Journal de La Reyna (World News Today)

Friday, May 10, 2024

Israel Is The World's Bad Guy!

This is not about religion.

This is about a foreign country committing an active genocide on our taxpayer money.

Whomever claims this was about an attack on the Jewish religion is dead wrong.

I am tired of this troupe about how criticism of the Israeli government is equal to attacking the Jews or denying the Holocaust. The horrible atrocities of the Holocaust were not caused by the Palestinians. It was done by a ruthless dictator and his allies of the European Axis.

The 20th Century mistakes are repeating itself.

While many of these lawmakers and several centrists are looking the other way, rational Americans are saying "enough is enough."

You cannot erase the images and the videos of Palestinian children being killed. You cannot erase the images and the videos of civilians being executed by a state actor.

You cannot forget the remarks of many of these individuals claiming that Palestinians are less than human and they all deserve to die.

Republicans and Democrats are united in their opposition of anti-Israel protests on American colleges and universities.

Israeli propaganda dehumanizes protesters and resistance fighters.

With the approval of AIPAC, the ADL and the state of Israel, Congress has:

1. Forcing TikTok to divest from ByteDance or face a ban in the U.S.

2. Advocated the arrest, the suspension, the termination of students, staff and media figures for protesting.

3. Drafted bills to define criticism of Israel as antisemitic and are working to push for fines and jail time.

4. Working to sanction the International Criminal Court and its prosecutors from issuing arrest warrant to top Israeli leaders.

5. Continue to give Israel billions in taxpayer money without any conditions.

6. Refuse to have a formal investigation into the deaths of Americans killed by Israel.

7. Support retaliation towards Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq despite Israel launching illegal airstrikes.

8. Refuses to sanction Israel for illegal settlements, killing of journalists and other atrocities.

9. Voted to block funding to UNRWA and WHO because of allegations made by Israeli propaganda.

10. Called organized protesters and those who support them outside agitators as a label to denounce active protest and dissent against status quo.

To make this clear, it doesn't matter anymore who the fucking president is. President Joe Biden, former president Donald J. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are backing Israel over the world. They are so out of touch with reality.

From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free! 🇵🇸 🍉

Cry more!

Israel for way too long has manipulated me with this endless victimhood. All the while pushing for an ethno-nationalist state, Israeli government leaders [both left and right] have called for the eradication of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

America is more violent towards peaceful protesters.

The operatives have operated with shell agencies like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Anti-Defamation League. These organizations operated at the behest of Israel.

Israel has fanned outrage over octopuses, buttons, protests at synagogues, protests at Holocaust museums, sleep ins at college campuses, comparing Zionism to Nazism, blocking roads, blocking bridges, wearing a keffiyeh, posting on TikTok, boycotting companies that do business with Israel and calling for international sanctions. Now Israel is outraged over the slightest suggestion of regime change and it comes from the biggest U.S. Zionists like Biden, Trump, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

Israel keeps calling it an attack on Jewish people and it amounts to antisemitic propaganda.

Holding these lawmakers accountable is not just a pledge, but a promise. You need to learn who represents your community. Your local community member, your school board member, your mayor, your state representative, your state senator, your governor, your U.S. Representative, your U.S. Senator and the president need to be held accountable for their actions.

We need to put pressure on Republicans and Democrats to do something to improve everyone's lives.

Israel must be held accountable. The U.S. must end military aid and diplomatic relations to the ethno-fascist apartheid state of Israel now. Our taxpayer money should not help Israel any further.

They are feeling it. Democrats know the risk of supporters being turned off by their policies. They know that Biden is under extreme pressure to do something. Arab Americans, Muslim and young voters have vowed to never back Biden putting his reelection chances in danger.

The call number to the White House and U.S. Capitol is now going to be used. This is the official White House numbers 202-456-1111 and 202-456-1414. This is the Congress official phone number, 202-224-3121. Please be respectful to operators, staff members and elected leaders. Your calls are monitored by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police.

