<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police in Wisconsin allowed a leftist agitator to hijack a press conference about an officer involved shooting and go on an unhinged rant against Zionism and colonialism while threatening to beat up other attendees. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Self-described “community organizer” Carlos Lemar Dixon took over a Madison Police Department press conference on Thursday over the fatal shooting of Corey Ruiz to scream about imperialism. Ruiz, who had an extensive criminal history including 40 convictions, was shot Wednesday after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protesters-jump-on-race-narrative-after-video-captures-deadly-police-shooting?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Protesters+Jump+On+Race+Narrative+After+Video+Captures+Deadly+Police+Shooting">police say</a> he pulled a knife on them during a confrontation caught on video. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Madison Police Chief John Patterson gave an update about the shooting, Dixon started shouting and walked up to the podium as the police chief stepped aside.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You&#8217;re gonna say the same thing you all say every time a black body gets shot down in this city. This is a corrupt city. That&#8217;s right. Have no fear, the anti-Zionist is here,” Dixon said. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Patterson stood by passively for over 12 minutes as Dixon screamed about imperialism, called the police racist, and threatened to beat up someone in the crowd. He said he wanted to give “zero power to Zionists, zero power to capitalists, zero power to colonialism.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What you are doing right now in this city is continuing the disgusting nature of colonialism, the disgusting nature of imperialism. Look up the definition of imperialism. It&#8217;s all within the policies, which means when these police officers come down on the street and they decide that they want to take the life of another brown body there is no oversight for that,” Dixon said. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As police officials watched, Dixon said he wanted to know if “those pigs” were going to jail, referring to the officers involved in the shooting. Later, when someone in the crowd pushed back, he threatened, “I’ll beat your ass in front of the police.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman who accompanied Dixon and held a sign reading, “Corrupt cops deserve to die too!” screamed at another person in the crowd, “You’re acting like a f*cking c**n.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dixon, an independent write-in candidate for Wisconsin governor, has a history of incendiary rhetoric. After he got in trouble in May for filming himself pulling out yard signs of Democratic candidates, he </span><a href="https://bluewaterhealthyliving.com/news/national-news/wisconsin/candidate-films-himself-stealing-francesca-hong-ryan-clancy-signs/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> “politician[s] should be grateful that all I want is yard signs and not their heads.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ruiz had 40 criminal convictions between 2009 and 2025 including for robbery by force, strangulation, drug possession, vehicle theft and battery of a public safety worker, resisting law enforcement, and drug paraphernalia, </span><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/madison-wisconsin-police-shooting-corey-ruiz-rcna588925"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to NBC News. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Graphic footage of Ruiz being shot was captured by a bystander. The footage shows three Madison police officers wrestle a man in the street and try to detain him. A fourth officer jumped into the scuffle and drew her taser as an officer was heard yelling, “He’s got a knife, he’s got a knife!” as the suspect pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured one of the officers during the scuffle, Patterson said.</span></p>
<p>The shooting of the career criminal drew large protests in Madison as activists claimed police were racist and the shooting was not justified. A criminal homicide investigation was launched after the shooting.</p>


Madison Police Press Conference

Watch How Police React As Screaming Protester Takes Over Briefing On Fatal Shooting

