If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Colorado’s government has consented to a settlement requiring it to disburse more than $1.5 million in attorney fees to Lorie Smith, a graphic designer who won in a First Amendment challenge against the state’s anti-discrimination law. This legal resolution, announced on Tuesday, follows a definitive Supreme Court verdict that Colorado’s attempt to coerce Smith into designing wedding websites for same-sex couples violated her free speech rights, in conflict with her religious beliefs. We obtained a copy of the final judgement for you here. The case, known as 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which we first covered back in 2022, was decisively settled earlier this year when a federal district court ruled that Colorado must stop mandating Smith to engage in speech that contradicts her convictions. “After enduring Colorado’s censorship for nearly seven years, I’m incredibly grateful for the work of my attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom to bring my case to victory,” Smith stated, in a press release sent to Reclaim The Net, appreciating the efforts of her legal team. She added, “As the Supreme Court said, I’m free to create art consistent with my beliefs without fear of Colorado punishing me anymore.” The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision last June reinforced this stance, stating that Colorado’s enforcement of public accommodations law to compel Smith amounted to forced speech. Justice Neil Gorsuch, authoring the opinion for the majority, pointed out that the law was an attempt by Colorado “to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Colorado Agrees to Settlement in First Amendment Case Where Designer Was Coerced into Same-Sex Wedding Website Design appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Texas Representative Steve Toth of The Woodlands, a Republican, has proposed a legislative measure known as the Women and Child Safety Act. This bill includes a mix of criminal and civil mandates, targeting a wide range of activities associated with abortion. If enacted, the law would restrict online conversations surrounding the topic. We obtained a copy of the bill for you here. The act stipulates serious legal consequences for anyone involved in manufacturing, distributing, or even discussing abortion-inducing drugs. It goes as far as to outlaw the hosting or facilitating of online speech that could assist in obtaining these medications. Additionally, the legislation seeks to prevent the dissemination of information about accessing abortion pills. This includes creating or managing websites and applications that might facilitate such access. It would also expose a wide array of tech companies to civil lawsuits if they fail to block Texas residents from accessing certain abortion-related content. The bill states: “Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may not… provide information on how to obtain an abortion-inducing drug;” and “create, edit, upload, publish, host, maintain, or register a domain name for an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service that assists or facilitates a person’s effort in obtaining an abortion-inducing drug.”​ The bill further states: “Civil action against interactive computer service provider… a person… has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against a person who provides or maintains: an interactive computer service that allows residents of this state to access information or material that assists or facilitates efforts to obtain elective abortions or abortion-inducing drugs.” This could force platforms to block all accounts associated with abortion discussions or restrict access to Texas residents entirely—an approach that might be unworkable given current technological limitations. The implications for free speech are profound, as blocking access to legal content based on location undermines the fundamental principles of free expression upheld by the First Amendment. The act also contains peculiar provisions regarding legal defenses. It states that reliance on a court ruling that may later be overturned is no defense for actions taken under the bill. This eliminates the ability to argue that one was complying with the law at the time of the alleged violation, setting a precarious legal precedent. The bill clearly rubs up against the First Amendment by enabling private lawsuits to enforce provisions that might otherwise be deemed unconstitutional. The act’s disclaimer, which asserts that it does not prohibit speech protected by the First Amendment, is merely nominal, doing little to mitigate the broader implications of censorship. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Texas Bill Would Restrict Online Conversation Surrounding Abortion appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, the company behind one of the world’s most popular games, Fortnite, has been vocal in his support for the principles that Brendan Carr, President-Elect Trump’s new chair pick for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), stands for, particularly regarding free speech and the fight against excessive control by tech monopolies. In a series of tweets, Sweeney emphasized the chilling effects of gatekeeper censorship and lauded the actions that counter such restrictive measures, indirectly aligning his views with those championed by Carr. On Sunday, Carr, currently the senior Republican member of the FCC and a nominee of President-elect Trump from 2017, was designated as the next Chairman of the FCC, to take office in January. Trump lauded Carr’s extensive service in a statement, pointing out that Carr had been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and his term would extend until 2029. The president-elect expressed his confidence in Carr’s leadership, stating, “His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.” Supporting Carr, Tim Sweeney expressed his concerns about large tech companies, like Apple and Google, that have threatened to block apps like X from their platforms and have engaged in what he describes as purges of privacy apps in certain countries. “Gatekeeper censorship and chilling of speech is very real. Apple tried to silence me and ban my company, Epic Games, from competing with Apple under Europe’s Digital Markets Act on account of my speech criticizing Apple and their practices,” Sweeney wrote. “American freedom of speech will exist in name only if private monopolies have free rein to censor or shadowban the opinions of Americans they dislike or disagree with.” Moreover, Sweeney highlighted how entities like the European Commission have had to intervene to protect competition and free speech, steps that he suggests should be a model for US policy. These comments reinforce a shared stance with Carr, who has also been vocal about ensuring fair competition and guarding against the monopolistic tendencies of Big Tech firms. Sweeney added: “What this is really about is a simple principle: We can’t allow companies that are adjudicated monopolists over search, social media, or app distribution to use their power to gain monopolies over ideas. Their services are, in a very real sense, public commons in which billions of free citizens engage in public discourse. These channels must remain open and free.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Backs Brendan Carr’s Fight to Curb Big Tech Power appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Will Democrats Ever Get Tired of Losing?

