NYPD cops conducted a late-night raid on the immigrant-run brothel in New York City on Wednesday, according to officials. The New York Post reported that the raid took place at an immigrant-run brothel located in the infamous “Market of Sweethearts” — a main strip along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens that is notorious for its rampant prostitution.‘But there’s prostitution all over. It’s ridiculous. It’s shameful.’The raid was launched by police officers from the vice squad and the 110th Precinct. Law enforcement officials said prostitutes and johns were arrested in the raid. “This brothel was the worst of the worst. It operates 24 hours,” Queens Democratic district leader Hiram Monserrate told the Post. Monserrate noted that the sex workers are illegal immigrants who are forced into prostitution to pay off debts of up to $50,000 to human traffickers.“The migrant crisis has contributed to the crime — the sheer number who came here in a short period of time. Some of them are part of organized crime rings,” Monserrate added. The news outlet highlighted that immigrant sex workers solicit business on the busy streets while drugs and stolen merchandise are peddled on the sidewalk in broad daylight. Mirella Gutierrez, co-owner of a pharmacy near Roosevelt Avenue, said, “But there’s prostitution all over. It’s ridiculous. It’s shameful.”Guiterrez said her business is hurting because the customers "feel threatened" by the prostitutes and vendors hawking stolen goods. In New York City, prostitution is a class B misdemeanor — punishable by up to 90 days in jail. In January, the NYPD announced that it had shut down a dozen brothels posing as massage parlors in Queens' "Market of Sweethearts" that were rife with “inhumane conditions” during a weeklong operation. However, the Post reported that there were sex workers propositioning potential clients a day after the raids. In a Blaze News exclusive, it was revealed that the violent Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua has infiltrated the United States in unknown numbers and has been targeting desperate immigrants. Tren de Aragua is actively expanding its transnational criminal empire to include kidnapping, extortion, and human trafficking.Tren de Aragua purportedly forces women into prostitution to pay off smuggler debt. If they refuse, the gang members reportedly threaten to murder their family members in Venezuela.In October 2021, Mayor Eric Adams declared that New York City would remain a sanctuary city under his leadership and would welcome undocumented immigrants.However, the Democratic mayor has changed his tune regarding illegal immigration after New York City has been ravaged by a immigrant crisis. In August 2023, Adams warned that the influx of illegal aliens would cost New York City an estimated $12 billion over the next three years.Adams also proclaimed that the Big Apple is "past our breaking point" because of a "broken immigration system."As Blaze News reported in November 2023, Adams admitted that the influx of Venezuelan immigrants had contributed to the increased numbers of prostitutes in New York City. However, Adams claimed that the women turn to prostitution because they can't find work that is legal. Last month, Adams called for changes to New York's sanctuary city laws due to several high-profile crimes committed by immigrants. "What we need to alter are those who are repeat, violent offenders," Adams said. "After they served their time they should be turned over to ICE and be removed from our city." Blaze News previously reported that more than 60% of suspects arrested in Queens are illegal immigrants. As of August, over 210,000 illegal aliens had arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022.Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Readers of Blaze News won't soon forget the headline-grabbing plight of Jose Alba, a 61-year-old worker at a Harlem deli who fatally stabbed a much younger male who was physically attacking him inside the business on July 1, 2022.A female tried to use a benefits card to buy potato chips for her 10-year-old daughter around 11 p.m. at the Bluemoon Convenient Store on Broadway near West 139th Street, the New York Daily News reported. The transaction was declined, the Daily News said, citing the criminal complaint. Amid an argument, prosecutors said Alba reached over the counter, grabbed the girl’s hand, and yanked the chips away, the paper reported.'The restaurant worker was struck [and] hit the ground. ... As he was coming back up, he drew his own legally-owned firearm and fired three shots.'Alba's boss — deli owner Maad Ahmad — told the Daily News the mom became enraged: “The lady threw everything from the counter and the [benefits card reader] machine, too. She said, ‘I’m going to get my man, and he’s going to get you.’”The mother then came back inside the deli with Austin Simon, who got behind the store's counter to confront Alba, the paper said. Security video shows Simon physically attacking Alba — after which Alba grabs a knife that appears to have been stashed behind the counter and starts fighting back, stabbing Simon at least five times in the neck and chest, the Daily News said.Simon was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, WNBC-TV reported. Simon was 35 years old, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.Alba was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge, the Daily News said. He also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, police told WNBC. Alba soon ended up at the notorious Rikers Island prison.But the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was intensely criticized for charging Alba with murder and sending him to Rikers — as well as the $250,000 bail Alba would have