NationalWatch

On Dec. 3, 2026, the U.S. government intends to take Nidal Hasan to a firing range at Fort Hood and publicly execute him.

Few condemned men could make a more difficult case for mercy.

Seventeen years ago, Hasan, an Army psychiatrist at the time, walked into a soldier readiness center at the Texas Army post and opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. Now, after years of appeals, the Army is preparing to execute him by firing squad.

And Americans will be able to watch on live stream.

That last detail has transformed what might otherwise have been the long-delayed conclusion of one of the darkest chapters in the Army’s history into a more uncomfortable question: How should a nation reckon with the gravity of taking a life, even when that life belongs to a mass murderer?

For Alonzo Lunsford, a former Army staff sergeant who survived being shot seven times by Hasan, the answer is complicated.

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Lunsford wants Hasan executed. He intends to witness it himself in December. He told Fox News Digital he would even prefer that one of Hasan’s surviving victims or the relatives of those he killed be allowed to pull the trigger.

Despite that, Lunsford says he has forgiven Hasan.

“The weird thing about it, I’ve forgiven him because my faith does not allow me to heal and continue unless I forgive that man,” Lunsford said.

But forgiveness, for Lunsford, does not mean sparing Hasan from punishment. What troubles him is the prospect of turning that punishment into entertainment.

“It’s not a spectacle,” he said. “There’s nothing glorified in the smell of human flesh, blood and gunpowder. It’s a smell you will never forget. It’s a taste that you will never forget.”

“That’s not something you sit around and say, hey, let’s get some popcorn and look at this execution,” he continued. “We as a people, we’re better than that. This ain’t no country where we do public beheadings and stonings and think it’s fine.”

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Lunsford was working at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center on Nov. 5, 2009, when Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, opened fire. He recalled watching Hasan kill a colleague before turning the weapon on him. Lunsford was shot above his left eye, fell to the floor and played dead before eventually escaping outside, where Hasan shot him again.

“I’ve accepted the fact I’m gonna live with the pain for the rest of my life,” Lunsford said.

He has since found purpose in coaching basketball, mentoring young people and helping others struggling with their mental health.

Lunsford said he doesn’t want children watching the livestream, though he believes adults can decide for themselves whether to tune in.

“This is not somewhere you all start throwing some meat on the grill, get outside and say, hey, we’re gonna watch them unalive this guy by firing squad,” he said. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do that because when you do that, you’re dishonoring those that made the supreme sacrifice, those who are no longer here. Those are heroes.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended making the execution public, saying Americans should understand the consequences of Hasan’s crimes.

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public,” Hegseth said in an interview this week. “Because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”

Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon would follow through with its plans to livestream Hasan’s execution, saying he had no intention of watching it himself.

“I see these announcements. I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” he told reporters Friday.

The decision for the first U.S. Army death by firing squad in 86 years to be live streamed has drawn opposition even from Republicans who support putting Hasan to death.

“I absolutely support the sentence of death, but live-streaming executions is what jihadists do. America is better than that,” Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., wrote on X.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., likewise said Hasan “should face the death penalty,” but called publicly streaming it “beyond disgusting.”

“Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do,” Tillis wrote. “It should not be happening in America.”

The nation’s Catholic bishops have gone further, opposing both Hasan’s execution and the decision to make it public. “In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Friday.

“The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.”

The decision has also raised a more immediate national security concern.

Hasan, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot during the 2009 attack, has previously spoken about becoming a martyr. Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury counterterrorism official and director of the Washington Institute’s Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, warned that making footage of his death widely available could give terrorist groups material to exploit.

“It seems like a poor decision to provide terrorist groups with a video clip they can effectively splice into radicalization propaganda,” Levitt told Fox News Digital.

“There’s no tangible benefit to live streaming an execution, and it may, in fact, exacerbate the terrorist threat.”

For Lunsford, however, the execution remains deeply personal.

During Hasan’s 2013 court-martial, the two locked eyes. Lunsford wants Hasan to see him again before he dies.

“I want to look at him in his eyes. I want him to see me — man to man,” Lunsford said. “My message to him: Dude, you failed.”

“I go where I wanna go, when I wanna go, how I wanna go. With no fear,” he said. “I can go outside and just smell and listen to nature. You don’t have that luxury.”

And despite everything Hasan took from him, Lunsford said he hopes the condemned man uses his final moments to repent.

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“I want to give him the opportunity to, the last words out of his mouth is to apologize and repent,” Lunsford said. “And be held accountable for his sins and for his crime. And I will be OK with that.”

American truckers are warning that sky-high diesel prices are eating into their profits and putting pressure on trucking companies to cut routes, raising concerns that some drivers could be forced off the road and the pain could eventually reach Americans at the grocery store.

“Fuel prices is going up, the rates are not going up,” Miami-based trucker Suave Dorsett told Fox News Digital. “So it’s hurting our pockets real bad.”

The warnings come as the Iran war sends diesel prices soaring, squeezing American truckers even as President Donald Trump predicts oil prices will fall “like a stone” amid expectations that the conflict could soon end. Drivers told Fox News Digital the damage is already mounting, with routes being cut and smaller operators facing mounting financial pressure.

Dorsett is among several truckers who told Fox News Digital that soaring fuel costs are cutting into their earnings and putting pressure on an industry responsible for moving goods across the country, with one driver reporting fewer routes and others warning that smaller operators could eventually be forced to park their rigs.

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The national average for diesel stood at roughly $6.32 per gallon Monday, according to AAA — up from about $3.69 at the same time last year, a jump of more than 70%. The surge has also eclipsed the previous record of $5.816 per gallon, set in June 2022 under former President Joe Biden as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring.

For Dorsett, who has been driving for nine years, the price at the pump was even steeper. He told Fox News Digital he was seeing diesel at $7.40 per gallon while traveling through Ohio.

Dorsett said the fuel spike comes as truckers are already shouldering a long list of expenses, including diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which helps reduce harmful emissions, parking, showers, weighing and reweighing loads, repairs and towing.

And if diesel prices remain elevated, Dorsett predicted smaller operators will be the first to buckle.

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“Some of the smaller companies, like the smaller owner ops, would slowly fall off and it’s going to create a chain effect,” Dorsett said, predicting a “domino effect” that could eventually put pressure on larger carriers.

Tyler Rinaldi, a Louisiana trucker with about a decade of experience who transports hazardous materials and other freight for an LTL company, said he has already seen weekend routes scaled back at his company.

“I’ve seen a lot of routes get cut,” Rinaldi told Fox News Digital. “They’re not really running like they want to on the weekends right now.”

“I definitely see a lot change because of it at my company, slowly, but it’s starting to be more noticeable,” he added.

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Rinaldi, who is married with two children, said fewer routes could eventually mean less money coming home.

“When they start cutting routes and trying to limit the expenses on what routes they send out,” Rinaldi said, “that takes away from the people that work in the company’s pockets.”

Avante Jackson, an 11-year trucking veteran from Charlotte, North Carolina, who transports steel and other construction materials, said rising diesel prices are forcing truckers to take a harder look at whether the money they bring in is enough to keep their businesses running.

“If I’m putting all of my profit in the tank,” Jackson said, “at the end of the day, what do I have left to keep the doors open?”

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Jackson cautioned against “fear-mongering” about potential shortages, but said a widespread loss of drivers could ultimately reach consumers.

“It really could hit the community,” he said.

The latest diesel spike echoes a similar crunch in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, when the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent fuel prices flying. Diesel reached a then-record national average of $5.82 per gallon that June, squeezing truckers as operating expenses climbed.

According to the American Transportation Research Institute, trucking fuel costs surged 53.7% in 2022, helping drive a 21.3% jump in overall operating costs to a then-record $2.25 per mile. The latest spike threatens to revive those pressures, particularly for smaller operators with less room to absorb rising fuel bills.

As the Trump administration pushes international partners to release emergency fuel reserves in an effort to bring prices down, the truckers had their own message for the president: don’t forget about the drivers absorbing the costs on the road.

“My message to President Trump would just be to think about who’s keeping America moving,” Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Think about the little guys out here each and every day.”

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“We truly are the backbone of America, we keep America moving,” he added. “We just want you just to think about us and put yourself in our shoes…Let’s try to get the fuel prices down and let’s try to just make more of a change,” he said. “We know we can do better.”

Trump defended higher fuel prices Thursday as a temporary sacrifice in the fight to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, saying on Truth Social that rising gasoline costs were “a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon.”

Trump said last week that European countries had agreed to release diesel from their stockpiles after he pressed them to put more supply on the market. The G7 subsequently agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products from previously pledged emergency reserves over four months, including a substantial diesel release during the first 20 days, in an effort to ease pressure on global fuel markets.