Colonialism

Police

Shooting

Wisconsin

Zionism

<p>Protesters descended upon Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday after a video circulated on social media showing police as they shot and killed a black man who authorities say was armed with a knife and resisting arrest in the middle of a street.</p>
<p>On Wednesday evening and throughout the night, leftist protesters <a href="https://x.com/JTCestkowski/status/2080120130999095700">decried</a> &#8220;racist police.&#8221; Even mainstream Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley <a href="https://x.com/DavidCCrowley/status/2080073675001282940">said</a> he was &#8220;horrified by the reports &#8230; about a man who was shot and killed in the street by police officers.&#8221;</p>
<p>The video and the official account from authorities of the deadly incident tell a different story, however, and suggest that some leftists are once again jumping to a racial narrative while ignoring the details around the shooting.</p>
<p>The graphic <a href="https://x.com/WISN12News/status/2080093956612767765">video footage</a>, which was captured by a bystander, begins as three Madison police officers wrestle a man in the street and try to detain him. A fourth officer jumped into the scuffle and drew her taser as an officer was heard yelling, &#8220;He&#8217;s got a knife, he&#8217;s got a knife!&#8221; as the suspect pulled out a fixed-blade knife and injured one of the officers during the scuffle, according to Madison Police Chief John Patterson in a <a href="https://www.wkow.com/news/crime/man-dies-after-madison-police-shooting-near-baldwin-and-williamson-streets/article_98f43f1f-cb53-435d-83c8-cbc82793f6cf.html">press briefing</a>.</p>
<p>The female officer then fired her taser at the suspect at least two times before he fell to the ground. The injured officer, who Patterson described as a veteran of the police force, drew his handgun and fired three shots after the suspect fell to the ground. The suspect, a black man believed to be in his 30s, later died at an area hospital after officers performed life-saving measures on him following the shooting.</p>
<p>Chief Patterson said that all four officers were placed on administrative leave as the department reviews the deadly shooting, but he added that the incident was inflamed because the suspect initially fled from officers and then pulled a knife on them during the arrest.</p>
<p>&#8220;When a knife is produced during officers&#8217; apprehension arrests, the overall situation is clearly elevated. It becomes incredibly dangerous, and it obviously increases risks for everyone there, for every officer, for the person as well,&#8221; Patterson said. &#8220;I think it severely narrows the scope of options and possible outcomes.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m grateful there were not more serious injuries inflicted to those officers,&#8221; he added. &#8220;But I again, convey my sympathies sincerely to [the victim&#8217;s] family.&#8221;</p>
<p>One other police officer was also injured in the incident, but authorities don&#8217;t believe the injury was caused by the suspect&#8217;s knife.</p>
<p>The suspect was pursued by officers after they received a call for a person who was allegedly looking at parked vehicles. When police found the man and attempted to talk to him, he fled on a bicycle and &#8220;traveled through some nearby backyards,&#8221; Patterson said. The suspect &#8220;either fell off or was taken off of the bicycle by officers&#8221; in the street before the officers grabbed him.</p>
<p>Just seconds after the shooting, anger erupted on Madison&#8217;s streets as a woman was heard on the video shouting at the police officers.</p>
<p>“I saw everything! You did not need to kill him!” the woman yelled.</p>
<p>The anger festered into the evening as protesters <a href="https://x.com/simonrl18/status/2080086435164483969">disrupted</a> a free outdoor concert put on by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. In another part of town, protesters <a href="https://x.com/SchulteLaura/status/2080056240252600567">chanted</a> &#8220;arrest that cop&#8221; as they stood next to a group of Madison police officers.</p>
<p>Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers suggested the protests were likely to continue in the coming days and <a href="https://x.com/GovEvers/status/2080124195657097643">said</a>, &#8220;There must be transparency and accountability&#8221; as investigations into the shooting move forward.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers. His life mattered,&#8221; Evers <a href="https://x.com/GovEvers/status/2080124197087440939">added</a>. &#8220;As folks exercise their First Amendment rights tonight and in the days ahead, we urge them to do so peacefully and respectfully.&#8221;</p>


Madison city police vehicles

Protesters Jump On Race Narrative After Video Captures Deadly Police Shooting

Leftists

Protest

Race

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A suspect dove off a bridge headfirst in a daring attempt to evade law enforcement following a car chase in Missouri last weekend.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the early morning of Saturday, July 18, the deputies engaged in a vehicle pursuit of 26-year-old Missouri man, Gavin Thor Lundgren. The Stone County Sheriff&#8217;s Office released dashcam footage of Lundgren jumping out of his still-moving vehicle during a car chase, and sprinting over the bridge’s railing headfirst into Table Rock Lake. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite Lundgren’s bold escape, the deputies later arrested him, charging Lundgren with three counts of third-degree assault on a special victim, which covers <a href="https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=565.054&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com">attacks</a> on law enforcement officers, emergency teams, along with the elderly, and other vulnerable people. He was also charged with resisting arrest by fleeing, careless driving, and resisting arrest for a felony, according to </span><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/missouri-suspect-dives-headfirst-off-bridge-wild-bid-evade-deputies"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fox News</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At 1:50 a.m., deputies tried pulling Lundgren over for going 75 mph in a 45-mph zone in his 2004 Chevrolet Malibu, according to the probable cause statement per Fox News. However, the suspect refused to pull over, leading the police on a car chase until he exited his vehicle and jumped from the bridge. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This was definitely a first and luckily he survived the fall,&#8221; the sheriff&#8217;s office said. &#8220;He resisted arrest and deputies suffered minor injuries taking him into custody.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lundgren headbutted two of the three deputies in the struggle. The deputies suffered facial bruising, abrasions, and cuts on their forearms, hands, and elbows. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lundgren was booked in the Stone County Jail without bond.</span></p>


