Israel launched an airstrike on the Iranian regime’s infamous Evin prison on Monday, where thousands of political prisoners have been executed by the Islamic regime.
&#8220;Security footage shows one missile strike blasting open the doors of Evin Prison, where the Islamic Republic held its opponents and critics in brutal conditions, with public hangings,&#8221; the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/23/world-news/dramatic-footage-shows-israel-striking-irans-most-notorious-prison-blowing-doors-off-its-hinges/">reported</a>.
“In accordance with the directives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and me, the IDF is now attacking with unprecedented force regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran, including the Basij headquarters, Evin Prison for political prisoners and opponents of the regime, the ‘Destruction of Israel’ clock in Palestine Square, the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards, the Ideology Headquarters, and other regime targets,” Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
בהתאם להנחיית ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ושלי צה&#8221;ל תוקף כעת בעוצמה חסרת תקדים מטרות משטר וגופי דיכוי שלטוניים בלב טהרן וביניהם &#8211; מטה הבסיג’, בית הכלא אווין לאסירים פוליטיים ומתנגדי משטר, השעון &#8220;להשמדת ישראל&#8221; בכיכר פלסטין, מפקדות ביטחון פנים של משמרות המהפכה, מפקדת האידיאולוגיה…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1937086162415321107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
“In 1988, <a href="https://archive.is/o/C6q4d/https:/www.hrw.org/reports/2004/iran0604/5.htm">thousands of Evin prisoners</a> were executed after cursory trials, according to Human Rights Watch. Many of those killed were viewed as a threat to the new Islamic government,” The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/world/middleeast/evin-prison-iran.html">reported</a>.
Iraj Mesdaghi, a former Iranian political prisoner who was tortured by the Islamic regime while in Evin prison, told <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-858736">The Jerusalem Post</a>: “When I saw the images, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was worried about the fate of the political prisoners, but on the other, I was glad the killers were being targeted. This was a powerful moment for us — to see those who tormented us finally being held accountable. But I must say: as long as Khamenei is alive, the cycle of violence isn&#8217;t over.&#8221;
Mesdaghi recalled what he had suffered while in the prison: ‘The torture wasn’t just to extract information — it was constant. I was kept in solitary confinement for months, blindfolded, shoved into what they called &#8216;the grave&#8217; — a tiny box. They lashed the soles of my feet with electric cables. Every part of my body was in pain.&#8221;
Noted Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad <a href="https://x.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1937210268074852481">stated</a> on X, “The Islamic Republic’s notorious prison, Evin was bombed by Israel. The regime responded by surrounding the prison with security forces to make sure none of the political prisoners could escape. This is the reality in Iran. At a time of war, political prisoners must be released not held hostage. If you want to act, aim your pressure at the Islamic Republic to release them now.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Islamic Republic’s notorious prison, Evin was bombed by Israel. The regime responded by surrounding the prison with security forces to make sure none of the political prisoners could escape. This is the reality in Iran. At a time of war, political prisoners must be released… <a href="https://t.co/xCkBexTZEO">pic.twitter.com/xCkBexTZEO</a>
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1937210268074852481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
“I really don&#8217;t know what will happen next,” Mesdaghi wondered. “If Khamenei survives this attack, I fear the regime will retaliate by executing more political prisoners. That’s why the world has to care — has to stand with the Iranian people, especially those being held hostage by this regime.”

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Israel Bombed Infamous Iranian Prison. Former Prisoner: ‘This Was A Powerful Moment For Us’

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LGBT Judge Lets Child Killer Walk Free In Shocking Court Decision

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R&amp;B recording artist R. Kelly was taken to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of an overdose while spending time in solitary confinement, per an emergency motion for his release.
&#8220;Bureau of Prisons officials administered an amount of medication that significantly exceeded a safe dose and caused Mr. Kelly to overdose, putting his life in jeopardy,&#8221; the third supplement to the emergency motion filed by his attorney Beau Brindley says.
The document also notes how the singer &#8220;takes medication for anxiety and to help him sleep, in addition to other medications.&#8221; 
Brindley has been working to get his client released onto house arrest, claiming his life is in danger as long as he’s in prison, per <a href="https://people.com/r-kelly-overdose-hospital-prison-drugs-11756210">People</a>.
Kelly’s attorney also claimed his client required surgery that the prison was hindering him from getting.
&#8220;Mr. Kelly’s life is in jeopardy right now because the Bureau of Prisons denied him necessary surgery to clear clots from his lungs,&#8221; the supplement says. &#8220;He could die from this condition, and they are letting it happen. There is no legitimate explanation for that.&#8221;
The 55-year-old performer was found guilty on three of four counts of child pornography by a federal jury in 2022, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/r-kelly-convicted-on-multiple-charges-including-child-pornography">reported</a>. The charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Kelly was also found guilty on three of five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
The conviction comes after a judge convicted Kelly on all nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York earlier that same year. He was already serving a 30-year sentence behind bars as a result of that trial when the second guilty verdict was handed down. 
The singer has allegedly been in solitary confinement ever since Brindley filed an emergency motion seeking a temporary furlough on June 10, the outlet noted.
Brindley is also trying to secure a presidential pardon for his client and claims to have spoken with contacts with ties to Trump. Kelly and the president have no previous relationship beyond the fact that Kelly once lived in Trump Tower.
&#8220;He is not safe in federal custody,&#8221; Brindley said. &#8220;And to keep him in prison while he is under threat like this is cruel and unusual punishment.&#8221;