Let them know that "thoughts and prayers," "hearts going to" and "good guys with guns" are no longer acceptable and you want legislation to curb gun violence. Let them know that you are tired of your taxpayer money going to foreign nations like Israel. Let them know that bans on TikTok are bans on free speech. You are tired of hearing about "Israel having a right to..." and the bogus claims of being anti-semitic or in support of terrorism. We have bigger issues at home and our tax dollars should solve the housing crisis, lowering food prices, fixing roads, bridges, helping reinvest in struggling urban and rural communities. We have hospitals closing, big box retailers leaving communities and television programs dying. There are bigger issues in the country than Israel. You want an immediate ceasefire and accountability for war crimes done by Israel. You want no more foreign influence in American elections. You also want to make sure future presidents and lawmakers avoid influence from lobbyists.

If anyone trolls you about condemning Hamas for Oct. 7, 2023, kindly ignore them or respectfully tell them that Israel has committed an illegal occupation of Gaza, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and the West Bank. They shoot innocent civilians and indiscriminately bomb heavily populated areas in Gaza and the West Bank.

Will you condemn the actions of Israel if I have to condemn Russia, China, North Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas?

If you're upset over peaceful protests, why are you not upset over the brutal treatment of innocent people being killed by Israel?

If you're upset over TikTok being a danger to data privacy and children, why are you not upset over X, Amazon, Instagram, Facebook, Rumble, Threads, YouTube and Truth Social?

If you want to pass laws to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish Americans, will you pass laws to protect Christians, Muslims, Satanists, Scientologists, Mormons, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists and every religion in the United States?

If you wanted "Death to America," remind yourself that Trump supporters tried to violently overturn a peaceful transfer of power. They violently broke into the U.S. Capitol and tried to kill Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence. Republicans refuse to hold former president Donald J. Trump accountable for his actions. They are more upset over protected speech than a foreign country committing war crimes and an active genocide.

Thursday, May 09, 2024

Wrong Place!

Is the junk food media gonna make Roger Fortson a thug or hero?

Ben Crump is involved in the police strangling of Frank Tyson in Ohio and the police shooting of U.S. Air Force service man who was killed in Florida.

The police shooting of Roger Fortson has now attracted major controversy. The Oskaloosa County Sheriff's Department is under fire once again for their incompetence.

Only a mere month ago, a deputy fired into a police cruiser where a handcuffed suspect was positioned. An acorn fell on the vehicle and he thought he was being fire on. The deputy and his sergeant both fired off 32 rounds into his patrol vehicle. Marquis Jackson was grazed but not seriously injured. He is suing the county for reckless endangerment.

Jesse Hernandez and Beth Roberts could be charged with a crime. Hernandez resigned.

Roberts was taken off the beat.

Now two more deputies are under fire. They ended up going to the wrong apartment.

Fortson was a case of mistaken identity. The deputies did not announce themselves when they broke down the door and confronted an armed Fortson.

Which deputy shot Roger Fortson?

Fortson, 23, who was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, was alone in his apartment May 3 when police burst through the door and fatally shot him six times, according to Crump, an attorney representing Fortson's family.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office was responding to a disturbance between a man and woman in the apartment building, and deputies shot Fortson, who was Black, multiple times in the chest, according to police radio communications.

"The circumstances surrounding Roger's death raise serious questions that demand immediate answers from authorities, especially considering the alarming witness statement that the police entered the wrong apartment," Crump said. "The narrative released by law enforcement, which falsely suggests that Roger posed a threat, is deeply troubling and inconsistent with the details provided by that witness: Roger was home alone, causing no disturbance, when his life was tragically cut short by law enforcement."

The sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the attorney's claims. The sheriff's office recently came under scrutiny after one of its deputies resigned following an internal investigation last year of an incident in which he fired his weapon multiple times at a detained suspect after mistaking the sound of an acorn hitting the roof of his patrol vehicle as a gunshot, GulfLive.com reported.

