Wrongful convictions are a serious problem in America. We do not know how many people have been convicted for crimes they never committed, but we do occasionally hear the stories of those who have.
The Washington Post on Tuesday told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/12/prosecutors-take-larger-role-reversing-wrongful-convictions-philadelphia-da-exonerates-men-wrongly-imprisoned-murder/">the story</a> of Terrance Lewis, who a judged ruled must have been innocent after he spent 12 years in prison for a murder charge. Even though the judge determined “the court believes that Petitioner is innocent&#8230;it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted Petitioner,” the judge rejected Lewis’ appeal on procedural grounds. Lewis would spend another nine years in prison before he would be released thanks to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s newly relaunched Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU).
Lewis spent a total of 21 years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit.
As the Post reported, Philadelphia has released 10 men who were wrongly convicted of murder since the beginning of 2018.
The releases were helped by defense attorney Larry Krasner, who took over Philadelphia’s DA office and relaunched the CIU.
“You take an oath to seek justice,” Krasner told the Post. “That means innocent people go home. It also means, if you have an innocent person in jail, the guilty one got away.”
The Post also reported that seven of the 10 men released “were convicted by longtime district attorney Lynne Abraham, a tough-on-crime prosecutor who regularly sought maximum punishments and death sentences.”
More from the Post:
<blockquote>The National Registry of Exonerations counted 151 exonerations last year, 68 of them in homicide cases, and found that the exonerees had spent a total of 1,639 years behind bars, or about 11 years per person. Conviction Integrity Units in prosecutors’ offices took part in 58 of those exonerations. The registry has tallied 2,500 wrongful convictions since 1989, costing defendants more than 22,000 years incarcerated.</blockquote>
CIU’s have been launched in 49 district attorneys’ offices across the country. Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina also have statewide conviction review offices.
The CIU’s look for prosecutorial misconduct, corrupt cops, and bad forensic science to exonerate the wrongly convicted.
“Some cities, such as Chicago and Philadelphia, have focused on corrupt cops who manufactured cases and won false convictions,” the Post reported. “Others, such as Houston, have cleared large numbers of cases by looking at flawed drug-testing systems that resulted in dozens of wrongful convictions.”
One of the corrupt cop cases took place in Philadelphia. Homicide detective Philip Nordo had been accused of intimidation and the sexual assault of witnesses. Defense attorneys then looked into this cases, resulting in three murder convictions being overturned. One of those innocent men, Jamaal Simmons, had never been arrested until 2009, when he was accused of murder. One of the key witnesses in the case said Nordo threatened him into identifying Simmons.
“I thought people were going to go up there and tell the truth, and I’m going to be free,” Simmons told the Post. “When I got convicted, I was crushed. Sentenced to 15 to 30 years.”
Simmons was freed in 2018.

Wrongful Conviction

Philadelphia Prosecutors Release 10 Men Wrongly Convicted Of Murder

Crime

Philadelphia

A former regional director of a Philadelphia Starbucks cafe at the center of a racially charged incident that sparked national protests of the company is now suing her former employer for racial discrimination. The company, she alleges, fired her, a white female, and unfairly punished other white employees in order to appease protesters.
Shannon Phillips, the former regional director whose region included a Center City Philadelphia Starbucks, says she was fired less than a month after one of the store&#8217;s managers called police to remove two black men who remained in the cafe after refusing to order anything.
Phillips says she was terminated &#8220;because she objected to placing the white district manager at the 18th and Spruce Streets store on administrative leave for purportedly paying lower salaries to black workers than their white counterparts,&#8221; <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/starbucks-lawsuit-manager-discrimination-black-men-arrests-philadelphia-20191031.html">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> reported Thursday.
&#8220;Phillips, who lives in South Jersey and worked for the coffee chain for 13 years, says Starbucks&#8217; reason for disciplining the manager was &#8216;factually impossible,&#8217; as the company’s &#8216;Partner Resources&#8217; branch sets employee salaries without input from the store’s district manager,&#8221; the paper reports.
In response, Phillips has filed a <a href="https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/PHILLIPSvSTARBUCKSCORPORATIONDocketNo119cv19432DNJOct282019CourtD?1572564813">lawsuit</a> against the company alleging racial discrimination. Her attorney has asked for a jury trial.
In a statement to <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/10/31/former-center-city-starbucks-manager-suing-company-for-alleged-discrimination-against-white-people/">CBS3 Philadelphia</a>, Starbucks denied the accusation. &#8220;We deny the claims of the lawsuit and are prepared to defend our case in court,&#8221; a Starbucks spokesperson told the outlet.
The national controversy that preceded Phillips&#8217; firing began with a viral video posted by an activist and writer who now <a href="https://twitter.com/missydepino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E984539713016094721&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fphiladelphia.cbslocal.com%2F2019%2F10%2F31%2Fformer-center-city-starbucks-manager-suing-company-for-alleged-discrimination-against-white-people%2F">describes</a> herself on Twitter as &#8220;that white lady who tweeted the Starbucks video then co-founded the [<a href="https://twitter.com/privtoprog">From Privilege to Progress</a>] movement.&#8221;
&#8220;The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything,&#8221; Melissa &#8220;That White Lady&#8221; DePino tweeted on April 12 of last year along with a video of police escorting two black men out of the Center City Starbucks. &#8220;They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing.&#8221;
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Starbucks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Starbucks</a> The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for a friend to show up, who did as they were taken out in handcuffs for doing nothing. All the other white ppl are wondering why it’s never happened to us when we do the same thing. <a href="https://t.co/0U4Pzs55Ci">pic.twitter.com/0U4Pzs55Ci</a>
— Melissa “That White Lady” DePino (@missydepino) <a href="https://twitter.com/missydepino/status/984539713016094721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The two men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, told police and the press in subsequent interviews that they were simply waiting for another business partner to arrive for a meeting before they ordered.
The manager who contacted police says she told the men when they asked to use the restroom that the store policy is that they must first order something. She says they refused to order anything and instead chose to sit down. After allegedly warning them she would have to call police, she did so, <a href="https://nypost.com/2018/04/17/police-release-recording-of-call-that-lead-to-arrest-of-black-men-at-starbucks/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter&amp;utm_medium=SocialFlow">telling</a> police in a recorded call, &#8220;I have two gentlemen in my cafe that are refusing to make a purchase or leave.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://apple.news/AYlFb6RSpTIiXQFxA6xn6GA">Christopher Norris</a>, who interviewed the manager, she cited &#8220;a corporate policy germane exclusively to Center City Philadelphia locations prohibits excessive loitering.&#8221; If that policy is violated, Norris explained, &#8220;then management has the discretion to ensure it’s enforced, even if it means calling the police.&#8221;
When the officers arrived, they asked Nelson and Robinson to leave. After the two men refused, the officers handcuffed them and escorted them out of the cafe.
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Philadelphia PD Commissioner Richard Ross defended the actions of his officers. &#8220;It is important to emphasize and underscore that these officers had legal standing to make this arrest,&#8221; he <a href="https://defensemaven.io/bluelivesmatter/news/video-police-reveal-men-arrested-for-being-black-at-starbucks-is-a-lie-Q9m0AUa4BEeKjvEJJpuyMg/">said</a>. &#8220;Again, they were called to the scene because employees said that they were trespassing. It is important for me to say, in short, that these officers did absolutely nothing wrong. They followed policy. They did what they were supposed to do. They were professional in all their dealings with these gentlemen, and instead, they got the opposite back.&#8221;
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&#8220;I can tell you that there was a case involving one of our sergeants, probably a couple years ago, who went to Starbucks in full uniform and he was also denied access to the restroom,&#8221; said Ross. &#8220;So they are at least consistent in their policy.&#8221;
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Five days after the incident, Starbucks issued a <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-to-close-stores-nationwide-for-racial-bias-education-may-29/">news release</a> announcing that the company &#8220;will be closing its more than 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States on the afternoon of May 29 to conduct racial-bias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve spent the last few days in Philadelphia with my leadership team listening to the community, learning what we did wrong and the steps we need to take to fix it,&#8221; Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement featured in the release. &#8220;While this is not limited to Starbucks, we’re committed to being a part of the solution. Closing our stores for racial bias training is just one step in a journey that requires dedication from every level of our company and partnerships in our local communities.&#8221;
This article has been expanded to include more details of the lawsuit.
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Starbucks Protest