Screenshot

WATCH: Suspect Makes A Death-Defying Escape Gamble

arrest

Crime

Missouri

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A North Carolina man is accused of torturing his 19-year-old girlfriend for months before she was found dead inside an apartment, according to court documents.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to a 911 call on May 1 after Thomaz Kenon Hamilton, 24, reported that his girlfriend, Isabella Mary Alexandria Stroupe, was unresponsive, </span><a href="https://fox11online.com/news/nation-world/man-faces-murder-rape-charges-after-19-year-old-girlfriend-allegedly-tortured-report-torture-charlotte-north-carolina-death-homicide-investigation-killed-murdered-raped-sex-sexual-assault-blood-true-crime"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to Fox 11 News. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Officers found Stroupe dead inside an apartment in east Charlotte.  </span><a href="https://www.wbtv.com/2026/05/06/19-year-old-woman-found-dead-charlotte-apartment-was-tortured-months-affidavit-says/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">According</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to an affidavit cited by WBTV, she was wearing “minimal clothing” and was allegedly tied to a bed with a tow strap.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Investigators said Stroupe suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including broken and fractured bones as well as stab wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamilton, who authorities said was dating and living with Stroupe, allegedly told investigators they had been having sex when she suffered a heart attack. Investigators said the evidence was inconsistent with that account. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police said they recovered what appeared to be a bloodstained knife wrapped in cellophane, along with a sword, a baseball bat, multiple cell phones, clothing with possible blood, and a bloodstained mattress. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the affidavit, investigators concluded that “Stroupe was being tortured over a period of several months and that Stroupe would have been physically unable to provide consent for vaginal sexual intercourse.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police arrested Hamilton on May 5 and charged him with </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">first-degree murder and rape </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">in connection with Stroupe’s death, </span><a href="https://www.charlottenc.gov/cmpd/News-Information/Newsroom/New-page-124"><span style="font-weight: 400;">according</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stroupe’s family later created a</span><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-give-isabella-a-proper-goodbye"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">GoFundMe</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to help cover </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">funeral expenses, saying her death “has left a huge hole in our lives.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I loved Isabella deeply. She was a total bookworm, always reading and sharing her favorite stories with me,” Stroupe&#8217;s sister said. “She loved fan fiction and My Little Pony, and her creativity brought so much joy to our family. Remembering her passion for books and the happiness she brought to those around her makes this loss even harder.”</span></p>


