The journalism conference that pulled a Daily Wire reporter and another conservative journalist off a panel on faith and reporting replaced the canceled speakers with an anti-Israel panelist.
MediaFest has come under fire for scrapping Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan and The Daily Signal’s Virginia Allen from its “Faith Central” panel without cause. The group <a href="https://whova.com/embedded/event/9vJV6UaQ48InrKt7th7MKxIbqXkL2zvLiaLzLhRFxlo%3D/?refer=undefined&amp;day=2">replaced</a> Olohan and Allen with Erum Ikramullah, a Senior Research Project Manager at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, the Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross <a href="https://freebeacon.com/media/americas-largest-media-conference-replaces-canceled-conservative-reporters-with-think-tank-researcher-working-to-boycott-israel/">reported</a> Friday.
Ikramullah petitioned the Howard County Council and County Executive Calvin Ball in Maryland to back a council member’s resolution for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza” in January 2024.
“I also urge the inclusion of a demand in CR22-2024 for the immediate release of the thousands of Palestinians unjustly detained by Apartheid Israel, reaffirming our commitment to human rights and international law,” Ikramullah wrote.
“Lastly, I call upon the council to advocate for the immediate cessation of all political, diplomatic, and military support for Israel. Our community should not be complicit in the perpetuation of these conflicts,” the email added.
In her role at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Ikramullah has worked to advance the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. Her colleagues include Dalia Mogahed, a scholar who <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/speaker-at-mits-standing-together-against-hate-event-endorsed-hamas-terrorism-as-lawful-resistance/">called</a> Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel an act of legal “resistance.”
Ikramullah was featured in a September 2024 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-doj-plows-on-despite-shutdown-with-bolton-indictment-arrest-of-monster-hamas-supporter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newsweek</a> article titled “How Kamala Harris Could Win Back Muslim Voters.”
“Any candidate wishing to win over Muslim voters would do well to distance themselves from Biden’s Gaza policy in favor of one that secures a permanent ceasefire and reduces military aid to Israel,” Erum Ikramullah, senior research project manager at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, told the publication at the time.
Olohan and Allen were reportedly told they were no longer allowed to participate in the event following a complaint from Oregon State University faculty member Steven Sandberg about their reporting on LGBTQ issues.
“LGBTQ students are feeling targeted by our administration, by the government, and by society. So I was disappointed to see them bring in people who espoused anti-LGBT views,” Sandberg said, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.
The Daily Wire editors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mediafest-and-why-theres-no-hope-for-liberal-journalism">criticized</a> the decision to remove the journalists from the event.

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MediaFest Replaced Cancelled Conservative Journos With Anti-Israel Activist

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Washington DC

Washington, D.C., has officially lost its status as an illegal alien sanctuary city amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Attorney General Pam Bondi stripped the city’s Chief of Police Pamela Smith of her power this week, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14333-declaring-crime-emergency-the-district-columbia">executive order</a>, instead <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-strips-d-c-police-chief-of-power-names-new-emergency-police-commissioner">naming</a> Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole as the new emergency police commissioner.
Bondi also rescinded three orders from the city government limiting law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Attorney General <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/15/us-news/ag-pam-bondi-declares-dc-will-not-remain-a-sanctuary-city-under-trump-cops-must-alert-ice-to-illegal-migrants/">pledged</a> that the district will not be a safe haven for illegal aliens in an interview in which she accused the city’s leadership of “shielding” illegal aliens from the law.
Bondi went on to assert that D.C. politicians are “trying to protect criminal aliens” and that “criminals are going to flee to DC” if the nation’s capital maintains its sanctuary city policies. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
The most recent of the three orders rescinded by Bondi prevented D.C. police from using databases to inquire about the immigration status of people in the nation’s capital.
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“Members shall not make inquiries into any person’s immigration status for the purpose of determining whether they have violated the civil immigration laws or for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration laws,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-police-announce-major-action-immigration-enforcement-after-trumps-crime-crackdown">read</a> the order, which was implemented just last week.
“To the extent that provisions in this Order conflict with any existing MPD directives, those directives are hereby rescinded,” Bondi wrote.
“So, yes, you must comply. You must give the information to our ICE, to our Homeland Security officers,” Bondi said, addressing police officers in the nation’s capital. “If they have information of an illegal alien living in DC, they must give us that information.”
Now the city’s leadership must obtain approval from Cole before issuing new directives. Leaders in the city government have pushed back, with Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, issuing a legal opinion contesting the Trump administration’s crackdown on crime in the city.
“It is my opinion that the Bondi Order is unlawful, and that you are not legally obligated to follow it,” Schwalb wrote in a memo to D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith.
The nascent legal fight comes as federal authorities and the National Guard have begun patrolling the streets of the nation’s capital in an effort to curtail the “out of control” crime that Trump seeks to end.

DC Crackdown

It’s Official: D.C. No Longer A Sanctuary City As Trump Cracks Down On Crime

Washington D.C. Officially Loses Its Illegal Alien Sanctuary City Status Amid Trump Crackdown