Starbucks Sued For Discriminating Against White People

Racism

Starbucks

Two U.S. congressmen are asking the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission to reveal the details of its investigation into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kids-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-ryan-saavedra">April 2019 video</a> of Muslim children from a Philadelphia mosque performing anti-Semitic skits and singing violent songs.
<a href="https://www.memri.org/reports/children-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-sacrifice-ourselves-al-aqsa-will-chop-their">The shocking video</a> was presented by the Muslim American Society Islamic Center and Masjid A-Hidaya Mosque in Philadelphia in celebration of “<a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/05/ummah_day_in_philadelphia.html#ixzz60XAmVhmX">Ummah Day.</a>” As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kids-philadelphia-muslim-society-we-will-ryan-saavedra">reported</a> at the time by The Daily Wire, the video featured Muslim children singing,
<blockquote>We will chop off their heads … we will lead the army of Allah fulfilling his promise, we will subject them to eternal torture … we will defend the land of divine guidance with our bodies … sacrifice our souls without hesitation.</blockquote>
Following multiple press articles, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations <a href="https://www.apnews.com/d3c30af9eb174e78a8b04ae201ac509b">announced</a> an investigation into the event.
But more than five months have elapsed — with no follow-up from the Commission regarding its findings. Recently, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) sent a <a href="https://zeldin.house.gov/sites/zeldin.house.gov/files/09.12.2019-FINAL_0.pdf">letter</a> to the Commission’s executive director, Rue Landau, requesting an update of its findings and asking whether further investigation needs to be made by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The letter also informed Landau of the Muslim American Society’s (MAS) role as an “overt arm” of the Muslim Brotherhood and notes that “several senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as terrorists.” Perry and Zeldin also noted that, given the Muslim American Society has 50 chapters throughout the United States, the results of the Philadelphia investigation are of national importance in trying to understand the role played by the organization and similar groups in indoctrinating American Muslims children towards <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lee-baird-recent-conference-highlights-emboldened-martha-lee">extremist Islamism</a>.
Contacted about the letter, Landau did not respond.
The disturbing video received both local and national attention at the time, but why is there only continuing interest in the results of the Commission’s investigation from a congressman from New York and a congressman from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania?
Where are the voices coming from lawmakers in Philadelphia — or the voices from local Muslim organizations purporting to be advocates for human rights?
The Philadelphia City Council has not taken action, either. While Philadelphia Councilman Curtis Jones <a href="http://legislation.phila.gov/transcripts/Stated%20Meetings/2019/sm040419.pdf">prepared a city council resolution</a> in outrage over Pennsylvania Representative Delegate Stephanie Borowicz’s references to Jesus in a State House invocation during the swearing-in of Muslim State Representative Movita Johnson-Harrell, there has been no similar resolutions or outrage over the Muslim American Society’s promotion of songs about beheading Jews. Calls and emails to Jones and other councilmen asking if they too would add their voices in requesting an update from the Commission were ignored.
The Masjid Al-Hidaya Mosque, where the video was filmed, sits in the congressional district of Congressman Brendan Boyle and neighbors the district covered by Congressman Dwight Evans. Calls to each congressman’s local office revealed no awareness of the Zeldin/Perry letter, although staffers suggested they would investigate the matter further.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Philadelphia chapter responded to MAS’ head-chopping video with a press release at the time: “<a href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=536562&amp;f=87515&amp;s=92595&amp;m=992797&amp;t=fb532d90aa0066a36ae360a77a2789125f87202761881ec465f4ea390c6c3700">Muslim Community Condemns Anti-Semitism</a>.” CAIR-Philadelphia executive director Jacob Bender was careful to add: “We should be careful, however, not to conflate criticism of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians with anti-Semitism. Thousands of American and Israeli Jews like myself are critical of the oppressive policies of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The CAIR-PA’s <a href="https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/cair-philadelphias-distorted-view-of-children-singing-about-beheadings-and-of-the-san-diego-synagogue-attack/">weak response</a> is a reminder of the historic relationship between MAS and CAIR. As federal prosecutors have <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/UNITED-STATES-OF-AMERICA-Plaintiff-Appellee-v-Sabri-BENKAHLA-Defendant-A....pdf">previously argued:</a>
<blockquote>CAIR and MAS omit reference to a shared background that limits their membership to those of a particular political bent, and undercuts their credibility. The Muslim Brotherhood is a generally covert international organization whose credo is ‘Allah is our goal; the Qur&#8217;an is our constitution; the Prophet is our leader; Struggle is our way; and death in the path of Allah is our highest aspiration.’</blockquote>
CAIR-Philadelphia has a history of running substantial campaigns whenever they wish to highlight issues of concern to them. That includes a <a href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=536562&amp;f=87515&amp;s=92595&amp;m=996529&amp;t=fb532d90aa0066a36ae360a77a2789125f87202761881ec465f4ea390c6c3700">recent effort targeting Starbucks</a> over the name on a Muslim man’s coffee cup. But they have issued no apparent follow-up regarding the MAS video — or the remedial training CAIR was <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/video-muslim-american-society-children-violent-mosque-philadelphia-20190515.html">supposed to have provided </a>to following the incident.
The Zeldin/Perry letter seeking disclosure of the Commission’s findings regarding MAS is a worthwhile effort. It’s a shame that local officials do not seem nearly as motivated in responding to an incident that has tarred Philadelphia’s reputation and raised serious questions about growing levels of Islamist anti-Semitism in the City of Brotherly Love.
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Leonard  Getz, CPA, is an associate in Philadelphia for <a href="http://www.counterislamist.org/">the Counter-Islamist Grid (CIG)</a> and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The American Thinker, The Algemeiner, PJMedia, Lifestyles Magazine, Nostalgia Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and elsewhere.

Philadelphia skyline

GETZ: Congressmen Demand Answers About Horrifying Anti-Semitic Video In Philadelphia

Anti-Semitism

Department of Justice

Islam

Lee Zeldin

Muslims

Radical Islam

Police officers in Philadelphia were subjected to taunts and physical assault by members of the community during a tense alleged drug bust that ended with six officers being shot, all of whom are thankfully expected to recover.
In shocking video that surfaced online, which has been confirmed by Philadelphia’s CBS affiliate, residents swarm cops, taunting and laughing at them. At least one woman is captured on video shoving an officer. According to a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/crowd-of-onlookers-taunt-police-during-philadelphia-standoff-reports">Fox News</a> report, officers were also pelted with unidentified objects.
Alexandria Hoff, a reporter at Philadelphia’s KYW-TV, said she was harassed during live coverage of the standoff and expressed her disbelief over the harassment of officers.
&#8220;I mentioned this at 10 and since I was harassed during that live shot, I’ll mention it here too,&#8221; she wrote via Twitter. &#8220;A major moment of disappointment this evening was watching a crowd of people taunt police officers, laughing and yelling at them in the midst of the gunfire.&#8221;
Hoff noted, &#8220;I should add — 98% of people here on scene were respectful and concerned. That moment was just such a startling thing to see in the middle of something so chaotic.&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I should add &#8211; 98% of people here on scene were respectful and concerned. That moment was just such a startling thing to see in the middle of something so chaotic.
— Alexandria Hoff (@AlexandriaHoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexandriaHoff/status/1161856112460800005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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As reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50656/suspect-who-shot-six-philly-cops-arrested-james-barrett">The Daily Wire</a> on Thursday morning, the standoff closed out after a long seven hours from outside the alleged shooter’s apartment building. The perp, whom the The Daily Wire will not name as a matter of policy, was brought into police custody after reportedly calling his lawyer &#8220;in a panic.&#8221;
In the wake of the dangerous standoff, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called for more gun control measures, both at the state and federal level. &#8220;This government — both at the federal and state level — don&#8217;t wanna do anything about getting these guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals,&#8221; he said.
However, the alleged shooter did not have a history of respecting laws at all; he had a total of six convictions and was barred from owning firearms. As noted by The Daily Wire, the suspect has &#8220;a lengthy rap sheet dating back to when he was 18 that includes gun, drug, and aggravated assault convictions and kidnapping and attempted murder charges.&#8221;
WATCH:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Yelling, screaming, and throwing things at officers that have PROTECTED YOU for 4 hours during an active shooting? Classy. WTH is wrong with you? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Philadelphia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Philadelphia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Philly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Philly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phillypd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#phillypd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/philadephiapd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#philadephiapd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/philadelphiapolice?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#philadelphiapolice</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phillyshooter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#phillyshooter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/phillyshooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#phillyshooting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FoxNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/rUBmb65O9x">pic.twitter.com/rUBmb65O9x</a>
— Brooke (@BrookelynnML) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrookelynnML/status/1161796579587764224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50656/suspect-who-shot-six-philly-cops-arrested-james-barrett">Suspect Who Shot Six Philly Cops Arrested, Identified</a>

Police Officers

WATCH: Philly Cops Taunted, Shoved After Responding To Drug Bust Where 6 Cops Were Shot