Police Say Teen Was Tortured For Months Before Death

Abuse

Charlotte

Domestic Violence

GoFundMe

Murder

North Carolina

Teenagers

teens

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite claims that he never pushed to defund the police, leftist darling Abdul El-Sayed once said that “we do need to defund the police” and argued that funds used for law enforcement should go to public libraries instead. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">El-Sayed, running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan, </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20251116082605/https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/15/abdul-el-sayed-distances-himself-from-past-defund-the-police-rhetoric/87276996007/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">argues</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that he “never, never, called for defunding” the police. That claim contrasts with anti-police positions he took during the summer of 2020 as riots broke out over the death of convicted felon George Floyd in Minneapolis. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I believe that we do need to defund the police in so far as defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets, and investing more in the means of educating and empowering engaging communities, with the means of being able to take on systemic poverty that we&#8217;ve allowed systematic racism to allow a fester in too many communities,” El-Sayed said in a June 23, 2020 MichMash Politics </span><a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/michmash-politics-1990214/episodes/abdul-el-sayed-discusses-racis-100146585"><span style="font-weight: 400;">interview</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> first </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/07/politics/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check"><span style="font-weight: 400;">flagged</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by CNN. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That comment came after he suggested that he generally did not use the term “defund the police” but advocated for the policies pushed by the movement. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Rather than investing in a force of people who respond with guns and put people in jails, what if we were to take on systematic poverty by investing in the means of uprooting that poverty itself?” he said. “What if we were to invest in social services? If we were to invest in public schools? What if we were to invest in public libraries?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">El-Sayed is facing off against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the competitive Democratic primary race to replace outgoing Senator Gary Peters. The winner of the primary will likely go on to run against Republican Mike Rogers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facing scrutiny over his previous police rhetoric, El-Sayed is now trying to distance himself from the defund the police movement. That contradicts what he told MichMash back in June 2020. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I want a refund on the taxpayer dollars that I pay to police who use that to buy war material, to wage war in our streets, and I want to refund public health and public libraries and public schools,” El-Sayed said. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Later in the same interview, he argued that people imprisoned are the real victims of crime because of “over-policing” and failure to combat poverty. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The fact of the matter is every single person winds up in jail, or worse, dead, at the hands of a police officer, has been failed by our system, either directly because of our over-policing, or indirectly because we have failed to invest in the things that uproot poverty in communities across the country,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Wire reached out to El-Sayed, the former public health director for Detroit, to explain his stance on defunding the police. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Abdul worked closely with law enforcement as Director of Health, Human, and Veterans services for Wayne County. As hands-on experience always allows, his perspective has become more nuanced,” campaign spokeswoman Roxie Richner told The Daily Wire. “One simple word has never been enough to fully explain the reforms we need for a challenge as complex as our criminal legal system.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Richner added that El-Sayed believes &#8220;we need to improve law enforcement recruitment, retention, and retirement funding so that law enforcement officers come from the communities they serve.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">El-Sayed also supports “community violence intervention” policies and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Richner said. The act would weaken legal protections for police officers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That response was similar to the comment given to CNN for an </span><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/07/politics/kfile-abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-defund-police-fact-check"><span style="font-weight: 400;">article</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> highlighting El-Sayed’s history of anti-police rhetoric. The outlet noted that El-Sayed had deleted at least a dozen posts pushing defund the police policies. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty &amp; WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, &amp; housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about,” he wrote in one post from June 2020 that he later deleted. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1131227" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM.png" alt="" width="1368" height="851" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM.png 1368w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-300x187.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-926x576.png 926w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-08-at-4.47.55-PM-768x478.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1368px) 100vw, 1368px" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">El-Sayed, who claims that Floyd was the victim of an “assassination” and was “lynched,” suggested during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idJzgpT200c&amp;t=1s">seminar</a> hosted by the University of Michigan that police officers should not be armed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So we have to ask ourselves, do police departments really need tanks and weapons of war and the material that’s coming back as hand-me-downs from the military abroad? Do police really need to use guns? Do we need as much of a police force?” he asked. </span></p>
<p>He added that the &#8220;defund the police&#8221; movement was about getting the government to move away from &#8220;racist ideologies&#8221; that led police to &#8220;invest in war material&#8221; for law enforcement.</p>
<p>During his time pushing anti-police rhetoric, El-Sayed was heavily <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/michigan-senate-candidate-abdul-el-sayed-helped-lead-anti-police-group-as-it-organized-detroit-protest-turned-deadly-riot/">involved</a> in a group called Michigan United which compared police officers to &#8220;slave catchers&#8221; and helped organize a protest that turned into a riot, the Washington Free Beacon reported.</p>


Bernie Sanders Continues His “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour In Detroit With Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed

Yes, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed Really Wants To Defund The Police. Here Are The Receipts.