Fortson lived in an off-base residence, and his special operations squadron at Hurlburt Field in the Florida panhandle flies AC-130J Ghostrider gunships.

Oskaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden got some explaining to do.

Crump said there was no disturbance and that Fortson was home alone on a video call with another person, who reported the airman heard a knock on the door.

Fortson, according to the witness, asked, "Who is it?" But he didn't receive an answer. After a subsequent "aggressive" second knock and seeing no one through the peephole, Fortson grabbed his legally owned gun, Crump detailed.

As Fortson was walking back to his living room, police entered the apartment and shot him. He reportedly said "I can't breathe" while on the ground after being shot, Crump said, repeating a witness account of the event.

Publicly available police radio audio reviewed by Military.com reported a call for a disturbance at an apartment complex at 319 Racetrack Road around 4:30 p.m. local time.

"Don't have anything further than a male and female; it's all fourth party information from the front desk at the leasing office," a deputy said on the radio.

A few minutes later, another deputy called in to report "shots fired, suspect down," and called for emergency medical services.

"Multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, Black male," another deputy chimes in shortly after. Fortson was shot six times, Crump said in his statement.

No other details, including the circumstances of the disturbance that prompted the local deputies to visit the apartment building, were released. Fortson was taken to an area hospital, where he later died. No officers were harmed in the incident.

Fortson joined the Air Force on Nov. 19, 2019, according to a copy of his service record provided to Military.com. He joined as an AC-130J gunner. Crump added that Roger graduated from high school with honors and had no criminal record.

The deputy involved was not identified in the news release and was "placed on paid administrative leave" pending the outcome of an investigation and administrative review, the sheriff's office said.

On Monday evening, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden released a statement saying the department was "saddened" by the incident and calling for further investigation into the shooting.

Ben Crump demands the Oskaloosa Sheriff Department release all body camera footage.

"I immediately placed the deputy on administrative leave and have asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct the investigation that is required in such incidents," Aden said. "The State Attorney's Office will also conduct an independent review. At this time, we humbly ask for our community's patience as we work to understand the facts that resulted in this tragic event."

The sheriff's office declined to provide Military.com the original 911 call and the police report into the incident, citing "the ongoing active investigation" in an emailed response.

"We are calling for transparency in the investigation into Roger's death and the immediate release of bodycam video to the family," Crump said. "His family and the public deserve to know what occurred in the moments leading up to this tragedy. We urge authorities to immediately stop demonizing Roger in their statements to the media. It's imperative to correct the record and acknowledge the wrongful entry into Roger's home."

To all the Black firearm owners who support the Second Amendment or former president Donald J. Trump in the 2024 presidential race, I just want to say...

"YOU'RE GONNA BE SHOT BY POLICE TOO!"

The National Rifle Association never reacts to lawful exercise of firearm use when a Black, Hispanic, Arab, Muslim, Indigenous, LGBTQ or underage teen of color is carrying them.

It is automatic dehumanizing from the far right, police unions and the junk food media.

When white men, women or even some Asians are carrying firearms, the NRA is often parading them around like they're heroes and protectors of freedom.

In about 45 states, I believe it is lawful for you to walk down a street with a firearm.

Marquis Jackson survived a police shooting. He was handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle when a deputy fired on him. The deputy mistaken an acorn as gun fire.

If you're a Black man walking down the street with a firearm, the random 911 call or the visual spotting from a police officer merits an automatic drawl of a service weapon.

Police officers within seconds are either shooting or premeditated an excuse to use force.

The unions back up their claims of "fearing for their lives" despite the perpetrator not even firing a round. Given that the junk food media loves to paint the aggressor as the victim, the police officer is given the benefit of doubt. The person police shot usually do not get any ounce of doubt. A mugshot of a suspect or a picture of a person posing with money or firearms automatically draws far right conclusions to justification of force.

Even fleeing from police with a firearm and not even pointing at them results in police shootings.

If a person does survive, the state still charges the person for a crime despite the state allowing open carry and lawful possession.

So I just want to say that the Second Amendment is White, period.