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Trump also said his administration would not pursue a diesel export ban and expressed confidence that oil prices would eventually return to levels seen before the latest spike, though energy markets remain under pressure from global supply disruptions.

Trump predicted during a Wednesday night rally in San Antonio, Texas, that oil prices would “come down like a rock” once the war with Iran ends, insisting the conflict would be over “very soon.”

“This week, President Trump signed an executive order that will quickly cut diesel costs and put money directly back into the pockets of American truckers, saving them over $100 every time they refill at the gas pump. Last week, he negotiated a deal with our European counterparts to release 100 million barrels—mainly diesel—from their stockpiles to add supply to the market and lower costs,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital.

“The President wants to see prices at the pump fall and continues to take historic action to ease temporary disruptions as oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz approaches pre-conflict levels,” Rogers added.

Former state trooper John Nagel pointed the finger at his opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the Democratic Party for allowing Somali-American gang-linked violence to escalate in the Twin Cities.

Residents of Eden Prairie and surrounding Twin Cities suburbs have been left fearing for their safety after a string of gang-related incidents this month, including the shooting of two teens shot outside an Eden Prairie high school football game and more than 100 shell casings recovered in a Bloomington neighborhood.

“Where is Ilhan Omar in all of this?” Nagel, a Minnesota native who spent 30 years as a state trooper, asked in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I would think that as a congressman that represents this particular area that she’d be at these meetings or she’d have a statement or she’d be sitting down and saying, ‘Hey, how can we help this? How could we stop this?’ And I don’t see her.”

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Nagel accused other Minnesota Democrats, including Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, of having their “heads in the sand” and preventing law enforcement from stopping the violence before it got out of control.

“They’re being restrained by politicians, people that are trying soft on crime, people that’re trying to send somebody other than a police officer to take care of issues, and it’s not working,” Nagel said.

Looking at the responses of statewide leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nagel said the majority of Democrats “don’t want enforcement.”

“The people do,” he said. “They’re tired of it.”

Democrats have been too lenient on crime for years, according to Nagel, which he said has “emboldened” gang members to break the law without serious consequences.

“Because of how the Democrats have run Minnesota over the years, these gang members and then just crooks in general, they’re emboldened by this,” he said.

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Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher spoke at a press conference this week, highlighting that a “big chunk of the problem” is failing to hold gang members accountable, saying Moriarty’s office needs to be more “aggressive” with prosecuting juveniles.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for Moriarty’s office, said that no cases related to the Bloomington incident have been submitted for charging consideration, but “they’ll be thoroughly reviewed” if they are.

Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was charged on Friday in connection with the Eden Prairie homecoming football game shooting with two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree riot.

“Mr. Adam will be held accountable,” Moriarty said in a press release Friday. “Violence in our communities is completely unacceptable and it requires a professional, coordinated response, which happened here.”

Fletcher also pushed back on “East African” being used to generalize the gang members’ ethnicity, adding that “98% of these gang members are Somali” and that the broader label isn’t “fair.”

“I think we just have to say what it is and not run away from the term,” he said.

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Nagel said people are afraid of being called “racist” for referring to the gangs as Somali, arguing that law enforcement is simply going after those committing the crimes rather than blaming an entire community.

“I mean, we have Latino gangs and Asian gangs and Black gangs, and we have Somali gangs. This is not being prejudicial.”

He said it’s a “Somali problem” because that’s “who’s showing up.”

“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I’m a police officer. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what color you are.”

Nagel said a “gang task force” could be part of the solution and argued, “We don’t need to pass any more laws. We don’t need any more people asking for money to help their group. We need to take the laws that we have and prosecute people.”

As gang violence spills into Minnesota communities, Nagel said it can’t continue to go on like it has.

“We need enforcement, we need arrests, and we need incarceration,” he said. “Otherwise, this is going to continue to spiral.”

Nagel will face off against Omar and Independent candidate DeVelle Jackson in the upcoming midterm elections for the U.S. House seat representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Omar, Walz and Ellison’s offices for comment.

Americans can’t seem to get on the same page when it comes to what defines socialism even though new polling shows the movement’s favorability is at an all-time high.

Whether far-left factions are able to rally around the label could come down to understand its principles.

Fox News Digital took to the streets of a Maryland liberal hotspot, Takoma Park, for its annual street festival to talk with attendees about their definitions of socialism and how far they would be willing to go to embrace its ideals.

“The fact is that there’s no…one answer,” Nina Gilden Seavey said when asked to define socialism.

“Just the idea of like, you’ve been paying all these things to set up these programs and then you’re actually giving them to the people,” Jaw Blake said describing his view of the political movement. “It’s not a special group that gets to have them, it’s just available.”

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Jenny Sniderman had a more direct answer, claiming that “public libraries, the police department, the fire department, all our public services, utilities,” are all part of what makes up socialism.

A September Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans have a positive image of socialism — the highest level since the polling organization began tracking the question in 2010.

But the survey asks respondents their image of socialism without providing a definition of the ideology or asking whether they would actually support adopting it in the U.S.

The same festival-goers were pressed on socialism as an economic system, questioning their favorability of collective ownership. They shared some skepticism when Fox News Digital asked whether they would personally surrender their private property to government or collective control.

“Do I want to give up my private property? Of course I don’t want to give up my private property,” Sniderman said. “Are they going to reimburse me fairly? That would be helpful in making my choice.”

“I don’t know that I would necessarily love it,” Blake said. “But I mean, if it was something that was beneficial, I’d at least consider it.”

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“Nobody wants what they have to be taken away from them,” he continued. “But there is something to be said about…you can set up things so that they’re available for everybody.”

“I think the government is not the greatest steward…of assets,” Seavey said. “It’s not to say that capitalism is somehow without flaw, but the fact is that there is an idealism that can come from thinking, ‘Oh, if we had some more centrality, if…there was some kind of uber organization in charge of reallocation.'”

Documentary filmmaker and self-described historian Seavey also questioned the idea of government control over private assets, but argued that the growing democratic socialist movement in the U.S. should not be confused with traditional socialism.

“This is not socialism. This is democratic socialism. It’s different. There’s socialism, there’s communism, there are all kinds of ‘isms.’ Democratic socialism is essentially what we have a growing movement in this country,” Seavey said.

“Socialism is where there is a massive redistribution of wealth. We are not having redistribution of wealth in this country.”

But the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the U.S., advocates redistributing wealth from wealthy individuals and corporations to workers and lower-income Americans. The DSA also calls for public stake in major corporations and essential industries rather than private ownership.

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The differing interpretations among festival-goers reflect a broader debate over what socialism means in America — one that has taken on new political significance as socialist candidates gain ground within the Democratic Party heading into midterm elections.

In a 2018 survey asking Americans to define socialism in their own words, just 17% described it in terms of government ownership or control of businesses or the means of production. Another 23% associated it with equality, while 10% pointed to social benefits and services. Nearly a quarter could not provide an answer.

Seavey argued that political labels themselves have distorted the conversation.

“Let’s think about it differently and let’s take away these ridiculous stigmas that have to do with these crazy labels that we have allowed the right wing to foment onto the rest of America,” Seavey said.

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But as socialist-aligned candidates compete for office, the growing movement raises a question that favorable polling alone cannot answer: whether voters are embracing its promises on affordability and equality, or also support its broader proposals for economic ownership and control.

President Donald Trump returned to his home state of New York on Friday night, showcasing America’s “New Golden Age” and promising to help Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman flip the Empire State red as the GOP makes its final push toward November’s midterm elections.

Trump rallied supporters in Syracuse with a sweeping celebration of his administration’s economic and immigration agenda, pledging to help New Yorkers secure lower taxes, cheaper energy and safer streets by electing Republicans up and down the ballot.

“We’re in the Golden Age of America,” Trump told the crowd, urging supporters to deliver the same enthusiasm that powered his presidential campaigns.

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“Please pretend I’m on the freaking ballot,” Trump urged. “And in a really, in a certain way, I am on the ballot because they can take away everything that we, that we got.”

The president took Blakeman’s challenge to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul as the centerpiece of the rally, promising direct support from Washington if elected.

“[Blakeman will] save this state. He’ll turn the state around and I’ll help him from the White House,” Trump said. “I’ll be helping him for governor.”

Trump blasted Hochul over New York‘s taxes, utility bills and public safety, arguing that Blakeman could unleash the state’s economic potential by embracing domestic energy production and cutting costs for families.

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The president also hailed his administration’s economic agenda as proof of what Trump described as a remarkable national turnaround.

He singled out Micron’s planned $100 billion semiconductor complex in central New York, a project the company says is expected to generate 50,000 jobs across the state, including 9,000 directly with Micron.

“This will soon be the home to the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility ever built in the Western Hemisphere,” Trump said.

