The following excerpt is taken from the new book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Untold-Assassination-Americas-Heartland/dp/1546009140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38ZQJ31BTXE78&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yBjqsViUcuzSmJ0JQfFO_9pbEehSi-8OfBIfkv9uv-Eg2YesGVnshEb31LRcm_VyNV90yUlv9buV5-Eg4h3ANjvLeboA5BuUjGHF1yBXHxfXZoSn8Vchp7NkJJKFCPPN0JdICFPkw8GWPPCc2BBMMPqe_qSkBWh_hh_CkKUxGhVJA_Ayn3SjyWBemTcvmDq42l4iaEdSi5Ih0Lab_rtq0w.UQCO-toWBwgEMYzS_IK8UvoFWqL6oOP4CgnKEYfwSsE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=salena+zito+butler&amp;qid=1751464363&amp;sprefix=salena+zito+butle%2Caps%2C170&amp;sr=8-1">Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America&#8217;s Heartland,&#8221;</a> by Salena Zito (July 2025, Center Street/Hachette Book Group)
* * *
<h3>They Shoot Presidents in Butler</h3>
George Washington was less than pleased.
It was December 26, 1753, well past dusk and the temperature had dropped dramatically as darkness fell. Thanks to the drop in temperature, the mix of sleet and snow would make travel perilous in the deeply forested wilderness of what is now present-day Butler County.
But Washington and his guide Christopher Gist were left with little choice; they had to move, and move quickly.
They needed to make their way to the forks of the Ohio River. Days later, Washington, then a young major in the Virginia militia, would write in his journal that fear coursed through his veins and spurred the urgency of their flight after he was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet that whizzed past his ear just hours earlier.
Both he and Gist knew his assassin would be back to finish the job.
<div id="attachment_942151" style="width: 417px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/salena-zito/butler/9781668649909/?lens=center-street"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-942151" class="wp-image-942151 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-407x576.jpg" alt="Cover credit: Center Street/Hachette Book Group" width="407" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-407x576.jpg 407w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-212x300.jpg 212w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-768x1086.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-1086x1536.jpg 1086w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-1448x2048.jpg 1448w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/MixCollage-02-Jul-2025-09-02-AM-8755-scaled.jpg 1810w" sizes="(max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" /></a>Cover credit: Center Street/Hachette Book Group</div>
At twenty-one years old, Washington was on his first diplomatic mission, with direct orders from the Crown tucked in his saddlebag to basically tell the French to get off King George II’s land or face war with England.
In 1753, the British and French Empires were in the early stages of clashing over their colonial possessions. Britain’s North American colonies were mostly packed along the Atlantic coastline and then moved westward toward the Allegheny Mountains.
France’s colonial holdings were in the center spine of the country that began in New Orleans and ran up along the Mississippi River into the Great Lakes region toward the St. Lawrence River. Both empires claimed control of the vast expanse of what was then known as the Ohio Country, which began in present-day western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and spread due west across the states of Ohio and Indiana.
Washington was at the center of that clash of royal aspirations, which were largely spurred by greed in the form of an immense royal grant to the Ohio Company, whose largest investor was Robert Dinwiddie, Virginia’s royal (lieutenant) governor and the man who sent Washington on the mission.
The young Virginian’s destination was Fort Le Boeuf, just fifteen miles south of Lake Erie. In Washington’s possession was a note from London, signed by King George II, that read: “If the French were found to be building forts on English soil, they should be peacefully asked to depart. If they failed to comply, however, we do hereby strictly charge and command you to drive them off by force of arms.”
The trip from Virginia had been a daunting 250 miles of untouched wilderness. It involved scaling high ice-crusted ridges, slogging through thick brush, swamps, and dense forests with mounds of heavy snow, and navigating icy waterways. The journey was as difficult as one could imagine, not just because of the terrain but also because of a weather system that had pummeled Washington and Gist the entire way.
Washington arrived at Fort Le Boeuf on December 11. The fort system was rudimentary at best, made of scrap bark and planks and consisting of four buildings. The young soldier and French commander Capt. Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre had a cordial, diplomatic conversation despite Washington’s delivery of the Crown’s demand that the French vacate the Ohio Valley immediately.