to raise to get out. One of Alba's defenders was Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who called Alba "innocent."Soon, Alba was released on a reduced $50,000 bail and maintained he was defending himself against Simon. Pressure mounted daily against Bragg's office to drop charges against Alba. Finally, the DA's office said “a homicide case against Alba could not be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt" as part of a motion to dismiss the case, the New York Times reported, adding that the case won't be presented to a grand jury.The following are nine other times when store employees made thugs pay the ultimate price for physically attacking, threatening, and trying to rob them.Dollar General clerk fatally shoots armed robber in self-defense — but robber's siblings are outraged: 'Yes, he's robbing them. Oh, well! Call the police ... You're not supposed to take matters into your own hands!'Roosevelt Rappley, 23, entered a Dollar General store in Dayton, Ohio, around 6:20 p.m. Oct. 2, 2019, and pulled a firearm, pointed it at several individuals in the store, and demanded money from the clerk, WHIO-TV reported. An employee pulled a gun and shot Rappley in the chest, after which Rappley left the store and collapsed outside, where he died.Rappley's siblings told WHIO it was "wrong" that the employee shot their brother. "He's got some responsibility, but not all," Rappley's sister told the station, adding that it "was wrong for that clerk to shoot my brother in the chest."She continued, "Yes, he's robbing them. Oh, well! Call the police, that's what you're supposed to do. You're not supposed to take matters into your own hands!"The employee said on a 911 call that the shooting was in self-defense: "I just had somebody try to attempt and rob me over here at Dollar General on Gettysburg. Came in with a firearm, threatened to take money out the drawer, pointed a gun at me and my staff members. He pointed a gun at me, I had a firearm on me, I pulled my firearm, and I shot him in self-defense."Charges weren't expected against the employee who shot Rappley.Masked, hooded crook demanding cash pistol-whips restaurant employee. But knocked-down worker turns the tables, pulls his own gun, and shoots suspect dead.Police in Warner Robins, Georgia — which is about a half-hour south of Macon — said a man wearing a mask and a hood and armed with a gun entered the American Philly N Wings on Watson Boulevard around 9:45 p.m. Dec. 5, 2022.The gunman — identified as 23-year-old Joshua Hickey — jumped the counter demanding money and pistol-whipped a male employee amid a struggle for the gun, police told WMAZ-TV."The restaurant worker was struck [and] hit the ground," police Sgt. Justin Clark noted to the station. "As he was coming back up, he drew his own legally-owned firearm and fired three shots at Mr. Hickey. Mr. Hickey was struck twice and fled on foot."Officers found Hickey on Vernon Drive and took him to a hospital, where he died, the station said. Police concluded that the restaurant employee was acting in self-defense, WMAZ said.Knife-wielding Harlem fishmonger 'was like a machine' when he stabbed 2 brothers — 1 fatally — who were physically attacking co-workers in seafood marketThe New York Post reported that Junior Aquino Hernandez, 34 — a father of four with no criminal priors — was working at the Fish Express Fish Market in Harlem on the night of Feb. 21, 2023, when an individual came in and attempted to steal some product.Pedro Laza, a 60-year-old witness, told the Post that Robert Burrell, 29, "tried to stick a lobster down his pants." A police source told the Post that the alleged thief punched an employee then fled the store only to return with his brother four minutes later.When Burrell and his 25-year-old brother Malik returned, they reportedly went straight to the employee-only area behind the counter, where a fight broke out between the brothers and the fishmongers.During the melee, Francisco Morales — a worker at the market — had his teeth knocked out, reported the Daily Mail. Hernandez's tried to break up the fight but was interrupted when Robert Burrell threw a chair at another cook, the DA's office said.Prosecutors alleged that Hernandez grabbed a fish knife and rushed to defend his coworker, ultimately stabbing both brothers, first Malik and then Robert, who dragged his wounded brother out the door. "Nobody stopped him stabbing," said Laza. "He was like a machine."Both brothers were rushed to Harlem Hospital, where Malik Burrell died; Robert Burrell survived with a punctured lung and other injuries. Zaimar Eusebio, the mother of Robert Burrell's daughter, remarked after seeing the body of the deceased, "His whole stomach was out." The father of the Burrell brothers told the Post, "My sons were good kids, they ain't get in no trouble, they not no hard criminals. ... I'm crushed, man, I'm hurt. I can't believe my boy was killed over some shrimps. They killed my baby on his birthday."Hernandez initially was charged with murder, assault, and weapons possession.But Manuel Perez, the manger of the establishment, said the Burrell brothers "broke the door and started hitting one of the employees that took the shrimp from them. They broke his face, his mouth, he was in really bad shape." Perez added that only when the "fight got really bad did Hernandez intervene with the knife."Robert Burrell — who was charged in 2019 with felony assault — was charged in the February 2023 incident with robbery, burglary, and assault, the NYPD said.In an about-face, however, the DA soon dropped the murder charge against Hernandez and released him from custody, stating that "we are not prepared to go forward with the charges related to the death of Malik pending a full investigation" but "we