House Speaker: Biology Matters on Capitol Hill

Before we get into the details of the opening segment of today's CNN This Morning, there's a broader, more significant, point to be made. There was none of the catastrophization of Trump that the liberal media dished out throughout the campaign. No talk about existential threats to democracy, Trump as Hitler, this election being the last, etc. Instead, the focus was on Trump as a cultural, as well as a political, phenomenon. But before host Kasie Hunt ventured into that, she mocked Joe Biden in a manner that could have been made into a Republican ad before Ol' Joe quit the race. As the show rolled video of Biden in the Brazilian Amazon, turning his back to the camera and walking off, Hunt said: "President Biden prepares to step off the world stage this week, here he was in Brazil earlier this week. The first sitting president to visit the Amazon, seeming to [dramatic pause] wander into the jungle [shakes head]. He missed this group photo of the G20 leaders, apparently due to a scheduling conflict." Ouch! Hunt promptly segued into calling Trump's nominees a "made-for-TV cast of characters," and rolled video clips of a number of them (some of them quite dated) making unusual, shall we say, statements! She also quoted liberal Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) quipping "we're becoming the world's first nuclear-armed reality television show." Hunt began the segment by saying "it's increasingly clear it is Donald Trump's world, and we're just living in it."  That's a far cry from what you might have imagined an MSM host saying just a few weeks ago. Something along the lines: "We risk being plunged into a Trumpian hellscape in which neither we as individuals, nor the republic itself, are likely to survive!" And speaking of Trump's cultural influence, the show displayed a clip of a UFC fighter [with Trump in attendance] doing the Trump dance after his victory. And Hunt later observed: "This idea of Trump as a cultural force, right? . . . The Trump dance in particular. We have now seen kind of across sports fields, there does seem to be a sense that there were people who were not publicly embracing Trump, who, in the wake of the election results, seem willing to do that." Indeed. For that matter, "in the wake of the election results," we've seen two virulent Trump antagonists on another network make the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago! At the end of the segment, Hunt expressed shock that Elon Musk has turned up in Trump family photos, with CNN analyst Mark Preston calling it "bizarro." Nothing bizarre at all, considering that as one Trump family member has described it, Musk has achieved "uncle status." Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning  11/20/24 6:00 am ET KASIE HUNT: This morning, it's increasingly clear it is Donald Trump's world, and we're just living in it.  The most powerful rocket ever built, blasting off from Texas yesterday with its creator, Elon Musk, looking on with the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, wearing a hat, said 45 and 47. Making the trip with his billionaire buddy to take in the launch just days after they both attended a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden, where the winner did Trump's signature dance after the knockout.  All of this, as President Biden prepares to step off the world stage. Here he was in Brazil earlier this week. The first sitting president to visit the Amazon seeming to wander into the jungle. He missed this the group photo of the G20 leaders, apparently due to a [pauses] scheduling conflict.  He is stepping off the stage as this made-for-TV cast of characters steps on stage for the new Trump administration. DR. OZ: This is what forced golden [?] does to your belly fat [lights a yellow balloon which instantly goes up in flames.] Whoa! LINDA MCMAHON: [In the ring, speaking to a fighter wearing a F-CK Fear t-shirt] You wanna stay on, you gotta play by the rules. But it's up to you, Steve. PETE HEGSETH: [On Fox News set] I don't think I've washed my hands for ten years. [Other hosts are shocked.] Really? I don't, I don't really wash myhands, ever.  ACTOR: I think not. That's what kind of house we live in. It's pretty sad.  DONALD TRUMP: [From The Apprentice, speaking to a contestant.] The branding absolutely missed the mark. You were in charge of branding. Star: you're fired. . . .  MARK PRESTON: It is amazing to have the wealthiest one of, you know, one of the most powerful person in the world, right next to Donald Trump. And then you have to wonder: they're buddies, right now. But I don't know very many relationships that, that Donald Trump, you know, fosters and maintains. HUNT: Well, it's often hard for two egos to—let's be candid, male egos of this size—to stand next to each other in the same space for a long time, particularly with these two.  But Meagan Hays, the Democratic congressman, Jim Himes, who is, to be clear, a serious guy on the Intelligence Committee, he said this, quote, "we're becoming the world's first nuclear-armed reality television show." MEGHAN HAYS: I mean, he's not wrong. Everyone running for the cabinet has been been on TV. Who knew that was the pipeline to being a cabinet secretary or be qualified to run major agencies in a government?  . . .  HUNT: Stephen, the other piece, part of your piece, that stood out to me as well, and that I think that some of what we just saw captured a little bit of on video, is this idea of Trump as a cultural force, right? You wrote a little bit about that. The Trump dance in particular. We have now seen kind of across sports fields, there does seem to be a sense that there were people who were not publicly embracing Trump, who, in the wake of the election results, seem willing to do that.  And that, that cultural shift stood out to me as much in kind of thinking through what we had today newswise, as anything else. . . .  There's also been some conversations about the ways in which these two men [Trump and Musk] are alike, Mark, in ways that I mean, let's be candid, right? Donald Trump has the kind of profile. There's not a ton of people out in the world that he necessarily could relate to, right? That are on his same level. But these two men, both share fame. They share in particular, you know, fathers that both describe as, you know, overbearing and very prominent in the early years of their lives.  And I mean, to Stephen's point, if they do sustain this relationship, there is a ton at stake. PRESTON: Look, there's probably a bond there, to your point, that, that we don't quite even understand yet. That's still developing. HUNT: I mean, he's in the family photos! PRESTON: Which is bizarro, which is bizarro.