Gun violence is the number one threat in the United States.

You notice when Blacks are owning or posing with firearms, the junk food media calls it disturbing. When white people are posing with firearms, they are patriotic and expressing freedom.

I dismiss this ridiculous notion that criminals are the problem, not the guns. Firearms are often obtained through legal purchases.

Again, having more security, teachers being armed and offering safe rooms are not solving the problem. The problem is lawmakers not willing to stop gun violence.

According to the far right: White shooters are mentally ill. Black shooters are unrepentant criminals. Gay shooters are active groomers. Muslim shooters are terrorists. Hispanic and Asian shooters are illegal immigrants. Almost all mass shooters are registered Democrats because they have liked one thing common to the left. Of course, they often share disinformation by using the "Sam Hyde" meme as a way to denounce most mass shooters being white. They say a white person should "protect" themselves from protesters and use of firearms are justified. They say if a shooter is active military or a veteran who supports conservative causes, they are considered a "heroes" and use of firearms are justified. If the shooters are teens, the far right automatically assume the gunmen are Black.

He lucky to be alive.

The Republicans usually amplify white victims. Anytime a person of color kills a white victim, it is often wall-to-wall coverage on Fox, X and other extreme outlets. They force it into national news. They make the case to blame Black Lives Matter, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Democrats, Rev. Al Sharpton and rap music for Black on whatever violence. Republican lawmakers who do not live in urban neighborhoods often troll social media to talk about gun violence or crime in Chicago, Baltimore, Milwaukee and New York City while not doing a damn thing to stop it. If a white person shoots a Black person, the shooter is given the benefit of doubt. White shooters are given glowing profiles about their perfect lives and how friends noticed something but refused to do something. When it comes to Black shooters, automatic vilification. They don't see mental illness. They see it as gang violence, allegedly fatherless homes, Democratic policies or the need for more firearms. The far right and Republicans exploit gun violence in the Black community for culture wars and racism.

So in closing, expect more.

The website Officer Down is a memorial to those who were killed in the line of duty. Those who don't get their names mentioned in the junk food media. Also the website the National Gun Violence Memorial also keeps record of the many individuals killed by gun violence.

Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or 988, or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.

We have bigger issues at home and our tax dollars should solve the housing crisis, lowering food prices, fixing roads, bridges, helping reinvest in struggling urban and rural communities. We have hospitals closing, big box retailers leaving communities and television programs dying. We have rampant gun violence happening in the country every day. There are bigger issues in the country than Israel. You want an immediate ceasefire and accountability for war crimes done by Israel. You want no more foreign influence in American elections. You also want to make sure future presidents and lawmakers avoid influence from lobbyists.

The Red Line!

Biden paused arms to Israel. The Republicans and Democrats balk at it.

The Rafah invasion is on.

Israel is not willing to agree to a ceasefire and recognition of a Palestinian state. They are not willing to agree with Hamas to exchange the remaining survivors of their genocide.

Now the president is slowly putting a hold on weapon shipments for now.

Israel is meddling in our elections, openly bragging about defying international law, attacking Americans who are protesting their regime, trying to rig Eurovision, instigating conflict in Iran and Lebanon and is openly endorsing Donald J. Trump.

And President Joe Biden and Democrats are still willing to embrace this regime.

Biden said Wednesday the U.S. would not supply Israel with certain weapons and artillery shells if its military invades Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than 1 million people are sheltering.

If the Israeli military launches a ground offensive in Rafah, the administration will not supply “the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities,” Biden said in an interview on CNN.

“We’re not going to supply the weapons and the artillery shells used,” Biden said.

The move would mark a shift in U.S. policy toward the war, though Biden said the U.S. would "continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks."

Biden also said Israel has used the 2,000-pound bombs — the type his administration halted in a planned shipment last week — to kill Palestinian civilians.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” he said when he was asked about the paused shipment of U.S. weapons to Israel.

Biden struggling with the decision of aiding or cutting the Israeli regime loose.

