whether it was the Biden administration State Department contracting out to other services to promote boycotts of right-wing news outlets, or whether it was the Biden administration outsourcing its investigative pursuits to anti-life, pro-choice organizations to target pro-lifers.
The Biden administration liked to do such things.
According to the Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-biden-partnered-with-abortion-activists-to-track-and-imprison-pro-lifers">reporting</a>, the weaponization can be traced to former Attorney General Merrick Garland&#8217;s resurrection of the National Task Force on Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers the month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
That task force was operating out of the department&#8217;s civil rights division under the direction of Sanjay Patel, who was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-fires-4-prosecutors-face-act-biden-administration/">reportedly fired</a> on Monday. Patel was on texting terms with the National Abortion Federation security team and was regularly communicating with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Feminist Majority Foundation, according to the DOJ. Members of the Biden DOJ were coordinating openly with various abortion groups and leaders in the abortion movement.
This was all part of these non-governmental organizations working hand-in-glove with the federal government under Joe Biden. Daily Wire reporting looked into the sentences that were sought by the Biden DOJ against pro-life activists, and what they found is that the Biden DOJ asked for a longer, average sentence for pro-life defendants compared to pro-abortion defendants. Actual sentences shook out to an average of 14 months for pro-life defendants, versus three months for pro-choice defendants.
This is astonishing. It demonstrates the full-scale animus that the Biden administration had for the pro-life movement.
This is nothing new. If you go back to the Clinton administration, the attempt to target political adversaries using the DOJ is perfectly obvious.
I&#8217;ve said over and over that the Left likes to say that Donald Trump broke all the rules, that he&#8217;s the one who killed the American political system.
The reality is that the American political system was already dead, and Trump stumbled upon it. Barack Obama used the IRS to go after pro-life groups, conservative groups, and Tea Party groups. Joe Biden&#8217;s DOJ targeted pro-lifers.
There&#8217;s nothing new here. Democrats have been doing this for a very, very long time.
Imagine the scandal if, for example, the Trump administration were coordinating with pro-life groups to go after abortion advocates. Can you imagine the scandal? Can you imagine the front page coverage?
One of the questions here is how people who were involved in this were allowed to stay at the DOJ for so long. Sanjay Patel was still working for the DOJ all the way until Monday, which is crazy and demonstrates the truth of President Trump&#8217;s statement that there is, in fact, a deep state.
There are lifelong appointees of various administrations who are still working inside the current administration — working against the president’s priorities. That&#8217;s very real. It just goes to show you that the attempt to cleanse the administration of holdovers is an ongoing pursuit.
The Democratic Party is perfectly willing to use the auspices of government to go after religious people. They&#8217;ve been doing it over and over and over again. It’s one of the reasons I said to my family that we ought to leave California. My great fear is that states like California will effectively quasi-criminalize religious practice by essentially saying that any 501C3 that receives tax-exempt status from the state government must buy into the left-wing social agenda.
If the Democrats were able to take over the Supreme Court, they would get away with that. They would be able to use anti-discrimination law as a guise for cracking down on First Amendment religiously protected activity. That is the direction that Democrats would love to move. And if left to their own devices, they absolutely would be able to do it.
If the Democrats had won in 2024, Kamala Harris would have attempted to stack the Supreme Court and state governments everywhere would be pursuing anti-religious activity just like this.
The Biden administration was, in my opinion, the worst administration in modern American history, worse even than Obama — because Obama didn&#8217;t say the quiet part out loud.
Biden said the quiet part out loud.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN

How The Biden Administration Targeted Pro-Lifers

Ben Shapiro

Biden Administration

FACE Act

Merrick Garland

Opinion

Prison

Pro-Life Movement

WASHINGTON—In an explosive report released on Tuesday, the Trump administration revealed the lengths to which the Justice Department went under President Joe Biden&#8217;s watch to target religious Americans who opposed abortion.
The Trump Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group reviewed over 700,000 internal records, The Daily Wire has learned, which they distilled into an 800-page report. The document, which details the Biden administration&#8217;s weaponization of federal law to target peaceful pro-life activists, also outlines how the Trump administration plans to correct the previous administration&#8217;s wrongs.
“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”
At the center of the Biden administration&#8217;s efforts is the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a law meant to protect access to pro-abortion and pro-life facilities alike. The Biden administration infamously used the FACE Act to prosecute and imprison peaceful pro-life protesters. And Tuesday&#8217;s report found that &#8220;Biden DOJ senior leadership&#8221; and members of the Reproductive Health Care Providers Task Force &#8220;provided extensive support to abortion clinics&#8221; and &#8220;ignored and downplayed vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship.&#8221;
The DOJ report describes how the Biden-era &#8220;Reproductive Health Care Providers Task Force&#8221; was in constant contact with pro-abortion groups and the clinics they represented while disregarding pro-life groups. As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Leif Le Mahieu <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-biden-partnered-with-abortion-activists-to-track-and-imprison-pro-lifers?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=How+Biden+Partnered+With+Abortion+Activists+To+Track+And+Imprison+Pro-Lifers">reported</a>, one Justice Department official often texted an abortion activist and worked to track the travel plans of Christian pro-life activists who had not been charged with any crimes. The emails also show how pro-abortion groups provided dossiers to the Biden DOJ with pictures and information — which was later used by the FBI to make arrests.
Meanwhile, the Task Force attorneys didn&#8217;t communicate with any pro-life pregnancy centers until September 2022 — months after the <a href="https://catholicvote.org/pregnancy-center-attack-tracker/">massive spike in violence against pregnancy centers</a> related to the leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion indicating Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned. Vandals would firebomb, attack, vandalize, or spray-paint the buildings with messages like &#8220;If abortions aren&#8217;t safe, then neither are you.&#8221;
When the Biden Justice Department did address the attacks on pregnancy centers, they merely identified possible contacts &#8220;via a quick Google search and directed Task Force leadership to schedule meetings.&#8221;
&#8220;The Task Force then had several meetings with the pro-life groups identified through that initial outreach and periodically sent them press releases,&#8221; the report states. &#8220;However, internally, CRT attorneys questioned whether to provide pregnancy resource centers with the same resources as abortion clinics, questioning whether these facilities fall under the FACE Act’s scope.&#8221;
Biden DOJ prosecutors were also engaging in inappropriate conduct, the report found. The prosecutors &#8220;knowingly withheld evidence that defense counsel requested to prepare an affirmative defense&#8221; and lied about not having that information available.
For example, in United States v. Gallagher, the defense counsel asked for historical data on FACE Act prosecutions, but the DOJ Task Force Director declined that data, saying he didn&#8217;t keep those records and that the DOJ wouldn&#8217;t provide them.
&#8220;Notably,&#8221; the report says, &#8220;he had this information readily available and decided not to share it with the defendants, despite sharing substantially identical information with NAF.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Video of the FBI&#8217;s arrest of Paul Vaughn of Centerville, Tennessee. DOJ charged him with “conspiracy against rights secured by the FACE Act, and committing FACE Act violations&#8221; for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic. Paul tells me the footage was taken by his wife. <a href="https://t.co/KSDvLRSrlF">pic.twitter.com/KSDvLRSrlF</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1578464777147326464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