R Kelly

R. Kelly Reportedly Overdoses In Prison As His Lawyer Petitions For Trump Pardon

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A former CIA analyst who leaked Israeli strike plans against Iran was sentenced to just three years and one month in prison on Wednesday.
Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, Virginia, was convicted of “unlawfully retaining and transmitting Top Secret National Defense Information to people who were not entitled to receive it,” the U.S. Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-cia-analyst-sentenced-over-three-years-prison-unlawfully-transmitting-top-secret">said</a>. Rahman was arrested in November 2024 and pled guilty to two counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense in January 2025. He had faced up to 10 years in prison on each count if convicted.
He had been employed by the CIA since 2016 and had Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-cia-official-admits-to-stealing-leaking-israeli-attack-plans-on-iran">reported</a>.
“Asif Rahman violated his position of trust by illegally accessing, removing, and transmitting Top Secret documents vital to the national security of the United States and its allies,” said Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This case should serve as a stern warning to those who choose to place their own goals over their allegiance to our nation.”
The DOJ said Rahman “accessed and printed two Top Secret documents containing National Defense Information” on October 17, 2024.
The next day, the documents appeared on multiple social media platforms, including a pro-Iran Telegram account, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-official-arrested-for-allegedly-leaking-classified-documents-on-israeli-attack-plans">reported</a> at the time.
The leaked documents included information from U.S. satellites on Israeli military preparations for the strike against Iran. The documents were intended to be viewed only by members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Israel launched airstrikes targeting military bases around Iran’s capital city of Tehran later in October, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israeli-strikes-targeted-iranian-military-bases-around-tehran">reported</a>. The strikes came in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier that month.
The DOJ continued:
<blockquote>In 2024, continuing through November, Rahman repeatedly accessed and printed classified National Defense Information, including documents classified up to the Top Secret and further compartmented levels, that he learned in the course of his employment and transmitted to multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive it.</blockquote>
“For months, this defendant betrayed the American people and the oaths he took upon entering his office by leaking some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets,” said John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