NBC News has reported that the White House halted a shipment of offensive weapons last week that included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to a senior administration official.

An Israeli official told NBC News there was deep frustration in the Israeli government over the decision as Israel's military prepares to launch an expected ground offensive in Rafah.

The country's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said the U.S. pause was “a very disappointing decision, even frustrating.” He suggested in an interview with Israeli Channel 12 TV news that the move stemmed from domestic political pressure on Biden.

Israel's right-wing national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, offered a more hardline reaction. "Hamas ❤️ Biden," he said in a post on X that drew swift criticism from Israel's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and others.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country's military would enter the city “with or without” a deal with Hamas.

Israel demands that Rafah be walled off from a cease-fire deal, according to four current and one former U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.

Netanyahu’s government refuses to agree to a deal unless it can move forward with military operations in Rafah, even during a cease-fire, the officials said.

An Israeli official denied that characterization, citing recent remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said, "This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip or until the first hostage returns."

Biden has reiterated his opposition to the Rafah offensive in calls with Netanyahu, according to White House readouts of their ' conversations.

Biden also touched on his administration's work with Arab states regarding the Israel-Hamas war, saying in the CNN interview that "five leaders in the Arab community were prepared to help rebuild Gaza, prepared to help transition to a two-state solution."

Asked for clarity about whether the leaders would help govern the area, Biden said they would work to "maintain the security and peace while they're working out a Palestinian Authority that's real and not corrupt."

The Congress already are giving billions to Israel while Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Rite Aid are closing up in poor and impoverished rural communities.

Congress is foring TikTok to sell to Zionists or be banned.

Congress is trying to make criticism of Israel a crime.

AIPAC openly bragged about helping Democrats and Republicans win primaries.

The ADL is spying on protesters and demanding the U.S. Justice Department to investigate them.

Ungrateful Israel angry that Biden cut weapons.

AIPAC and the ADL refuse to register as foreign agents of the Israeli regime. That is a huge problem and it must be a demand to keep these organizations from influencing our elected leaders.

We need to put pressure on Republicans and Democrats to do something to improve everyone's lives.

Could you name one damn thing Israel's done for the United States?

Israel's latest excuses to justify the genocide:

They claimed that Hamas wants to kill as many Jews as possible.
They claim that Hamas has underground tunnels under schools, hospitals and refugee camps.
They claim that Hamas was planning on building a dirty bomb.
They claim that Hamas are using civilians as human shields.
They claim that Hamas is ISIS.
They claim that Hamas had a copy of Mein Kampf inside a base in a children's bedroom.
They claim that Hamas was beheading 40 babies.
They claim that Hamas misfired a rocket at a hospital.
They claim that Hamas wants a regional war.
They claim that Hamas had top secret plans to attack the U.S. and Great Britain.
They claim that Hamas has a calendar that showed the shifts of who was watching the hostages.
They claim that Hamas shot female soliders in the buttocks and breasts.
They claim that Hamas shot dead a civilian and raped the victim's corpse,
They claim that Hamas has placed explosive devices on corpses.
They claim that Hamas has infiltrated college campuses in the U.S. and Great Britain.
They claim that Hamas support from individuals amounts to being a terrorist sympathizer.
They claim that President Joe Biden loves Hamas.

Hamas is not raping women and there is no proof they done such a horrible act. It is part of the dehumanizing campaign Israel is promoting to influencers in the West. You see it when they are constantly deflecting from the images of Gaza being destroyed by American and European sponsored Israeli weapons. In their minds, they are justifying the brutal slaughter of children, men, women, journalists and doctors as collateral damage.

Hamas stated the reasons for the attack on occupation forces. It has nothing to do with the Jewish religion or Iran.

Biden, Donald J. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Republicans, Democrats and the American junk food media are on the wrong side of history. Israel will be a 2024 issue. Once this pass, I get the feeling that Biden will be the last U.S. president to support Israel.

Presidents after Biden (hopefully Trump never wins a second presidency) will come to realize that Israel was the bad guy all along.