The Biden prosecutors also tried to screen jurors based on their religious beliefs, according to the report: in United States v. Zastrow in the Eastern District of Michigan, assistant United States attorneys allegedly tried to screen jurors based on whether they were conservative or religious &#8220;while not inquiring about liberal counterviews.&#8221;
&#8220;They referred to Christian pro-life views as &#8216;culty&#8217; and lambasted the defendants’ beliefs in the courtroom,&#8221; the report said.
Notably, those assistant United States attorneys complained that they “ended up with a very Catholic magistrate on duty this week and he was very particular about the bond conditions and not infringing on [defendants’] First Amendment rights.”
The report specifically points to the case of Mark Houck, a Catholic father of a large family whose son was attacked by an abortion clinic worker. The Biden DOJ tried to use the FACE Act to prosecute Houck, but lost the case.
In Houck&#8217;s case, &#8220;prosecutors considered and declined a request for the defendant to self-surrender.&#8221; Apparently determined to make an example of Houck, the DOJ sent &#8220;16 FBI agents&#8221; to arrest him in front of his crying children.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Photos from the morning the FBI arrested Mark Houck in front of his children. <a href="https://t.co/NbLq5bnDQa">pic.twitter.com/NbLq5bnDQa</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1577324450902675457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
&#8220;When faced with public backlash about the aggressive arrest, the Task Force Director attempted to blame the FBI, rather than address the Biden DOJ’s lack of initial guidance to law enforcement,&#8221; the report states. &#8220;The jury ultimately found Houck not guilty, and DOJ settled a civil claim to compensate for the Biden DOJ’s misconduct.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s Justice Department argues that the Biden DOJ pursued more severe charges, as well as &#8220;significantly harsher sentences,&#8221; for the peaceful pro-life defendants than the violent pro-abortion defendants, requesting an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants compared to the 12.3 months for pro-abortion ones.
&#8220;The Biden DOJ pursued significantly higher sentences (near the top range of sentencing guidelines) for pro-life defendants, while pursuing more lenient sentences against the handful of pro-abortion defendants that it charged,&#8221; the report reads. &#8220;Pro-life defendants were ultimately sentenced to an average of 14 months, while pro-abortion defendants were sentenced to an average of 3 months.&#8221;
Meanwhile, as the National Abortion Federation cozied up to the Biden Justice Department, that same department &#8220;sought to provide funding to pro-abortion groups,&#8221; according to the report.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who was director of the Reproductive Health Care Provider Task Force, served as a reference for the National Abortion Federation&#8217;s application for a &#8220;large, private grant.&#8221;
&#8220;We found no record of ethics approval for a DOJ attorney to take an interest in the financial outcome of a party having business before the Biden DOJ,&#8221; the report says. &#8220;Indeed, it is doubtful that the Biden DOJ could validly give any such ethical clearance for this conflict of interest.&#8221;
The Trump administration says it is determined to rectify the actions of the Biden Justice Department. Tuesday&#8217;s report highlights Trump&#8217;s &#8220;full and unconditional pardons&#8221; of the many pro-life Christians who were targeted in these Biden-era prosecutions.
The Trump Justice Department also dismissed, with prejudice, three Biden-era civil lawsuits against &#8220;non-violent pro-life demonstrators and issued a directive that, moving forward, DOJ prosecutors may only bring FACE Act civil actions and prosecutions in extraordinary circumstances or in cases presenting significant aggravating factors.&#8221;