Vanity Fair special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast joined Wednesday’s edition of Morning Joe on MSNBC and offered up a rather confusing definition for the word “differently.” Echoing her latest article on the same subject, Jong-Fast told the table that the media needs to cover Donald Trump differently this time, which means the media should focus more on “democracy, democratic values, norms, and institutions, the structures that keep America, America,” which is not different at all. Jong-Fast began by noting she has been trying to figure out how her election predictions ended up being so wrong, “I’m on my self-reflection tour.”     Co-host Mika Brzezinski then interrupted to kick-start an unsolicited self-affirmation therapy session, “Yes, and I like that better. I just need to give you your Know Your Value advice right now. I don't want to hear ‘I'm sorry’ on your podcast, on your social, or on this show. No, you have great insights and you have a great knowledge and there are things you—we are all are learning.” Eventually, Jong-Fast got the segment back on track and declared, “So, I just wanted to sort of—we are in it for four years, right? This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. We need to protect norms and institutions and not focus on the aesthetic problems with Trumpism. So, the first time there was a lot of, like, he uses vulgar language, offended by things and more to focus on the norms and institutions.” She continued, “The war on woke is vague, right? The war on woke is vague. You saw reporting that had these people, Trump voters saying that Trump defeated woke, right? So, that's vague. But the structural things that Trump might do to try to fight woke could end up undermining democracy. So, I feel like more focused on democracy, democratic values, norms, and institutions, the structures that keep America, America and less focused on the aesthetic problems of Trumpism.” The media has spent the last several years claiming Trump represents a threat to norms, democracy, and institutions, the voters just didn’t buy it. Brzezinski and fellow co-host and husband Joe Scarborough even claimed to meet with Trump personally to discuss “threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets.” Even with Trump’s cabinet selections, there’s been lots of discourse about such things. Perhaps Jong-Fast should stay on that self-reflection tour a little longer. Here is a transcript for the November 20 show: MSNBC Morning Joe 11/20/2024 9:16 AM ET MOLLY JONG-FAST: I’m on my self-reflection tour. MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yes, and I like that better. I just need to give you your Know Your Value advice right now. I don't want to hear "I'm sorry" on your podcast, on your social, or on this show. No, you have great insights and you have a great knowledge and there are things you—we all are learning. JONG-FAST: Yeah. BRZEZINSKI: Okay. So, continue. JOE SCARBOROUGH: By the way, that's how she starts all of her Know Your Value conferences. So, it’s not about you.  [Crosstalk] She’s always saying don't say I'm sorry for doing, you know, what you're trying to do. BRZEZINSKI: It’s just a bad way to start. You can be wrong. SCARBOROUGH: Right. JONG-FAST: I have to say it – BRZEZINSKI: We're not here perfect. JONGI-FAST: Mika, you've been — the things you suggested to me have actually always been right. BRZEZINSKI: Always been right. So, I'll take it. I'll take it. SCARBOROUGH: Just let her say that and not you, sweetie. Go ahead. JONG-FAST: So, I just wanted to sort of — we are in it for four years, right? This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. We need to protect norms and institutions and not focus on the aesthetic problems with Trumpism. So, the first time there was a lot of, like, he uses vulgar language, offended by things and more to focus on the norms and institutions.  So, is this damage, like, the war on woke is vague, right? The war on woke is vague. You saw reporting that had these people, Trump voters saying that Trump defeated woke, right? So, that's vague. But the structural things that Trump might do to try to fight woke could end up undermining democracy. So, I feel like more focused on democracy, democratic values, norms, and institutions, the structures that keep America, America and less focused on the aesthetic problems of Trumpism.

Two unidentified men who incited rioters on January 6, captured video throughout the U.S. Capitol for hours, and stood feet from Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt when she was shot are drawing new attention as the fourth anniversary of the tragic day looms. A Blaze News video investigation found that the duo assisted and shadowed a large group of protesters from the Capitol’s West Plaza to the House Speaker’s Lobby before Babbitt was fatally shot. The pair later met secretly with U.S. Capitol Police at the edge of Capitol grounds and shared at least one video clip as evidence before the Babbitt shooting investigation was even officially under way. Capitol Police did not make a video or audio recording of their talks with the men. One of the men sat in an unmarked squad car and showed USCP special agents at least some of his video, security footage reviewed by Blaze News showed. 'What evil do you think he is up to?' The men have been the subject of intense social media speculation for some time. They warranted just a few paragraphs in the now-closed Babbitt shooting investigation conducted by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department. Nicknamed “Frick and Frack” by a YouTube satirist, the men have long been considered important material witnesses in the killing of Babbitt, 35, of San Diego. They have not been publicly identified, arrested by the FBI, or charged by federal prosecutors. As the FBI Jan. 6 arrest total heads toward 1,600, it’s not fully clear how aggressive the bureau will continue to be in the wake of former President Donald J. Trump’s landslide re-election on Nov. 5. Despite a reported DOJ decision to focus only on violent cases leading up to Jan. 20, the FBI recently arrested a 74-year-old cancer patient for nonviolent Jan. 6 misdemeanors. Analyzing more than 22,000 hours of Capitol Police security video posted on Rumble by a U.S. House committee, Blaze News tracked the movements of Frick and Frack from the early violence on the West Plaza to their meeting with police and to them walking west away from Capitol grounds at 4 p.m. Babbitt, an Air Force and National Guard veteran who came to Washington, D.C., to hear then-President Trump speak, was shot at nearly point-blank range at 2:44 p.m. by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. She died a half-hour later at a Washington hospital. The death was classified a homicide by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to pursue charges against Byrd, who said he feared for his life when the 5'2" Babbitt began climbing into the window. 