Keep pressure on them with Israel.

Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and the U.S. must end its aid. Our taxpayer money should help Israel any further.

We have bigger issues at home and our tax dollars should solve the housing crisis, lowering food prices, fixing roads, bridges, helping reinvest in struggling urban and rural communities. We have hospitals closing, big box retailers leaving communities and television programs dying. There are bigger issues in the country than Israel. You want an immediate ceasefire and accountability for war crimes done by Israel. You want no more foreign influence in American elections. You also want to make sure future presidents and lawmakers avoid influence from lobbyists.

So He's Fair Game Now?

Barron joins the circus.

The 6'7" son of the former president and his wife Melania Trump is entering the wild and crazy game of politics.

The Republicans and far right agitators had no sympathy for Chelsea Clinton, Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, Hunter Biden and Ashley Biden. They attacked them and used them as weapons in their ridiculous culture wars.

When actors or some of the left's agitators criticized Jenna Hager, Barbara Bush, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Barron Trump, the far right claimed they were off limits.

Double standards matter.

Kathy Griffin was blackballed after she posed with a mocked severed head of former president Donald J. Trump. According to the Trump campaign, it scared Barron and got the U.S. Secret Service on her. Griffin was fired from CNN and to this day is stalked by protesters at her events. The far right mocks her plastic surgery and tattoos. They have sent death threats toward her. It almost made her have a nervous breakdown.

When people questioned whether Barron had autism or Asperger's disorder, the far right attacked them. When the far right mocked the Obama daughters, some retorted....

Is Barron Trump fair game?

I guess he is now.

Lara Trump being added to the Republican National Committee has already proven to be a disaster. If she doesn't deliver a victory for her father-in-law and the party in the general, she could be ousted.

Barron is now a delegate for the Florida Republican Party. He is now a member of the criticism of the Trump campaign.

Barron will graduate from high school next week and has largely been kept out of the political spotlight, was picked by the Republican Party of Florida on Wednesday night as one of the state’s at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention, according to a list of delegates obtained by NBC News.

“We have a great delegation of grassroots leaders, elected officials and even Trump family members,” Florida GOP chairman Evan Power said. “Florida is continuing to have a great convention team, but more importantly we are preparing to win Florida and win it big.”

Trump’s position as a delegate will be his highest-profile political role thus far.

In a family full of politically involved children, Barron Trump, who turned 18 in March, has retained much more of a private life than his older brothers, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., both of whom will also be Florida at-large RNC delegates, along with Trump’s daughter Tiffany.

He was pulled into political headlines last month at the start of his father’s New York criminal trial related to hush money payments to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election.

The former president’s attorneys argued that he should be allowed a break from trial to attend Barron Trump’s May 17 high school graduation, which Judge Juan Merchan agreed to allow.

A Trump campaign spokesman did not reply to a request for comment.

The Trump family will have an outsize impact on Florida’s RNC delegation.

Eric Trump, the delegation’s chairman, joined Power, the state GOP chairman, on a phone call with party leaders Wednesday night.

Donald Trump has won the state twice, including by more than 3 percentage points during his 2020 failed re-election bid, and the state party has largely lined up behind his presidential bid this year even before he has been formally nominated.

The party was put in a difficult position this cycle with Gov. Ron DeSantis also running for the GOP presidential nomination, but even with their home-state governor in the race, Florida party officials signaled they would back Trump.

In September, party leaders voted to remove a loyalty pledge requirement that would have required GOP presidential candidates to support the eventual Republican nominee to be on the state’s March 19 primary ballot. The proposal was supported by Trump but openly opposed by DeSantis’ campaign.

Beyond Trump family members, the Florida GOP approved several of the former president’s top supporters as RNC at-large delegates.

Others include Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée; Michael Boulous, Tiffany Trump’s husband; former state Attorney General Pam Bondi, a longtime Trump ally who has run pro-Trump super PACs; longtime Trump adviser Sergio Gor; former Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter, a prominent Trump donor; and a series of state-level Republican politicians who took the risk of endorsing Trump over DeSantis.