Saint-Pierre made clear that he was not intimidated by the British and retained every right to arrest their traders who were poaching on French territory. “As to the summons you sent me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it.”
Four days later, Saint-Pierre handed Washington a sealed message for Dinwiddie. It was then that Washington discovered that, although Saint-Pierre had filled Washington’s canoe with a generous amount of supplies for the journey home, the French commander had also bribed Washington’s Indian guides with food and drink to stay behind.
Washington was furious. He had not only been deceived by Saint-Pierre; he had also observed enough during his four-day wait for the commander to respond to Dinwiddie to know that France was building a large-scale fort system throughout the disputed territory. He also observed that they were building a formidable military operation, which was prepared to defend the land the French would take over.
Washington and Gist set off, anxious to deliver the news to Dinwiddie. However, their horses were so debilitated by the journey to Fort Le Boeuf that the men had to abandon them and continue on foot.
On the journey toward the outpost known as Murdering Town (in present-day Butler), they were heavily burdened by their backpacks. Along the way, they encountered several French Indians who quickly — probably too quickly, in hindsight — offered to help get them to the forks of the Ohio River. The battering snow and sleet, freezing cold, and rough terrain had worn Washington down, and when one of the Indian guides offered to carry his backpack, he took him up on it.
Gist, a skilled surveyor and frontier guide, immediately sensed something was off about the situation. He wasn’t wrong. As soon as the group came to a clearing, one of the Indians sprinted ahead of them into a meadow and then turned to face the two men before firing point-blank at Washington from fifteen paces.
The exact amount by which the French-aligned Indian missed Washington is unclear. Washington’s diary entry is vague, but the intent was obvious. The Indian guide wanted the young Virginian dead.
If muskets had contained rifling — grooves inside the barrel to make a bullet travel more accurately — 270 years ago, everything in the world would have changed at that moment.
There would have been no skirmish several months later in present-day Fayette County, Pennsylvania, between Washington’s regiment and French soldiers — a skirmish that led to the first shots fired in what would quickly escalate into the French and Indian War. It was a war that ultimately led to the Revolutionary War, when the British Crown tried to tax the colonists to pay for debt incurred during the first true world war.
There would have been no General Washington, no President Washington, and we might not have the country we call America today if that bullet had been only an inch closer.
* * *
Salena Zito is a veteran political reporter with more than twenty years of award-winning experience in print and broadcast journalism. With her trusty Jeeps that have clocked well over 400,000 miles on their odometers and a refusal to travel on interstates, Zito is a reporter who harkens to an older generation of journalism, one who listens to the stories of everyday Americans in places far outside the artificial bubbles of Manhattan and the Beltway. One of the last scribes of middle America, she famously popularized the root cause of their failed coverage and underestimation of Donald Trump by the phrase coined by Brad Todd saying, “The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.” Zito is a national political reporter for the Washington Examiner, and a special contributor to the Washington Post. She has been a columnist for the New York Post and has contributed to The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Excerpted from &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butler-Untold-Assassination-Americas-Heartland/dp/1546009140/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38ZQJ31BTXE78&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yBjqsViUcuzSmJ0JQfFO_9pbEehSi-8OfBIfkv9uv-Eg2YesGVnshEb31LRcm_VyNV90yUlv9buV5-Eg4h3ANjvLeboA5BuUjGHF1yBXHxfXZoSn8Vchp7NkJJKFCPPN0JdICFPkw8GWPPCc2BBMMPqe_qSkBWh_hh_CkKUxGhVJA_Ayn3SjyWBemTcvmDq42l4iaEdSi5Ih0Lab_rtq0w.UQCO-toWBwgEMYzS_IK8UvoFWqL6oOP4CgnKEYfwSsE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=salena+zito+butler&amp;qid=1751464363&amp;sprefix=salena+zito+butle%2Caps%2C170&amp;sr=8-1">Butler,</a>&#8221; by Salena Zito. (Copyright 2025) Used with permission from Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – July 13: Former president Donald Trump r