'I cannot believe I am witnessing this. A woman was shot and is dead!' The shooting triggered a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government brought by Judicial Watch Inc. on behalf of widower Aaron Babbitt and his late wife’s estate. The DOJ secured a change of venue from Babbitt’s hometown of San Diego to the friendly confines of federal district court in Washington, D.C. Judicial Watch is appealing the change of venue. The suit is proceeding into discovery. As that litigation and the extensive investigation that underpins it begin their long journey through the federal courts, questions have grown about the identities of more than a dozen material witnesses who either took part in rioting near the Speaker’s Lobby entrance or captured video that could be valuable evidence in the shooting. Frick and Frack are prominent on that list. The list of unidentified material witnesses (see chart) includes #RedOnRedGlasses (second from top left), a provocateur captured on video apparently launching a long two-by-four like a javelin through a window at the Senate Wing Door at 2:12 p.m., creating the first breach of the Capitol Building. Nearly two dozen material witnesses to the shooting of Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6, 2021, have not been publicly identified or questioned about what they saw outside the Speaker‘s Lobby. Sam Montoya/Open Source Video Open-source videos reviewed by Blaze News from the hallways near the main U.S. House entrance show #RedOnRed attempting to kick in heavy wooden office doors. He ended up in the front line at the Speaker’s Lobby entrance. Babbitt nearly landed on his feet when she fell back to the floor, mortally wounded. Despite ample video evidence of his acts — and clear video views of his face — the man has not been publicly identified or arrested by the FBI. #MrFlyEyes (upper right) attempted to kick in the Speaker’s Lobby doors after three Capitol Police officers abandoned their post guarding the entrance, video showed. His phone indicated he was capturing video during the melee. #PushyKeffiyeh and #NoProHelmet (lower left) operated at least four cameras during and after the shooting. It is not known if their video — or footage captured by potentially dozens of others — was sought or obtained by police. Frick and Frack The somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to the pair of key witnesses as “Frick and Frack” is drawn from 20th century American pop culture. A world-famous comedic skating duo known as Frick and Frack performed spectacular on-ice feats for tens of millions of U.S. fans from 1939 until late 1953. Their ice-folly antics and derring-do seemed to defy the laws of physics. Their on-rink names have since become synonymous with a closely matched set or a pair of inseparable friends. Comedic ice skating duo and Ice Follies touring show members Frick and Frack, circa 1950. "Frick" (Werner Groebli) is seen on the left, and "Frack" (Hans Rudolf "Hansruedi" Mauch) is on the right. Photo by European/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images At the Capitol, the 21st-century Frick and Frack were always within feet of each other during a crucial two-hour span on Jan. 6, Capitol Police security video revealed. When crowds of protesters pressed around them, Frick held onto Frack’s backpack to make sure they did not get separated in Capitol hallways. Despite their ample presence on closed-circuit security cameras and open-source video, Frick and Frack do not appear on the FBI’s Jan. 6 most-wanted page or the “Perp Sheet” page maintained by the online sleuths of Sedition Hunters. However, Frick is listed as Insider 2047 and Frack is Insider 2325 on the Sedition Hunters' list of 3,268 “Sedition Insiders” who entered the Capitol. Sedition Hunters added a page devoted to Frack on March 4 that included nine photographs. That page, however, is not hot-linked to Frack’s thumbnail photo on the Sedition Insiders page. A reader would have to search the site by insider number or hashtag (#BehindTheLineGuy) to find the detail page. Neither page shows that Frack has been identified by law enforcement. According to Sedition Hunters, 815 people on the insiders list have been identified but not arrested. On social media, Sedition Hunters published Frack’s photo with a green “Identified” label on it but did not provide his name. When questioned on July 21 by X user Silvio Costa about the identity of Frick and Frack, Sedition Hunters posted: “Why do you assume they are not Trump supporters?? I mean seriously?? The guy in the red hat is a family nurse practitioner that lives in California. What evil do you think he is up to[?]” When Costa asked how Sedition Hunters knew the man is a “family nurse practitioner,” he did not get a response. Elsewhere in the same thread, Sedition Hunters wrote, “The FBI knows exactly who these two men are.” The post did not indicate how Sedition Hunters was aware of this. Blaze News reached out to Sedition Hunters for more information but did not receive a reply by press time. Based on video and photo evidence from Jan. 6, Frack appeared to be about 35 years old and 6 feet tall with a husky build, dark hair, and a thick, dark beard. Frick was about 55, 5'7" tall, balding with a grey mustache, and slimmer build but with a potbelly. According to video, Frick threw off his primary role as an observer at the bottom of the Northwest Steps by leaning police bicycle-rack barricades against the massive balustrade to help protesters climb onto the stone railing and move up to the Capitol. This is what Jan. 6 prosecutors have typically labeled as participation in a riot or “storming the Capitol.” The provocateur and shooting witness known only as “Frick” used bicycle racks to help protesters climb onto the balustrade of the Northwest Steps at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Department of Justice Video released by the U.S. Department of Justice showed Frick placing two such makeshift ladders in place. He also handed up what appeared to be a piece of lumber to rioters above. Similar battering rams were used in various places on the Capitol grounds to smash windows on Jan. 6, including the one to the right of the Senate Wing Door just after 2:10 p.m. Frack also apparently placed a section of bicycle rack against the side of the stairway that was used by dozens of people to climb onto the balustrade. Video shot by journalist Ford Fischer showed Frack grabbing and handing two sections of bike-rack barrier up to protesters 10 feet above him. Frack took a long section of heavy cardboard tubing as if to hand it up to those standing above him, but he leaned the ramrod against the balustrade instead, video showed. A similar-looking tube was used to smash windows adjacent to the Lower West Terrace tunnel later that day. Bodycam footage from an unknown