Israeli fighter jet

Former CIA Analyst Who Leaked Israeli Strike Plans Gets Lenient Prison Sentence

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Military

Last month, Marvin Lee Mutch, a convicted child murderer who was charged with drowning 13-year-old Cassie Riley in 1974, was arrested for possessing child sex abuse material, an illegally owned firearm, ammunition, and a controlled substance. After 40 years in San Quentin Prison, Mutch was released in 2016, thanks to the efforts of an organization called the Innocence Project. This isn’t the first time the group has argued for the release of a criminal who has gone on to harm new victims.
Consider Robert Roberson, a Texas death row inmate whose 2024 case flooded headlines. Described by the Innocence Project as a “child-like” autistic father, Roberson gained the sympathies of many prominent figures on both sides of the political aisle. Days before Roberson’s set execution date of October 17, 2024, CNN’s Jake Tapper conducted a sympathetic interview with the detective who worked on Roberson’s case, who called for Roberson to be spared the death penalty. Dr. Phil, RFK Jr., and Bret Weinstein, conservative allies whom I believe to be well meaning, also defended Roberson and called for a stay of his execution. The Innocence Project led the charge on Roberson’s behalf, persuading the public and Texas lawmakers that a grieving, autistic father had been wrongly blamed for the 2002 murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. The group claimed Roberson’s conviction was based on “debunked” Shaken Baby Syndrome and an accidental bed fall. Who can blame one for rushing to Roberson’s defense when presented with this story? It tugs on the heartstrings and demands justice. However, to maintain this narrative that captivated so many well-meaning people, the Innocence Project left out the damning details that actually led to Roberson’s conviction.
Nikki, just 2 years old, died in Roberson’s care. According to the testimonies delivered during Roberson’s trial, Nikki’s injuries were consistent with brutal abuse. ER Nurse Andrea Sims testified Nikki had a handprint on her face, a “mushy” skull, and her entire brain shifted from trauma. Dr. John Ross, the pediatrician who examined Nikki, testified that he ruled out a fall, insisting the trauma had to have been caused intentionally. Nurse Kelly Gurganus described Nikki’s blue skin, unlike anything she’d seen, even in drownings. Dr. Thomas Konjoyan, the ER physician who examined Nikki, confirmed her brain was pushed to death by uncal herniation — an injury no bed fall could cause. 
It gets worse. Nurse Sims found three anal tears and abnormal rectal laxity, signs of sexual assault. Roberson confessed to a cellmate he put his penis in Nikki’s mouth and rubbed it on her. His ex, Della Gray, testified he abused her children, leaving bruises and a hickey on one. His own mother warned he’d kill Nikki. With 17 arrests, including felonies, Roberson is no victim. Yet the Innocence Project paints him as a misunderstood Forrest Gump.
Now, Roberson’s fate hangs in the balance as he awaits his new execution date. Attorney General Ken Paxton has signaled that he’ll continue seeking justice for Nikki. Will Texas legislators join him in this fight, or will they cave to IP’s anti-justice demands?
So why would the Innocence Project defend such a man? The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by O.J. Simpson’s lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, is a radical left-wing organization that uses these kinds of misleading cases of supposed wrongful convictions to erode public confidence in capital punishment. They freed O.J. despite blood evidence and use the same tactics to pursue their ultimate goal of abolishing the death penalty at all costs. And it seems to be working: since 1992, public support for the death penalty has dropped from 80% to 53%, fueled by their sob stories about “wrongly” convicted killers like Roberson. They erode trust in our courts, claiming a “broken system” while ignoring victims like Nikki.
Their leadership exposes their bias. Executive Director Christina Swarns, a former NAACP lawyer, saved cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose guilt is undeniable. Board member Alondra Nelson praises Black Panthers and pushes DNA testing for slave reparations. Yusef Salaam, of Central Park Five fame, campaigned for Kamala Harris. Cedric Alexander, an Obama advisor, demonizes January 6 protesters. Ekow Yankah wrote he won’t let his children befriend white people. Bankrolled by George Soros’s Open Society, Mackenzie Scott, and even taxpayer dollars through the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, they’re activists, not impartial advocates.
Conservatives should view The Innocence Project like BLM: a radical leftist group using toxic empathy to twist our compassion and godly desire for justice, just to push a dangerous agenda.
* * *
Allie Beth Stuckey is a conservative commentator, host of the podcast “Relatable,” and New York Times bestselling author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Empathy-Progressives-Christian-Compassion/dp/0593541944/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UANYF7F4G527&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SR4Z9YTZBiD-LIyJWIe2NqrPQSJrs7v_SeJwqdKhprgz4bRzXt9yi_yz87GrsiKreKNDkh5cktyvWqnwYqCvq-AAWTJyW9idmKxIIFSxmJU.Q-uGoH9skFCMDxfjq4I70mRhShGY4nULiXDRrFrj1Nw&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=Toxic+Empathy%3A+How+Progressives&amp;qid=1749579102&amp;sprefix=toxic+empathy+how+progressives%2Caps%2C55&amp;sr=8-1">Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion</a>&#8220;
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Governor Gavin Newsom Announces He Will Sign Moratorium On Executions In California