Police

After allegedly shooting six Philadelphia police officers during an over seven-hour standoff from his apartment building, the shooting suspect surrendered Wednesday night after calling his lawyer &#8220;in a panic&#8221; and was taken into police custody.
On Wednesday, police identified the suspect as a 36-year-old African-American man from Philadelphia with a lengthy rap sheet dating back to when he was 18 that includes gun, drug, and aggravated assault convictions and kidnapping and attempted murder charges (his name is here withheld due to Daily Wire policy on mass shootings).
&#8220;The standoff began Wednesday about 4:30 p.m. when a Narcotics Strike Force unit attempted to serve a search warrant at a house on the 3700 block of North 15th Street,&#8221; <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-police-shootings-six-shot-suspect-maurice-hill-20190815.html?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> reports. After he shot six police officers, all of whom are expected to recover, authorities spent several hours attempting to get him to surrender. He finally gave himself up at around midnight.
<a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Gunman-Shoots-Police-Officer-in-Nicetown-Tioga-542724941.html">NBC Philadelphia</a> reports that around midnight, a member of the SWAT team shot tear gas into the suspect&#8217;s apartment; he soon walked out of his home and was taken into custody by police. &#8220;He had a gun on him at the time, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said,&#8221; NBC notes.
Shaka Johnson, the lawyer of the suspect, spoke with the Inquirer Wednesday night, confirming that his client was the man involved in the shootout. &#8220;My client is requesting me to come to the scene,&#8221; said Johnson.
In an interview after the suspect surrendered, Johnson told <a href="http://twitter.com/GregArgosCBS3/status/1161865269129744385">CBS</a> that his client had called him around 8:30 p.m. &#8220;in a panic.&#8221; &#8220;I told him, &#8216;You gotta surrender, man,'&#8221; Johnson told the press.
The suspect was first taken to Temple University Hospital for evaluation, before being released to police custody Thursday morning, NBC reports.
Johnson says his client is likely to be charged with six counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Those charges would add to an already lengthy list of charges tracing back to 2001, when the suspect was first arrested at age 18 for possessing a gun with an altered serial number. The Inquirer provides a summary of his numerous arrests and convictions:
<blockquote>Public records show that he has been arrested about a dozen times since turning 18, and convicted six times on charges that involved illegal possession of guns, drug dealing, and aggravated assault. He has been in and out of prison; the longest sentence handed him came in 2010, when a federal judge gave him a 55-month term.
And, his record would indicate, he does not like to go to prison. In 2008, he was convicted of escaping, fleeing from police, and resisting arrest. Along the way, he beat criminal charges on everything from kidnapping to attempted murder.</blockquote>
His 2010 federal prison sentence came after he pled guilty in 2008 to federal firearms violations for illegally possessing a Smith &amp; Wesson .357 and a Taurus PT .45 semiautomatic, the Inquirer notes. He was also convicted in 2013 of perjury and given seven years probation. But even on probation, he racked up more charges, including fleeing officers on an unregistered scooter, putting pedestrians at risk, charges for which he was eventually acquitted. He arrested again in October 2014 on charges of drug possession and false imprisonment but somehow managed to &#8220;beat&#8221; those charges as well.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50559/limbaugh-heres-why-were-going-see-gun-legislation-james-barrett">Limbaugh: Here’s Why We’re Going To See Gun Legislation This Time</a>

Philadelphia Shooting

Suspect Who Shot Six Philly Cops Arrested, Identified

Guns

Shooting

A Philadelphia man is now free from prison after spending 28 years behind bars for a murder prosecutors now say he likely didn’t commit.
Chester Hollman III was sentenced to life in prison for the 1991 killing of University of Pennsylvania student Tae-Jung Ho. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this week that the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office found that police and prosecutors “had hidden evidence that pointed to more viable suspects.” There was no physical evidence indicating Hollman was involved in the crime, yet the testimony of two witnesses — who later recanted — helped get him convicted.
“It was pretty clear to us,&#8221; said Assistant District Attorney Patricia Cummings, “that unfortunately the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office actually had evidence in their possession back at the time of trial [that], had they disclosed it to the defense that they’re constitutionally and ethically required to do … Mr. Hollman might not have ever even stood trial.”
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright made the recent ruling that freed Hollman, concluding he was “likely innocent” of the crime for which he was serving a life sentence. As the Inquirer reported, this was a “stunning reversal” from her ruling in 2012, in which she said Hollman would not receive a new trial. That ruling came after Deirdre Jones, a key witness for the prosecution, admitted that she lied to jurors in 1993.
“Jones had told them she had been riding in an SUV with Hollman and two others that night in 1991 when she watched two of them get out and heard a gunshot,” the outlet reported. “Jones, who was then a neighbor of Hollman’s, has since said that police had pressured her to incriminate Hollman. David Baker, the now-retired detective who took Jones’ original statement, denied in the 2012 hearing — and again in a 2017 interview with The Inquirer — that he had coerced her testimony.”
Another witness — a man — also recanted his testimony years after Hollman’s conviction, claiming police pressured him to point the finger at Hollman.
Hollman’s case was helped in 2017 by the Inquirer when it mentioned his case in an article about “the pervasive practice of lying in the criminal justice system — by suspects, witnesses, and law enforcement.” The “Undisclosed” podcast also highlighted Hollman’s case, which his appeals attorney, Alan Tauber, said helped his client.
“This is a glorious day,&#8221; Tauber said after Hollman was released from jail. “We have a flawed system and innocent people do go to jail. But we have a great system, because there is a means for correcting that.”
The Inquirer also reported that Hollman’s release “is the eighth murder conviction that the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has helped to reverse since Larry Krasner took over the office in January 2018.”
Not every police department has something like the Conviction Integrity Unit, and the process to overturn a conviction — especially one for a serious charge — is long and arduous. Yet Hollman’s case shows that it is possible for innocent people to get the justice they deserved. Hollman was 20 years old when he was sentenced to life in prison. He is now 48 and just getting to start living the life that was previously taken away from him.

‘LIKELY INNOCENT’: Man Released After Spending 28 Years In Prison For Murder He Didn’t Commit

Hoax

Philadelphia police have released video of the July 4 incident in which a surging crowd of roughly 60 teenagers marauded through a Philadelphia Walgreens, stealing merchandise, destroying property and reportedly throwing a bottle at the head of an employee who tried to intervene.
<a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/07/05/60-teens-terrorize-businesses-walgreens-attack-man-south-street-philadelphia-police-say/">CBS3 Philadelphia</a> reported, “Many of the people Eyewitness News spoke to believe the crowd originated from Penn’s Landing and traveled up South Street, gaining in size and causing nearly $7,000 in destruction, according to police. Starting around 10 p.m. Thursday, much of South Street went into lockdown … As the crowd moved west on South Street, businesses still open at the time either chose or were advised by police to lock their doors … By the time the large group of young people made it to 18th and South Street, police say it had grown to about 60 people strong.”
The <a href="http://pr.phillypolice.com/2019/07/wanted-suspects-for-commercial-robbery-in-the-17th-district-video-4/?fbclid=IwAR1wVI38wG3gj_sQM2wo9CLaYSofoJsF5jqyjEVycMIAHe1ImAzGiUdGuh8">Philadelphia police</a> described the rampage this way:
<blockquote>On July 4, 2019 at approximately 10:00 PM, a large group of approximately sixty (60) males and females stormed the Walgreens store located at 1800 South Street. Once inside, the group ran around knocking items off of the shelves and running out of the store without paying for merchandise. Some members in the group threw merchandise at store employees, resulting in injuries.</blockquote>
Philadelphia Police captain Sekou Kinebrew told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4VELPCt3uo">ABC6 Philadelphia</a>, “Yesterday was a day of celebration so large crowds and people moving around, having fun, that was certainly to be expected but this type of act was not something that we expected and not something that we will tolerate … Between the things that they stole and the property damaged inside, it’s between $6,000 and $7,000 in damage.&#8221;
Areavibes.com <a href="https://www.areavibes.com/philadelphia-pa/crime/">has noted</a>, “The overall Philadelphia, PA crime rate is 104% higher than the Pennsylvania average and is 46% higher than the national average. Looking at violent crime specifically, Philadelphia, PA has a violent crime rate that is 202% higher than the Pennsylvania average and 147% higher than the national average. For property crime, Philadelphia, PA is 86% higher than the Pennsylvania average and 30% higher than the national average.”
The <a href="https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/reality-check-philly-has-a-violence-problem/">Philadelphia Citizen</a> reported of Philadelphia’s violent crime rate in 2018:
<blockquote>Philadelphia suffered a total of 351 violent homicides in 2018, in a city of 1.6 million people. To put that in perspective: The murder rate here was 17 percent higher than<a href="https://abc7ny.com/nyc-sees-record-low-homicides-in-2018-based-on-preliminary-data/5000622/"> New York City’s 289 homicide victims</a>, its Amtrak Corridor big cousin of 8.5 million. It was 20 percent higher than<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-ends-year-with-slight-uptick-in-homicides-13501015.php"> Houston’s official total of 279 victims</a>, a place of 2.3 million that characterized that as “an uptick.” &#8230; And Philadelphia had more homicides in 2018 than the entire Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and large parts of Maryland combined):<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/local/homicides/?utm_term=.6b0bb775697a"> 280 homicides</a> for that region of 6.2 million residents … In Philly, there are no declines, just increases—and not good ones, either. That homicide total, according to Philadelphia Police Department<a href="https://www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats/"> data</a>, is the highest since a high of 391 in 2007.</blockquote>
Video below:
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WATCH: Roughly 60 Teens Run Amok, Ravage Philadelphia Walgreens