Democrats laughing

Explosive Report Reveals The Biden Administration’s Disdain For Religious Pro-Life Activists

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

Social Issues

Embattled former first son Hunter Biden raised eyebrows on Thursday when he said he&#8217;d be &#8220;open&#8221; to a &#8220;cage match&#8221; with two of President Donald Trump&#8217;s sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
The younger Biden announced that he&#8217;d been invited — and that he had accepted the invitation — to join Andrew Callaghan&#8217;s Channel Five Carnival Tour. The tour is described as a blend of live music, rap battles, magic, and full screenings of controversial documentaries. Biden then added that Callaghan had pitched a finale idea that he couldn&#8217;t pass up: a &#8220;cage match&#8221; in which he would face both Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Son of former U.S. President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden said he would be open to a &#8216;cage match&#8217; with President Donald Trump&#8217;s sons. <a href="https://t.co/oxoo7Cx3kx">pic.twitter.com/oxoo7Cx3kx</a>
— Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/2042441980714569973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Hey guys, Hunter Biden here,&#8221; Biden said, speaking directly to the camera. &#8220;I just got a call from Andrew Callaghan. He asked me to come out on the Channel Five Carnival Tour at the end of the month. I think we start in Phoenix and then we go to San Diego, and we end in Albuquerque. And I think he&#8217;s trying to organize a cage match, me versus Eric and Don Jr. I told him I&#8217;d do it, 100% in if he can pull it off. And if he can&#8217;t, I&#8217;m still coming.&#8221;
A <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/09/us-news/hunter-biden-is-too-broke-to-pay-lawyer-challenges-trumps-sons-to-a-cage-match/">report</a> from the New York Post, published on Friday, suggested that Hunter Biden might be less motivated by revenge fantasy than by his own personal financial situation. The report alleged that Biden, who has been living abroad, is deep in debt and struggling to pay his attorneys.
And if Hunter Biden&#8217;s posturing sounds familiar, it should: his father, former President Joe Biden, once made a similar remark about confronting President Trump.
During a 2018 speech, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/21/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump">Biden</a> famously told a room full of College Democrats at the University of Miami, &#8220;They asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no. I said, ‘If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.'&#8221;
Trump fired back at Biden via X (still Twitter at the time), saying, &#8220;Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!&#8221;

Eric-Hunter-Don Jr.