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A former police chief serving a life sentence for murder and rape, dubbed the &#8220;Devil in the Ozarks,&#8221; escaped from an Arkansas high-security prison on Sunday by disguising himself as a law enforcement officer.
Grant Hardin, 56, was serving a 30-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton, a Gateway water department employee, and an additional 50 years for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher, according to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-prison-escape-police-chief-grant-hardin-934e7fe6a45d3eafb18443f5b2bc5680">report</a> by the Associated Press.
He escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit, a high-security facility in Calico Rock where he had been incarcerated since 2017, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/27/us/grant-hardin-prison-escape-arkansas">according</a> to CNN.
Rand Champion, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections, confirmed Hardin wore a &#8220;makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement&#8221; during his escape, prison officials stated.
&#8220;That was not a standard inmate uniform, not a standard correctional uniform,&#8221; Champion said. &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing inside the prison that looks like that, so that&#8217;s one of the challenges we&#8217;re going through to find out what that was and how he was able to get that or manufacture it.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_925979" style="width: 534px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-925979" class="size-large wp-image-925979" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/499909563_1131975885632996_2765357824958232388_n-524x576.jpg" alt="" width="524" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/499909563_1131975885632996_2765357824958232388_n-524x576.jpg 524w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/499909563_1131975885632996_2765357824958232388_n-273x300.jpg 273w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/499909563_1131975885632996_2765357824958232388_n.jpg 662w" sizes="(max-width: 524px) 100vw, 524px" />Via the Arkansas Dept of Corrections on Facebook</div>
Hardin had a short tenure as police chief for the small Arkansas town of Gateway in 2016, just a few miles away from Walmart headquarters, and throughout his law enforcement career, he was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/26/us/arkansas-grant-hardin-prison-escape.html">plagued</a> with accusations of excessive force, bad performance, and eventually resigned as chief after he was caught falsifying a police report, according to The New York Times.
Authorities have deployed canines, drones, and helicopters to search the rugged Ozark Mountains terrain, with the search area expanding as time passes.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday&amp;_gl=1*1qdq03s*_gcl_au*MTYyNDg0MTE0OS4xNzQxODk4NTMz*_ga*MTEzOTk1NjkxNi4xNzI2MzI1MDQz*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NDgzNzg2NDgkbzEwMDMkZzEkdDE3NDgzODEwMTckajU4JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Champion noted the region&#8217;s challenging topography, stating, &#8220;It&#8217;s called Calico Rock for a reason, because it&#8217;s very rocky,&#8221; adding that recent heavy rainfall has further complicated search efforts &#8212; although he added it could also hinder Hardin’s escape effort.
Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton urged residents to lock their homes and vehicles and call 911 if they notice anything suspicious.
Cheryl Tillman, sister of James Appleton, who Hardin murdered in 2017, expressed alarm about the escape since she and other family members were witnesses at Hardin&#8217;s trial, but she was not surprised upon hearing of Hardin’s escape.
&#8220;He&#8217;s just an evil man,&#8221; she said, per the AP. &#8220;He is no good for society.&#8221;
Craig Caine, a retired inspector with the U.S. Marshals with 30 years of experience handling escaped inmates, told the AP, &#8220;At some point in time, he&#8217;s going to run out of provisions.&#8221;
Though Caine isn&#8217;t involved in this manhunt, he noted that investigators are likely examining Hardin&#8217;s court documents and tracking individuals who might be assisting him. He added that it is extremely unlikely for Hardin to evade capture indefinitely in the isolated region, where he is likely to stand out in small, rural communities and be turned in by residents.
The ex-police chief&#8217;s notoriety in the region led to the production of a 2023 documentary titled &#8220;Devil in the Ozarks,&#8221; which chronicled his crimes.
Hardin&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/10-inmates-some-charged-with-murder-escape-from-louisiana-jail">escape</a> comes just weeks after ten inmates fled a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet. Eight of those fugitives have since been recaptured as of Tuesday.

Grant Hardin

Arkansas Residents On Edge After Violent Ex-Police Chief Escapes Prison

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This Woman Was Just Sent To Prison For Posting A Mean Tweet

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Over two dozen Republican attorneys general are defending President Donald Trump&#8217;s moves to keep women from being housed alongside transgender-identifying men in federal prisons.
Led by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a group of 26 states filed an amicus brief on Friday in support of Trump&#8217;s executive order requiring prisoners to be housed by sex and halting funds for transgender procedures for prisoners. Trump&#8217;s actions to rid prisons of gender ideology currently sit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after being blocked by lower federal courts.
“Truth matters — and it’s under attack in our culture today,” Labrador told The Daily Wire on Wednesday. “We’re standing up for biological reality, lawful executive authority, and the dignity and safety of women. If government policy or court rulings deny basic truth, it threatens both public trust and the rights of individuals.”
In February, a federal judge blocked the Trump&#8217;s directive to move transgender-identifying male prisoners out of a female prison, arguing that it violates the Eight Amendment&#8217;s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Two other judges have also blocked the order, including provisions ending funding of transgender procedures for prisoners.
Led by Labrador and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, the Republican attorneys general argued Friday that Trump&#8217;s actions to keep men out of women&#8217;s prisons are not bound by the Eighth Amendment.
&#8220;The federal government is charged with preserving the safety of all prisoners in its care, and it has determined that placing transgender-identifying male prisoners in female housing intolerably jeopardizes female prisoners’ well-being,&#8221; they wrote in their legal brief. &#8220;So far as the Eighth Amendment is concerned,  the federal government is free to decide, as it has, that the best and safest solution is to house trans-identifying male prisoners with non-violent male offenders.&#8221;
The Republican officials also noted that there is a great danger that could be posed to women who are forced to shower and bunk alongside males.
&#8220;Housing transgender-identifying males with female prisoners presents its own set of risks. Those risks inure to the harm of female inmates, who  (1) have their rights to privacy and dignity compromised by having to sleep and shower with men, (2) are exposed to elevated possibilities of violence or sexual assault, and (3) will be pressured or coerced into using speech reflecting a belief that conflicts with  biological reality,&#8221; they wrote. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-trump-youth-prisons-transgender-house-young-girls?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Despite+Trump+Orders%2C+Juvenile+Prisons+Still+Have+To+House+‘Trans’+Men+With+Young+Girls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: Despite Trump Orders, Juvenile Prisons Still Have To House ‘Trans’ Men With Young Girls</a>
They also argue that the Trump administration should be allowed to deny transgender procedures to prisoners because of the well-documented risks of gender medical interventions.
&#8220;Politically accountable policy makers are better positioned and constitutionally  empowered to decide if, when, and how those treatments should be administered, and the need for deference to the politically accountable branches is particularly high in light  of the medical uncertainty regarding the treatments’ efficacy,&#8221; they wrote. 
<div id="attachment_923535" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-923535" class="size-full wp-image-923535" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2149418788.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador speaks outside the Supreme Court on April 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States to decide if Idaho emergency rooms can provide abortions to pregnant women during an emergency using a federal law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to supersede a state law that criminalizes most abortions in Idaho." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2149418788.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2149418788-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2149418788-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/GettyImages-2149418788-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Labrador at the Supreme Court/ Credit: Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.</div>
The brief was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming.
Risks to women being housed alongside males are not abstract and are currently the subject of multiple lawsuits across the country. A California man named Tremaine Carrol faces multiple rape charges after he was housed in a woman&#8217;s facility. In Washington, former prisoner Mozzy Clark has sued the state saying it subjected her to multiple sexual assaults because they housed a man in her cell.
The issue is not isolated to the adult prisons as Obama-era regulations states could be required to house boys in all-girl youth prisons as well. As The Daily Wire previously reported, states must consider housing a juvenile male who identifies as a female at a women&#8217;s facility on a case by case basis or risk the loss of federal funding.