On Monday’s episode of “The Andrew Klavan Show,” Klavan discusses an article by a Philadelphia based therapist who claims that addressing obesity is “shaming” people who are out of shape. Video and partial transcript below:
One of the things that you&#8217;ve noticed is the attack on shame, on the very idea of shame. That shame itself is supposed to become a problem. There is a piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer to end fatphobia. &#8220;We need to dismantle Western civilization,&#8221; says Philly therapist Sonalee Rashatwar, all right. She hadn&#8217;t planned on being a therapist as her career path, she explained; the practice she co-owns in West Philadelphia just kind of happened. You see the picture, she&#8217;s overweight. She says she endured an abusive relationship in her early 20s. After college, she started volunteering for domestic violence response teams.
She says, &#8220;All my work is better to understand what I&#8217;ve experienced.” She&#8217;s become part of what is called the &#8220;fat positivity movement.&#8221; She says Rashatwar traces contemporary fat phobia to colonial brutality and how enslaved people were treated. Citing researcher advocate Caleb Luna, Rashatwar said, &#8220;Curing anti fatness would mean dismantling society&#8217;s foundation. I love to talk about undoing Western civilization because it&#8217;s just so romantic to me.&#8221; So, in other words, instead of just not stuffing her face so maybe she can get in shape, we&#8217;re supposed to get rid of Mozart and Shakespeare and Michelangelo and all the great achievements of Western civilization.
The attack on shame is an attack on the idea that there is a moral template, a human template. That we all feel bad when we veer away from that template. We feel bad, we feel shame. Shame is a gift. Guilt is a gift; it tells us when we have lost our way. All of us veer from this template. All men know they&#8217;re supposed to be strong and courageous. All men, even Navy SEALs, know that there are ways in which they&#8217;re not as strong as they should be, not as courageous as they should be. All women know that they&#8217;re supposed to be nurturing and tender. All women know that they fail at this sometimes, that they are not the ladies they wish they were in some deep part of their mind, and there&#8217;s no getting rid of that shame.
What the Left is saying, what these people are saying, is if only we could get rid of the society then we would get rid of the shame. This woman is coming right out and saying it. If we could get rid of Western civilization, I would no longer feel bad for being fat and that, of course, is a lie. That template is built into the human system. When you believe in God and when you believe that we are not just inventing morality, we&#8217;re not just inventing these templates, we’re actually receiving them. We&#8217;re learning to see them, we have evolved to see the moral world. We&#8217;ve evolved to see these templates.
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Yeah sure they change, and good looks change and all these things but at the core, there is a moral core, a moral template, that when we veer from we feel ashamed. So, they want to destroy all these things that they feel ashamed about. Being a slut. Don&#8217;t slut-shame me. Nobody is slut-shaming; you feel bad because you know you&#8217;re not supposed to be a slut. Don&#8217;t fat-shame me. Nobody&#8217;s shaming you, you feel bad because it&#8217;s unhealthy to act that way. You&#8217;re out of control in the way you treat yourself. You need to lose a little bit of weight. They do not want to take responsibility for themselves, so they pile it on to everybody else.
Weirdly, what Trump has done has allowed that vision to come back into the public square. The reason they don&#8217;t want cheering, happy people waving American flags is because we all know that&#8217;s the way we&#8217;re supposed to be. We all know that those are the people we&#8217;re supposed to be. You can be black, you can be white, you can be gay, you can be Asian, you can be whatever you want but we all know that we&#8217;re supposed to love a country that has made us free and prosperous and powerful. We should love this country. We all know it.
Because the Left is seeking to get away from that shame, to get away from the God who has imposed those templates, who has created that moral template. They want to destroy the entire civilization rather than face the shame. I really do think that that&#8217;s at the core of it.
Donald Trump doesn&#8217;t know anything about this. He doesn&#8217;t think about this stuff. He just knows that he is not going to be taken down by their insults. He&#8217;s not going to be called racist, he&#8217;s not going to do what Joe Biden is doing. “Oh, I&#8217;m sorry I said that. I&#8217;m sorry I said this.” I mean all the Democrats do is apologize because that&#8217;s the system they&#8217;ve created. Because wherever you go that system, that moral system, is still in place and that&#8217;s what they&#8217;re attacking all the time. What we need to do is not come back at them with shame and say “oh yes you should be ashamed of being fat.” We don&#8217;t have to say that. We don&#8217;t have to say “oh yes you should be ashamed of being a coward.”
We don&#8217;t have to create recreate the culture of shame because it&#8217;s never gone away, it&#8217;s there. All we have to do is what those people did at that July 4th celebration on the National Mall. All we have to do is celebrate the good. If we celebrate the good, believe me, the left will expose themselves. They cannot stand it. It&#8217;s like a cross to a vampire. It is like sunlight to a vampire to them to see us celebrating the good because it makes them feel the shame.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/andrew-klavan-show&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1562766007106000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH8uAWQZCkub6Kwyk-BZ9D6TiOafg">Watch more of The Andrew Klavan Show here</a>.
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-andrew-klavan-show/id1045171376?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-andrew-klavan-show/id1045171376?mt%3D2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1562766007106000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEmG06HxAJOOQx6F4h4Y62RUsFlfw">Listen to more of The Andrew Klavan Show on iTunes here.</a>

KLAVAN: Is Fatphobia Really A Problem?

Andrew Klavan

Conservatism

Donald Trump

U.S. Navy

Federal law enforcement officials seized 16.5 tons of cocaine on Tuesday in Philadelphia in what was the largest drug bust in the history of the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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*BREAKING NEWS* Federal authorities have seized approximately 16.5 TONS of cocaine from a large ship at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia. This is the largest drug seizure in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICEgov</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBPMidAtlantic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBPMidAtlantic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyPolice</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/USCG?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCG</a>
&#8212; U.S. Attorney EDPA (@USAO_EDPA) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAO_EDPA/status/1141046623159705602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Federal authorities continue to comb a cargo ship at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia,&#8221; CBS Philadelphia <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/06/18/15000-kilos-of-cocaine-confiscated-during-drug-bust-at-philadelphia-port-federal-sources-say/">reported</a>. &#8220;Investigators believe there is still a significant amount of cocaine remaining on the ship.&#8221;
Two people were arrested and charged in connection to the bust. Authorities say that the ship had previously traveled to the Bahamas, Panama, Peru, and Colombia.
In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said:
<blockquote>
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations-led multi-agency inspection of shipping containers aboard the MSC Gayane resulted in a substantial cocaine seizure in Philadelphia on June 17, 2019. Authorities continue to process the seized cocaine and continue its inspection aboard the vessel in the Port of Philadelphia. Authorities have made two arrests, and will release a final tally and additional details when this operation concludes.
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U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain tweeted: &#8220;This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. This amount of cocaine could kill millions &#8211; MILLIONS &#8211; of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics.&#8221;
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This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. This amount of cocaine could kill millions &#8211; MILLIONS &#8211; of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics. <a href="https://t.co/nWPfgpGqYa">https://t.co/nWPfgpGqYa</a>
&#8212; US Attorney William M. McSwain (@USAttyMcSwain) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAttyMcSwain/status/1141047079009226753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In a statement, the Philadelphia mayor&#8217;s office said:
<blockquote>
Every ounce of drugs we keep off the streets is helping to keep Philadelphians safe and alive. Mayor Kenney is thankful for the hard work of the Philadelphia Police Department, FBI, ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
</blockquote>