Chip Off The Old Blockhead: Hunter Biden Calls For ‘Cage Match’ With Eric, Don Jr.

Donald Trump Jr.

Eric Trump

Fight

Hunter Biden

It is easy to forget the dystopian excesses of the Covid era: business closures, shuttered schools, and mask and vaccine mandates. A new development in Missouri v. Biden, a Covid-era lawsuit, serves as an important reminder of how precarious our basic freedoms become in the face of a perceived disaster. For the past four years, a coalition of state attorneys general, courageous scientists, and First Amendment advocates waged a counterattack against the federal government’s efforts to strong-arm social media companies into silencing those espousing views contrary to the government-approved narrative. 
Last week, the plaintiffs and the federal defendants submitted a consent decree to the court for approval. The <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520/gov.uscourts.lawd.189520.477.1.pdf">proposed consent decree</a> is both a real win for free speech and a blueprint for further protections necessary to safeguard our First Amendment rights.
That need is underscored by another recent free speech victory by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-reaches-censorship-settlement-with-daily-wire?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Daily+Wire+Wins+Landmark+Free+Speech+Victory+In+Censorship+Lawsuit+Against+State+Department">The Daily Wire</a>, in which the State Department agreed to stop supporting efforts that targeted protected speech by American media outlets. That settlement also imposed ongoing compliance oversight, helping ensure the government cannot quietly return to the same tactics.
The core allegation in Missouri v. Biden was that senior officials across multiple federal agencies had engaged in an unprecedented campaign to coerce and pressure major social media platforms into censoring lawful speech. The plaintiffs argued that the Biden administration had effectively outsourced government censorship to private companies, leaning on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to suppress content related to Covid origins and treatments, the Hunter Biden laptop story, and election integrity.
<div id="attachment_869089" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-869089" class="size-large wp-image-869089" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1915020320-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" />Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images</div>
For example, Rob Flaherty, the director of digital media in the Biden Administration, tried to coerce Meta into suppressing posts critical of the Covid vaccine on Facebook, accusing Meta of driving “vaccine hesitancy.” Flaherty even demanded that Meta explain what it would do to suppress anti-vaccine content on WhatsApp, a private messaging application. Flaherty made clear he was not speaking just for himself, but rather for, “the highest — and I mean the highest — levels of the White House.&#8221;
The case bounced between trial and appellate courts, including a stop at the Supreme Court, as judges evaluated the nuances of the thorny, at times novel, claims at issue in the case. With the change in presidential administrations, however, the federal government no longer was the adversary, though it was still the nominal defendant. 
On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” which condemned the types of censorship the plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden had filed suit regarding. With a sympathetic administration in office, the plaintiffs were able to negotiate a consent decree rather than spend many more years embroiled in litigation.
The consent decree is focused on preventing the type of coercion, known as jawboning, that the federal government had used to do indirectly during Covid what it could not do directly: prevent Americans from speaking out in public about the major issues of the day. The parties agreed that the government would no longer take actions designed to bully social media companies into removing or suppressing content containing free speech. The consent decree further prohibits the government from directing or vetoing social media companies’ content moderation policies.
A critical limit in the consent decree, however, exposes the clear need for the government to take protective measures outside the confines of the Missouri v. Biden lawsuit. For technical legal reasons related to standing and jurisdiction, the consent decree is focused on the parties to the case. Rather than enjoin the federal government as a whole, the consent decree binds the Surgeon General, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which engaged in some of the most blatant jawboning efforts during the Covid period. The consent decree further protects only the plaintiffs in the case, that is, the states and individuals who sued the government. (In a bit of poetic justice, two of the plaintiffs, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, withdrew from the case after accepting senior posts in the Trump administration.)
The Missouri v. Biden plaintiffs are not the only litigants who have prevailed in challenges to Biden-era free speech violations. As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-reaches-censorship-settlement-with-daily-wire">reported</a>, this week, a federal judge issued a consent decree in a challenge to the Biden-era State Department’s practice of partnering with outside organizations to label various outlets — including this one and the Federalist — as disinformation. The State Department agreed that it would no longer engage in efforts to suppress, censor, demonetize, or downgrade the constitutionally protected speech of Americans and domestic news outlets. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-dept-reaches-censorship-settlement-with-daily-wire?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Daily+Wire+Wins+Landmark+Free+Speech+Victory+In+Censorship+Lawsuit+Against+State+Department"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1070109 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dw_vs._state_dept_16x9_720.png" alt="" width="720" height="405" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dw_vs._state_dept_16x9_720.png 720w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/dw_vs._state_dept_16x9_720-300x169.png 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a>
While these consent decrees are real victories for the plaintiffs who had the courage to take on the federal government in court, they will not stop a future administration from engaging in similar tactics that we saw during Covid, in the wake of the 2020 election, and throughout the Biden Administration. Americans as a whole deserve the robust protections the Missouri v. Biden plaintiffs earned in that litigation. 
Congressional action of any sort is admittedly a difficult feat. But there are few bedrock principles more important than those embodied in the First Amendment. If Congress wants to protect Americans’ free speech rights, the proposed consent decree in Missouri v. Biden is a useful roadmap. All federal agencies and officials, not just the select handful named in the proposed consent decree, should be prohibited from trying to control speech by telling social media companies what content is and is not allowed. And all Americans should be able to speak on social media with the assurance that the government cannot tell social media platforms to silence them.
The plaintiffs in Missouri v. Biden and their attorneys should be praised for bringing a landmark lawsuit in the face of tremendous government overreach and achieving a real victory in the process. Congress should follow suit by extending those protections to everyone else.
* * *
Jesse Franklin-Murdock is the Miles Visiting Fellow at the Center for American Liberty, and he is a partner at Sweigart Murdock, LLP in San Francisco, where he specializes in First Amendment and defamation law, political law, and civil rights.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-BIDEN-ARRIVAL