Criminal wearing handcuffs in prison

Republican AGs Blast Federal Judges For Keeping Men In Women’s Prisons

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Ten prison inmates, at least four of them charged with murder or attempted murder, have escaped from prison in New Orleans, Louisiana.
On Friday morning at roughly 9:30 a.m., it was discovered that the men were missing from Orleans Parish Justice Center.
“Photos released by the sheriff&#8217;s office show the inside of a cell where the escape is believed to have happened. A large hole was cut behind a toilet with phrases such as ‘We Innocent’ and ‘Too Easy LOL’ written above it,” NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-orleans-inmates-escape-rcna207232">reported</a>.
Sheriff Susan Hutson revealed the inmates had the help of people “inside of our department.”
“Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill wrote. “I’m in communication with Troop NOLA and @LAStatePolice Superintendent Colonel Hodges. It’s all hands on deck. The first priority in any escape must be the immediate capture of the inmates and coordination with state and local law enforcement — but that effort cannot come at the expense of timely notification to the public, which is also critical to keeping communities safe. My office will do whatever it takes to determine how this happened and make sure that it won’t happen again. I am calling for a full investigation &#8211; This is beyond unacceptable, and once these offenders are back in custody, there must be real accountability.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Someone clearly dropped the ball and there’s no excuse for this. I’m in communication with Troop NOLA and <a href="https://twitter.com/LAStatePolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAStatePolice</a> Superintendent Colonel Hodges. It’s all hands on deck. The first priority in any escape must be the immediate capture of the inmates and coordination with… <a href="https://t.co/APXD9Gj7UE">pic.twitter.com/APXD9Gj7UE</a>
&mdash; Attorney General Liz Murrill (@AGLizMurrill) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGLizMurrill/status/1923441108731953641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to Deputy Chief of Field Operations Bureau Christopher Goodly, the men should be considered armed and dangerous.
Not only have four of the escapees been charged with murder or attempted murder, others have been charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, armed robbery with a firearm, armed false imprisonment, or battery and drug offenses.
One man has been caught. Kendall Myles was discovered hiding under a car in the Hotel Monteleone parking garage in the French Quarter.
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Troop NOLA Troopers located escapee Kendall Myles in the French Quarter this morning. After a brief foot pursuit, he was apprehended on Royal Street. Troopers continue working with partners to locate the remaining escapees and ensure public safety. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/troopnola?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#troopnola</a> <a href="https://t.co/ef5FM55YRS">pic.twitter.com/ef5FM55YRS</a>
&mdash; LA State Police (@LAStatePolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAStatePolice/status/1923423245044257185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“Thank you to Troop NOLA for their diligence and speed in apprehending the first escapee,” Gov. Jeff Landry posted on X. “To the other 10: YOU ARE NEXT! @OrleansParishSO and @SheriffHutson must be working in total conjunction with Troop NOLA. There is no time to waste!”
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Thank you to Troop NOLA for their diligence and speed in apprehending the first escapee. 
To the other 10: YOU ARE NEXT! <a href="https://twitter.com/OrleansParishSO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrleansParishSO</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SheriffHutson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SheriffHutson</a> must be working in total conjunction with Troop NOLA. There is no time to waste! <a href="https://t.co/4YZzcSlWDa">https://t.co/4YZzcSlWDa</a>
&mdash; Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAGovJeffLandry/status/1923423965554327670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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escape from prison cell