Blakeman joined Trump onstage and echoed the president’s message of a Republican resurgence, promising to cut taxes and utility bills, focus on public safety and make New York more attractive to both businesses and families.

“We have to create good jobs, good benefits to keep our young people here,” Blakeman said. “We gotta look at business not as the enemy, but as a partner.”

Trump also threw his support behind Republican congressional candidates Kailee Buller, who is challenging Democrat Rep. John Mannion in New York’s 22nd District, and Anthony Constantino, who is running for the state’s open 21st District seat, pledging to help Republicans compete for both seats.

The rally also notably featured a brief but memorable on-stage appearance by legendary former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, whom Trump invited up before the crowd.

“I’m just happy to be up here with my president, President Trump,” Tyson said. “And, there’s no way in the world I would ever be here if it wasn’t for a president like Donald Trump. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Trump responded with a laugh, recalling Tyson’s notorious reputation.

“I don’t want to fight him,” Trump joked, before complimenting the former champion. “You look good. Mike. What the h— are you doing?”

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With Election Day approaching, the president returned to his core message that Republicans need Trump supporters to make a roaring showing at the ballot box.

“We’re going to elect a Republican House and Republican Senate,” Trump said.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford voted to support clemency for several convicted murderers, including men responsible for the kidnapping and execution-style killing of a teenager, the “thrill killing” of a Pizza Hut worker and the beating death of another victim with a cinder block.

Ford is currently facing backlash over his clemency bid for a convicted killer who took the life of a pregnant woman while out on bail for a series of armed robbery attacks on Vegas tourists. Now, a Fox News Digital review of state pardon hearings that took place during Ford’s nearly eight years as attorney general show him supporting clemency for dozens of other violent offenders, with some convicted killers receiving reduced sentences, pardons or earlier parole eligibility while others had their requests denied.

Ford is running to be Nevada’s next governor, seeking to oust incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. His race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive gubernatorial elections of the cycle.

Unlike governors in most states, Nevada’s governor cannot unilaterally grant pardons or commute prison sentences, with those decisions instead resting with the state’s Board of Pardons Commissioners, made up of the governor, attorney general and Nevada Supreme Court justices.

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Since becoming the state’s attorney general, Ford has voted to pardon or significantly reduce the sentences of 30 people convicted of murder, Fox News Digital found. 

Ford, for example, supported a convicted kidnapper and murderer eligible for parole when Lombardo voted against him.

Michael Cu, the convict in question, kidnapped a 16-year-old in 1996, forced him to drive out to the desert, then killed him execution-style — all to steal the rims off his car. The victim was shot seven times with a rifle, with the fatal shot being fired at nearly point-blank range into his head.

“Mr. Judge I would like to tell you these people, I don’t want them to be free,” the deceased’s mother pleaded with the judge at Cu’s sentencing in March 2000. “There’s a lot of people outside, a lot of mothers outside … I’m afraid because I have more children.”

Cu could eventually make it back onto the streets after the board commuted his sentence, making him eligible for parole in 2035 — though his release would still require approval from the state’s parole board.

Ford has made his experience as Nevada’s top law enforcement official a focal point of his gubernatorial campaign.

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“As Attorney General, Ford has worked with federal and local law enforcement to prosecute criminals and protect our communities,” his campaign website reads. “He’s gone after corporate landlords who are illegally jacking up prices, taken on big drug companies, prioritized putting child predators in jail, battled fentanyl being trafficked across our borders, and fought to keep dangerous untraceable ghost guns off of our streets. He ended a decades-long rape kit back log and has prosecuted human traffickers who threaten the safety of our communities.”

Republicans may seize on some of Ford’s pardon votes to challenge the image he’s cultivated of a crusader for public safety.

While Ford offered no substantive remarks in most of the pardon hearings, he occasionally had something to add.

“I gleefully vote yes for this motion,” he said, explaining his June 2022 support to make a man who killed someone in an armed robbery when he was 15 eligible for parole. Ford talked to the man, Shaquille Hazelwood, on the importance of the moment and advised him to live up to the faith the state was placing in him.

He called his decision to grant parole eligibility to an individual who stabbed a 17-year-old to death a “no-brainer” in September 2025. Ford sponsored the hearing where witnesses spoke to the character of the murderer, Bobby Thomas.

Ford also supported a commutation for Anthony Amati, whom police and prosecutors described as a “thrill killer,” in a June 2025 decision that allowed the convicted murderer to become immediately eligible for parole.

Amati was convicted of ambushing a 22-year-old Pizza Hut worker as he walked a co-worker home. The co-worker, who was at the trial, testified that Amati and his friends “cackled … laughed like it was a big joke” and jumped around while firing multiple bullets into the victim.

Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli argued at the time that Amati should never be eligible to walk free because his crime was a “thrill killing … for the mere pleasure of it.”

Amati became immediately eligible for parole following the board’s decision, although his release was not guaranteed.

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Ford also supported clemency for Arlander Givens, who beat his victim to death with a cinder block and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, but the board ultimately denied his application, Fox News Digital found. 

Other convicted killers Ford voted to grant clemency included a murderer involved in a carjacking, a man who stabbed a 17-year-old to death over a basketball game and another who lured his victim into his home with the promise of a drug deal before shooting him dead, Fox News Digital found.

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Lombardo’s predecessor and Ford did vote together for leniency in some cases. For instance, the duo both voted to pardon a man found guilty of masterminding a contract killing after he was exonerated by DNA evidence.

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Ford’s office and his gubernatorial campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Texas Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico reappeared on the campaign trail Friday after a nearly two-week absence, ending days of speculation and criticism from political opponents regarding his whereabouts.

“Hate to disappoint the conspiracy theorists, but James is still alive and meeting with voters at ACL today,” Talarico’s primary spokesperson, JT Ennis, wrote on X.

The post included a video of the candidate walking through crowds and greeting supporters at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

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Talarico, who is challenging Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a closely watched U.S. Senate contest, had not been seen publicly in person at a campaign event since late September. His last in-person event was a Sept. 26 news conference in Carrollton addressing rising gas prices.

Talarico’s campaign attributed the absence to a severe case of the flu. However, the prolonged pause drew sharp criticism from Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Democrat was “MISSING IN ACTION.”

“TalaFREAKo has been missing for 12 days! Now, after looking for him throughout all of Texas, and beyond, probably even weirder places than anyone would think possible, he put out a statement that he has the ‘flu,'” Trump wrote.

“12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug. What’s going on?” he added. “We need a Senator that’s a proven Champion like one that has been, without question, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Greatest in the U.S.A.”

Talarico’s campaign pushed back on the characterization that he had been absent from the campaign trail for nearly two weeks, saying he attended a Zoom on Sept. 30 with the U.S. Hispanic Business Council after canceling an in-person event. The campaign argued that because he attended that Zoom, his absence was closer to nine days.

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Talarico’s last public event was a Sept. 26 campaign event in Texas, where he held a news conference in Carrollton. On Sept. 28, he attended a fundraiser in New York City.

The next day, he said he’d been diagnosed with the flu.

Talarico’s absence also prompted Paxton to target his opponent’s absence while on the campaign trail.

“Where is James Talarico?” Paxton asked during a campaign rally in San Antonio.

PAXTON VENTS OVER LACK OF CAMPAIGN CONTROL AS DC ESTABLISHMENT HE ONCE BATTLED COMES TO HIS AID

Talarico’s campaign confirmed he expects to return to a full in-person schedule through the weekend ahead of an Oct. 14 CNN town hall.

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The campaign previously noted that, prior to his illness, Talarico had already completed more than 100 public campaign events across the state.

A California ballot measure on voter identification provides voters with guidance replete with far-left jargon, including a dig at “MAGA billionaires,” that has turned heads online.

Proposition 39 is a citizen-led effort, organized by a group called Californians for Voter ID, that submitted 1.3 million signatures in favor of the ballot initiative in March — far outpacing the required nearly 875,000 signatures in order for it to be adopted as a ballot measure.

Californians are slated to vote on the voter ID initiative in November. If approved, it would require a government-issued identification card or number to vote in person or by mail. It would also require election officials to verify U.S. citizenship.

But the language explaining the proposition from those who oppose the measure in the California voters guide has been flagged online for its highly political nature.

SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS

Groups that support the initiative are allowed to argue in favor of it on the ballot, while groups opposed are allowed to do the same on the ballot.

“No on Prop. 39,” begins the arguments section on the ballot initiative. “This would advance Trump’s voter suppression agenda by adding costly, unnecessary barriers that could block eligible California voters, expose personal information to identity theft, and waste hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.”

“Don’t let MAGA billionaires decide which voters count. Vote No,” it concludes.

Opponents of the measure are listed as the ACLU California Action, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California.