They Shoot Presidents In Butler

assassination attempt

Books

Butler

George Washington

Pennsylvania

Presidency

President Trump

President Donald Trump said on Friday that U.S. Steel will partner with the Japanese company Nippon Steel, and remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.
The partnership comes after Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-revives-possible-sale-of-u-s-steel-to-japans-nippon-steel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered</a> a review of the possible sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in April. Former President Joe Biden blocked the $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns and risks to U.S. supply chains. Now, the two companies will form a &#8220;planned partnership&#8221; that will result in 70,000 jobs, according to the president.
&#8220;I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;For many years, the name, &#8216;United States Steel&#8217; was synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again. This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy.&#8221;
U.S. Steel is facing major losses, reporting a net loss of $116 million in the first quarter of 2025, but the steel industry remains an important part of the economy in America, <a href="https://www.zippia.com/steel-worker-jobs/demographics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">employing</a> over 44,000 people.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
In December, one month before Biden blocked the deal, Trump said he also opposed the sale to the foreign company, vowing to &#8220;make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again.&#8221; The White House confirmed that Trump received a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviewed the proposed deal between the American and Japanese steel companies, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-23/trump-backs-us-steel-nippon-partnership-following-cfius-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Trump reportedly spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the phone on Friday, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Japan&#8217;s top trade negotiator to discuss tariffs. It&#8217;s unclear if either of those conversations included talks about the U.S. Steel-Nippon deal. Trump added that he will speak at a &#8220;BIG Rally&#8221; in Pittsburgh on Friday, May 30.
&#8220;The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months. This is the largest Investment in the History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK. I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!&#8221;
Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

U.S. Steel

‘Made In America’: Trump Says U.S. Steel Will Remain In Pittsburgh, Partner With Japanese Company

Donald Trump

Economy

Japan

Pittsburgh

Steel industry

Steel workers

U.S.

A father who has been engaged in a year-long battle against his local school district asked the Trump administration on Friday to investigate Pennsylvania over its “systemic failure” to provide parents with a mechanism to hold school officials accountable. 
The controversy began after the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-enlists-genderqueer-witch-to-speak-to-students-about-dating-survey-them-about-their-sexuality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> a “genderqueer” witch to distribute a sexually-themed survey to 14-year-olds in May 2023 without parental consent. Chad Williams, a parent who lives in the district, says that no one has been held accountable for the distribution of the surveys, which he says violated state and federal privacy laws. 
Williams wants the Justice Department to look into both the school district and Pennsylvania after he says state entities failed to conduct any serious investigation. 
“Parents must be given the right to opt-out of instruction that is religiously offensive or otherwise violates parental rights and the failure of a school district to afford such opportunities is a violation of due process and equal protection,” the Pacific Justice Institute&#8217;s Janice Lorrah wrote in a complaint sent to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently closed the educator misconduct complaint that Williams filed against the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. 
In an email to district parents, Sanville celebrated the conclusion of the Pennsylvania Department of Education probe and said that school complaint processes had been &#8220;weaponized for personnel grievances.&#8221;
Williams told The Daily Wire that no one from the state interviewed him or allowed him to present evidence during its year-long investigation. He now says that he needs the Justice Department to step in because Pennsylvania has dropped the ball. 
“Unlike other states, which have robust administrative mechanisms to investigate and adjudicate privacy violations, Pennsylvania lacks a centralized complaint system, dedicated oversight, and effective enforcement, thus denying parents and students due process under the Fourteenth Amendment,&#8221; his complaint says. 
“Instead, Pennsylvania delegates complaint handling to local education agencies, leaving parents without recourse when a school district fails to — or refuses to — follow its own policies and procedures,” the complaint adds. 
Williams believes that the district violated the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. He points out that President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> on “ending radical indoctrination” in public schools specifically calls out violations of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. 
In previous communications with parents, the district <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-admits-to-surveying-students-about-sexuality-without-parental-permission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">admitted</a> that the surveys were in violation of district policy and federal privacy laws. The surveys asked students about their gender identity and whether they had ever been “pressured” into a sexual act or whether someone had pressured them to do something sexual.
“The district admitted that they violated those statutes but yet the state wouldn’t take any disciplinary action for the violations of law,” Williams told The Daily Wire.

Daily Life In Washington, D.C.