RECORD BUST: Feds Seize 33,000+ Pounds Of Cocaine Worth $1+ Billion

Cocaine

Drugs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

When most Americans think of Philadelphia &#8212; although probably fewer today than ever before, given the low level of history education in American schools &#8212; they probably think of the founding of the United States, the Liberty Bell and the city&#8217;s nickname, the City of Brotherly Love.
Having been to Philadelphia at least 20 times, I am among the many Americans who have warm feelings toward America&#8217;s founding city. My daily radio show has a large and enthusiastic listener base there, and I have a son who lives nearby.
So, it is with no joy that I write about the transformation of Philadelphia into something far removed from the principles of the country it helped birth. Philadelphia&#8217;s leading institutions &#8212; such as the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Flyers &#8212; provide depressing evidence.
We&#8217;ll begin with the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania, one of the country&#8217;s Ivy League colleges. When Harvard Professor Steven Pinker, a liberal and an atheist, recently described American universities as a &#8220;laughingstock,&#8221; he could have been referring specifically to the University of Pennsylvania, which, among other Philadelphia institutions, is committed to dismantling American and Western civilization.
For decades, a portrait of William Shakespeare, the greatest English-language playwright who ever lived and the most widely read playwright in the world, hung over the main staircase of Fisher-Bennett Hall, home to Penn&#8217;s English department.
Given Shakespeare&#8217;s stature as an English-language writer, what other writer would an English department so honor? But that question only makes sense to those who believe that excellence should dictate what writer&#8217;s portrait should hang in a university English department. The idea that excellence is all that matters in assessing artists is fundamental to Western civilization and is a primary reason for its ascent. It took a long time for humanity to transcend ethnic, racial, tribal and economic criteria for assessing art.
But the English department at the University of Pennsylvania, dominated as it is by those who equate Western civilization with &#8220;white supremacy&#8221; (aka leftists), voted to remove the Shakespeare portrait. As reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university&#8217;s student newspaper, &#8220;The English Department voted to relocate and replace the portrait &#8230; in order to represent a more diverse range of writers, according to an emailed statement from (Department Chair Jed) Esty, who declined to be interviewed.&#8221;
A few years later, in December 2016, students took down the portrait.
In its place they put up a portrait of Audre Lorde, a black feminist lesbian poet who died in 1992.
Equally nihilistic is a story out of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. On Aug. 9, 2017, tenured Penn Law professor Amy Wax and University of San Diego School of Law professor Larry Alexander co-authored an opinion piece titled &#8220;Paying the price for breakdown of the country&#8217;s bourgeois culture.&#8221;
Its thesis was that the rejection of American bourgeois middle-class culture is the primary reason for most social ills in America today:
&#8220;(American) culture laid out the script we all were supposed to follow: Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard, and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime.&#8221;
Within a few weeks, a petition was signed by 4,000 people calling for Wax&#8217;s dismissal, and the dean of Penn Law, Ted Ruger, wrote an op-ed in The Daily Pennsylvanian, ostensibly about Charlottesville but really about Wax, in which he implied her views were &#8220;divisive, even noxious.&#8221; Most significantly, he wrote, &#8220;It is important that I state my own personal view that as a scholar and educator I reject emphatically any claim that a single cultural tradition is better than all others&#8221; (referring to Wax&#8217;s position that those bourgeois values are superior values).
After hundreds of her colleagues demanded Wax be fired, Ruger forbade her from teaching any first-year required courses at Penn Law.
Now to the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world&#8217;s greatest. The orchestra recently received more than 500 applications for the position of assistant conductor. According to my Philly sources, the four finalists included only one male (a black male, for the record), despite the fact that males make up the overwhelming majority of orchestra conductors in the world and therefore the overwhelming majority of the applicants for the Philadelphia Orchestra position. There is little reason to believe that, as talented as they may be, the four were chosen on the basis of artistic excellence alone. The orchestra&#8217;s gifted conductor, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, has declared this the year of the woman conductor and the year of the woman composer.
Most musicians are on the left, but Nezet-Seguin makes it more obvious than most. In a recent concert, the Philadelphia Orchestra featured the premiere of Philadelphia Voices, &#8220;a political rant put to musical garbage,&#8221; as some Philadelphians associated with the orchestra described it to me. In the fifth movement, named &#8220;My House Is Full of Black People,&#8221; the black teen narrator chants: &#8220;The county is full of black people/ All wanting to be heard/ While old white men draw lines on maps/ To shut all of them up.&#8221; Later in the movement, he yells, &#8220;If you would all just f&#8212;-ing listen!&#8221;
And this year, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team removed the statue of American singer Kate Smith that the team had erected in 1987. Her rendition of &#8220;God Bless America&#8221; was played at every Flyers home game since 9/11, and she herself sang it for the Flyers in the 1970s. But last month, the team learned that Smith had sung a song with racist lyrics &#8212; &#8220;That&#8217;s Why Darkies Were Born&#8221; &#8212; in 1931. That Paul Robeson, the great black singer &#8212; and enthusiastic supporter of Josef Stalin &#8212; also recorded the song doesn&#8217;t matter. To the Flyers (and New York Yankees), Smith&#8217;s whiteness undid all the good she did for America.
Will Philadelphia next remove the Liberty Bell? After all, it was commissioned by slave owners and inscribed with a verse from the Bible.
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in April 2018, is &#8220;The Rational Bible,&#8221; a commentary on the book of Exodus. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.

PRAGER: Should The Liberty Bell Leave Philadelphia?

Progressivism

Social Justice

Pro-life advocates gathered on Friday outside the Philadelphia-area Planned Parenthood building where Democrat State Rep. Brian Sims had previously live-streamed himself harassing an elderly woman praying outside the office and encouraged people to dox three underage girls.
The rally was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/46902/daily-wires-matt-walsh-sparks-big-name-pro-life-amanda-prestigiacomo">the brainchild</a> of The Daily Wire&#8217;s own Matt Walsh, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47059/matt-walsh-addresses-brian-sims-massive-pro-life-amanda-prestigiacomo">who addressed Sims directly</a> at the rally, saying: &#8220;We are sending a message to bullies like Brian Sims. We will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced. If you try to shut us up, we are only going to get louder. If you try to shame us, we are only going to stand taller.&#8221;
Walsh, it should be noted, was the only male speaker at the rally, even though abortion activists try to paint the pro-life movement as part of the patriarchy trying to control women&#8217;s&#8217; bodies.
As reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/47061/pro-life-rally-garners-over-1000-participants-amanda-prestigiacomo">more than 1,000 people gathered</a>, The Daily Wire&#8217;s Michael Knowles asked attendees why it was so important to gather in Philadelphia that day and what their message was for Sims.
Lila Rose, founder of the pro-life group Live Action, told Knowles that the movement &#8220;does not back down to bullies.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re here because the pro-life movement does not back down to bullies, they do not back down to harassment. We stand against bullying, especially the bullying that kills children in the womb by the hundreds each day,&#8221; Rose said.
&#8220;We fight for the dignity of all people. We fight for the dignity of Brian Sims. We fight for the dignity of every person, so if Brian Sims were here we would welcome him,&#8221; she added.
&#8220;This crowd has come together in such a short amount of time. [It] just shows that people love our unborn babies,&#8221; said Graham Allen, host of the &#8220;Dear America&#8221; podcast.
Lauren Muzyka, executive director of Sidewalk Advocates for Life, told Knowles that Sims should have apologized to the women he harassed.
&#8220;If he was a real man, he would have been here today and he wouldn&#8217;t have made an apology to Planned Parenthood, he would have apologized individually to that elderly grandmother and those minor children that he encouraged other people to dox,&#8221; Muzyka said.
Knowles also spoke to a couple who support Sims and said Trump has been &#8220;taking away our liberties for two years now; we&#8217;re trying to get them back.&#8221; When Knowles asked what grew inside a woman&#8217;s womb if it was not a baby, the man first couldn&#8217;t give an answer and then said sarcastically to the woman beside him: &#8220;He wants a biology lesson.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m so disappointed. The day is winding down here; I&#8217;m in Brian Sims&#8217; neighborhood, but he doesn&#8217;t want to come out and talk to us,&#8221; Knowles concluded in his video. &#8220;We flew in from all over the country because Brian Sims wants to have conversations with pro-life people &#8212; that&#8217;s what he says. I guess all he really wants to do is bully underage girls and elderly women.&#8221;
&#8220;When it&#8217;s people coming out defending our views &#8212; people he can&#8217;t bully, people he can&#8217;t dox, people he can&#8217;t harass &#8212; Brian Sims hides in this apartment center. Too bad,&#8221; the podcast host added.
Watch the full video below:
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WATCH: Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles Interviews Pro-Life Rally Attendees In Philadelphia Sparked By Democrat Rep. Brian Sims