Wednesday, May 08, 2024

One Lucky Preacher!

An image like this shows the dangers of gun violence.

A murderer tried to ice a preacher.

The religious folks are screaming Hallelujah and Praise Jesus after a Pennsylvania pastor avoided instant death. A man barged into a service and point the barrel of a firearm at the pastor. The gun jammed and the suspect was subdued. It turned out that the shooter had an agenda. He killed his cousin and later tried to take his frustration on innocent civilians.

The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after he tried to shoot a pastor during a sermon that was being livestreamed Sunday, hours before a relative was found dead in a home where the suspect lived, authorities say.

Bernard Junior Polite, 26, of Braddock, had walked into Jesus Dwelling Place Church in the 400 block of Lobinger Avenue in Allegheny County, about 10 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh, just after 1 p.m.

He entered the church and pointed a firearm at the pastor as he was delivering a sermon and attempted to shoot, “but the firearm failed to discharge,” Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release.

The terrifying ordeal was captured on a livestream of Sunday’s sermon that showed the moment Polite, dressed in black, wordlessly approached Glenn Germany preaching on stage and pointed what appeared to be a silver handgun at him.

The pastor ran to a nearby podium, as attendees were heard yelling in shock.

Polite then walked over a bannister in front of the stage and a deacon, Clarence McCallister, ran up behind Polite, put his arms around him and brought him to the ground.

Germany then pried the gun out of Polite’s hands and held him on the ground. State police said that the pastor and a congregation member held Polite until authorities arrived.

“He stood up and he smiled at me, and it was just a smile, but he comes to right here and then all of a sudden that’s when I see him pull a gun and all I could do was just duck and get out of the way,” Germany said to NBC affiliate WPXI of Pittsburgh.

It clicked. You heard him shoot it. So, God jammed the gun so that the bullet didn’t come out,” Germany added.

Pastor tearfully blessed that the gun jammed.

Germany said he even spoke with Polite after the attempted shooting.

“He said, 'Look, spirits was in my mind. They got in my mind and they told me come in and shoot the pastor.' He actually apologized to me. I told him that I forgive you and want you to know that I love you,” Germany explained.

“God had his hands on the pastor,” McCallister told the station. “He wasn’t letting him go nowhere.”

Polite was charged with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person, court records show. He was arraigned around 1:15 a.m. Monday and denied bail, and was being held at Allegheny County Jail.

Hours later, police made a grisly discover at Polite's home.

At 8:15 p.m. Sunday, the Allegheny County Police Department responded to a house in the 500 block of Stokes Avenue in North Braddock and found an adult male, identified as Derek Polite, 56, deceased.

The medical examiner said Derek Polite had been shot. A homicide investigation is underway.

An Allegheny County Police spokesperson said Bernard Polite is a relative of the shooting victim.

"At this point, no charges have been filed in connection with the homicide and it remains an active investigation," police spokesperson Jim Madalinsky said.

A deacon subdued the shooter.

It's not immediately clear if Polite has legal representation. He’s due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 13.

Cindy Davis and Ben Jordan, who live next door to the Polites, told NBC News that they were surprised to hear of the attempted church shooting. Davis described both Bernard Polite and Derek Polite as quiet and nice, noting she’d see Bernard play football with people in the area.

A relative of Bernard and Derek Polite, who did not wish to be identified by name, told NBC News they were at a Cinco de Mayo party when they saw the video of the attempted church shooting on Facebook and people recognized Bernard Polite.

The relative said they drove to Derek Polite’s house to check on him, found him dead and called 911.

The family is “just in total shock,” the relative said. They “don’t have any words … because we just never would’ve imagined it.”

The relative said that Bernard had moved in with Derek several years ago and has a history of mental illness but that there have been no alarming incidents since he has been in the Pittsburgh area.

Allegheny County police also said no one has reported concerns about Bernard in recent weeks to the police department.