MPD officer walking nearby at 2:03 p.m. showed Frick and Frack pausing their activity at the balustrade to watch brawls that broke out between rioters and police just north of the West Plaza. This included hand-to-hand combat, with some rioters trying to wrestle riot sticks from police and others discharging bear spray at officers. The entire crowd — including provocateur witnesses Frick and Frack (inset) — watch a brawl between rioters and Metropolitan Police near the Capitol‘s West Plaza just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.Metropolitan Police Department bodycam A three-man undercover team from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Electronic Surveillance Unit was in this same area a short time later, according to video from one of the officers leaked on the video platform Rumble in March 2023. They walked up the Northwest Steps about 10 minutes after Frick and Frack. Investigator Nicholas Tomasula captured video on a GoPro Hero 8 camera as he climbed onto the balustrade and went up the Northwest Steps toward the Capitol. Video shows he encouraged protesters to keep going and took part in crowd chants — so much so that federal prosecutors were later forced to admit that he acted as a provocateur in the west side crowd. Surveillance Unit members Detective Michael Callahan and Detective Ricardo Leiva ascended the Northwest Steps just a few strides behind Babbitt, who was captured on security video nearing the Upper West Terrace at 2:21 p.m. 'Chill out! Chill the f**k out, bro! Hey, chill out!' Earlier, Leiva was heard on video predicting that someone would get shot that afternoon, according to an August 2023 court filing by Jan. 6 defendant William Pope. According to Pope’s court filing, Leiva’s five-minute cellphone video from his walk up the Northwest Steps was blacked out and the audio was garbled. Leiva told MPD internal affairs investigators that when he saw a rioter breaking a Capitol window, he approached him and said, “Hey, what’s up, man, you’re doing an amazing job, awesome, awesome, awesome,” Pope’s court filing said. On their journey from the West Plaza to the Capitol, Frick and Frack proceeded to the nearby scaffolding erected to support seating for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. Open-source video used in a Jan. 6 criminal case and reviewed by Blaze News showed the men shielding their eyes from tear gas that swirled around them on the plaza at around 2 p.m. Moments later, video shot by convicted Jan. 6 provocateur John Sullivan showed the men climbing the steps under the scaffolding. Northwest Steps Eventually, two streams of protesters inside and outside the scaffolding coalesced into a kinetic force that rolled through the police line on the upper Northwest Steps at 2:09 p.m., security video showed. After the initial wave of protesters cleared the way, Frick and Frack walked onto the Upper West Terrace at 2:10 p.m. Capitol Police security video from camera 0925 — Upper Terrace West — showed Frack and Frick walked through the field of view at 2:12 p.m. While Frack walked out of camera view and proceeded to a sub-terrace that overlooks the Capitol lawn, Frick threw his arms up in the air as if celebrating the huge crowds approaching the Capitol from the west, video showed. The pair’s movements were also captured from above by camera 0908 — West Dome. The men entered the Senate Wing Door at 2:13:54 p.m., making them among the first protesters to breach the Capitol Building. Frick almost immediately moved to the right and stooped down to pick up a heavy wooden stand that the first rioters kicked over before they jumped through a window into the lobby, security video showed. Frick and Frack joined the quickly growing crowd in the Crypt at the U.S. Capitol before moving up a level to the Speaker‘s Lobby.Photo by Sam Montoya, used with permission The men joined a stream of protesters heading south toward the Crypt. The tightly packed group stood off against a thin line of Capitol Police in the Crypt, chanting slogans and berating officers for not moving out of the way. After about 10 minutes, protesters plowed past the overwhelmed officers to the other side of the Crypt. The group eventually ascended one level via a winding staircase and continued toward Statuary Hall, the Great Rotunda, and, eventually, the U.S. House of Representatives, video showed. The large group included dozens of protesters who eventually ended up in the hallway outside the Speaker’s Lobby. Toward the Speaker’s Lobby Frick and Frack shadowed the crowd from the Crypt and eventually reached the Will Rogers corridor near the main House door. En route, they filmed protesters in the Great Rotunda, Statuary Hall, and the jam-packed Statuary Hall Connector. The unruly crowd in the Will Rogers corridor pushed through the police line at 2:36 p.m. and filled in the small hallway directly outside the House Chamber. Babbitt lingered along one wall, checking her phone but staying out of the fray. Just around the corner, Frack physically intercepted Zachary Alam, who would shortly lead a rioting and vandalism spree just outside the Speaker’s Lobby. Alam broke away from the crowd and approached Capitol Police Sgt. Nelson Vargas, according to video captured by protester and Jan. 6 defendant Paul Kovacik. “Hey! Hey! Hey, buddy,” Alam shouted as he leaned in to read the officer’s name tag. “Nelson Vargas, where is the bathroom?” Frack placed his right hand on Alam’s upper chest and led him away from Sgt. Vargas, the video showed. An audible off-camera voice said, “I don’t think we will.” Alam continued down the hallway toward the Speaker’s Lobby, while Frick and Frack walked into the Sam Rayburn Room on a brief detour. Video shot by independent journalist Tayler Hansen showed Frick taking Frack’s photograph standing next to a giant painting of President George Washington. 'We don‘t want to hurt nobody. We just want to go into the House!' The men then trailed Babbitt past the East Stairs and down the hallway toward the Speaker’s Lobby. Babbitt and Hansen were the first protesters to turn the final corner and approach the double doors at the Speaker’s Lobby entrance. They were preceded just minutes before by Capitol Police Sgt. Timothy Lively and Capitol Police Officers Kyle Yetter and Christopher Lanciano, the trio who took up guarding the doors to the Speaker’s Lobby. Frack entered the hallway with Frick holding on to the bottom strap of his tan backpack. They positioned themselves near the front of the crowd as dozens of protesters quickly packed the small hallway. Frack held up a cell phone — first in his left hand and later switched between hands — and trained it on the USCP officers as the crowd’s behavior turned bellicose and ugly. Alam — who was recently sentenced to eight years in prison on Jan. 6 convictions — placed himself front and center in the bedlam, punching the glass in between Lively