Abortion

Michael Knowles

Six Philadelphia-area Taco Bell employees have been terminated after they allegedly attacked a customer and his girlfriend outside the fast-food restaurant for allegedly complaining about their long taco wait time.
&#8220;The altercation, which was captured on camera and posted on Twitter, took place Sunday night, Feb. 24, and was apparently sparked after customers were complaining about the long wait times for their meal orders,&#8221; <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/taco-bell-employees-seen-beating-up-customers-after-allegedly-complaining-about-long-wait-for-tacos">reported</a> Fox News.
Bryan Reese, the man who was attacked, posted a video of the brutal incident to Twitter, as well as photos of bloodied clothing, a police report, and his girlfriend&#8217;s scratched and cut-up neck.
Reese claims he was initially offered a $20 gift card from the restaurant after alerting the business to the assault.
&#8220;I was assaulted by a number of [Taco Bell] employees, when I reached out to [Taco Bell] for justice they offered a $20 gift card, they must have thought I said Birthday not Assault,&#8221; he captioned the video, which was shot by his friend.
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I was assaulted by a number of <a href="https://twitter.com/TacoBellTeam?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TacoBellTeam</a> employees, when I reached out to <a href="https://twitter.com/tacobell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tacobell</a> for justice they offered a $20 gift card, they must have thought I said Birthday not Assault. I bet this would never happen at a <a href="https://twitter.com/ChickfilA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChickfilA</a>
&#8212; Beasley (@throwdembows) <a href="https://twitter.com/throwdembows/status/1103083925252071430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In another tweet directed to Taco Bell, Reese wrote, &#8220;Your employees jump counters and beat up customers in the street,&#8221; and posted photos of the aftermath.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/tacobell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tacobell</a> 1037 chestnut. Phila pa. Your employees jump counters and beat up customers in the street. <a href="https://t.co/D5BQE7H5oV">pic.twitter.com/D5BQE7H5oV</a>
&#8212; Beasley (@throwdembows) <a href="https://twitter.com/throwdembows/status/1099895080029167616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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According to ABC6, Reese said he and other customers were waiting some 45 minutes for taco orders. They were reportedly told by staffers at the restaurant that they were overwhelmed by GrubHub orders.
Reese said the complaints &#8220;eventually bothered the employees enough that three of them jumped over the counter and followed him outside, where his girlfriend was waiting, and began to beat up the pair,&#8221; Fox notes.
&#8220;I backed out of the store. They continued to follow me. They put me on the ground, and I don&#8217;t really remember too much else. Except for when I got up my girlfriend was on the ground being beat, too. She wasn&#8217;t even in the store at the time,&#8221; Reese told ABC6.
Reese claims he was initially told by the business that he could not have the names of the employees who assaulted him and his girlfriend. He has since received their names and plans to press charges.
The employees involved in the fight have been fired, Taco Bell confirmed to Fox News.
&#8220;We&#8217;re shocked and disappointed to see this situation; we and our franchisees do not tolerate this behavior. The franchisee who owns and operates this location is retraining its staff, and all team members involved have been terminated,&#8221; a statement from the chain says.
The same Philadelphia-area Taco Bell location was hit with more bad press this week when a GrubHub employee said he was threatened and chased out of the restaurant by employees.
&#8220;The manager told me there was nothing they could do, that Grubhub was overpowering their regular customers and they couldn&#8217;t handle it,&#8221; said GrubHub employee Kyle Scott, <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/03/06/grubhub-driver-details-violent-threats-slurs-taco-bell-employees/amp/">according</a> to CBS Philly.
&#8220;They were calling me [expletive], we&#8217;re not making your [expletive] order,&#8221; Scott recalled. &#8220;Call Grubhub and have them cancel it. The cashier then proceeded to tell me she&#8217;s not making my order.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know why they would get that upset, to hop over the counter and start vandalizing, trying to fight customers or delivery drivers,&#8221; Scott added.
&#8220;Taco Bell says they will retrain the remaining workers at the store. The six employees shown in Tuesday&#8217;s violent video have been terminated,&#8221; CBS Philly noted.
WATCH:
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Philly <a href="https://twitter.com/tacobell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tacobell</a> employees gang together and beat up 2 innocent people in the street, aggravated assault. <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSPhilly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBSPhilly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyDailyNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyDailyNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tacobell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tacobell</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyPolice</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KYWNewsradio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KYWNewsradio</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyMayor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyMayor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCPhiladelphia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCPhiladelphia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/reddit?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@reddit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TMZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TMZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FOX29philly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FOX29philly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/phillydotcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@phillydotcom</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSPhilly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSPhilly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyInquirer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyInquirer</a> <a href="https://t.co/zM4mxdnw5E">pic.twitter.com/zM4mxdnw5E</a>
&#8212; Beasley (@throwdembows) <a href="https://twitter.com/throwdembows/status/1102991992949227521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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WATCH: The Insane Attack On Man And His Girlfriend That Got 6 Taco Bell Employees Fired

Fight

Two marines testified in court Thursday about the brutal attack they suffered at the hands of Antifa members nearly one month ago.
U.S. Marine Corps reservists Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres were attacked in mid-November while attending an event that had nothing to do with the protests occurring elsewhere at that time in Philadelphia. The marines traveled to Philadelphia with members of their helicopter unit, <a href="https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/12/13/marines-assaulted-philadelphia-keenan-massey-antifa/">according to Philadelphia Magazine</a>.
During their testimony last week, the marines said they were unaware of the &#8220;We the People&#8221; rally taking place nearby, which included members of the alt-right Proud Boys facing off with members of the left-wing extremist group Antifa. Godinez and Torres said they were touring landmarks near the rally when one suspect, 33-year-old Thomas Keenan, approached them and asked: &#8220;Are you proud?&#8221; Godinez said he responded, &#8220;We are marines.&#8221;
Torres said he remembers Keenan asking if they were members of the Proud Boys, but he didn&#8217;t know what that meant. After that, the marines testified, about 10 Antifa members &#8212; including men and women, some of whom were masked &#8212; began punching and kicking them, spraying them with mace, and calling them &#8220;white supremacists&#8221; and &#8220;nazis.&#8221;
Godinez said he responded to the slurs by saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m Mexican!&#8221; but the attackers didn&#8217;t stop. Keenan and other members of the group then started using ethnic slurs against the marines. The other suspect arrested for the attack, Thomas Massey, was not accused of using the slurs.
Godinez said on the stand that he was attacked with mace at least six times, had been punched in the head and kicked in the rips. He said the mob &#8220;stomped&#8221; him and chanted &#8220;f*** him up&#8221; repeatedly.
&#8220;The best way I can describe it is the sound of people chanting in a soccer stadium,&#8221; Godinez testified. He added that Keenan was &#8220;laughing, smiling, and having a good time, while I could have died that day.&#8221;
Torres testified that Massy punched him as the marine protected his face with his hands. Prosecutors, according to Philadelphia Magazine, pointed out that Massey and Keenan were larger than the two marines.
Godinez said he tried to call 911 after the attack but couldn&#8217;t see his phone because of the mace, so Torres had to call. Godinez says his eyesight is still damaged by the attack and he might need surgery; he was reportedly blinking quite noticeably while he testified.
Keenan&#8217;s defense attorney reportedly referred to the brutal attack as a &#8220;tussle,&#8221; but was reprimanded by the judge, who said: &#8220;This isn&#8217;t like kids at a playground.&#8221;
The judge in the courtroom &#8220;ruled that both men would be held for trial on aggravated assault and conspiracy charges &#8212; both felonies &#8212; as well as several misdemeanors,&#8221; Philadelphia Magazine reported. Keenan was also hit with an additional felony charge for ethnic intimidation.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38846/group-us-marines-maced-assaulted-called-nazis-and-amanda-prestigiacomo">previously reported</a>, the Philadelphia Police Department is still investigating and looking for the other suspects in the attack. Keenan had been also arrested in 2007 for his role in another rally.