INSIDE HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ PLAN TO END RUN DEM OPPOSITION AND PASS TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID

The summary section of the ballot measure in the guide states the expected financial impact should the measure take effect.

“Costs of between tens of millions of dollars and low hundreds of millions of dollars each year to implement new voting requirements,” it says.

A third section titled “What Your Vote Means” also features language describing the ramifications of voting “yes” or “no” on the initiative.

“A YES vote on this measure means: Voters would be required to present additional identifying information to elections officials each time they vote,” it says. The voter guide explains that a “no” vote means “[a] voter’s identity would continue to be established with the voter’s signature.”

Groups advocating in favor of the measure include the Transparency Foundation, Latino American Political Assn, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

“Yes on Prop. 39 gives California a BIPARTISAN solution for VOTER ID,” their argument section says. “Supported by a solid majority of Democratic, Independent and Republican voters. Increases trust and confidence in our elections.”

WATCH: BLACK BISHOP CALLS VOTER ID ARGUMENT ‘DEEPLY INSULTING’ AFTER EXPLOSIVE NONCITIZEN REGISTRATION REPORT

A Pew Research study released in 2025 shows that 83% of Americans back voter ID.

“It is so dark that this is the level of discourse in the OFFICIAL California voters guide,” said X user Daniel Keller, who first posted a screenshot of the ballot language.

Others agreed with that sentiment, like a user named David Masten, who said: “Democracy is a farce in California.”

“Good God,” user Brad Pierce put it simply.

Early voting is already underway in California, as Election Day on Nov. 3 rapidly approaches.

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If Proposition 39 is approved, the measure would require voters to present a government-issued ID when voting in person, while mail-in voters would be required to provide the last four digits of a government-issued ID number that matches the one they designated during voter registration.

It would also require election officials to use government data to verify U.S. citizenship and publish annual reports showing the percentage of registrations verified for citizenship in each county of the state. The California State Auditor would also be required to conduct regular audits of compliance with the new voter ID and citizenship requirements.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, but did not hear back at time of publication.

A South Carolina Democrat running for U.S. Senate who previously opposed legislation restricting transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports is now emphasizing her opposition to biological males participating in female athletics as President Donald Trump targets her record ahead of the midterm elections.

Trump took aim at Annie Andrews, a pediatrician challenging Republican Sen. Darline Graham, in a series of Truth Social posts this week, dubbing her “Annie Trannie” and accusing her of supporting transgender policies that are out of step with South Carolina voters.

The president also shared an attack ad accusing Andrews of supporting biological males competing against female athletes. “Annie Andrews is for they/them, not for our values, not for South Carolina,” the ad said.

But Andrews pushed back in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, arguing that her positions have been misrepresented.

“I don’t support biological men playing in women’s sports and I don’t support gender surgery on minors,” Andrews said.

Her comments stand in contrast to her public opposition to South Carolina’s 2022 Save Women’s Sports Act, which restricted transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s school sports. At the time, Andrews called the legislation “shameful” and “actively harmful,” raising questions about how she reconciles her past opposition to the law with her current campaign position.

DEMOCRATS ARE CHANGING THEIR TRANSGENDER MESSAGE. REPUBLICANS SAY THEY’RE JUST FLIP-FLOPPING

As passed, the bill required interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural and club teams sponsored by public schools and colleges to be designated as male or female-coded. It then closed women’s teams to male students and similarly closed men’s sports to women — unless the school did not have a designated women’s team. Private schools competing against public schools were required to follow the same rules.

It also allowed students harmed by a violation to sue schools.

Andrews’ social media post at the time garnered resurfaced attention as she launched her 2026 Senate bid, attracting pressure from Republicans.

“Annie “Trannie” Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina,” Trump wrote in one post.

“Annie Trannie is not, in particular, as it pertains to representing the Values of the Great People of South Carolina — She is in favor of Transgender for Everyone, Open Borders, Defunding the Police, High Taxes, a Weak Military, and will absolutely fight to take your guns away — In other words, she is against our Great Second Amendment! Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her,” Trump added.

In her interview with Fox News Digital, Andrews dismissed Trump’s barb, calling it a distraction from the issues central to voters in South Carolina.

“And in regards to the name-calling, if calling me names is going to lower gas and diesel prices here for so many hardworking South Carolinian families, if it’s going to lower grocery prices or somehow make healthcare more affordable then he can call me all the names he wants but I don’t think that’s a path to solution so I’m going to stay focused on what I can do to help folks in South Carolina,” Andrews said.

Andrews did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment on whether her statements reflected a change in stance. She also did not expand on what had drawn criticism for the Save Women’s Sports Act.

TALARICO CAMP SAYS HE OPPOSES TRANS ATHLETES IF UNSAFE OR UNFAIR BUT ACCUSES POLITICIANS OF BULLYING STUDENTS

At least one Republican onlooker, National Republican Senatorial Regional Press Secretary Nick Puglia, believes her remarks speaks poorly of the message she’s presenting to voters.

“Annie Andrews’ blatant lies show just how desperate she is and how little she thinks of South Carolinians. But nothing Andrews says or does will change her far-left record,” Puglia said in a comment.

This isn’t the first time Andrews has received Republican criticisms for what they view as retreats from trans policies. In 2022, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., called out Andrews for, in her view, trying to walk back her opposition to H. 4047, a bill that would “prohibit the performance of a medical procedure or the prescription or issuance of medication, upon or to a minor, that is intended to alter the appearance of the minor’s gender or delay puberty, with exceptions; to create criminal penalties; and for other purposes.”

Andrews said she opposed the bill in a post to X, calling it “dangerous,” only to later say that she opposed trans procedures for minors.

“She called thewww.youtube.comwww.youtube.com legislation to ban that kind of surgery dangerous. She called that legislation an attack on our youth. And it wasn’t until we called her out on it that she decided that she’s now not for something that she was very publicly in support of just last year. And so it’s really hard to play hide and seek from your public comments, because once you tweet it, it’s on their public record forever. And that’s how we discovered it,” Mace told Fox News Digital at the time.

Notably, she isn’t the only Democrat who in recent weeks has received attention for seeming shifts in her position over transgender policies. Fellow Democrats like Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., and Sarah Trone Garriott, a congressional candidate in Iowa, have all been forced to reiterate their positions as Republicans have highlighted their records on the subject.

WATCH: BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRAT CALLED IOWA A ‘BACKWATER’ OVER TRANSGENDER ATHLETES BAN

In Kaptur’s case, she described how she had “voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools” despite voting against a women’s sports bill. Similarly, Davis voted “present” on that same women’s bill while later claiming that women should have “safe and fair space” in sports. And Garriott, who cast a vote against a ban on biological men in women’s locker rooms, clarified her stance earlier this year, stating that “I oppose letting men in women’s locker rooms.”

Those statements reflect broader trends in public opinion showing consensus on trans athlete policies.

Recently, the Pew Research Center found in a Aug. 11 report that 73% of respondents were “not at all” or “not too” comfortable with “athletes competing on sports teams that do not match their sex at birth,” compared to just 13% that replied that they were “extremely” or “very” comfortable with the idea. Similarly, 66% of participants said they would support laws or policies requiring trans athletes to compete on teams that match their biological sex compared to 15% who said they would oppose such policies.

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With just four weeks left to address criticisms over her views, Andrews now heads to South Carolina’s general election on Nov. 3., having cleared the state’s Democratic primary earlier this year in June.

New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James went silent for several seconds when asked to name a former state attorney general she admired during Thursday’s New York attorney general race debate.

“Tick tock,” Errol Louis of Spectrum News 1, one of the moderators said to James, prompting laughter from the Attorney General.

The attorney general’s race in New York comes against the backdrop of James’ ongoing dispute with President Donald Trump, who called James “a Complete and Total Disaster” and accused her of leading a “WITCH Hunt” against him in his endorsement of James’ Republican challenger, Saritha Komatireddy, in August.

LETITIA JAMES’ UNDERDOG RIVAL TURNS AG’S OWN PLAYBOOK AGAINST HER WITH SCATHING 52-COUNT CAMPAIGN ‘INDICTMENT’

The pause from James drew immediate criticism from Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor and chief of staff for the Drug Enforcement Administration, who quipped from the podium that James “only admires herself.”

“An absolutely devastating moment for Tish James,” conservative communications strategist Steve Guest wrote on X. “‘She only admires herself’ is a debate zinger for the ages.”

“No, no, no, no, we admire others,” James said. “I admire all of the past attorney generals because it is a difficult job and you’ve got to stand up.”

When asked the same question, Komatireddy named Dennis Vacco, who served as the state’s attorney general from 1995 to 1998. Like Komatireddy, he was also a former federal prosecutor.

James then said that she admired former Democratic Attorney General Bob Abrams, who served from 1979 to 1993.