2026 elections

2026 Midterms

Abdul El-Sayed

Defund The Police

Michigan

Senate

<p>The Nashville Police Department held a diversity training session for recruits inside a gay nightclub during Pride Month, bringing trainees together with members of the city&#8217;s LGBTQ community.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The session took place at Play Nashville, known around Nashville for its drag performances. Video shared by the mayor&#8217;s office shows recruits seated inside the venue, participating in a moderated discussion. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Officer Darci Stechman, the department&#8217;s LGBTQ liaison, told recruits to come prepared with questions before the discussion: &#8220;Otherwise it&#8217;s going to be awkward, and you’re just going to be staring at one another for an hour and a half.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She added, “Nashville is very diverse, so we’re exposing the trainees to these different communities and letting them learn a little bit more about the people they may interact with within the community.&#8221; </span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The video also shows recruits speaking with Councilmember Olivia Hill, the first transgender-identifying man elected to the Metro Council. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nashville Democratic Mayor Freddie O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s office said the visit was part of the department&#8217;s standard diversity tour for recruits, not a one-time Pride Month event. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Metro Nashville Police recruits do a diversity tour before they ever hit the streets,” O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s office said. “Mayor O’Connell is committed to a city for everyone and that starts by bringing people together.”</span></p>
<p>The mayor&#8217;s office and the police department both shared video of the training on social media.</p>
<p>The police training is one of several diversity initiatives promoted by Nashville government agencies in recent years. <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Wire </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-before-historic-storm-embattled-electric-service-asked-workers-if-they-had-gay-friends"><span style="font-weight: 400;">previously reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that Nashville Electric Service (NES) employees participated in diversity training before a crippling January ice storm left 230,000 customers without power. NES employees were asked to recognize their “implicit biases” and whether they had a diverse friend group. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trainings were required for all supervisors and managers, and modules were “completed by employees in 2023-2025,” according to an NES spokesperson. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">O’Connell is known for his leftist ideas, including his focus on climate change and anti-ICE stance. In May of last year, the mayor </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashvilles-democrat-mayor-doxxes-ice-agents"><span style="font-weight: 400;">doxxed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> multiple ICE Agents after his office released information on the interactions between ICE agents and Nashville emergency service personnel. The mayor’s office claimed the names were released by mistake. </span></p>


WATCH: Police Dept Brought Recruits To A Gay Club For Diversity Training

Diversity

LGBTQ

Nashville

Tennessee

<p>Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum was arrested last week in Alabama on multiple drug charges, marking the latest legal setback for the one-time Democratic rising star whose political career has unraveled since narrowly losing the 2018 governor&#8217;s race to Republican Ron DeSantis.</p>
<p>Gillum, 46, was booked Thursday in Baldwin County, Alabama, on charges of possession of dangerous drugs, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records. He was later released after posting a combined $6,500 bond. Authorities have not disclosed what led to the arrest or identified the drugs involved.</p>
<p>The arrest comes eight years after Gillum appeared poised to become one of the Democratic Party&#8217;s brightest national figures. After upsetting the Democratic establishment to win the party&#8217;s gubernatorial nomination in 2018, the then-Tallahassee mayor lost to DeSantis by roughly 30,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in Florida history.</p>
<p>Instead of becoming the face of a Democratic resurgence in Florida, Gillum&#8217;s post-election years have been dominated by personal scandals, ethics investigations, and criminal proceedings.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article249009610.html">2020</a>, Miami Beach police found Gillum intoxicated inside a South Beach hotel room with a male escort after emergency responders were called over concerns that another man had overdosed. Officers recovered suspected methamphetamine and prescription pill bottles from the room, though prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges because they could not establish ownership of the drugs.</p>
<p>Gillum later entered rehabilitation, saying he had developed an alcohol dependency after his election defeat.</p>
<p>&#8220;This has been a wake-up call for me,&#8221; Gillum said at the time. &#8220;Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse.&#8221;</p>
<p>Gillum&#8217;s legal troubles continued in 2022, when federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/former-tallahassee-mayor-and-gubernatorial-candidate-and-associate-charged-conspiracy">accused</a> him of conspiracy, wire fraud, and making false statements as part of an alleged campaign finance scheme. While a jury acquitted him on one count in 2023, the remaining charges ended in a mistrial. Separately, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws by accepting gifts from undercover FBI agents posing as developers. He later agreed to pay a $5,000 civil fine to resolve most of the allegations.</p>
<p>Under Alabama law, possession of dangerous drugs is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine. The marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges are misdemeanors that can each carry up to one year in jail if convicted.</p>


AfroTech Conference 2025

Former Dem Golden Boy Arrested Again Just Three Years After He Was Let Off The Hook