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President Donald Trump&#8217;s takeover of police in Washington, D.C., to fight crime in the nation&#8217;s capital may extend beyond a month if Congress passes a measure unveiled this week by a House Republican.
The &#8220;Capital Emergency Control Act of 2025,&#8221; which Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) revealed on Wednesday, would do away with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-congress-holds-the-key-to-extending-trumps-d-c-police-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30-day limit</a> that is written in Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
&#8220;President Trump has rightly declared a national emergency in Washington, D.C. — a city its own government has surrendered to chaos. Under current law, the President can only federalize D.C. for thirty days,&#8221; Ogles <a href="https://x.com/RepOgles/status/1955780086478655966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X. &#8220;I’m introducing a resolution to amend the D.C. Home Rule Act so the President can extend this emergency as long as it takes, until our Capitol is taken back and its streets are safe. Congress must defend the President, and our Country.&#8221;
On Monday, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/were-gonna-take-our-capital-back-heres-everything-trump-is-going-to-do-to-clean-up-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invoked</a> Section 740, which allowed him to direct the D.C. mayor to provide him the services of the Metropolitan Police Department. The president then notified Congress of his intention to keep the emergency he invoked until it is no longer needed or reaches the &#8220;maximum period&#8221; allowed. As it stands, Section 740 says anything beyond 30 days would require Congress to pass a joint resolution that authorizes the extension.
The measure from Ogles would get rid of the time restraint provision and give the president room to hold onto control of D.C. police for additional periods of up to 30 days — if relevant committees are informed and provided a reason for why the emergency situation persists at each interval. Language that says lawmakers could vote for a joint resolution that ends the authority remains intact.
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Federal officials <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/d-c-crime-crackdown-update-authorities-arrest-dozens-more-including-suspected-illegal-immigrants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> dozens of arrests have been made since Trump&#8217;s D.C. police takeover began. Top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-congress-holds-the-key-to-extending-trumps-d-c-police-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed</a> approval of the operation. Meanwhile, Democrats assailed the move and plan to <a href="https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-van-hollen-will-reintroduce-bills-grant-dc-full-control-over-its" target="_blank" rel="noopener">push legislation</a> that would give nation’s capital “full control” of its police force, as well as the D.C. National Guard, which the president deployed along with agents from various federal law enforcement organizations to help with the crackdown on crime. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) issued a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-congress-holds-the-key-to-extending-trumps-d-c-police-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Thursday criticizing the resolution from Ogles that could prolong the takeover.
“D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and more federal taxes overall than 19 states, while being denied the same voting representation in Congress or full local self-government accorded to residents of the 50 states,&#8221; Norton <a href="https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-statement-after-rep-ogles-announces-bill-allow-president-extend" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;I will do everything in my power to block this bill’s progress and passage and prevent D.C. from suffering additional indignities at the hands of the federal government.&#8221;
Earlier this year, Ogles <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1089/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a bill called the “Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Act” or the “BOWSER Act,&#8221; a nod to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. If passed, the legislation would repeal the Home Rule Act, which beyond Section 740 allows the district a limited amount of self-governance. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the same measure in the upper chamber.
&#8220;The radically progressive regime of D.C. Mayor Bowser has left our nation’s Capital in crime-ridden shambles. Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness. Bowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city,&#8221; Ogles <a href="https://ogles.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-ogles-sen-lee-introduce-bowser-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a February statement.
He continued, &#8220;As such, it seems appropriate for Congress to reclaim its Constitutional authority and restore the nation’s Capital. The epicenter of not only the United States Federal Government but also the world geopolitics cannot continue to be a cesspool of Democrats’ failed policies. That’s why I’ve introduced the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident (BOWSER) Act, which would repeal the D.C. Home Rule Act. I am grateful to Senator Lee for his willingness to lead this critical legislation in the Senate.&#8221;

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GOP Proposal Gives Trump Authority To Extend D.C. Police Takeover

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U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced on Thursday that the government is weighing seeking the death penalty for Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim earlier this year.
“This begins the statutory process of whether to seek the death penalty,” Pirro said. “This is a weighty decision. It takes time.”
Pirro said Attorney General Pam Bondi will decide whether to seek the death penalty after getting advice from a special unit that reviews such cases.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 U.S. Attorney <a href="https://twitter.com/JudgeJeanine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JudgeJeanine</a> Pirro unseals a 9-count indictment against Elias Rodriguez for the heinous murders of two Israeli Embassy staff outside D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum. <a href="https://t.co/YQSMoVzJdr">pic.twitter.com/YQSMoVzJdr</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1953481283612414175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
Lischinsky, 30, and Milgrim, 28, were allegedly shot and killed by Elias outside of an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. Lischinsky was a German-Israeli dual citizen and devout evangelical Christian. He immigrated to Israel at 16, served in the Israel Defense Forces, and began working as a political analyst at the embassy in 2022.
He was planning to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-family-react-to-murder-of-israeli-embassy-staffers-by-keffiyeh-wearing-terrorist">propose</a> to Milgrim, who grew up in the Kansas City suburbs and was a full-time employee at the embassy’s Department of Public Diplomacy.
Rodriguez, 31, from Chicago, was detained by police and shouted “Free Palestine,” according to law enforcement and a viral video of him in custody. He allegedly told a police officer near the scene that he “did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” He also pre-scheduled his “explication” to be published on his X account, where he advocated for violence against Israelis.
“This Justice Department will not tolerate violence motivated by hatred of faith or national origin, and we will enforce our federal civil rights laws accordingly,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, Rodriguez fired approximately 20 shots at Lischinsky and Milgrim.
Pirro unsealed a nine-count indictment against Rodriguez, including two new counts of committing a hate crime and two counts of assault with intent to kill. Rodriguez was previously charged on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charges-revealed-in-d-c-terror-attack-shooter-did-it-for-palestine-fbi-says">May 22</a> with the murder of a foreign official, firearm offenses, and first-degree murder.
“This office will leave no stone unturned in its effort to bring justice to the innocent victims of Elias Rodriguez,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “The hate charges shed further light on his evil intent in the killing of innocent victims.”
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MediaFest Replaced Cancelled Conservative Journos With Anti-Israel Activist

It’s Official: D.C. No Longer A Sanctuary City As Trump Cracks Down On Crime

GOP Proposal Gives Trump Authority To Extend D.C. Police Takeover

Death Penalty On The Table For Killer Of Israeli Embassy Staffers