The exchange, which came in the final moments of Thursday’s debate, led critics to question whether James knew of other New York attorneys general.

“Very telling moment,” Steve McLaughlin, Rensselaer County executive, wrote on X. “James went completely blank because she’s A: dumb as a rock B: has no idea who any former AG is because she’s not doing the job and never has been.”

NY AG HOPEFUL BLASTS LETITIA JAMES AS MEDICAID FRAUD RECOVERIES COLLAPSE: ‘SHE’S NOT DOING THE JOB’

“She’s a mouthpiece,” McLaughlin continued. “Zero institutional knowledge.”

“Letitia James doesn’t know the plural form of ‘Attorney General,'” another Twitter user wrote.

Nicole Kiprilov, a spokesperson for Komatireddy, echoed the candidate’s comment on the debate stage.

“Letitia James can’t name a single former Attorney General she admires because she’s too busy admiring herself. She’s turned the Attorney General’s office into her own political stage and ignored the safety of the state,” Kiprilov said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “New Yorkers deserve a real prosecutor, not a joke like her!”

But James’ campaign pushed back on Komatireddy’s characterization of James and how she runs her office.

“Attorney General Letitia James spent much of the debate teaching her opponent how the Office of the Attorney General actually works, and she was happy to name former Attorney General Bob Abrams as someone she respects,”  a spokesperson for James said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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James’ attorney general’s office has been thrust into the national spotlight after New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special investigator to examine an alleged gang rape that occurred at Cornell University in October 2024. The renewed attention comes in response to a recent lawsuit filed by the alleged victim, Jane Doe, against the university, the alleged perpetrators, her sorority and a bar that allegedly served her alcohol while she was underage.

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But James has faced calls from an attorney for one of the defendants to recuse herself from the case over social media posts showing support for Jane Doe before James was appointed special investigator.

More than 100 rounds fired in a Minnesota neighborhood have left police struggling to explain a troubling pattern: Somali American youths from financially comfortable households are turning online disputes into gang violence.

The violence raises bigger questions about what is driving these gangs and whether struggles to fit into American life, cultural or clan ties, government policies or failures by schools and other institutions have played a role and what makes these youths different from traditional American street gangs.

“They’re coming from families. They got money, and they have resources,” Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges told Fox News Digital of the young Somali American gang members under investigation.

Those questions follow a late-night Bloomington gunfight that left one person injured during a string of shootings across suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.

100-SHOT SOMALI GANG GUN BATTLE ROCKS MINNESOTA AS SHERIFF WARNS ‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’

Hodges said the suspects defy traditional drug- or money-driven gang profiles. Asked what drives the violence beyond social media disputes, he acknowledged investigators lack a clear answer.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I really wish I could,” Hodges said. 

Somalia, long considered a failed state until the mid-2010s, according to the U.N., has endured decades of clan-based warfare and weak central government authority, including the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu depicted in “Black Hawk Down,” when Somali militiamen battled U.S. forces during an ill-fated military operation, part of the turmoil that drove waves of refugees to America.

More than 111,000 Somali refugees were admitted to the U.S. between 2001 and 2023 through the federal refugee resettlement program, spanning the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations. Minnesota became a major destination, alongside sizable Somali American communities in New York, Texas and Ohio.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, believes one possible explanation lies in how refugees have been resettled.

“We have to remember also that this population’s origins were as refugees who were a vulnerable population and traumatized in many cases,” Vaughan told Fox News Digital.

“But they were settled in clusters in certain places in the United States. And I believe that is a policy that has facilitated the formation of these gangs because it removes a lot of the incentives for people to assimilate.

“And it just makes assimilation to the larger society much more difficult because it’s not necessary for people to get by.”

Vaughan described an emphasis on preserving homeland cultures rather than encouraging integration as a “missed opportunity,” arguing it can leave immigrants in a “separate society within the larger Minnesota community.”

History, however, complicates the argument that maintaining strong ethnic ties necessarily prevents assimilation.

Stanford sociologist Tomás Jiménez cautioned against treating gang involvement among a small subset of second-generation immigrants as evidence that an entire community has failed to integrate.

“I would actually not think of it as, like, a failed assimilation, as much as a particular kind of assimilation,” Jiménez said.

He noted that Italian, Irish, Mexican and Salvadoran communities experienced gang activity while broader integration continued.

Jiménez emphasized that assimilation unfolds across generations, pointing out that the Italian American experience spanned roughly 75 years rather than occurring overnight. He identified education, economic advancement, language and intermarriage as important measures of integration.

FOX NATION REVEALS HOW RUDY GIULIANI BROKE THE MAFIA’S GRIP ON NEW YORK

Donald Tricarico, an Italian American immigration scholar at Queensborough Community College, drew parallels between Italian and Irish immigrants, who established close-knit ethnic communities in New York. He said Italian families often followed relatives from the same villages into the same neighborhoods and occupations.

“They came to the same neighborhoods … what migration historians call ‘chain migration,’ and they … went to the same neighborhoods,” he said, citing his own family’s multigenerational experience in New York City.

“There isn’t a switch that gets flipped,” Tricarico said, challenging assumptions that Italian Americans assimilated quickly and noting that close-knit ethnic communities persisted into the 1980s in some cases.

WORKING-CLASS AMERICANS SAY THEIR TOWN IS THE NEXT DEARBORN — AND THEY’VE HAD ENOUGH

“Assimilation is a slow crawl,” he said, explaining that economic advancement and integration typically unfold across generations.

Tricarico noted that some Sicilian immigrants arrived with ties to existing Mafia networks overseas, a criminal element distinct from the broader Italian immigrant population. Hodges, meanwhile, said investigators have found no evidence that longstanding clan rivalries in Somalia are driving the Minnesota violence.

Somali American community figures have offered their own explanations, including the challenges facing immigrant parents.

At an Eden Prairie news conference Wednesday, Somali teacher Fardousa Yossuf suggested parents working long hours may have neglected their children’s needs and “expressed disbelief” that people raised with Islamic values could engage in gun violence, according to Alpha News.

Imam Yusuf Abdulle rejected characterizing the violence as a Somali problem in an interview with WCCO – CBS Minnesota posted on YouTube.

“These kids are Americans. They’re born and raised here,” Abdulle said. “It is an American problem. It is not a Somali problem.”

Vaughan, meanwhile, warned that the gangs have not reached the sophistication of transnational organizations such as MS-13 but could become more entrenched without intervention.

She pointed to families and schools as critical to preventing recruitment and argued that local institutions and law enforcement must intervene before the groups become more organized.

Vaughan acknowledged she had not established that specific Minnesota schools or resettlement policies prompted the shootings.

Asked whether longstanding Somali clan rivalries were fueling the shootings, Hodges said investigators found no evidence supporting that explanation.

“No, we have not seen that. I haven’t seen it,” he said.

He added that people from groups in conflict in Somalia can belong to the same cliques in Minnesota.

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Hodges said police are redirecting task force resources toward the gangs and questioned whether some Hennepin County prosecution policies could limit intervention.

He warned the Bloomington gunfire could have endangered innocent bystanders had it occurred during daylight.

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“If that had been one o’clock in the afternoon, it would have been a different story on that block,” he said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that the Trump administration is imposing sweeping financial sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), a body the president has sought to dismantle throughout his second term.

To date, the administration has sanctioned 17 individuals with ties to the ICC, including judges and prosecutors. The latest move marks the first time the U.S. has gone after the institution itself.

“Our message is clear: The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC,” Rubio said in a pre-recorded video message released Friday morning. “Both parties agree on this, but only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all.”

This comes hours after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a former ICC judge.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SANCTIONS SITTING PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FOR ‘ABUSES OF POWER’

In a statement Friday, the Netherlands-based court strongly condemned the U.S. sanctions as “an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order.”

“This measure targets an independent judicial institution, created by treaty and entrusted by 125 States Parties with investigating and prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression,” the ICC added.

“It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do.”

ICC President Tomoko Akane, who was personally sanctioned by the Trump administration in August, said the court will continue to operate despite the new penalties.

In announcing the sanctions, Rubio argued the ICC believes it has the authority to prosecute American service members operating overseas and even U.S. Border Patrol agents. There is no evidence the court has sought to investigate or prosecute Border Patrol agents, though Rubio previously raised that possibility in July.

WORLD COURT PROSECUTOR WHO WENT AFTER NETANYAHU FOR WAR CRIMES SUSPENDED OVER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

The administration’s concerns about U.S. personnel are not entirely hypothetical. In 2017, an ICC prosecutor sought authorization to investigate alleged war crimes committed by U.S. military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan.