10 Inmates, Some Charged With Murder, Escape From Louisiana Jail

escape

Louisiana

New Orleans

The 27-year-old New Jersey man who was convicted in February of stabbing and partially blinding famed novelist Salman Rushdie was hit with the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison on Friday.
Hadi Matar was convicted of second-degree attempted murder for the August 2022 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BREAKING%3A+Famed+Author+Salman+Rushdie%2C+Target+Of+Iran+Death+Sentence%2C+Stabbed+On+Stage+In+New+York" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stabbing attack</a> that also injured the event&#8217;s moderator, Henry Reese, the co-founder of Pittsburgh&#8217;s City of Asylum, which helps exiled writers, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/assailant-who-stabbed-author-salman-rushdie-sentenced-25-years-2025-05-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Rushdie — who sparked the ire of the Iranian regime with his 1988 novel, &#8220;The Satanic Verses&#8221; — was stabbed by Matar between 10 and 15 times in the head, neck, torso, and left hand at a New York arts institute. After the book was published, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, calling for Rushdie&#8217;s assassination.
Video captured Matar rushing the stage where Rushdie spoke during a writers&#8217; event focused on protecting exiled writers. During the trial, a trauma surgeon testified that without immediate medical intervention, Rushdie would have died, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/salman-rushdie-stabbing-sentencing-attempted-murder-hadi-matar/story?id=121844226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The jury took just two hours to reach a verdict. Matar was also sentenced to seven years for second-degree assault in the stabbing of Reese, but that sentence will run concurrently with the longer one.
Before the trial began in Chautauqua County Court, Matar rejected a plea deal. Shortly after the jury reached its verdict, his defense attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said Matar plans to appeal the conviction. Matar has also been charged by the federal government with an act of terrorism. He will face those charges at a separate trial in Buffalo, according to Reuters.
Rushdie was born into a non-practicing Muslim family in British India, and now identifies as an atheist. “The Satanic Verses,&#8221; which was labeled as blasphemous by hardline Islamists, refers to verses of the Quran that Rushdie claimed had been removed. Rushdie said that his book is not blasphemous against Islam, adding, “I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context.”
After the sentencing hearing, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said that the stabbing attack still haunts the 77-year-old author.
&#8220;He&#8217;s traumatized. He has nightmares about what he experienced,&#8221; Schmidt said. &#8220;Obviously this is a major setback for an individual that was starting to emerge in his very later years of life into society after going into hiding after the fatwa.&#8221;