Father Takes ‘Genderqueer Witch’ Survey Fight To Trump, Accuses Pennsylvania Of Failing Parents

Department of Justice

Education

Harmeet Dhillon

On Thursday, Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/us/luigi-mangione-indicted-federal-charges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicted</a> in federal court on a charge of murder, which could permit him to be executed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this month that the Department of Justice would seek the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ag-directs-federal-prosecutors-to-seek-death-penalty-for-luigi-mangione" target="_blank" rel="noopener">death penalty</a> for Mangione.
“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” she <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-directs-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-luigi-mangione" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”
“As alleged, Luigi Mangione stalked and murdered UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024,” the DOJ declared. “The murder was an act of political violence. Mangione’s actions involved substantial planning and premeditation and because the murder took place in public with bystanders nearby, may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons.&#8221;
&#8220;Following federal murder charges handed down on Dec. 19, 2024, Attorney General Bondi has now directed Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky to seek the death penalty in this case,&#8221; the DOJ added.
The homemade gun that Mangione carried when he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, matched shell casings found at the crime scene, according to authorities. In addition, investigators said that Mangione’s fingerprints matched the ones investigators found on items near the scene.
“First, we got the gun in question back from Pennsylvania. It’s now at the NYPD crime lab,” NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/11/us/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-shooter-wednesday/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide. We’re also at the crime lab able to match the person of interest’s fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the KIND bar near the scene of the homicide in midtown.”
When he was captured, Mangione had in his possession a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/nyregion/luigi-mangione-assassination-plan-notebook.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notebook</a> that described Thompson’s assassination, which occurred as Thompson, a father of two sons, was en route to the UnitedHealth Group&#8217;s Investors Conference. One passage in the notebook mentioned taking out “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.”
“It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents,” Mangione allegedly wrote in the notebook, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/11/us/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-shooter-wednesday/index.html">reported</a>. Police also recovered a manifesto where Mangione allegedly called out “United,” adding, “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone.”
The charges indicting Mangione include one count of murder with a firearm, another firearms offense, and two counts of stalking. The charge of murder through the use of a firearm has a maximum sentence of death if Mangione is convicted. The state of Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested, has also brought charges against Mangione. He was caught at a McDonald&#8217;s in Altoona after police spent nearly a week searching for him.
Mangione was celebrated by some; the audience at a Saturday Night Live show, roughly two weeks after Thompson’s death, cheered when his name was mentioned.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
SNL Weekend Update mentions CEO kiIIer Luigi Mangione and the crowd applauds &amp; cheers <a href="https://t.co/Hn6k2kTBp2">pic.twitter.com/Hn6k2kTBp2</a>
&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1870707787157959091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the week after Thompson’s murder, “wanted” posters were <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wanted-posters-threats-mangione-arrest-unitedhealthcare-rcna183867" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plastered</a> in Manhattan showing photos of the CEOs of at least two health insurance companies.

Luigi Mangione

Luigi Mangione Indicted On Federal Charge Of Murder, Making Him Eligible For Death Penalty