Alabama

Andrew Gillum

Drugs

Florida

<p>Public safety agencies across the United States will deploy drones to spot illegal fireworks during Fourth of July celebrations, thanks to new federal rules that accelerated drone-based enforcement.</p>
<p>Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) loosened regulations, allowing cities and counties to launch Drone as First Responder (DFR) initiatives more quickly by cutting bureaucratic red tape. That change led to an increase in the number of policing organizations implementing DFR programs, jumping from 50 to an estimated 1,500 nationwide. The rapid expansion reflects how drone-based enforcement has become a national trend, not only for monitoring illegal fireworks but also for emergency response, crowd management, and search-and-rescue operations.</p>
<p>While some cities have used drones to monitor fireworks for years, this is the first July 4<sup>th</sup> holiday where aerial enforcement is widespread.</p>
<p>California has been one of the most aggressive adopters, largely because of the extreme risk of wildfires and the prevalence of illegal pyrotechnics. Several cities, including San Jose, Sacramento, and Riverside, are deploying aerial enforcement units specifically to monitor fireworks this holiday weekend. Other western states with similar wildfire risks, including Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, have also adopted unmanned aircraft operations teams. First responders say drones help them detect and respond to fires quickly, especially in wooded areas and during the dry summer months.</p>
<p>The Wheat Ridge Police Department in Colorado has relied on drones to monitor illegal fireworks since 2024, and the Riverside Police Department began using them last year. The drones can capture footage to be used for citations and prosecutions, according to a spokesman.</p>
<p>“This has been a spectacular tool for us to identify those who obviously make the decision to not follow the rules and be unsafe,” Det. Steven Espinosa, public information officer for the Riverside PD, told the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<p>The growing use of DFR programs has raised some privacy concerns, but law enforcement says the technology is deployed only in response to specific calls, not for general surveillance. With thousands of law enforcement agencies now equipped with drones, this year’s Fourth of July could mark a turning point in how cities enforce fireworks laws and how Americans celebrate the holiday.</p>


GettyImages-1241718780

This Fourth of July, The Sky May Be Watching Back

4th of July

Drones

Fourth of July

U.S.

Wildfires

<p>Two masked individuals, a man and a woman, climbed to the top of the Empire State Building Wednesday afternoon, waving a banner about world peace before the man proposed to his girlfriend.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The pair were dressed in dark outfits, and the woman wore a mask that resembled Catwoman. The black banner read, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” The quote is similar to the popular anti-war slogan spoken by 19th-century British politician William Gladstone and made popular by American singer Jimi Hendrix. </span></p>
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/NJwN8K7nOKE3Mihz02Jy02QWuCxNgu00t5f?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=7d39603b-2a4b-40ca-b126-d99fcd9c32a0&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-07-01%20Empire%20State%20Climbers%20Arrest%20Bodycam&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2F39b62ce1-7c1e-47bd-ad87-fc6fa7f5f16a.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="color: #5f5f5f; font-size: 12px; max-width: 728px; ; margin: -12px auto 0 auto; text-align: right;">Credit: NYPD via Storyful</p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An NYPD helicopter was dispatched to the scene shortly after the couple reached the top of the 102-floor tower. Police officers climbed up the spire and met the two to place them in custody just before 1:00 p.m. ET. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple has been identified as Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus. Nikolau, 33, describes herself as a “neoartist exploring identity, fear &amp; freedom” on social media. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After flying the banner for some time, the couple climbed down from the very top to the spire, which is 1,454 feet above the ground. Beerkus then proposed to Nikolau, and the two embraced and kissed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikolau has since posted a picture of her engagement ring and some footage from the top of the Empire State Building on</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Instagram</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The account claims the couple was the subjects of a 2024 Netflix documentary titled “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”</span></p>
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Empire State Building in New York