‘I Could Have Died That Day’: Marines Testify About Brutal Attack By Antifa

Antifa

At least one man has been charged after a group of United States Marine Corps reservists in Philadelphia were maced, assaulted, and called &#8220;Nazis&#8221; and &#8220;white supremacists&#8221; by a group of Antifa members earlier this month. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/tags/antifa">Antifa</a> is a far-left, violent activist group which purports to be &#8220;anti-fascist.&#8221;
Last week, Tom Keenan, a 33-year-old man believed to be a member of the Antifa movement in Philadelphia, turned himself over to police in connection with the attack.
&#8220;On Saturday, November 15, 2018, at approximately 3:20 pm, the complainants, who are United States Military Reservists, were on the 100 block of S. Front Street, when they were approached by numerous males and females,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPh_PaspzpE">said</a> the Philadelphia Police Department. &#8220;The group of suspects called the complainants &#8216;Nazis&#8217;, and &#8216;White Supremacists&#8217;. The suspects then maced the complainants, and then proceeded to punch and kick them. During the assault, one of the complainant&#8217;s had his cell phone stolen from him by one of the male suspects.&#8221;
The Marines were attacked down the road from a &#8220;We the People&#8221; rally, though it&#8217;s unclear if they were associated with the rally at all.
<a href="https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/11/26/philly-antifa-tom-keenan-marine-attack/">According</a> to Philadelphia Magazine, Kennan has been charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of terroristic threats, two counts of simple assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment.
&#8220;In 2007, Keenan was arrested as one of the so-called &#8216;Love Park 4&#8217; after an incident involving a purported Ku Klux Klan rally in the well-known park near City Hall,&#8221; reports the magazine. &#8220;He was charged with criminal conspiracy, institutional vandalism, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief, among other offenses, and eventually made a plea deal, pleading guilty to one summary offense of disorderly conduct, while all other charges were withdrawn.&#8221;
The Antifa member has since been released on bail and is expected back at court for a preliminary hearing on December 6.
The Philadelphia Police Department is reportedly still investigating the case and looking into other suspects.
Earlier in the month, Antifa members in Portland exhibited violent behavior against demonstrators at a #HimToo protest. <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=189533#cont">Six people</a> ended up getting arrested, including a 19-year-old Antifa member named Heather McClintock who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38502/watch-female-antifa-punches-spits-conservative-amanda-prestigiacomo">captured</a> on video harassing, assaulting, and spitting on demonstrators. She was charged with harassment.
A reporter covering the #HimToo demonstration, Quillette Magazine editor Andy C. Ngo, was verbally berated and physically accosted by far-left activists.
&#8220;I was assaulted by a mob of masked individuals in black. They also targeted my equipment. They called me a fascist &amp; Islamophobe. They said my parents &amp; grandparents would be ashamed of me,&#8221; said Ngo via Twitter. &#8220;It feels surreal to be treated this way by people who don&#8217;t even know me.&#8221;
On November 7, Fox News host Tucker Carlson&#8217;s Washington, D.C. home was reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38110/watch-leftist-mob-shows-tucker-carlsons-home-you-amanda-prestigiacomo">targeted</a> by a left-wing group called Smash Racism DC, which is also known as AntifaDC. A mob of 20 or so chanted that they will &#8220;fight&#8221; Carlson, demanded he leave town, vandalized his property, and doxxed him, his brother, and business partner.
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Group Of U.S. Marines Maced, Assaulted, Called ‘Nazis’ By Antifa. Local Member Has Been Charged.

Marines

Violence

First Lady Melania Trump attended a conference at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital where she met with mothers and newborn babies who have been affected by the opioid crisis. She toured the Philadelphia hospital&#8217;s intensive care unit for newborns and visited with mothers who are in the medical facility&#8217;s treatment program, according to <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/smoke-forces-melania-trump-s-plane-back-to-military-base-/4617345.html">VOA News</a>. Jefferson has been treating patients for drug use and overdose for the past 45 years.
Trump spoke to the attendees of the conference and thanked the hospital staff for all they are doing &#8220;for this very important issue&#8221; and discussed her own &#8220;Be Best&#8221; campaign in examining the effects the crisis has on children. 
&#8220;I&#8217;m grateful to the medical professionals who have been taking the time to explain their research and their impressive efforts in this field,&#8221; she said. &#8220;There are few things harder than seeing a newborn suffer and I&#8217;m anxious to do all I can to help shine a light on this epidemic.&#8221; She also praised the Trump administration for raising awareness of this issue.
Mrs. Trump continued, &#8220;As the caretakers of the next generation, it is our responsibility to protect our most valuable and vulnerable: our children.&#8221;
The first lady was briefly delayed from attending the event when her plane was forced to return to Andrews Air Force after smoke began to fill the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/37237/breaking-first-ladys-plane-forced-turn-back-after-joseph-curl">cabin</a>. It was later discovered to be a mechanical problem. 
Mrs. Trump&#8217;s spokesperson Stephanie Grisham told the AP that &#8220;everyone is fine and everyone is safe.&#8221;
You can watch Mrs. Trump&#8217;s remarks below:
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Melania Trump Visits Mothers, Newborn Victims Of Opioid Crisis

Melania Trump

Thomas Jefferson

Trump Administration

The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled their new mascot, Gritty, a month ago, to widespread horror among hockey fans (and mockery on social media). But it turns out that the orange monster has at least one group of dedicated fans: Antifa.
The black-clad &#8220;anti-Fascists,&#8221; who spend their time, ironically, trying to establish fascism, have taken Gritty under their wing as a symbol of the underclass&#8217; fight against the repressive capitalist regime, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/antifa-appropriates-a-creepy-mascot-1538950061">the WSJ reports</a>.
&#8220;Gritty belongs to Philadelphia, not to far-left activists. Still, in an era when everything from Nike and the NFL to your local restaurant is a political battlefield, this development is as predictable as it is sad,&#8221; Jillian Kay Melchior writes. &#8220;Not only can&#8217;t we have nice things; we can&#8217;t even have silly, creepy things.&#8221;
Gritty&#8217;s radical roots were revealed last week when anti-fascists proposed replacing a mural of former Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo with a massive portrait of Gritty, but the leftists declared their love for the 7-foot &#8230; thing &#8230; almost immediately upon introduction. Socialist magazine, Jacobin, tweeted that &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/jacobinmag/status/1045043569634004994?lang=en">Gritty is a worker</a>,&#8221; in late September, and in early October, an anti-capitalist Gritty meme factory opened its doors on Twitter.
&#8220;@FellowGritty&#8221; quotes Marx and Lenin, advocates for &#8220;indigenous peoples,&#8221; for the minimum wage, and, occasionally, for a Gritty-led &#8220;worker&#8217;s revolution,&#8221; which may not terrify the bourgeoisie so much it&#8217;s just terrifying.
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Gritty will not fight your wars of empire <a href="https://t.co/JSXgcTIMms">pic.twitter.com/JSXgcTIMms</a>
&#8212; Fellow Worker Gritty (@FellowGritty) <a href="https://twitter.com/FellowGritty/status/1048960581670227968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
But why Gritty &#8230; why now? Why appropriate one of the strangest mascots in sports history &#8212; a stunt that easily unseated the Philly Phanatic and the Chicago Cubs&#8217; habitually half-naked Cubby bear, Clark?
The answer seems to elude even Philadelphia anti-fascists, who tried to explain it, to no avail, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/gritty-the-philadelphia-flyers-bizarre-new-mascot-is-antifa-now?ref=scroll">to the Daily Beast</a>.
&#8220;Gritty is a symbol of Philadelphia,&#8221; they said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not that he&#8217;s an anti-fascist character; it&#8217;s that he&#8217;s representative of the people, and the people of Philadelphia are grittily anti-fascist.&#8221;
So be it.

BUT WHY? Antifa Is Appropriating The Philadelphia Flyers’ Horrifying New Mascot, ‘Gritty’

&#8220;Gosnell: The Trial of America&#8217;s Biggest Serial Killer&#8221; is based on the frightening true story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, known as &#8220;America&#8217;s most prolific serial killer&#8221; who ran a filthy health care clinic in Philadelphia, where he brutally murdered babies born alive. Through the crowdfunding efforts of producers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, the story comes to life in this film.
Detectives James &#8220;Woody&#8221; Wood (Dean Cain) and his partner Stark (AlonZo &#8220;Zo&#8221; Rachel) are investigating illegal prescription drug sales when they hear a name, Dr. Kermit Gosnell (Earl Billings). 
Convincing district attorney Dan Molinari (Michael Beach) and assistant district attorney Alexis &#8220;Lexy&#8221; McGuire (Sarah Jane Morris) to back warrants for Gosnell&#8217;s abortion clinic, what they find shocks them. They find his clinic and later home in abhorrent condition, infested with cats and fleas. 
The investigators find a chilling trail of deaths in the clinic, not just of babies, but of adults. They learn that the health department had not investigated his establishment in over a decade, even after receiving complaints. They are also shocked to find only a single reporter in the courtroom when the case goes to trial. 
Throughout the film, the charismatic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/36005/leaked-npr-emails-uncover-coordinated-effort-cover-amanda-prestigiacomo">Dr. Gosnell</a> maintains his chilling composure through the events of the movie.
&#8220;Gosnell&#8221; takes on one of the most horrifying stories in modern day America. McElhinney and McAleer do a good job of bringing this tragedy to its fruition. The movie does not retreat into political correct stance that most of Hollywood takes when developing a film that discusses this kind of topic or, as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/11215/hollywood-continues-coverup-gosnell-case-hank-berrien">media</a> did with this story, ignore it all together.
With Nick Searcy as director and The Daily Wire&#8217;s own Andrew Klavan as lead screenplay writer, it is packed with talent. The cast including Dean Cain, Sarah Jane Morris, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/33873/exclusive-gosnell-actress-discusses-moment-she-christian-toto">Tessya Whatley</a>, AlonZo Rachel, all whom deliver in their roles, but especially Earl Billings. 
Billings played Gosnell with a chilling focus, bringing to life the nonchalant attitude he had toward his crimes, his utter disregard for human life, and the cold, dirty way he ran his life and his clinic. 
The story of Kermit Gosnell&#8217;s murder spree remained hidden from the public for many years and this film accurately brings the tragedy to life. It is bold, forceful, and does not try to hide the horrors that were committed against the children and adults that passed through the Gosnell clinic. 
You can watch the trailer below:
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‘Gosnell’ Review: A Chilling True Story