Brian Thompson

Death Penalty

New York

The man suspected of setting the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on fire while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping was motivated by his hatred for Israel, a 911 call reveals.
After 38-year-old Cody Balmer set fire to the mansion in the early hours of Sunday morning, he called the police to tell them he would not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/crime/2025/04/arson-suspect-targeted-pa-gov-shapiro-for-what-he-wants-to-do-to-palestinian-people-search-warrant.html?outputType=amp">Penn Live</a> reported.
Balmer added that he wanted to “stop having my friends killed” and that “our people have been put through too much by that monster.” Police reportedly say Balmer appeared to be reading from a script, based on his intonation and cadence.
“You all know where to find me. I’m not hiding, and I will confess to everything that I had done,” Balmer said.
Balmer targeted Shapiro “based upon perceived injustices to the people of Palestine” and because of Shapiro’s faith, according to a warrant for his devices signed Tuesday by Corporal Benjamin Forsythe of the Pennsylvania State Police, Penn Live reported. The warrant reportedly does not cite the evidence that Shapiro was targeted for being Jewish.
Balmer’s storage unit in Swatara Township reportedly had stickers of South American Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara inside a toolbox.
Police <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25896483-balmer-criminal-complaint-and-affidavit-mdj-klein/">documents</a> reveal that Balmer admitted to harboring “hatred towards” Shapiro and planned on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arson-suspect-planned-on-beating-josh-shapiro-with-hammer-police?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Arson+Suspect+Planned+On+Beating+Josh+Shapiro+With+Hammer%3A+Police">beating him with a hammer</a> if he encountered the governor during the attack, where he allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into the Harrisburg home.
The attack, which did significant damage to the governor’s mansion, led to police waking and escorting Shapiro’s family from the home. The attack took place hours after the Shapiro family finished their Passover Seder meal.
Balmer has been charged with eight crimes, including attempted homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism, and multiple counts of aggravated assault. He faces over 100 years in prison.
Balmer turned himself in to the police shortly after his ex-girlfriend alerted authorities that he was responsible. Balmer admitted to the attack and told police that he knew people could be harmed, according to a police affidavit.
“He advised on the date in question he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into Heineken Bottles he found at his residence,” the police affidavit says. “Balmer advised he walked for approximately one hour from his residence to the Governor’s Residence to throw his homemade Molotov cocktails into the residence.” 
Balmer’s mother <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/josh-shapiro-governors-residence-harrisburg-fire/">told</a> the media that her son was “mentally ill and he went off his medication.”
Police were dispatched to Balmer’s home in January 2023 to respond to a report of domestic violence. When police arrived, Balmer told them he attempted suicide with a “bottle full of pills” and got into a fight with his wife and 13-year-old son, according to an affidavit from the Penbrook police department.
Balmer’s wife said he hit the boy and punched her in the face and bit her hand, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/14/politics/cody-balmer-shapiro-arson-suspect-invs/index.html">CNN reported</a>. His wife added that another 10-year-old son was elbowed in the chest multiple times, and had his already-broken leg stepped on. 
Balmer was reportedly charged with three counts of simple assault at the time, but it is unclear whether he entered a plea. The case is ongoing.

Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro’s Residence Set On Fire In Suspected Arson Attack

Arsonist Arrested For Attack On Josh Shapiro Hated Israel, 911 Call Reveals

Anti-Semitism

Crime

Josh Shapiro

Palestine

Leftist Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner could be in trouble after he suggested last month that President Donald Trump and his supporters should be “punched in the face as hard as possible.&#8221; 
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania told The Daily Wire on Monday that it asked the Justice Department to investigate Krasner over his March suggestion that Trump and his supporters were “fascists” who needed to be “punched.” Krasner, a George Soros-backed district attorney who implements lax-on-crime policies, is running for a third term as Philadelphia’s top prosecutor. 
“Violence and threats are never acceptable, but they are particularly egregious when used as a political tool targeting the President of the United States of America and his supporters,” Pennsylvania GOP Chair Greg Rothman wrote to the Justice Department, according to a letter first shared with The Daily Wire. “The safety of President Trump, Republicans, and the integrity of our American republic rely on threats like District Attorney Krasner’s being investigated and, if appropriate, punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
The letter to Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said that Krasner should be investigated for making a “potential criminal threat” against Trump during a March 25 <a href="https://www.cityandstatepa.com/personality/2025/03/q-philadelphia-district-attorney-larry-krasner/404028/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with City &amp; State Pennsylvania.
During that interview, Krasner compared Trump and his supporters to the Nazis. 
“Trump likes crime. Fascists like crime. Right-wing Republican MAGA people like crime and they like it because it gins up a crisis that doesn’t have to be, which allows them to scapegoat different groups of marginalized people so they can eliminate our rights. This is a very old playbook,” Krasner said, before adding that he knew a “hell of a lot” about World War II. 
“This is all stuff close to me, and I know exactly where we need to be with this one: loud, proud, standing up and in their faces,” he said. “These are fundamentally fascists, and it will not do us any good to try to appease them. They are bullies who need to be punched in the face as hard as possible, and that is the only way that all the people around us who are so frightened will understand they can stand up, too.”
Rothman wrote that those comments should be seen in the broader calls for violence against the Trump administration and Elon Musk and his efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 
“Violent threats against President Trump, Republicans, Mr. Musk, DOGE staffers, and others have been rampant across the country recently. The clear intent of those doing so is to aid those intending to commit acts of violence,” Rothman wrote. 
The letter cited promises from interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin to investigate threats made toward Musk and members of DOGE, and urges Metcalf to take similar action. 
The last few months have seen a string of attacks targeting Tesla, including firebombings and acts of vandalism. The Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/domestic-terrorism-fbi-arrests-man-for-firebombing-new-mexico-tesla-showroom-gop-headquarters?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Domestic+Terrorism’%3A+FBI+Arrests+Man+For+Firebombing+New+Mexico+Tesla+Showroom%2C+GOP+Headquarters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced yesterday</a> that they had arrested a 40-year-old man for firebombing a Tesla showroom in New Mexico and the state’s Republican Party headquarters. 
“Political violence is never the answer — not in our communities, not in our campaigns, and certainly not from those sworn to uphold the law,” the Pennsylvania GOP told The Daily Wire. “The words of District Attorney Larry Krasner weren’t just reckless, they were dangerous. When the top prosecutor in Philadelphia suggests that the President of the United States and his supporters should be ‘punched in the face,’ it’s not just political rhetoric, it’s a threat.”
While Krasner easily won his last two general elections in the deep blue city, he currently faces a primary challenge from Patrick Dugan, a former judge who is running on a law and order platform.