and Yetter. Babbitt — a former military policewoman in the Air Force and Air National Guard — seemed to sense the brewing trouble and shouted at the police trio to “call f*****g help!” After Alam punched the door between Lively and Lanciano, Lanciano shoved him backward. Hansen shouted at Alam, “Chill out! Chill the f**k out, bro! Hey, chill out!” An unidentified man known only by the hashtag #HuskyMario pleaded with the officers to let the crowd pass. “We don’t want to hurt nobody. We just want to go into the House!” he shouted. Another rioter known by the hashtag #2BlueJacket got within inches of Lanciano’s face with a two-handed middle-finger taunt. The crowd was out of control. Taking a black helmet handed to him by rioter Christopher Grider, Alam began smashing the windows of the entrance. In the far left hallway corner, Sullivan lobbied one of the USCP officers to leave the area. Babbitt tried to confront the violent Alam, but he brushed her aside, video showed. Frack appeared to make several hand gestures at the officers. His gaze seemed to focus on Lanciano on the right. Frack’s right hand made a sweeping motion and pointed down to the stairway behind them along the wall. It is difficult to hear whether he said anything to the officers because a nearby rioter kept bellowing, “Break it down!” Frack filmed the violence by rioter Zachary Alam at the Speaker‘s Lobby entrance.Sam Montoya, used with permission Frick grabbed the arm of protester Linwood Robinson Sr. and appeared to motion for him to step back and switch places, video showed. Shortly after, Frick led Frack down the stairs to a landing, almost colliding with a four-man Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team ascending from the Hall of Columns. The CERT unit — similar to a SWAT team — was responding to a radio call of “shots fired, House floor,” broadcast just before 2:43 p.m. That call was later determined to be a false alarm. It does not appear that Frack communicated with the first CERT member, Steven Robbs, except to put his hands up. He spoke to the next two officers — CERT leader Don Smith and Officer Brandon Sikes, video showed. 'If they encountered anyone hostile, they would not bypass that threat.' Frack pointed up to someone in the crowd while addressing Smith. On video shot by Frack, a voice was heard saying, “Watch the fuzzy-hat guy” — a reference to Alam and his floppy-ear Canada Goose cap. As Officers Lanciano, Lively, and Yetter descended the stairs, Frack twice put his hand on Yetter’s back in an apparent show of support, video showed. Frack wore a wedding ring on his left hand and a Punisher pinky ring on his right hand. Punisher is a Marvel character popular in comics, military, and law enforcement circles. As the three officers passed Frack, the sound of a shot rang out when Babbitt was gunned down at 2:44 p.m. The officers began going back up the stairs. Video shot by Montoya and Frack showed that Alam bolted down the stairs after the gunshot. After briefly grabbing Alam by the arm, Robbs let him go and moved up the stairs to render medical aid to Babbitt. For a time, Frack, Frick, and Alam stood behind the police line as the CERT officers scanned the crowd for possible threats. Alam was seen on video going through his backpack, although he did not change his outfit as some on social media have claimed. Frack puts his hands up at the approach of Steven Robbs of the Capitol Police Containment and Emergency Response Team, then tells CERT team leader Don Smith, “Watch the fuzzy-hat guy.”Sam Montoya/used with permission In a transcribed interview with the FBI in January 2022, CERT leader Smith described two men on the landing who kept “trying to get my attention.” “He goes, ‘Keep an eye on this guy.’ The guy that I had brought down, and he had glasses like that, he’s a skinny dude, um, short hair,” Smith said. “And he said ... ‘Looks like he’s trying to grab, get ready to grab — stuff off your vest.’” The scene on the stairs just before and after the shooting was dangerous and tactically unsound, according to former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend, who spent five years on an FBI SWAT team. “You never want anyone who hasn’t been vetted as a friendly behind you,” Friend told Blaze News. “And even then, you leave someone with them." 'You’re protecting the real monsters and you’re shooting the people!' “They deployed a tactical team in a crowd-control situation. That’s not something they train [for],” Friend said. “But even if that’s deemed appropriate — such as an active-shooter scenario — the team would stick together and clear areas piece by piece. If they encountered anyone hostile, they would not bypass that threat.” Smith said he asked the two men to help control the crowd and keep a watchful eye on Alam. “I turned to these two guys, I said, ‘Look, they’re going to listen to you more than they are going to listen to me,'” Smith told the FBI. “I said, ‘Please, can you plead with them to go ahead and back up so we can go ahead and help this, you know, help this girl.’” After a few moments, Frack descended the stairs to near the second landing, then turned around, looked up, and screamed, “Back up! Back up! You guys, back up!” according to a short segment of his heavily redacted cellphone video obtained by Judicial Watch and reviewed by Blaze News. Frack returned to the top landing before three Capitol Police CERT officers carried Babbitt down the stairs head-first to the Hall of Columns at the South Door. In the initial chaos after Babbitt was shot, some rioters in the hallway obstructed police efforts to back the crowd up. Some bellowed at officers with the mistaken accusation that one of them had shot Babbitt. It was later learned that the plainclothes Lt. Byrd inched out of his hidden position just inside the doorway and fired one shot at Babbitt as she climbed into a broken-out glass side panel on the north side of the doors. Frick and Frack look on as Capitol Police CERT team carries a dying Ashli Babbitt down the steps.Sam Montoya/used with permission A Capitol Police bicycle officer angrily forced California physician Dr. Austin Brendlan Harris to abandon his efforts at rendering medical aid to the dying Babbitt. The officer shoved Harris down the hallway. The two briefly shouted at each other and scuffled, video showed. Harris turned on the officer and said, “My trauma bag!” He was then handed his medical kit that was still sitting near Babbitt. He shouted, “You’re protecting the real monsters and you’re shooting the people!” Three CERT officers picked up Babbitt and awkwardly carried her down the steps head-first with her backpack still hanging from her shoulders. Frack and Frick watched from the top landing as Babbitt’s massive internal gunshot wound left drops of blood on the stairs, according to video obtained from journalist Sam Montoya and reviewed by Blaze News. Protesters vented their