Hadi Matar

Sentence Is In For American Who Stabbed Novelist Salman Rushdie

attack

New Jersey

New York

Politics

Salman Rushdie

When President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he planned to reopen Alcatraz — the notorious island prison located just a little over a mile off the California coast near San Francisco — critics began to question just how &#8220;inescapable&#8221; it really was.
From 1934 to 1963, there were 14 documented escape attempts from <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-9-pacific-rim/region-9-newsroom/feature-stories/the-captivating-history-of-alcatraz-island-from-military-fort-to-national-historic-landmark-05182020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alcatraz</a> involving 36 inmates. Not all of those who attempted to escape even made it to the shoreline. Some who did make it into the water gave up and turned back after encountering the strong currents and frigid temperatures. Two were confirmed to have drowned, and another five were officially declared &#8220;missing and presumed drowned.&#8221;
The only prisoner known to have survived the swim was John Paul Scott, who made it to Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge in 1962 before he collapsed from hypothermia and exhaustion. He was found there, unconscious, and returned to the island prison after being treated at a nearby hospital.
But following Trump&#8217;s announcement, some noted that people now swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco on a fairly regular basis. There are even annually scheduled triathlons that include a swim from The Rock to shore, suggesting that maybe escaping the prison through the San Francisco Bay wouldn&#8217;t be as formidable to prisoners in the 21st century as it had been in years past.
Any prisoner who attempted to make that swim to freedom would have to survive about a mile and a half — or more, if the currents pushed them off course — of choppy water that typically registers between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, and they&#8217;d have to do it without the benefit of a wetsuit. With water at those temperatures, hypothermia can begin to set in within 30-60 minutes.
But as the critics say, people do it every year: people who have the luxury of weeks or even months of in-water training and coaching to learn how to maximize each movement and breathe efficiently. And, more importantly, people who have access to wetsuits and even a quick rescue if things go sideways.
An average swimmer can complete a one-mile swim in about 30 minutes, about two-thirds of the distance from Alcatraz to the shore. But that&#8217;s with regular training, and prisoners on the island would have no ability to train in the water. People who have made that swim assured The Daily Wire that it was not something to be undertaken lightly.
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines swam from Alcatraz to shore with a group of Navy SEALs in July of 2024, and she told The Daily Wire that she prepared by swimming in the bay the day before without a wetsuit.
&#8220;FREEZING. And this was in the middle of July. No way you&#8217;d survive in the colder months.&#8221;
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Successfully swam Alcatraz with a handful of the most impressive Navy Seals &amp; combat veterans.
It was such a fun (and cold) way to honor those who risk their lives for our great nation. God bless our troops!🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/kuwkaAXUNs">pic.twitter.com/kuwkaAXUNs</a>
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1811907603297108373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Gaines said that in addition to the cold — even with a wetsuit for the full swim — she had to contend with &#8220;swimming directly into massive waves, major currents that change (sometimes they help, sometimes you&#8217;re swimming in place).&#8221;
&#8220;I had lots of seals and sea lions who were basically playing with me the entire time,&#8221; Gaines added. &#8220;They were so curious what I was doing they&#8217;d come up and nudge me. I swam with a pod of dolphins, maybe 15 to 20 or so. It was a good sign no sharks were around.&#8221;
Avid triathlete and fitness trainer Daniela Lavender participated in the &#8220;Escape from Alcatraz&#8221; triathlon in 2018, and she too mentioned the water temperature and the lengths to which athletes prepare for the experience. &#8220;Besides the wetsuits, we had neoprene caps and booties,&#8221; she said.
But one of the most important things, Lavender told The Daily Wire, was the fact that participants had kayakers with them to help guide them through the choppy waters — and redirect them if they started to stray from the best course to shore.
&#8220;You have to hit the current just right to have it shoot you in toward the shore,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t hit it just right, it will sweep you out into the bay. It&#8217;s a hard thing to do because you really do have to hit that tide just right. They show you a building on the shore to aim for, but if the water is rough and the waves are big, that building is hard to see.&#8221;
&#8220;The depth of the water is a little bit stressful too,&#8221; Lavender added. &#8220;And of course the great whites are there. Not so much when we were there because they try to schedule the events around seasonal surges in the shark population, but they are there so you don&#8217;t want to get separated from the crowd. Don&#8217;t be first or last, I guess.&#8221;
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French completed two triathlons at Alcatraz in the early 2000s, and he agreed that the water was frigid. Beyond that, he questioned whether anyone would be able to complete such a swim without the benefit of training.
&#8220;I was swimming maybe 5,000 to 7,000 yards, three times a week at the time,&#8221; he said. &#8220;[Without training] I don’t think it could be done. Swimming is 90% technique. You have to have that feel from training. It’s something you have to develop.&#8221;
French also noted that swimming in a large group with nearly 1,000 others competing in the triathlon actually eased any anxiety he might have had about running into the great white sharks that frequent the area: &#8220;In terms of the sharks, I figured if I was one of a thousand, my odds were pretty good.&#8221;
On a general note, French said that he was in favor of reopening the notorious prison. &#8220;I’m old enough to remember when Alcatraz had this mystique about it,&#8221; he explained.
&#8220;Love this. I actually swam Alcatraz twice (with a wetsuit of course). That place has an eerie feel to it. This will strike fear into criminals. More winning,&#8221; he posted on X.
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Love this. I actually swam Alcatraz twice (with a wetsuit of course). That place has an eerie feel to it. This will strike fear into criminals. More winning. <a href="https://t.co/4wT4ilT0pa">https://t.co/4wT4ilT0pa</a>
— Bo French (@BoFrenchTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/BoFrenchTX/status/1919172465130910073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;For me, I was like, this is amazing, this American institution is coming back — I think it is really going to send a message,&#8221; he said.
Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) also lauded Trump&#8217;s plan to reopen Alcatraz, calling it &#8220;a symbol of tough American justice&#8221; and a throwback to a &#8220;Golden Age&#8221; where criminals were met with swift justice and accountability rather than being sent right back to the streets by progressive prosecutors and judges.
That message hit home for him, and he referenced one criminal illegal alien who was released from jail four times in Virginia, after which he raped a teenage girl. &#8220;I&#8217;m a small government guy, but we have to keep our people safe,&#8221; he said.
McGuire, a veteran Navy SEAL (the sixth in Congress), swam from Alcatraz to shore with a group of SEALs for a charity several years ago, and he said that even for those in the best physical shape and whose training was &#8220;water-centric,&#8221; the support they got from kayakers in the water with them was of the utmost importance.
<div id="attachment_917881" style="width: 442px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-917881" class="wp-image-917881 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_1910-432x576.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy of Rep. John McGuire" width="432" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_1910-432x576.jpeg 432w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_1910-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/05/IMG_1910.jpeg 720w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" />Photo courtesy of Rep. John McGuire</div>
&#8220;We had experts helping us to predict the currents and kayakers in the water who got updates over radios,&#8221; he said, noting that there were times when they had to change course in ways that seemed counterintuitive to avoid dangerous currents that could have swept them out to sea. &#8220;We had to swim in the opposite direction of where we wanted to go.&#8221;
&#8220;You can be super fit, but if you don&#8217;t have the right information [about the currents], you still won&#8217;t make it,&#8221; McGuire said. &#8220;If you swim at the wrong angle for even five minutes, you won&#8217;t make it.&#8221;
McGuire stressed the mental, emotional, and physical toughness that is ingrained into Navy SEALs during training, saying that all of those things were employed as they worked to combat the rough water, the freezing temperatures, and the grueling physical stress of the swim. He noted that the pace changed with the currents, and they had to know when to go all out and when they could back off in order to hit those currents just right.
The realization of how dangerous the swim was didn&#8217;t truly hit McGuire until he got out of the water, when he said a local approached and asked whether they were aware of just how many great white shark attacks happened in the area.
&#8220;They were local, so I figured they would know better about that than I would, coming from the east coast,&#8221; he said, and then he added the real kicker: &#8220;When we got to the beach, one of the kayakers told us that the biggest great white dorsal fin he&#8217;d ever seen went right by us right when we started the swim. Of course, we didn&#8217;t know that until we got out of the water, but it definitely added a little excitement.&#8221;