MixCollage-15-Apr-2025-10-44-AM-816

Soros DA’s Comments About Punching Trump Could Haunt Him In Re-Election Fight

George Soros

Philadelphia

The man suspected of setting the Pennsylvania governor&#8217;s mansion on fire over the weekend planned on attacking Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, according to police.
Police <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25896483-balmer-criminal-complaint-and-affidavit-mdj-klein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents</a> reveal that 38-year-old Cody Balmer admitted that he harbored &#8220;hatred towards&#8221; Shapiro and planned on beating him with a hammer if he encountered the governor as he allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into Shapiro&#8217;s residence. Balmer has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, terrorism, and multiple counts of aggravated assault.
Shapiro and his family were inside the home during the attack, which did significant damage. They were awoken by Pennsylvania State Police around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday and were escorted out of the residence.
Balmer turned himself in to the police shortly after he called an &#8220;ex-paramour&#8221; to confess to her and ask her to alert law enforcement, according to a police affidavit. The same affidavit says that Balmer admitted to the attack and told police that he knew people could be harmed because of his actions.
“He advised on the date in question he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into Heineken Bottles he found at his residence,&#8221; the police affidavit says. &#8220;Balmer advised he walked for approximately one hour from his residence to the Governor’s Residence with the intention of throwing his homemade Molotov cocktails into the residence.” 
He reportedly told police that he climbed the perimeter fence of the governor&#8217;s mansion, broke two windows with a hammer, and then threw the Molotov cocktails into the home. 
&#8220;Balmer was asked specifically what he would have done if Governor Shapiro found him inside of his residence, to which he advised he would have beaten him with his hammer,&#8221; the affidavit says.
When police searched Balmer&#8217;s residence, they found clothing that matched the outfit worn by the individual seen on surveillance video and a small sledgehammer.
Balmer&#8217;s mother <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/josh-shapiro-governors-residence-harrisburg-fire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS News that he was &#8220;mentally ill and he went off his medication&#8221; when the attack occurred.
Speaking on Sunday, Shapiro said that police knew that the attack was targeted but didn&#8217;t specifically know why.
&#8220;We don’t know the person’s specific motive yet, but we do know a few truths,&#8221; he said. &#8220;First, this type of violence is not okay. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society, and I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another, or one particular person or another, it is not okay, and it has to stop.”