are, however, filing charges with regard to the incident at the door for the stabbing of Robert Burrell."A high-ranking police source told WCBS-TV that surveillance video will inform prosecutors on how to proceed, noting that if Hernandez is seen "fighting them off with a knife, that's one thing. If he's charging at them with the knife, that's something else entirely."Armed crook tries to rob Seattle smoke shop, opens fire at co-owner. But wounded victim is armed, too — and blows crook away. Seattle police said a 30-year-old male entered King Smoke Shop at 7758 15th Ave. NW just after 4 p.m. Feb. 20, 2023, and tried to rob the store, KING-TV reported. The station said the suspect shot at the employee, who returned fire.Responding police attempted life-saving measures on the suspect, who died at the scene, KING reported, adding that officers discovered the shop's co-owner also was shot.Community members made tourniquets out of belts for the co-owner while waiting for medics to arrive, KING said, adding that the 38-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition.A man who preferred to remain anonymous told the station he was in his car when he saw the suspect fall to the ground."I was at that red light, making a right turn, and the individual, as you can see where the police [are] standing right now, that's where he fell," the man told the station. "So literally like feet away from me."The man added to KING that "the guy came stumbling out with a gun in his left hand, and he fell face-first onto the sidewalk, or into the parking lot right here. And as he fell, the gun left his hand." He added to the station that he called 911, and police were on the scene in a matter of minutes.Would-be robber attempts stickup of Chicago auto parts store, but the manager of the business shoots him dead instead, police sayAn apparent good guy with a gun turned the tables on an armed robber at a Chicago auto parts store on April 1, 2023.The would-be robber between 30 and 40 years old entered the O'Reilly Auto Parts store in the Calumet Heights neighborhood, flashed a firearm, and demanded the manager hand over money from the store's cash register, according to the Chicago Police Department.But the store manager, who police said is a valid Firearm Owner's Identification cardholder, shot the would-be robber instead.Police said the suspect was rushed to the University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries. Police had not identified him at the time of the report. While they were investigating the shooting, no charges had been filed against the store owner, who seemingly acted in self-defense.Masked, hooded crook actually tries to steal gun from gun store while armed with hammer, cops say. But gun store owner (of course) wields much deadlier weapon.A masked, hooded male tried to steal a gun from a gun store in Livermore, California, on Oct. 22, 2023 — and did so while armed with a hammer, police said.As you might imagine, the gun store owner had a much deadlier weapon at his disposal and fatally shot the would-be robber, police said.Police said their investigation revealed that a 28-year-old male from Redwood City entered East Bay Firearms in the 4000 block of First Street around 2:30 p.m. wearing a mask, gloves, and a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head while "acting suspicious." The male then tried to rob the gun store by taking a firearm while armed with a hammer, police said, citing witness statements.Police said the gun store owner fired two rounds, fatally wounding the main. Police said they found the man suffering from a gunshot wound when they arrived at the scene, and they, along with paramedics, performed lifesaving measures, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.Police said the gun store owner was cooperating with the investigation, was not a suspect in a crime at the time, and that it appears the incident was a case of self-defense.Would-be robber tries to hold up Dollar General in Philadelphia with what later turns out to be a toy gun. Unwise move, as the store manager has a real gun and promptly puts down the threat.A 36-year-old male barged into the Dollar General at 9th Street and Girard Avenue in Philadelphia around 8:30 p.m. March 24, 2022, demanding a cashier empty her register, WPVI-TV reported.The threatened cashier alerted her 45-year-old manager, who reportedly tried to talk to the suspect and reason with him — but the manager's de-escalation attempts weren't enough. "The manager came over, attempted to talk to him. The suspect then said again, 'I have a gun, give me all your money,'" Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace told reporters. Police said the suspect then brandished what appeared to be a handgun wrapped in plastic. That's when the manager, who's licensed to carry a firearm, allegedly shot the suspect twice, striking him at least once in the head. Emergency responders tried to resuscitate the suspect, but he died at the scene. WCAU-TV later reported that the suspect actually was carrying a toy gun that he had wrapped in plastic to make it look like a real gun. Police said the store manager acted quickly to put down the threat. He wasn't expected to face any charges.Manager of Dollar General in Texas fatally shoots would-be robber who brandished what turned out to be an airsoft gun, police sayA 30-year-old suspect walked into the Dollar General in the 15000 block of Ella Boulevard in Houston on Dec. 20, 2023, and threatened to shoot an employee while demanding that he open the store's safe. That employee told the male suspect that he didn't know the safe's code and promptly called the store manager.But the manager came out with his own gun and allegedly shot the suspect twice.Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the suspect got into a gold-colored Jaguar and fled the scene only to crash into a metro bus only about 50 yards from the store. The suspect passed out in the car after the crash, was transported to a hospital in critical condition, and was pronounced dead later.“It appears he had been bleeding out based on some of the evidence we're seeing inside the vehicle and collided with a METRO bus that was here and eventually came to a stop,” Gonzalez explained.Five passengers departed the bus and left the scene before police arrived, and the driver was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.Gonzalez added that the suspect was armed with an airsoft gun, which employs springs and compressed air for firing nonlethal plastic pellets.“But again, they look very realistic, and at the time when somebody's facing that at gunpoint, they don't know what kind of pistol it is," he also said, adding that police believed the suspect's Jaguar was involved in another incident days before the shooting.KPRC-TV reported that a grand jury will decide if the manager should face any charges over the lethal shooting. You can view a video report here about the incident.Texas store owner guns down two thugs who physically attacked, tried to rob him in botched 'jugging' incident, police sayHouston police believe two suspects killed outside of a family-owned convenience store were trying to rob the owner in a "jugging" incident on Aug. 16, 2023.The owner of Ruiz Cash & Carry in the city's East End went to the bank and came back to the business. Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head with a blunt object, and he turned to see masked men wearing gloves attacking him. He fired his gun at them, and a store employee who heard the commotion also fired at the suspects.Both of the suspects died at the scene, while a third suspect was caught on video driving away from in a newer model black Lincoln Navigator with Texas license plate RTS-3919. Police said there has been a rise in "jugging" incidents, in which robbery suspects identify victims at ATMs or banks and follow them in order to eventually rob them.The daughter of one of the store's employees spoke to KHOU-TV and said it was not the first time robbers targeted the store.“It scares us just because a situation like that had already happened here," Jacqueline Hernandez said.You can view a video report here about the incident.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Former President Donald Trump claimed on the debate stage that Springfield, Ohio, is in ruins after an influx of Haitian migrants — and the media took the opportunity to call him crazy. But was he right? In a post on X from journalist Nick Sortor, he explains that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is sending $2.5 million and state troopers to Springfield because “Haitian migrants are creating health and traffic issues.” “These dramatic surges impact every citizen of the community, every citizen,” DeWine reportedly said. Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” isn’t surprised that the mainstream media is reporting the opposite. “We’re getting all sorts of wild reports, on one hand, from MSNBC saying ‘there’s nothing to see there whatsoever. There’s no evidence of any crime, any problems, or anything else,’ to all sorts of audio, of 911 calls, of people saying they’re seeing these things happen,” Rubin says. Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s from Ohio himself, has an idea of why this is being covered up. “I think it is a divide-and-conquer strategy from the top, from the Biden-Harris administration. It’s a classic move,” Ramaswamy tells Rubin. “If you’re literally going to take tens of thousands of migrants from a country that are not ready yet to assimilate in the United States, don’t speak the language, may not speak it or understand it well enough to follow traffic laws, require social services at a scale much greater than even people who already live here, you are necessarily inviting some kind of backlash from that community,” he continues. “I don’t blame the Haitians who are there, I don’t blame the native residents of Springfield, I blame the policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he adds. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee grilled the U.S. Army's deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and training this week over the recent revelation that nearly 10,000 soldiers at North Carolina's Fort Liberty — called Fort Bragg prior to the Biden-Harris administration — were trained to believe that pro-life organizations qualify as "terrorist groups." Lt. Gen. Patrick Matlock suggested during the Thursday hearing that corrective action has been taken, though he was altogether light on details, refusing to indicate whether someone had actually been fired, suspended, and/or demoted for likening champions of the unborn to mass-killing jihadists. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chairman of the subcommittee on military personnel, and members from both parties did not appear to be buying what Matlock was selling — especially his piece about accountability. "I think the reason that you can't answer the question is because you know and we know that no one has ever been held accountable for this training that started in 2017 and occurred until a few months ago," said Banks. "I think that's a big embarrassment for the U.S. Army." "It's dangerous; it's a bad pattern," added Banks, who stressed at the outset that the Biden-Harris Pentagon and the U.S. Army are undermining the First Amendment and "targeting conservative speech and values." Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) suggested that letting this happen for nearly seven years and then remaining mum on what the consequences are when finally called out serve only to "increase the recidivism of this type of behavior." "He's literally saying that we have no idea whether or not it's going on in other locations in the Army," said Florida Rep. Cory Mills (R). "We have no idea whether or not this is continuing as it has for seven-plus years." 'Peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled "terrorists."' Blaze News previously reported that a slide from the Fort Liberty anti-terrorism awareness training session was posted on social media on July 10 by DOD whistleblower Samuel Shoemate. Shoemate received the image from a U.S. Army soldier who sat through the training meeting. That same soldier told Blaze News, "The briefing was simply a class on how to be a gate guard and what to look for when on duty." "Gate guard duty is something all of us have to do from time to time. It was presented by a DOD civilian, not an anti-terrorism officer," added the soldier. The offending slide, which appeared immediately after a section on the mass-raping, mass-killing jihadist group ISIS, was labeled "Terrorist Groups" and featured the logos of National Right to Life and Operation Rescue. It also featured an image of a customized "Choose Life" license plate — the kind sold in at least 33 states and the District of Columbia to help raise money for crisis pregnancy centers. The slide noted that extra to opposing "Row [sic] v Wade," these supposed terrorist groups engage in picketing, demonstrations and protest, and mass sidewalk counseling. "Only under the Biden administration can peaceful law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered 'terrorism,'" NRL president Carol Tobias responded at the time. "The Biden administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled 'terrorists.'" Blaze News' Steve Baker, the investigative journalist who originally spoke to the soldier who first exposed the pro-life group's misleading characterization in the Army briefing, said, "That slide is devastating." "Can you imagine a soldier's wife with one of these pro-life bumper stickers, of which there are millions across the country, pulling up to a guard gate at Fort Liberty or Fort Wherever, and all of a sudden, the guard who sat through that training where that slide was showed ... immediately figures the soldier's wife and the two kids in the back seat for terrorists on the level of ISIS?" said Baker. Despite the appearance that the Army has an issue with Americans harboring pro-life views, Matlock alleged Thursday that the Army is unbiased, that there was "no political motivation behind the training," and that the issue was localized. 'Bull****. This is systemic.' Baker cast doubt on Matlock's claims. The Army initially implied in July that the slide was an aberration, stating that "the slides presented on social media were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities" and that they "do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense." However, Baker noted that military whistleblower Samuel Shoemate of Terminal CWO was soon inundated with calls and messages from all over the country "saying, basically, 'bull****. This is systemic. We've seen it in our own bases and in our own briefings.'" Baker underscored that the systemic antipathy for Americans with pro-life views at the Pentagon has made its way down to the lowest rungs but that this ideological capture has been years in the making. "The decapitation and replacement of the military's leadership began in earnest during the Obama administration," said Baker. The bulk of the top brass were "dismissed and replaced for nothing more than philosophical and political reasons." Now, the senior leadership is largely made up of political activists, said Baker. Baker's recent exclusive report about how the Pentagon dropped the ball on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot highlighted the fallout in the military of the prioritization of politics over strategy and effectiveness. Baker and Joseph M. Hanneman detailed various indications that career officials at the Pentagon interfered with the deployment of the National Guard on Jan. 6 over fear of bad "optics." "This can only be solved by the next commander in chief," said Baker. "He's the only one that can solve it. He's the only one that will have the authority to go in and replace those political activist generals, admirals, and the rest of the leadership within the Pentagon, both enlisted and civilian." It's clear which commander in chief Baker has in mind. "It's not going to be fixed under a Harris-Walz administration, because this activism falls in line with their ideals, their values, their desire to use the military as a social engineering playground," said the investigative journalist. Subcommittee Chairman Banks noted in his prepared remarks, "The Army is using an overly broad policy to police the speech of conservative service members, quiet dissent, and require service members who believe in conservative ideals to hide their identities for fear of retaliation from their commands." Danielle Runyan, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, the legal outfit representing the whistleblower, said in a statement Thursday, "Once again, the Army was caught exercising clear viewpoint discrimination in their training slides — offering that some views and religious exercise are worthy of punishment." "We are thankful the House Armed Services Committee and the 88 members who sent a letter to the Army are committed to holding their feet to the fire. The flagrant lack of political neutrality in our military must be rectified immediately," added Runyan. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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