WATCH: Lovebirds Arrested After Daring Climb To Top Of Empire State Building

New York City

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Wire obtained police audio of a phone call a concerned mother made to law enforcement that led to the discovery of a plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the phone call with law enforcement, the mother of 19-year-old Tycen Proper is heard voicing concerns about her son’s stockpile of ammunition and his plan to “fight the corrupt government.” Proper was arrested last week and charged in connection with an alleged plot to unleash sniper fire on attendees of the White House UFC event. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I don&#8217;t, we don&#8217;t even know what he&#8217;s wanting to do. He’s wanting to leave this weekend and go with a group of people to help fight the corrupt government,” Proper’s mother said in a phone call released by the Knox County Sheriff’s Department. </span>  <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/sc01Lup8SLBT8MTNvsMHz1016R3JA1r6gS?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=b0a565d4-ec24-46dc-a78c-1685b8fc4f55&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-06-23%20UFC%20Terror%20Plot%20911%20Call&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Fd6bc7707-0749-4f99-bd8a-4e6c7c182353.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
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<p style="color: #5f5f5f; font-size: 12px; max-width: 728px; ; margin: -12px auto 0 auto; text-align: right;">Credit: Knox County Sheriff’s Department</p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I wanted to file a report just to have it on record,” Proper’s mother said. “And I&#8217;m in Danville, so I wasn&#8217;t sure if there was somebody in Danville that was on duty that I could just talk to. I could even go down to the police station and meet them.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I believe that we already have people en route to you,” the police dispatcher replied. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We took all the guns and ammo out of his room … and got it off our property,” Proper’s mother said. “He just came inside, and he&#8217;s probably going to discover it&#8217;s not in his room.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An earlier call from a family member gave the Knox County Sheriff’s Department a heads-up about the situation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They are having some issues with their son, and I think, I don&#8217;t think anybody&#8217;s in immediate danger as in this second, but I know that she has some concerns with weapons and ammo and a particular mindset that her oldest boy is in right now,” a caller said in a police call obtained by The Daily Wire. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The incident report from the police revealed that they showed up at Proper’s home on June 10 because the mother was concerned about him “purchasing firearms and meeting random people online.” After officers arrived, Proper was admitted to a hospital and they began coordinating with federal officials on an investigation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Proper was eventually charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, attempted murder against any officer or employee of the United States, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and receipt or transfer of a firearm used to commit a felony, according to the complaint.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When authorities searched Proper’s phone, they found Signal groups “that laid out detailed plans” to carry out an attack in Washington, D.C., with intricate maps highlighting sniper locations and potential drone launch locations.</span></p>


UFC White House Plot

Listen: Mom’s 911 Call Helps Unravel White House UFC Terror Plot

domestic terrorism

Ohio

UFC Freedom 250

White House

<p>A gunman <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-900180">opened fire</a> Monday in a heavily Jewish district of Montreal, leaving one police officer and one civilian dead and a second officer fighting for his life in a hospital.</p>
<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">The attack unfolded shortly before noon in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, when Montreal police received reports of an armed and dangerous individual near the intersection of De Courtrai and Trans Island Avenues. Officers responding to the scene came under fire. Witnesses described hearing between 20 and 30 shots in rapid succession before parents at a nearby park grabbed their children and fled.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">⚠️ BREAKING: Video shows the gunman in Montreal reloading his weapon as he exchanges fire with police.</p>
<p>Two officers have been shot and the shooter has been killed, according to recent reports. <a href="https://t.co/p9iJo5wtTD">pic.twitter.com/p9iJo5wtTD</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) <a href="https://x.com/ThevoiceAlexa/status/2069111771420373272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2026</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">&#8220;When the first shots went off, we thought it was construction noise,&#8221; <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/11916156/cote-des-neiges-public-safety-alert-armed-suspect/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a> area resident Brandon Benchimol-Elkaim. &#8220;Then parents started yanking their kids off the playground and running. Something didn&#8217;t feel right.&#8221;</p>
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<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">Authorities broadcast an emergency alert across radio, television, and mobile devices, ordering residents throughout the surrounding area to shelter indoors, lock their doors, and stay away from windows.</p>
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<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">Shortly after 1:20 p.m., Montreal police announced that the suspect had been neutralized. By early afternoon, authorities confirmed three fatalities: a police officer, the suspected shooter, and a civilian. A second officer remains in critical condition. Video footage from the scene showed the suspect, dressed in camouflage and apparently Caucasian, lying face-down on the ground alongside what appeared to be a rifle.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">Approximately 100 people sheltered inside a local supermarket during the standoff. Police urged the public to continue avoiding the area as operations remained ongoing into the afternoon.</p>
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<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">The neighborhood targeted is home to one of Montreal&#8217;s largest Orthodox Jewish communities, with kosher restaurants, Jewish schools, a Chabad center, and multiple Jewish community organizations concentrated along the same streets where the shooting occurred. Authorities had not officially established a motive as of Monday afternoon.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">The attack comes as Montreal has seen a wave of antisemitic violence. In recent months the city has seen two <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-898505">firebombing attacks</a> on Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, one of its oldest synagogues; a Jewish father beaten in front of his children in a local park; and shootings near Jewish schools and houses of worship in this same neighborhood. Nationally, B&#8217;nai Brith Canada recorded <a href="https://thej.ca/2026/04/28/bnai-brith-canada-reports-record-6800-antisemitic-incidents-in-2025/">6,800 antisemitic incidents</a> across the country in 2025 — the highest figure since tracking began in 1982.</p>
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<div>
<p class="font-claude-response-body">A police news conference is scheduled for later Monday.</p>
</div>