MixCollage-14-Apr-2025-08-47-AM-4730

Arson Suspect Planned On Beating Josh Shapiro With Hammer: Police

Arson

Molotov cocktail

Political Violence

Politics

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a rising star in the Democratic Party, and his family were evacuated from the Governor&#8217;s Residence early Sunday morning due to a fire suspected to be arson, according to officials.
At roughly 2:00 a.m., members of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire responded to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg following reports of a fire, the Pennsylvania State Police said in a <a href="https://www.pa.gov/agencies/psp/newsroom/state-police-investigating-fire-at-governor-s-residence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. Firefighters successfully extinguished the blaze, but not before it caused significant damage to a portion of the residence, police said. Shapiro and his family were in a different part of the building at the time and were evacuated safely.
&#8220;My family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg,&#8221; Shapiro said in a <a href="https://x.com/GovernorShapiro/status/1911426722257314092" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X.
&#8220;The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished.&#8221;
A multi-agency investigation is underway, but the Pennsylvania State Police said on Sunday that it was already prepared to attribute the fire to arson.
Shapiro is a former attorney general of Pennsylvania who was first elected governor in 2022. He is widely seen as a potential contender for the White House race in 2028. Vice President Kamala Harris even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/josh-shapiro-and-other-vp-contenders-react-to-harris-walz-ticket" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered</a> Shapiro to be her running mate in her failed 2024 presidential run before she settled on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
According to a biography on the governor&#8217;s <a href="https://www.pa.gov/governor/meet-governor-josh-shapiro.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, Shapiro and his wife, Lori, have four children, ranging in age from their early 20s to early teens. The fire occurred several hours after Shapiro, who is Jewish, <a href="https://x.com/GovernorShapiro/status/1911179332258607449" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared</a> on X a photo of his family&#8217;s Seder table for the first night of Passover.
&#8220;Every day, we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger to protect our communities,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;Last night, they did so for our family – and Lori and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe.&#8221;
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Austin Davis was among those who expressed relief upon learning that Shapiro and his family made it out unscathed.
&#8220;Blayre and I are relieved to know the Shapiro family is safe and unharmed, and I&#8217;m confident the State Police will get to the bottom of who perpetrated this crime. I won&#8217;t speculate on motivations, but I will say that targeting elected officials and their family members with violence is never acceptable,&#8221; Davis <a href="https://x.com/LGAustinDavis/status/1911429699722531178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;These sorts of acts deter good people from pursuing public service at a time when we desperately need more Americans to participate in our democracy.&#8221;
Authorities are offering a reward of up to $10,000 through PSP Tips for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Anyone with information was urged to contact 1-800-4PA-TIPS (1-800-472-8477).

Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Governor Evacuates Home With Family After Suspected Arson

An affiliate of Pennsylvania State University was hit with a federal civil rights complaint on Tuesday alleging that scholarship opportunities discriminated against white and male students on the basis of their race and sex.
The Equal Opportunity Project hit the Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania State University, over 12 different scholarships, including some that require applicants to be “a racial or ethnic minority,” “female,” or considered “previously marginalized” on account of their identities.
“Creating educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin, or sex violates Titles VI and IX of the Civil Rights Act, as well as Pennsylvania law,” said William A. Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project. “Such race-and sex-based scholarships also violate Penn Tech&#8217;s own non-discrimination policies. We are asking Penn Tech to live up to the law and its own rules, and remove the discriminatory eligibility barriers it has erected.”
The university’s Cahir Family Renaissance Scholarship only accepts applicants who “have been previously marginalized by racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, or other adversities,” while the “Start to Finish Minority Scholarship” tells applicants that they must be “a racial or ethnic minority.” Other scholarships named in the federal complaint only accept female applicants.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-901107 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-300x134.png" alt="" width="708" height="316" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-300x134.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-1024x458.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM-768x343.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-01-at-12.10.22-PM.png 1222w" sizes="(max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" /></div>
“Racial, ethnic, and sex discrimination is wrong and unlawful no matter which race, ethnicity, or sex is targeted or benefits. All applicants are entitled to equal treatment without regard to race, color, national origin, or sex,” Jacobson charged. “It does not matter what schools call it — &#8216;anti-racism&#8217; or &#8216;diversity, equity, and inclusion,&#8217; or something else — what matters is that no measure of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is permitted.”
The complaint comes after the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-investigating-more-than-50-universities-for-anti-white-anti-asian-discrimination">launched investigations</a> into more than 50 universities that allegedly engaged in anti-white and anti-Asian discrimination, including Vanderbilt, Yale, New York University, Notre Dame, Duke, and Georgetown.
Most of the 52 institutions under investigation face scrutiny over their involvement in the PhD Project, which the Education Department described as “an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.” Other colleges are under investigation for allegedly awarding discriminatory, race-based scholarships.