rage as they watched Babbitt being carried away. “Are you kidding me? She’s f*****g dead, you piece of s**t! She’s dead!” one man bellowed. “You guys are f*****g heroes!” another taunted. Montoya was noticeably emotional while recording the scene. “This is so sad,” he said on camera. “I cannot believe I am witnessing this in the U.S. Capitol. I cannot believe I am witnessing this. A woman was shot and is dead." “I don’t know her name,” Montoya said, his voice cracking, “but she had a family! I just pray that this ends peacefully. No one else needs to get hurt. Nobody needs to get hurt.” ‘Officer-involved event‘ A large contingent of MPD officers in fluorescent yellow jackets descended on the hallway to remove the rioters and restore order. Frick and Frack remained behind the police line on the steps. Shortly before 3 p.m., they apparently approached USCP Deputy Chief Eric Waldow and Capitol Police K-9 technician Bruce Acheson to present themselves as witnesses to the shooting. Word of that development quickly went out over Capitol Police radio. At 2:59 p.m., Waldow asked for the crime scene unit, someone from the Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Criminal Investigations Section to meet with two witnesses to an “officer-involved event that took place at the House gallery.” The wording of that dispatch is significant because after he shot Babbitt at 2:44 p.m., Lt. Byrd made a false claim over the radio that he was being shot at and was preparing to return fire. As dozens of heavily armed tactical officers from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and other agencies rushed into the Capitol after that radio call, Lt. Byrd did not update his dispatch to indicate that he was the shooter or state whether the shooting scene was secure. Frick and Frack (left) are escorted to a meeting with Capitol Police. An unmarked squad car (upper right) arrives at the south barricade with Capitol Police officers. Special Agent Richard Larity (lower right) and Sgt. Sarah Smithers approach Frick and Frack for a meeting inside the squad car. U.S. Capitol Police CCTV Officers outside and around the corner from the Speaker’s Lobby still had their sidearms drawn 30 minutes after the Babbitt shooting. Tactical teams swept each floor of the Capitol with M4 rifles alternating between a “low-ready” posture and “on target,” security video showed. Canine technician Acheson escorted Frick and Frack to the Hall of Columns and out the South Door, security video showed. All of the other protesters and rioters from the Speaker’s Lobby hallway — including Alam — exited the Capitol via the East Front House Door, according to a security camera over the entrance. As far as is publicly known, none of them was detained for questioning about the shooting, and none of their witness accounts appeared in the MPD or U.S. DOJ shooting investigation reports. Secret meeting A security camera that covers the South Barricade Plaza captured Acheson with Frick and Frack emerging from behind District of Columbia Fire and EMS Engine 6 at 3:02 p.m. Acheson led them to the USCP South Barricade kiosk, where they stood awaiting the team of officers summoned on the radio a few minutes prior. An unmarked squad car with three Capitol Police officers who would question Frack and Frick pulled in near the South Barricade at 3:02:08 p.m., crossing paths with D.C. Fire and EMS Rescue 10 with Babbitt on board. Special Agent Richard Larity, Sgt. Sara Smithers, and a female USCP special agent emerged from the squad and walked to the police kiosk to meet Acheson with the two witnesses. They escorted Frack and Frick to the squad car. At 3:08 p.m., Frack got into the back seat, where he spent the next 27 minutes, video showed. While Smithers and her colleague interviewed Frack, Larity spoke to Frick outside the vehicle. At 3:16 p.m., Sgt. Michael Sanchez of the Capitol Police Office of Professional Responsibility stopped at the squad car to speak to Larity, security video showed. An ambulance carrying mortally wounded Ashli Babbitt crosses paths with a Capitol Police unmarked squad car just outside the Capitol‘s south barricade on Jan. 6, 2021. Inside the squad car are three officers who will question shooting witnesses “Frick” and “Frack.”U.S. Capitol Police CCTV Just before 3:36 p.m., Frack emerged from the squad car. He and Frick shook the officers’ hands and walked away. While Smithers went to meet Capitol Police crime scene officer Mark West to photograph and process the Babbitt crime scene, Frick and Frack stood against a stone wall along the sidewalk, checking their phones. Capitol Police did not respond to a Blaze News request for comment about the interview or what their officers were told by Frick and Frack. At 3:42 p.m., Frick handed what appeared to be a two-way radio to Frack, who spoke into it numerous times over the next two minutes, security video showed. Frack looked at a street sign at the intersection of Capitol Plaza Southeast and Independence Avenue Southeast, then walked back toward the Capitol. The interaction of Frick and Frack with Capitol Police was documented in a one-page supplement included with the MPD’s Babbitt shooting report. Described as “Attachment 19,” the summary said a Capitol Police special agent met with a witness at about 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. The interview was not recorded, and the witness was not identified. The summary said the witness showed the special agent a video clip and provided a copy of the file with the proviso that “he was willing to email the longer version in the future.” Judicial Watch obtained a heavily redacted copy of the video from Metropolitan Police as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in 2021. The video is truncated and does not include the portions Frack filmed before the shooting that could shed light on what he or others said to the USCP officers. It is not known whether Frack spoke to police investigators or the FBI again or if he provided the rest of the video he shot on Jan. 6. The unidentified shooting witness known as “Frick” ambles past the East House Steps at 3:51 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. His partner or companion, “Frack,” waited on a park bench at the edge of Capitol grounds while Frick took a brief jaunt. The pair left Capitol grounds some nine minutes later. U.S. Capitol Police CCTV The men proceeded to Independence Avenue at 4 p.m. and walked west. A Capitol Police security camera atop the Rayburn House Office Building last showed the men on the plaza of the Hubert Humphrey Building at 4:24 p.m. Based on how the DOJ has prosecuted more than 1,560 other cases, the behavior of Frick and Frack would likely be classified as incitement and rioting at the bottom of the Northwest Steps, where they apparently enabled dozens of people to climb onto the staircase and proceed to the Capitol. Given their early entrance