Views Of Quebec’s Largest City As Home Sales Rise

Multiple People Killed After Gunman Opens Fire In Jewish District

antisemitism

Death

Montreal

<p>Maine Senate Democratic hopeful Graham Platner is taking fresh heat after a buried online post revealed he once branded all police officers &#8220;opportunistic cowards&#8221; — the latest in a parade of scandals that have plagued his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.</p>
<p>The since-deleted Reddit screed, unearthed by <a href="https://themainemonitor.org/platner-reddit-comments/">The Maine Monitor</a>, dates to June 2020, when Platner — then 35 and posting under the handle &#8220;P-Hustle&#8221; — fired off a rant mocking the Hancock County Sheriff&#8217;s Department for requesting riot equipment during the height of Black Lives Matter unrest. Rather than engage seriously with the request, Platner ridiculed the deputies as &#8220;overweight pansies&#8221; too soft to handle &#8220;George Stevens Academy sophomores and aging hippies&#8221; without taxpayer-funded gear. Then came the kicker: &#8220;Cops are opportunistic cowards.&#8221;</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">Retired federal special agent and Maine state Rep. Donald Ardell expressed his anger. &#8220;It just shows a complete lack of understanding of the way law enforcement operates,&#8221; the Maine Republican told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-senate-hopeful-under-fire-resurfaced-comments-calling-cops-opportunistic-cowards">Fox News</a>. &#8220;They have to be prepared for eventualities.&#8221;</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">That same month, Platner blasted a Maine police chief as &#8220;thin blue line trash&#8221; for refusing to take a knee alongside Floyd protesters. He also endorsed the slogan &#8220;all cops are bastards&#8221; — later reported by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/kfile-graham-platner-maine-senate-candidate-deleted-reddit-posts">CNN</a> — and questioned in 2021 whether corruption runs through the entire law enforcement profession.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">Ardell, who says current and former colleagues are &#8220;disgusted&#8221; by Platner&#8217;s remarks, summed it up bluntly: &#8220;It&#8217;s a series of consistent bad decisions, and it seems to be continuing.&#8221;</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">The cop commentary is just one item on a lengthening rap sheet of controversy for the self-described &#8220;oyster farmer&#8221; and far-Left populist. Platner&#8217;s Reddit history — spanning nearly a decade before he scrubbed it upon launching his campaign — also includes him calling himself a &#8220;communist&#8221; and &#8220;socialist,&#8221; mocking rural white voters as &#8220;racist&#8221; and &#8220;stupid,&#8221; and making cruel remarks about a teenage girl&#8217;s suicide attempt.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">His personal life hasn&#8217;t fared much better under scrutiny. His campaign admitted he sent sexually explicit texts to at least half a dozen women while married. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">maintained a profile</a> on Kik — a messaging app critics call a &#8220;predator&#8217;s paradise&#8221; — and has struggled to explain why ex-girlfriends knew about his Nazi-linked tattoo years before he claims he learned of its significance himself.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">Platner has insisted his online posts were jokes, dismissing them as &#8220;sh*tposting.&#8221; He&#8217;s attributed some remarks to PTSD from military deployments.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">Ardell isn&#8217;t buying the rehabilitation narrative.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal">&#8220;This is not a guy that has a skeleton in the closet,&#8221; the lawmaker said. &#8220;This is a guy that has a whole graveyard.&#8221;</p>


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