Alcatraz Swim

How Hard Would It Be To Swim From Alcatraz To Freedom? We Asked People Who’ve Done It.

How Hard Would It Be To Swim From Alcatraz To Freedom? We Asked People Who've Done It.

Criminal Justice

Riley Gaines

President Donald Trump announced early Sunday evening that he was directing his administration to rebuild and reopen the notorious island prison Alcatraz, located just over a mile off the California coast near San Francisco.
Trump delivered the announcement in a post to his Truth Social platform, saying in part that he wanted to use the prison — once it was renovated and expanded — to help house criminal illegal aliens if the Democrats&#8217; carefully-shopped district court judges continue to block his efforts to deport them.
&#8220;REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!&#8221; Trump&#8217;s post began. &#8220;For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering.&#8221;
&#8220;When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.&#8221;
&#8220;We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,&#8221; Trump concluded. &#8220;The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/3g4G1rHNQn">pic.twitter.com/3g4G1rHNQn</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1919167527466266857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump followed that with a photo of the island prison — known as &#8220;The Rock&#8221; — in its heyday.
The United States gained control of <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-9-pacific-rim/region-9-newsroom/feature-stories/the-captivating-history-of-alcatraz-island-from-military-fort-to-national-historic-landmark-05182020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alcatraz</a> in 1848, and it was initially commissioned as a military installation by President Millard Fillmore. The construction of Fort Alcatraz was completed by 1858, and for 76 years, it was used primarily to house prisoners of war. From 1910 to 1912, prisoners rebuilt the entire prison — which was initially constructed out of wood — in concrete, at which point it was renamed &#8220;the Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks for the U.S. Army.&#8221;
In 1933, the prison was transferred from the military to the Federal Bureau of Prisons — and from 1934-1963, &#8220;The Rock&#8221; was home to worst of the worst. Al Capone, “the Birdman of Alcatraz” (Robert Franklin Stroud), and George “Machinegun” Kelly were among those who spent time behind its walls.
In the 29 years that it was a functioning federal prison, 34 inmates attempted to escape. Of those, six were shot, 23 were captured, and 2 were confirmed to have drowned in the attempt. Five more were lost at sea and presumed to have drowned. Only one prisoner — John Paul Scott, in 1962 — successfully completed the swim to shore, but he collapsed under the Golden Gate Bridge due to hypothermia and was quickly recaptured.
President John F. Kennedy closed Alcatraz in 1963, arguing that it was too expensive to keep it open.

Alcatraz Island in San Francisco

Trump Announces Plan To ‘REBUILD And OPEN’ Notorious Prison In Bid To Undercut Activist Judges

Trump Announces Plan To 'REBUILD And OPEN' Notorious Prison In Bid To Undercut Activist Judges

Illegal Immigration

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