Gosnell

Hollywood

Murder

Phelim McAleer

A New Jersey couple raised thousands of dollars for a homeless man on GoFundMe. Now that homeless man is suing the couple, claiming they&#8217;ve stolen money that rightfully belongs to him.
Mark D&#8217;Amico and Katie McClure set up the account in gratitude for Johnny Bobbitt after he gave McClure his last $20 when she found herself stranded on a Philadelphia highway with an empty gas tank. The story captivated the nation and the GoFundMe raised some $400,000.
Bobbitt is now claiming the couple mishandled the funds, allegedly spending the money on personal vacations and a new car, and has filed suit against them.
&#8220;Bobbitt&#8217;s lawsuit contends the couple committed fraud by taking money from the fundraising campaign for themselves. He&#8217;s seeking undisclosed damages, and his lawyers want a judge to appoint someone to oversee the account,&#8221; <a href="http://www.fox26houston.com/news/homeless-samaritan-suing-couple-who-raised-funds-to-help-him-1?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">reports</a> Fox 26 Houston.
But that&#8217;s only one side of the story.
D&#8217;Amico and McClure have denied the allegations, telling Megyn Kelly on &#8220;Megyn Kelly Today&#8221; that they used hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fund on shelter and necessities for Bobbitt, but fear giving him any more large sums of cash since he blew through past offerings on drugs.
&#8220;If he needed anything, he got it, there was never a question,&#8221; D&#8217;Amico told Kelly. The couple said they spent a large chunk of the funds on a camper for Bobbitt (which was originally parked on land owned by McClure&#8217;s family), clothing, food, a laptop, a television, and hotel bills. There is currently around $150,000 left in funds, they said.
D&#8217;Amico told Kelly that he initially began handling the money simply because Bobbitt did not have a bank account or any identification. And after Bobbitt allegedly spent $25,000 in less than two weeks on drugs in December, they were worried he&#8217;d end up &#8220;back where he was.&#8221;
&#8220;We saw the pattern that was developing,&#8221; said D&#8217;Amico of Bobbitt&#8217;s alleged drug habit.
Bobbitt, unfortunately, is reportedly back where he was, homeless and living under a bridge. He also admitted to spending some of the donated money on drugs, though he says some was used to help family and friends.
D&#8217;Amico did admit to borrowing and paying back $500 from the account after Bobbitt consented to it, but says the pair have otherwise never used the money on themselves.
An emotional McClure said the couple has received death threats over the allegations by Bobbitt, yet stand by their actions. &#8220;I would do it all over again for him,&#8221; she said.
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for Thursday.
WATCH:
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Homeless Man Sues Couple Who Raised Him $400,000 For Allegedly Mishandling Funds. Here’s Their Side Of The Story.

GoFundMe

On Wednesday, authorities found the dead body of Christina Carlin-Kraft, a former Playboy model, in her Philadelphia condominium. The cause of death has been determined as homicide by strangulation, per the Montgomery County Coroner&#8217;s Office.
The 36-year-old beauty was found strangled to death in her bedroom by Lower Merion Township police officers during a routine &#8220;wellness check,&#8221; <a href="https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/08/23/police-woman-found-strangled-to-death-inside-bedroom/">reports</a> CBS Philly.
A neighbor <a href="http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/crime/woman-36-found-strangled-in-her-main-line-apartment-20180823.html">told</a> The Philadelphia Inquirer that the former model moved into the condo just last week. <a href="http://www.fox29.com/news/police-woman-found-dead-in-ardmore-apartment">According</a> to FOX 29, unnamed sources said Carlin-Kraft reported a robbery at her home on Saturday.
&#8220;There does not appear to be any current concern for residents in the area,&#8221; <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/24/body-ex-playboy-model-found-strangled-in-philadelphia-home-police-say.html">says</a> a joint statement from the police superintendent and the county district attorney.
Carlin-Kraft&#8217;s family <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/24/body-ex-playboy-model-found-strangled-in-philadelphia-home-police-say.html">called</a> the murder a &#8220;horror story.&#8221;
Neighbor Dave Farina told CBS Philly that&#8217;s he&#8217;s been stunned by the news.
&#8220;I&#8217;m very shocked and saddened by this homicide here. We never have that kind of thing here in Ardmore, hardly ever. It&#8217;s enough to make me cry,&#8221; said Farina, adding, &#8220;I&#8217;m pretty sure that it will be resolved because this police force is second to none and I&#8217;m praying for them to find out who did this and bring them to justice.&#8221;
The investigation into Carlin-Kraft&#8217;s murder is ongoing, as is the hunt for a suspect or suspects.
If you have any information relating to the case, authorities have asked you to contact Lower Merion Police Department at 610-649-1000 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
WATCH:
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Former Playmate Found Strangled To Death In Home

In yet another example of why public figures should wait a little bit to learn the actual facts before they attempt to use a situation to score cheap political points, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney attempted to blame Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;hateful rhetoric&#8221; for a black doll found hung at a city playground. Now that the true culprits have been discovered, Trump supporters are asking Kenney when he&#8217;ll issue an apology to the president.
Last week, law enforcement was called about a black doll that appeared to be hung in effigy from a telephone wire at Philly&#8217;s Weccacoe Playground, which is the original burial ground for the local Mother Bethel AME Church. Within a few hours, the doll was removed. Meanwhile, the outrage came fast and furious, including from Philly&#8217;s Democratic mayor, who quickly issued a statement (h/t <a href="https://hotair.com/archives/2018/08/06/guess-actually-lynched-black-doll-philadelphia-potus-blamed/">Jazz Shaw</a>):
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Sickened by what took place today at Weccacoe Playground. This despicable act shows how far this country has fallen when people are inspired by hateful rhetoric. We&#8217;ll do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice: <a href="https://t.co/eHw87cgxBc">https://t.co/eHw87cgxBc</a>
&#8212; Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyMayor/status/1025095151579013121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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While he avoided mentioning Trump&#8217;s name in the tweeted version of his statement, Kenney&#8217;s <a href="https://beta.phila.gov/2018-08-02-mayor-kenney-issues-statement-on-racial-incident-at-weccacoe-playground/">full statement</a> &#8212; which he admits was written while the investigation &#8220;is still underway&#8221; &#8212; made clear that he blamed the racially-charged display on &#8220;the hateful rhetoric of our President.&#8221;
&#8220;I am sickened by what took place today at Weccacoe Playground,&#8221; said the mayor. &#8220;Although the investigation is still underway, I want to immediately condemn this despicable act. It demonstrates how far this country has fallen when people are inspired by the hateful rhetoric of our President. And it is particularly disgraceful to make a sacrilege out of a sacred burial ground, where thousands of African Americans are interred. The City will do everything in its power to bring the people responsible to justice for this disgusting act.&#8221;
But as <a href="https://beta.phila.gov/2018-08-02-mayor-kenney-issues-statement-on-racial-incident-at-weccacoe-playground/">CBS Philadelphia</a> learned within a day, it appears that Trump&#8217;s &#8220;hateful rhetoric&#8221; had nothing to do with the disturbing display.
Rev. Mark Tyler, one of the first to see the hanged doll, initially posted on Facebook that &#8220;sadly&#8221; he was &#8220;not surprised&#8221; to see it. &#8220;For a person of color in the country, I would say there&#8217;s really no place I would go and say, &#8216;Oh, in this place, I know I&#8217;m safe.&#8217; It&#8217;s just not been my history.&#8221;
But in an update to the post, Tyler revealed who was actually behind it: A group of kids, both black and white, under the age of 13, who just wanted to &#8220;creep people out.&#8221;
&#8220;Some young children came forward and confessed that they actually did it. Believe it or not, these children were under the age of 13. They were black and they were white and they live here in the neighborhood,&#8221; he said.
In response, Trump fans have been asking Kenney when he plans to issue a follow-up statement:
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Now that it is known that it was two children who did it as a prank, when will the public apology from you to <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and his supporters be? Or is this now just yesterday&#8217;s news to be ignored?
&#8212; BrianHarris (@BrianHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianHarris/status/1025364773117067264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/31621/watch-mayor-jumps-joy-after-judge-protects-hank-berrien">WATCH: Mayor Jumps For Joy After Judge Protects Philadelphia&#8217;s Sanctuary City Status</a>

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