ICC judges initially rejected the request, but that decision was overturned on appeal in 2020, allowing the investigation to proceed. The court’s prosecutor later de-prioritized alleged crimes involving U.S. personnel to focus on alleged crimes committed by the Taliban and ISIS-K.

Under the new sanctions, any ICC assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen, while Americans, U.S. businesses and banks are generally barred from conducting transactions with the court.

The sanctions will not go into effect immediately. The Treasury Department has given the ICC a 180-day general license to maintain its operations, giving the court time to address U.S. concerns.

ICC TURNS ‘BLIND EYE’ TO TOP WORLD THREATS WHILE TARGETING AMERICANS, TRUMP ADMIN SAYS

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC. And we expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American service members for their defense, to rein in this rogue court,” Rubio said.

“If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC piece by piece until Americans are threatened no longer.”

One of the other major grievances the administration has with the ICC is its decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024.

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The ICC argued both officials were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s military response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in 2023. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

In a February 2025 executive order authorizing sanctions against ICC officials, President Donald Trump called the arrest warrants “baseless” and said the court overstepped its authority since Israel was not an ICC member.

The ICC maintains that it can exercise jurisdiction over nationals of non-member states when they are accused of qualifying crimes committed on the territory of a state that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction.

Katie Zacharia has been offered the role as the next White House Press Secretary, two White House officials confirmed to Fox News Digital Friday afternoon.

She currently serves as the senior communications advisor to Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the president’s social media website Truth Social. Zacharia is an attorney and frequent television commentator. 

She also briefly served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after Tricia McLaughlin left her post alongside former Secretary Kristi Noem. 

She will succeed Karoline Leavitt, who left the role in late August following the birth of her second child in May. Since her departure there have been only two formal White House press briefings — one with Vice President JD Vance and one with Attorney General Todd Blanche.

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This story is developing. 

President Donald Trump said that Michigan GOP U.S. Senate candidate former Rep. Mike Rogers “obliterated” Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed in a Thursday night debate.

“Mike Rogers, the great American Patriot and Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate from Michigan, completely obliterated Mohammad El-Sayed in the big debate tonight. If this was a fight they would have stopped it,” the president declared in a Truth Social post issued shortly after midnight on Friday.

“Mohammad is a Jihadist lunatic who hates our Country, the Black People of Detroit, and wants to see the U.S. fail. Short on Stature, Patriotism, and Truth, Mohammed’s statements have been loaded up with lies and deceit. I won Michigan BIG, and know that Mike Rogers, a total winner, is the man for you!!!” Trump added.

MICHIGAN SENATE DEBATE ERUPTS INTO PERSONAL ATTACKS AS ROGERS, EL-SAYED CLASH OVER ISRAEL, IRAN AND MORE

El-Sayed’s campaign and the White House did not immediately respond for comment to Fox News Digital. 

Trump has endorsed Rogers, who previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from early 2001 until early 2015. Trump also backed Rogers in 2024, but the GOP candidate lost the 2024 Michigan U.S. Senate race to then-Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

EL-SAYED’S SCATHING OBAMA CRITIQUE RESURFACES AHEAD OF JOINT CAMPAIGN RALLY

In part of a Wednesday Truth Social post, the president wrote, “Mohammed El-Sayed is a terrible Candidate for the Dumocrats. While his opponent, Mike Rogers, is an extremely good one, Mohammed goes back to the days of the Jihad. He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer, and no different from his best friend, America Hating Hasan Piker.”

UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONTRADICT EL-SAYED’S ‘CAPITALIST’ NARRATIVE

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El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, declared in a statement on Thursday, “He knows my name is Abdul. He says it every day. But he’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all of us. He thinks so low of us. He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office. He thinks we don’t know any better. It’s time for change.”

President Donald Trump has set up a committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations she made false statements on mortgage documents, the same accusations Trump has cited for over a year in a bid to remove her from office.

Trump attempted to remove Cook in August 2025, triggering a lengthy legal battle that culminated in the Supreme Court blocking her firing in June 2026. In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled she had not been given adequate time to respond to the allegations against her.

This newly-formed committee appears to be the process the White House has settled on to give Cook a chance to advocate for herself, as she will be allowed to submit a written statement ahead of her first scheduled hearing on Nov. 5, 2026.

WHO IS LISA COOK? THE CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR AT THE HEART OF THE SUPREME COURT’S TRUMP-FED SHOWDOWN

Her statement must be received by the committee at least three days ahead of the hearing, which will unfold at the White House and will last no more than four hours, according to a notice dated Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, but released on Friday by the Trump administration.

At the hearing itself, Cook will be able to “present argument, written evidence, and written witness statements regarding the evidence and allegations,” the White House said. In turn, lawyers with the Department of Justice will question her.

The hearing will be closed to the public but will be transcribed.

EXPLAINED: HOW LISA COOK’S THREE HOME LOANS BECAME CENTRAL TO TRUMP’S FIGHT OVER HER FEDERAL RESERVE SEAT

Three White House staffers, including National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, will serve as members of the committee. Hassett was one of Trump’s top picks to replace Jerome Powell as Fed Chair before he ultimately settled on Kevin Warsh.

The White House said it expects Cook to submit another written statement after the hearing, after which the committee will make a recommendation to Trump on whether there is adequate cause to remove her from her post.

The White House revisited its effort to fire Cook in August, sending her a letter informing her that Trump was once again considering terminating her.

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This time, Cook was given 21 days to respond. Her attorneys submitted a letter to the White House on Aug. 26 denying that she had committed mortgage fraud.

The White House alleged that Cook claimed homes in Atlanta and Michigan as her primary residence on separate mortgage agreements and later rented out the Atlanta property.

Cook’s attorney said the Atlanta designation was an inadvertent mistake, arguing that she sought financing for it as a vacation home and consistently identified Michigan as her “primary” or “permanent” residence.

FIRST ON FOX: A blue state’s law enforcement officials are keeping illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes out of the reach of federal authorities, a new report claims.

The House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, released new findings Friday in its investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their impact on law enforcement across the country.

The latest is a 25-page report that accuses top prosecutors in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while also revealing for the first time the names and graphic charges against some of those whom House GOP investigators say are being shielded from President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown.

JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS BLUE STATE DAS ACCUSED OF ‘PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS

Among them is “Fernando Barrios-Ramirez, a Venezuelan national arrested for sexual assault on a child,” the report said. Another alleged criminal Denver is accused of ignoring an ICE detainer for is Juan Andres Holguin-Mendez, a Mexican national whose “criminal history also includes arrests for willful cruelty to a child, DUI, malicious mischief, possession of a controlled substance, trespassing, disturbing the peace, and evading a peace officer.”

Holguin-Mendez was arrested for damage to property, the report said.

A Venezuelan national named Diego Cano-Diaz with multiple alleged protective order violations was “arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon, resisting arrest, and assault,” the report said, but his ICE detainer was ignored in Denver as well.

At least four illegal immigrants were arrested due to alleged domestic violence in Denver but also had their ICE detainers ignored, the report said.

WATCH: DEM DEMANDS ‘ONE CASE’ WHERE SANCTUARY CITIES DIDN’T TURN OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS; DHS PROVIDES LIST

In Boulder, “Mario Hernandez-Quiroz, a Mexican national arrested for child abuse and failure to appear,” was among those whose ICE detainer was ignored.

Ignoring an ICE detainer does not necessarily mean law enforcement released the accused back onto public streets. It does, however, delay potential federal deportation proceedings to ensure the accused does not stay in the U.S.

DHS BOSS REVEALS OVAL OFFICE PLAN TO ‘WITHHOLD FUNDING’ FROM SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE NEW YORK BUST

But the report did accuse district attorneys in Denver and Boulder of helping illegal immigrants suspected of criminal acts to evade ICE, including being more lenient with their treatment in order to avoid federal immigration proceedings — in effect, accusing them of letting more undocumented criminals back onto the streets.

For instance, House GOP investigators said they obtained internal documents that show the Denver Sheriff’s Department provides written explanations in a suspected illegal immigrant criminal’s preferred language that said they have “the right to refuse to speak to federal immigration authorities.”

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The report also accused Denver officials of providing insufficient notice when they do notify ICE about suspected illegal immigrant criminals.

An example highlighted in the report involved a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, about whom ICE was given “between one and two hours’ notice to take him into custody.”

The suspected gang member, Abraham Smith Gonzalez, was subsequently released, the report said, and “as a result, when ICE officers attempted to arrest Gonzalez outside a Denver jail in 2025, he assaulted one officer.”

The report also accused both Boulder and Denver prosecutors of weighing immigration consequences when pursuing charges against an individual.

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“In Boulder, District Attorney Dougherty prohibits information sharing with ICE,” the report said. “Before President Trump even took office in January 2025, Dougherty emailed Boulder defense attorneys to remind them of his office’s pro-illegal alien policies, including his office’s consideration of collateral immigration consequences.”