After Daily Wire Legal Win, Americans Shouldn’t Wonder Who’s Silencing Them Online

Censorship

Daily Wire

Social Media Censorship

The Federalist

Recent media coverage of rising gas prices reflects something more consequential than concern for energy affordability. It reveals a pattern of selective outrage and one meant to condition the American public to view any temporary cost associated with national security as politically unacceptable — especially under a Republican administration. This dynamic carries strategic consequences. It erodes trust, weakens institutional resilience, and reduces our country’s capacity to absorb short-term strain in pursuit of long-term stability.
During the Biden administration, gasoline prices <a href="https://www.wbur.org/npr/1084893419/gas-prices-surge-to-above-4-a-gallon-oil-russia-ukraine-antony-blinken">reached</a> historic and unsustainable levels, surpassing $5.00 per gallon in many parts of the country as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global energy markets. The media’s coverage at the time was extensive, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/us/politics/fact-check-republicans-biden-gas.html">but they refused to blame then-President Biden</a> for foolishly tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in November 2021 ahead of the war. The dominant narrative emphasized structural forces, including global commodity markets, supply chain disruptions, and post-pandemic demand recovery outpacing supply. It was the former president’s climate policies, however, that inevitably invited energy insecurity.
Those explanations reflected the realities of energy economics. Energy markets respond to geopolitical shocks, and price volatility often follows disruptions to supply and transportation infrastructure. Public messaging from legacy media during that period <a href="https://time.com/6188569/gas-prices-oil/">emphasized patience while markets stabilized</a>.
Current coverage reflects a very different emphasis: It’s panicked, grim, and chaotic. The narrative is intended to guilt developed nations into <a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-wars-renewable-energy-asia-4b5fe0693ce5816472c905db85f7da6e">abandoning</a> “warmongering” oil and gas for “<a href="https://time.com/7358460/renewable-energy-peace-democracy-venezuela/">peaceful</a>” renewable energy to fight a so-called climate crisis, despite much of the world now <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/magazine/climate-politics-us-world-paris-agreement.html">prioritizing</a> energy security. The United Nations claims wind and solar energy, unlike oil and gas, will withstand closures in the Strait of Hormuz. Much to the UN’s chagrin, energy-importing nations that have adopted 100% renewable energy targets are planning to purchase <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-19/after-qatar-lng-plant-outage-more-buyers-turn-to-us-suppliers">American liquefied natural gas (LNG)</a> or <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/business/iran-war-lng-asia-japan.html">pivot back to coal</a> after Qatar’s LNG terminal closed down.
Price volatility is frequently presented as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/us/politics/gas-prices-republicans-affordability.html">evidence of policy failure</a> rather than as a predictable consequence of geopolitical risk. Rather than putting the temporary economic pressure as something that deserves perspective and patience, it is portrayed as a political liability that must be eliminated immediately. This framing amplifies anxiety while obscuring the strategic rationale behind national security decisions and the long-term expectation that energy prices will soon come back down. This isn’t 2022, with an administration that deliberately suppressed domestic energy production. The landscape is vastly different, and arguably more secure, with American energy dominance keeping prices relatively low here at home and coming to the rescue abroad.
That shift in emphasis by the media shapes public perception over time.
Research on public opinion during military operations <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00602.x">demonstrates</a> public support for national security decisions tracks the signals sent by major institutions.
Coverage that focuses primarily on risk, cost, and disruption encourages the public to conclude that action lacks justification. A sustained emphasis on negative consequences and downplaying the purpose and potential upsides contributes to declining confidence in leadership and reduced tolerance for continued engagement.
Over the long term, the media framing weakens our country and the public. A society that interprets every economic disruption as a disaster and evidence of fundamental failure becomes less willing to endure temporary hardship even when the alternative carries greater long-term risk and expense.
Trust declines gradually through accumulated inconsistency.
This erosion of trust carries implications beyond the current moment. A public conditioned to associate short-term economic disruption with failure will resist future decisions that require temporary sacrifice, regardless of the strategic stakes involved.
Public uncertainty about the necessity of current operations reflects an imbalance in how the rationale has been reinforced in public discourse. Policymakers have articulated the objective of degrading the capabilities of a regime that was developing advanced ballistic missile capabilities <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-fires-missiles-remote-uk-us-base-claiming-long-range-capabilities-rcna264547">able to reach long distances</a>, unfettered <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/05/21/9-myths-about-irans-uranium-enrichment-program/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23305160353&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADHXS9VYjLIExrfvz9Me63UlMpO7a&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwyYPOBhBxEiwAgpT8P611Ekse1TESk6d_oEGyl9DdHc8HDPOTawrLNLyStN8M33Drkse33BoCfyAQAvD_BwE">nuclear ambitions</a>, arms proxy forces <a href="https://www.cfr.org/articles/irans-regional-armed-network">across multiple theaters</a>, and uses <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-chokes-strait-hormuz-reported-2m-tanker-toll-regime-threatens-global-oil-supply">instability</a> to influence global energy markets.
The strategic logic rests on deterrence. Restoring deterrence imposes short-term costs but reduces the likelihood of sustained instability and higher long-term economic disruption – specifically global energy prices.
Coverage that concentrates on immediate economic consequences without sustained attention to strategic necessity leaves the public with incomplete information. That informational gap encourages apprehension and weakens support for popular actions that serve long-term security interests.
The United States has historically maintained security and prosperity by accepting temporary hardship when the stakes were explained clearly and consistently. Wartime rationing, economic sanctions, and military mobilization all required short-term sacrifice in service of larger objectives.
Public resilience depends on coherent communication from institutions and a shared understanding of the relationship between cost and purpose. That resilience weakens when the information environment frames disruption as avoidable and treats temporary hardship as evidence of failure.
Leadership requires the willingness to act despite short-term discomfort and to explain the reasons for that action clearly. Public resilience requires the willingness to endure temporary strain when the strategic rationale is understood.
Americans facing higher gas prices deserve transparency for what they are being asked to pay and the strategic purpose behind this ask from the media without bias. Clear explanation strengthens trust, supports resilience, and preserves the capacity to act decisively when national security requires it.
* * *
Meaghan Mobbs is director of Independent Women’s Center for American Safety and Security.
Gabriella Hoffman is director of Independent Women’s Center for Energy and Conservation.

Menu