Graduation cap

Pennsylvania College Hit With Federal Complaint Over Anti-White, Anti-Male Scholarships

Academia

Courts

Discrimination

Diversity

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Racial Discrimination

University of Pennsylvania

MixCollage-25-Mar-2025-03-51-PM-3326

This May Be The Dumbest Hate Crime Hoax Yet

Bubba Wallace

Hoax

Jussie Smollett

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Race

White Supremacy

Law enforcement officials in Pennsylvania arrested an employee of Allentown City after they say that she staged a hate crime hoax.
The Allentown Police Department alleges that LaTarsha Brown contacted the department on January 10, 2025, just after 7:30 a.m. to report that she had found what she claimed was &#8220;a noose on her desk upon arriving at work,&#8221; police say.
Numerous law enforcement entities quickly became engaged in the criminal investigation, including the FBI, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Lehigh County District Attorney&#8217;s Office.
Police used building video surveillance and access control records to whittle down the list of potential suspects who were present on the third floor of the building where her desk was located between the time she left for work the previous day and the morning that she called police.
&#8220;Those employees were interviewed, and each was asked if they would provide a buccal swab for DNA testing if needed. Every city employee agreed, except for Ms. Brown,&#8221; police said in a statement. &#8220;Initially cooperative, Ms. Brown later requested that the investigation be discontinued.&#8221;
Officials said that the Forensic DNA Division of the Pennsylvania State Police issued a written report on March 10 indicating that Brown&#8217;s DNA &#8220;matched the DNA profile obtained from the swabs of both the outer surface and the inner knotted portion of the noose after taken apart.&#8221;
&#8220;No other person&#8217;s DNA profiles was found on the evidentiary items involved in this investigation,&#8221; police said.
Brown was subsequently charged by the Allentown Police Department on two criminal charges, including Tampering With Or Fabricating Physical Evidence (a misdemeanor of the second degree) and False Reports To Law Enforcement Authorities (a misdemeanor of the third degree).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Allentown city hall employee charged with planting noose on her own desk in January. LaTarsha Brown charged with fabricating physical evidence &amp; false report to law enforcement. Allentown Police say Brown asked “the investigation be discontinued” after city employees on her… <a href="https://t.co/FLPToNmh7x">pic.twitter.com/FLPToNmh7x</a>
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeleyFox29/status/1904213825064468907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2025</a></blockquote>

Allentown Police Department

Pennsylvania Police Arrest Woman For Alleged Hate Crime Hoax Involving ‘Noose’

Hate Crime

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO and father of two Brian Thompson, said in a filing on Friday that Pennsylvania police broke the law when they arrested him in December.
In a filing on Friday, Mangione&#8217;s lawyer claimed that police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, did not read Mangione his Miranda rights, which is required by the U.S. Constitution, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/luigi-mangione-says-pennsylvania-search-arrest-were-illegal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Mangione was arrested by police at a McDonald&#8217;s in Altoona on December 9 after a customer reportedly recognized him from “person of interest” pictures posted by the NYPD following the murder of Thompson on December 4.
According to defense attorney Thomas Dickey, police provided a “specious and unreasonable reason” for approaching Mangione, telling him he overstayed his welcome as a patron and looked suspicious. Dickey claimed that police never gave a reason for detaining his client and asked him questions before reading him his constitutional rights, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/luigi-mangione-says-pennsylvania-search-arrest-were-illegal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Police questioned Mangione for 15 minutes before telling him he was under investigation, according to the filing. Asked if he wanted to speak to police, Mangione shook his head no before an officer told him, “You are not in custody,” Dickey said. The defense attorney added, “This statement was materially false, inaccurate and contrary to law. It is clear at this time that the defendant was in fact in custody.”
After Mangione was arrested at the McDonald&#8217;s, authorities found a notebook, where written inside were mentions of taking out “the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention.” In Mangione&#8217;s backpack, police also allegedly found a 9mm homemade handgun, a manifesto, and the same fake New Jersey ID that was used by the person of interest at a Manhattan hostel before Thompson was gunned down on the street. The manifesto included criticism of Thompson prioritizing profit over patients, according to authorities.
Mangione was extradited to New York where he faces murder and terrorism charges brought against him by the state and the federal government. The federal murder charges make Mangione eligible for the death penalty. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. The murder suspect has received <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/suspected-assassin-luigi-mangione-accepts-nearly-300k-in-donations-for-legal-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support</a> from fans in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to his criminal defense and a deluge of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/luigi-mangione-accused-of-ceos-murder-asks-fans-to-stop-sending-so-many-pics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photos</a> sent to him.

Luigi Mangione Says Police Broke The Law When They Arrested And Searched Him

Police

Menu