An excerpt that the report noted is part of Boulder County District Attorney’s Office guidance stating that attorneys “consider the immigration and other collateral consequences to a defendant in recommending dispositions.”

Both Denver and Boulder encourage suspected illegal immigrants to not cooperate with ICE unless a judicial warrant is presented, the report said.

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Dougherty in Boulder has already been targeted by Jordan’s probe, with the Ohio Republican subpoenaing Dougherty and accusing him of failing to sufficiently cooperate.

He told Fox News Digital in response to the report, “This report is a political stunt to sway voters before the midterm elections. My responsibility is to do justice, enhance public safety, and fight for victims. I’m not going to be distracted by political theatre or intimidated into abandoning my responsibility to protect the community and uphold the law. I am proud of our amazing and dedicated staff. They work incredibly hard to uphold the best interests of Boulder County and Colorado. It is my privilege to work alongside the outstanding women and men in the District Attorney’s Office.”

Dougherty’s office also accused committee Republicans of “intentionally” misrepresenting one individual’s case in its report that was not mentioned in this article.

“Under the Republicans’ approach, Contreras would have been released to ICE and immediately deported. That would have been a violation of state law. Also, Contreras would be free in another country with no consequences for his criminal conduct, the harm to the victim, and the risk he poses to the community,” the office said. “Under Boulder County’s approach, the Sheriff complied with state law and, ultimately, Contreras was held fully accountable by the prosecutors in our office and sent to state prison for eight (8) years. When he completes that sentence, he will then face deportation.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the district attorney’s offices in Denver and Boulder as well as the police departments in each city for a response to the GOP’s accusations. The Boulder Police Department referred Fox News Digital to the county sheriff’s office.

President Donald Trump and Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton are raising questions about Democratic challenger James Talarico’s whereabouts after the candidate spent nearly two weeks away from the campaign trail, as new reporting reveals concerns about his absence among members of his own volunteer network.

Talarico, who is challenging Paxton in Texas’ closely watched Senate contest, has not appeared at an in-person campaign event since late September, citing a case of the flu. The prolonged absence has prompted attacks from Republicans, including Trump, who questioned Talarico’s whereabouts during a Wednesday campaign rally in San Antonio and later on his social media platform Truth Social, calling the Texas Democrat “MISSING IN ACTION.”

“TalaFREAKo has been missing for 12 days! Now, after looking for him throughout all of Texas, and beyond, probably even weirder places than anyone would think possible, he put out a statement that he has the ‘flu.’ 12 days is a long time to rid yourself of the so-called flu bug,” Trump wrote Wednesday. “What’s going on? We need a Senator that’s a proven Champion like one that has been, without question, the Greatest Attorney General in the History of Texas, and one of the Greatest in the U.S.A.”

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Paxton similarly questioned his opponent’s absence, asking supporters at Wednesday’s rally, “Where is James Talarico?”

“If it’s as tight as they claim it is, and he’s got a lead the way they claim that he is, and you’re a billionaire writing these big checks right now to Talarico, wouldn’t you want a ROI, like a return on your investment?” conservative radio host Ben Ferguson questioned on “The Will Cain Show” Thursday. “Why have we not gotten transparency from his campaign? What is really going on? Why did a guy disappear after doing an interview where he didn’t look like he had the flu?”

Talarico’s absence comes during the final stretch of Texas’ closely watched Senate race, with Election Day less than a month away. The Democrat’s last publicly documented in-person campaign event in Texas was Sept. 26, when he held a news conference in Carrollton addressing rising gasoline prices and the war in Iran, according to CNN.

Talarico subsequently attended a private fundraiser in New York and participated virtually in a Sept. 30 business forum, where he said he had been diagnosed with the flu at a Dallas urgent care facility the previous evening. Talarico has Type 1 diabetes, which puts him at greater risk of developing serious flu complications, according to the CDC.

His campaign has said Talarico expects to return to in-person campaigning this weekend ahead of a publicly scheduled CNN town hall on Oct. 14. The campaign also cited “more than 100 public events” Talarico has already done.

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“I guess I’ve been shaking too many hands on the campaign trail, and so I want to keep everybody safe,” Talarico explained, adding he did not want to risk spreading the illness to vulnerable individuals.

“Ken Paxton has been ignoring Texans this entire campaign, and his priorities are clear: he doesn’t answer to the people of this state — he answers to his billionaire megadonors and special interests,” campaign spokesperson JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, the New York Post reported Thursday that leaked messages from a private Slack channel showed members of Talarico’s volunteer network discussing his prolonged absence, with one expressing concern that he could lose momentum.

“I think it’ll be fine. It’s [j]ust conservatives blasting him. I’m just worried about him losing momentum,” a Talarico campaign volunteer wrote in a group chat with other volunteers, featuring nearly 4,000 people, according to The Post. “But I 100% expect him to make a comeback at the CNN [t]own hall that’s a given.”

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“It’s a buncha people that don’t actually want him to be out touring that are causing a stink. Noone’s genuinely upset,” another volunteer wrote.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Talarico campaign for additional information on where the candidate is recovering and when this weekend he will reappear on the campaign trail but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

“I would much rather have my candidate rested and have any ailments out of the way now than down the stretch, because if they’re sick two weeks before the election, they’re still going to be on the road which means it’s only going to get worse. So let them heal up and get their strength back,” veteran Texas-based Democratic strategist Ed Espinoza told Fox News Digital. “Even though Talarico’s off the trail, he’s still on the airwaves,” Espinoza added, referring to the campaign’s significant ad spending in Texas. “He’s got plenty of money to get his message out.”

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.

South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrews appears to be distancing herself from her past opposition to restricting transgender athletes in girls’ sports, telling Fox News Digital she opposes biological males competing in women’s sports and gender transition surgeries for minors.

As Democrats fight to regain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, Andrews is among a group of candidates in competitive races in red and swing states who seem to be shifting positions on transgender issues. Meanwhile, Republicans are aiming to use the highly-charged issue as a cudgel to bash Democrats for a second straight cycle.

“I don’t support biological men playing in women’s sports, and I don’t support gender surgery on minors,” Andrews told Fox News Digital.

Andrews, who’s locked in an increasingly competitive midterm election showdown with Republican Sen. Darline Graham in reliably red state South Carolina, delivers the same message in a new campaign commercial, adding “I want you to hear me loud and clear.”

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But Graham, who was appointed to the Senate following the sudden death this summer of her older brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, is accusing Andrews of trying to conceal her previous position on transgender athletes.

Andrews “has spent years supporting biological males competing in girls’ sports. Now that she’s running for Senate, she’s trying to hide from that radical record,” Graham recently charged.

Graham and Republicans point to Andrews’ opposition to a 2022 South Carolina law barring transgender athletes from competing on girls’ and women’s public school sports teams.

“This is shameful legislation that does nothing to protect or support women or children in SC. In fact, it is actively harmful. I will always support trans youth,” Andrews wrote in a social media post at the time.

Republicans are seeking to once again make the issue a campaign liability.

The GOP effectively blasted Democrats in the 2024 election, with President Donald Trump‘s campaign targeting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris with ads declaring “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

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Republicans spent more than $200 million to run ads targeting Democrats on the transgender issue in the 2024 campaign, arguably helping the GOP to sweeping victories.

The latest national polls indicate that most Americans oppose transgender athletes playing on sports teams that don’t match their birth sex.

More than three-quarters (76%) of those questioned in a Fox News national poll conducted last month backed banning biological men from competing in women’s sports, with one in five opposed. The survey indicated bipartisan support, with 90% of Republicans, 77% of independents, and 61% of Democrats backing the ban.

Facing a rough political climate amid an unpopular war in Iran and soaring gas and diesel prices as they try to hold their fragile congressional majorities, Trump and the GOP are increasingly looking to replay their transgender political playbook.

Trump, at last month’s GOP midterm convention, described anti-trans messaging as one of the party’s most effective campaign tools to drive voter turnout and target Democrats in the final stretch leading up to Election Day.

“It’s one of our great soundbites of all time,” the president said at the two-day confab in Dallas.

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And some of the other top speakers at the convention, including Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Senate and House GOP re-election chairs Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Richard Hudson highlighted the issue in their addresses.

Meanwhile, Republican ads on the issue are running for a second straight cycle.

But Democrats are recalibrating, and learning to fight back.

One of the first to pivot following the 2024 election setbacks was California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. In early 2025, he suggested that biological males playing in women’s sports was “deeply unfair.”

Also making headlines and sparking a debate among Democrats was Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who said soon after the 2024 elections that he opposed transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and that Democrats spent too much time trying not to offend people.

Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona told Fox News that “Democrats are being smart on this issue in terms of defining where they are on it so their opponents can’t define them and then pivoting back to the issues that they know that voters actually care about.”

“I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” Moulton told The New York Times.

Fast-forward to present day, and while most Democratic politicians remain steadfast supporters of transgender rights, there are an increasing number who have changed course.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee trying to flip a GOP-held seat in red-leaning Texas, has been targeted by Republicans over his past support for allowing transgender athletes in girls’ sports. But he told Fox News last month, “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness.”

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In Republican dominated Iowa, where Democrats are aiming to capture another open-GOP held Senate seat, Democratic nominee state Rep. Josh Turek has expressed opposition to biological males competing in women’s sports and gender transition surgeries for minors after facing Republican criticism.

Longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, who is facing a tough re-election bid, is running ads saying “boys should not play in girls’ sports” and that she is focused on “making your life more affordable.”

In her campaign mailers she touts that she “voted to ban schools from touting gender ideology in classrooms,” and, “Unlike the far left, I believe boys shouldn’t play girls’ sports.”

But the National Republican Congressional Committee pointed out that Kaptur voted against the GOP-led Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in April 2023 and January 2025.

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“Lies from desperate Democrat Marcy Kaptur can’t erase her radical record. Kaptur is in damage control, and she must remove herself as a co-sponsor of the Equality Act and disavow her previous votes or remove her lies from the airwaves,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, another vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election, was one of only three House Democrats who voted last year for a GOP bill that could lead to prison for health care workers providing gender-affirming care for minors.

Davis, who played football at the Air Force Academy, appears alongside a football field in a re-election advertisement, saying, “I believe states should decide what’s right for protecting women and girls, and North Carolina has decided.”

But both Kaptur and Davis have faced pushback from Democrats over their messaging on the transgender issue.

And in deep blue Massachusetts, Moulton, who apologized for his past transgender comments, was still trounced in last month’s Democratic Senate primary by progressive Sen. Ed Markey, who accused his challenger of throwing transgender children “under the bus.”

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Republican strategist Colin Reed, pointing to Democrats who’ve shifted their positions, told Fox News Digital that “voters should be very skeptical in the authenticity of any shifting policy positions that occur weeks before an election, especially in red parts of America where these types of issues have proven to be so politically toxic in the past.”

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But Cardona, a veteran of the Bill Clinton administration, the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns and the Democratic National Committee who currently serves as a DNC committee member, said Democrats are “defining where they are on the issue so their opponents can’t define them and then pivoting back to the issues that they know that voters actually care about.”

She argued that “Republicans won’t be able to weaponize this issue this cycle the way they were able to in 2024 for two reasons. Democrats are fighting about and actually talking about it and defining themselves. But more importantly, when people can’t make ends meet, they’re not going to be drawn into culture issues which don’t make a difference when you go to gas pumps and can’t fill up your car to go to work.”

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report

EXCLUSIVE: American autism care providers who backed the Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud are now sounding the alarm, warning that efforts to root out abuse could have unintended consequences after reimbursement cuts put therapy for Georgia foster children at risk.

The Autism Families Alliance, which describes itself as a national advocacy organization dedicated to supporting Applied Behavior Analysis providers and the families who rely on their services, said that efforts by the Trump administration and state leaders to fight fraud have gone too far, potentially leaving many of Georgia’s children with autism in foster care without the care they need.

This warning is in response to a move by Amerigroup, the insurer that covers Georgia’s foster children through Medicaid, to cut what it pays autism therapy providers by 30%. Providers caution that they may no longer be able to afford to treat vulnerable children and that many foster families will be unable to switch them to another insurer.

“It’s scary to see that so many different things are being slashed in terms of Medicaid, and that we’re seeing this drastic outcome,” Taylor Sanders, a family advocate at the Autism Families Alliance, told Fox News Digital. “It’s so important that we keep in mind that children with autism are in a very vulnerable place where they’re still needing to learn safety skills. There are some children who have extremely aggressive behaviors, challenging behaviors. So, when we’re seeing some of these cuts, we’re seeing it affect the providers who are able to provide access to these services.”

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“If we’re not able to provide a good amount of pay to our providers, we’re not able to make sure they’re set up for success to be able to give some of these services, and we’re going to see less and less children being able to access services at all,” she added.

Sanders said 75% of clinics will have to close their doors or stop serving foster kids due to the massive cuts.

The 30% cut will not only affect providers’ ability to provide access to these families, but it will also limit foster children’s opportunities to learn essential skills, according to Sanders. Foster children with autism depend on regular therapy to develop everyday skills, but a sudden loss of that support could set them back.

“If they don’t learn these school skills at an early intervention or an early age, it’ll be a lot more costly later on,” she said.

In August, the Autism Families Alliance put its support behind the Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicaid fraud, arguing that the alleged theft of millions of federal funds has hurt both taxpayers and children with autism who rely on those services. Some states, including Georgia, have also taken steps to enhance oversight of autism services.

The group backed eliminating fraud and prosecuting suspected criminals, but also feared that broad federal and state efforts to root out fraud could unintentionally make it more difficult for legitimate providers to care for children with autism. The coalition called on policymakers to ensure fraudsters are removed from the system without creating what they described as unnecessary barriers for families of vulnerable children seeking care.

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Now, the group says Georgia’s foster families face the risk that they had previously raised concerns about.

“I think fraud should be prosecuted by all means,” Sanders said. “Anybody who is engaging in fraudulent behavior should be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law. Are we able to not only tackle the fraud, but still give access to services for our children? Why can’t we do both at the same time?”

“What’s really happening here is we’re going in with a sledgehammer when really we should be going in with a scalpel,” she continued, adding that officials need to be “approaching this in a way where it’s not going to totally obliterate the care to our families.”

One Georgia foster mother has already been told her nearly 3-year-old son’s provider may be forced to stop treating him after he started making progress, according to the Georgia Recorder.

“Reforms that improve care, increase efficiency and prevent abuse are something we all support, but when those efforts make it harder for children with autism to get the care they need, something has gone terribly wrong,” Kelsey Bennett, a family advocate with the Autism Families Alliance, told Fox News Digital.

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“No one wants to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse more than the providers who dedicate their lives to caring for these children. Every taxpayer dollar should go toward helping the people it was intended to serve. But you can’t fix a system by making it harder for vulnerable children to get help. Reforms that end up hurting the very children the system is supposed to protect are not in Georgia’s best interests,” she continued.

Bennett urged Georgia’s lawmakers “to bring everyone to the table, including the Medicaid managed care companies and the providers who care for these children every day.”

“By listening to those on the front lines and working together, they can find a better way forward that improves efficiency without putting children’s access to care at risk,” she said.

“Children with autism, especially those in foster care and those welcomed into loving foster families, already face enough challenges. Their families shouldn’t have to worry about whether the care they depend on will suddenly disappear. Georgia’s leaders need to step in, address these cuts and make sure these children aren’t the ones paying the price for efforts to save money,” she added.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called out California Democrats for watering down the state’s criminal law after federal law enforcement led the charge on a massive drug crackdown in the infamous Skid Row neighborhood on Thursday.

Essayli told Fox News Digital in an interview that California’s state and local law enforcement have worked with the feds just fine, but that it’s the politicians who are getting in the way.

“Unfortunately, states like California have totally watered down their laws, their criminal justice laws. They’ve also emptied their prisons and closed prisons, so effectively, there’s not much of a deterrence on the state side. No one faces any serious consequences on the state side,” Essayli said.

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“We work really well with our local law enforcement partners,” he continued. “Local law enforcement isn’t the problem. It’s more the governor, it’s the legislature, it’s these loud-mouth federal, you know, Congress members who all they care about is attacking the administration, attacking the president.”

Essayli did give credit to Mayor Karen Bass for approving the Los Angeles Police Department to participate in Thursday’s Operation Save Skid Row.

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“This is a climate in which you have people right now trying to defund the police. You have people trying to disarm the LAPD, and those people are on the side of criminals,” he added. “Anyone who’s calling for disarming the police is on the side of the drug dealers that we arrested today. They’re lunatics.”

Operation Save Skid Row saw federal and city authorities execute 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants in an effort to dismantle drug distribution networks in the notorious neighborhood.

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Over 100 law enforcement vehicles were involved in the operation, with arrests targeting members of multiple gangs, including the “Main Street Crips,” “Grape Street/Raymond Avenue Crips” and the “Pueblo Bishop Bloods.”

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“We are no longer going to have open-air drug markets in the United States, let alone on Skid Row. And that is the reason you see so many homeless people who are experiencing psychotic episodes, who are unwell, they aren’t seeking help, it’s because you have people, like the drug dealers we are arresting today, keeping them addicted and taking their public assistance money to pay for their drugs,” Essayli said during a news conference on Thursday.