into the Capitol, mere minutes after the breach of the Senate Wing Door and windows, there is a good chance they could have been charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, a 20-year felony count that was all but taken off the table by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark June 28 decision. Their behavior at a minimum would draw what defense attorneys call the “standard four,” basic misdemeanor charges for alleged trespassing, disorderly conduct, and “parading” at the Capitol. Since the men do not appear to be a target of Capitol Police, the FBI, or the DOJ, the explanation for their presence and actions before, during, and after the fatal Babbitt shooting will likely fall to the attorneys at Judicial Watch and its $30 million Babbitt lawsuit. The FBI and DOJ have said they will continue making Jan. 6 arrests leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Trump on Jan. 20, 2025. Blaze News contacted the FBI, Capitol Police, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for more information on the men. The FBI and Capitol Police did not respond by press time.Daniel Ball, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., said: “We don’t comment on the existence or status of investigations into specific individuals.” Like Blaze News? 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UFC President Dana White explained that he believes Donald Trump won the 2024 election in the same manner he has built his brands.During the post-fight press conference for UFC 309, White was asked what effect the election of Trump will have on his company, given that so many of his fighters relate to the president.At the event, multiple fighters spoke to Trump ringside, including heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who even thanked the president and handed him his belt."If you saw the election, the entire country relates with Trump right now," White said, noting Trump's swing-state victories. "It feels like somebody hit the reset button."White added that his feeling was that the electorate wanted a "blowout" for one candidate or the other in order to avoid any discrepancies in which direction to take the country in."I think everybody's tired of the bulls***, man. We're all tired, we all just want to live our lives, and run our businesses, and raise our families," the CEO went on.'Nobody trusts them and nobody believes them.'Acknowledging that most of the media members in front of him weren't Trump supporters, White carved out Trump's path to victory, describing that it was through nontraditional means.Explaining his "philosophy," White said he has created relationships with online influencers and podcasters for years, allowing him to circumvent traditional media, which he said is greatly disliked by voters."The two most-hated people in this world right now; the media and the politicians. Nobody trusts them and nobody believes them," White claimed.The method of directly speaking to voters through podcasts, influencers, and social media is the exact same methodology that built White's slap-fighting brand, Power Slap. "The way Power Slap was built is the way this election was won," the 55-year-old said. UFC/YouTube White described the difference he has seen in major "blue" cities like New York leading up to and after the election; citing experiences where random people are running up to him and offering their thanks.This, coupled with a positive shift in energy, is what has led to the feeling of a "weight that's been lifted off the country.""Things are already getting better [Trump's] not even in there yet," White said.Trump has been heralded for his embrace of new media. Appearances on podcasts with comedians like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and young influencers like the Nelk Boys and Adin Ross no doubt led to 18-29-year-olds showing up at the polls.Exit polls showed huge gains among young men for Trump, where he won by 14 points over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump also made gains with young female voters and increased his support by seven points over 2020 from 33% to 40%.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President-elect Donald Trump announced last week that he wants to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland with Florida firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). The prospect of a Republican AG willing to play hardball sent a great many Democratic lawmakers and liberal media personalities into fits of frenzy. Sunny Hostin of Disney's "The View," the co-host who unwittingly helped derail the Harris campaign, handled the news worse than others. Unlike other talking heads, Hostin had to immediately walk back her baseless smears Tuesday — likely out of fear of a crushing defamation lawsuit. Days after blaming "uneducated white women" and Hispanic men for Trump's landslide victory, Hostin launched into an unhinged rant and characterized Gaetz as a sex offender. 'These are baseless allegations.' "Within the Department of Justice, you know, you have the sex crimes unit, which is what I was a part of. Child sex crimes and child trafficking. How could you nominate someone with allegations of child trafficking across — or trafficking across state lines and having sex with a 17-year-old?" said the former federal prosecutor. "My understanding further on in the interview, they discuss the fact that once he finds out that she's 17, he stops having sex with her." Hostin appears to have been referring to Florida attorney Joel Leppard's recent claims about what one of his unnamed clients alleged in a 2017 testimonial. Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told ABC News, "These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing." A source familiar with the DOJ's investigation suggested that case was dropped in part because there were significant doubts on the part of the prosecutors that they could prove that Gaetz actually had relations with the supposed woman or knew of her age. Just minutes after uncritically regurgitating Leppard's unsubstantiated claims as fact, Hostin was given a legal notice to read and did so with a sullen face: Matt Gaetz has long denied all allegations, calling the claims "invented" and saying in a statement to ABC News that "this false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism." That DOJ investigation was closed with no charges being brought. Whoopi Goldberg subsequently announced, "We'll be right back," and the show cut to commercials. Gaetz responded on X only with the eyes emoji. Responding to Hostin's required reading of the legal notice, "The Chad Prather Show" host Chad Prather wrote, "Make her do it every day." Although also an expert in talking nonsense, former Republican Rep. George Santos was less than sympathetic, writing, "I love when ABC humiliates this witch! LOL." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!